Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2003
Case ReportsMagnetic resonance imaging-guided percutaneous fenestration of a cervical intradural cyst. Case report.
The authors describe the case of a high cervical, intradural extramedullary cyst located anterior to the spinal cord in a 13-year-old boy. The lesion was fenestrated percutaneously by using real-time magnetic resonance (MR) imaging guidance and a local anesthetic agent. ⋯ Nine months later, complete disappearance of the cyst was confirmed on MR imaging and computerized tomography myelography. Magnetic resonance imageing-guided fenestration can be considered a minimally invasive option for intradural cystic lesions.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2003
Three-dimensional fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous thoracolumbar pedicle screw placement. Technical note.
The authors sought to evaluate the feasibility and accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) fluoroscopic guidance for percutaneous placement of thoracic and lumbar pedicle screws in three cadaveric specimens. After attaching a percutaneous dynamic reference array to the surgical anatomy, an isocentric C-arm fluoroscope was used to obtain images of the region of interest. Light-emitting diodes attached to the C-arm unit were tracked using an electrooptical camera. ⋯ Two of the violations were less than 2 mm beyond the cortex; the others were between 2 and 3 mm. Coupled with an image guidance system, 3D fluoroscopy allows highly accurate spinal navigation. Results of this study suggest that this technology will facilitate the application of minimally invasive techniques to the field of spine surgery.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2003
Effect of ipsilateral subthalamic nucleus lesioning in a rat parkinsonian model: study of behavior correlated with neuronal activity in the pedunculopontine nucleus.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the spontaneous behavioral changes and the alteration of neuronal activities in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) after ipsilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) lesioning by kainic acid in a rat parkinsonian model created by lesioning with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA). ⋯ The results demonstrated that STN lesioning induced behavioral improvement in rat parkinsonian models. This result, which confirms previously held assumptions, may account for the therapeutic effect of STN stimulation in Parkinson disease. The alteration of the neuronal activities in the PPN units also indicates that the PPN units are responsible for the improvement in motor symptoms observed after STN lesioning in rat parkinsonian models.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2003
Inhibition of proteoglycan and type II collagen synthesis of disc nucleus cells by nicotine.
Systemic nicotine has been hypothesized to cause degeneration of the intervertebral disc which in turn decreases vascular supply to the disc through a cholinergic receptor-mediated process. Another possible mechanism may be through direct regulatory effects on disc cells. In this study, the authors tested the hypothesis that nicotine adversely affects nucleus pulposus cells by directly inhibiting proteoglycan synthesis and gene expression of type II collagen (Phase I study). They also assessed the hypothesis that nicotine inhibits the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2-induced upregulation of extracellular matrix (Phase II study). ⋯ The results of this study raise the possibility that nicotine may contribute to the process of disc degeneration by a direct effect on the nucleus pulposus cells, possibly by antagonizing the effect of BMP-2.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2003
Changes in nerve root motion and intraradicular blood flow during intraoperative femoral nerve stretch test. Report of four cases.
It is not known whether changes in intraradicular blood flow (IRBF) occur during the femoral nerve stretch test (FNST) in patients with lumbar disc herniation. An FNST was conducted in patients with lumbar disc herniation to observe the changes in IRBF, and results were then compared with clinical features. ⋯ The intraoperative FNST showed that the hernia compressd the nerve roots and there was marked disturbance of gliding, which was reduced to only a few millimeters. During the test, IRBF decreased by 92.8 to 100% (96.9 +/- 3.7% [mean +/- standard error of the mean]).