Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2022
Targeting for stereotactic radiosurgical thalamotomy based on tremor treatment response.
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) treats severe, medically refractory essential tremor and tremor-dominant Parkinson disease. However, the optimal target for SRS treatment within the thalamic ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) is not clearly defined. This work evaluates the precision of the physician-selected VIM target, and determines the optimal SRS target within the VIM by correlation between early responders and nonresponders. ⋯ For tremor control in early responders, the Elements Basal Ganglia Atlas autocontour for the VIM provides the optimal SRS target location that is 0.7-0.9 mm lateral to the VIM center.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2022
Minocycline decreases blood-brain barrier permeability following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.
Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH)-induced vasospasm is linked to increased inflammatory cell trafficking across a permeable blood-brain barrier (BBB). Elevations in serum levels of matrix metalloprotease 9 (MMP9), a BBB structural protein, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of vasospasm onset. Minocycline is a potent inhibitor of MMP9. The authors sought to detect an effect of minocycline on BBB permeability following aSAH. ⋯ Minocycline at high doses is well tolerated in the ruptured cerebral aneurysm population. Minocycline curtails breakdown of the BBB following aSAH as evidenced by lower permeability indices, though minocycline did not significantly alter serum MMP9 levels. Larger randomized clinical trials are needed to assess minocycline as a neuroprotectant against aSAH-induced vasospasm. Clinical trial registration no.: NCT04876638 (clinicaltrials.gov).
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2022
Quantification of tumor response of cystic vestibular schwannoma to Gamma Knife radiosurgery by using artificial intelligence.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is a common treatment modality for vestibular schwannoma (VS). The ability to predict treatment response is important in patient counseling and decision-making. The authors developed an algorithm that can automatically segment and differentiate cystic and solid tumor components of VS. They also investigated associations between the quantified radiological features of each component and tumor response after GKRS. ⋯ Radiological features of VSs on pretreatment MRI that were quantified using fuzzy C-means were associated with tumor response after GKRS. Tumors with a higher tumor mean SI, a higher solid component mean SI, and a higher cystic component mean SI on T2W/T1WC images were more likely to regress in volume after GKRS. Those with a larger cystic component proportion also trended toward regression after GKRS. Further refinement of the algorithm may allow direct prediction of tumor response.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2022
Stereotactic radiosurgery for prostate cancer cerebral metastases: an international multicenter study.
As novel therapies improve survival for men with prostate cancer, intracranial metastatic disease has become more common. The purpose of this multicenter study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) in the management of intracranial prostate cancer metastases. ⋯ SRS appears to be a safe, well-tolerated, and effective management option for patients with prostate cancer intracranial metastases.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2022
Predictors of thermal increase in magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound treatment for essential tremor: histogram analysis of skull density ratio values for 1024 elements.
Sufficient thermal increase capable of generating thermocoagulation is indispensable for an effective clinical outcome in patients undergoing magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS). The skull density ratio (SDR) is one of the most dominant predictors of thermal increase prior to treatment. However, users currently rely only on the average SDR value (SDRmean) as a screening criterion, although some patients with low SDRmean values can achieve sufficient thermal increase. The present study aimed to examine the numerical distribution of SDR values across 1024 elements to identify more precise predictors of thermal increase during MRgFUS. ⋯ The SDRskewness is a more accurate predictor of thermal increase than the conventional SDRmean. The authors suggest setting the SDRskewness cutoff value to 0.68. SDRskewness may allow for the inclusion of treatable patients with essential tremor who would have been screened out based on the SDRmean exclusion criterion.