Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2002
Ophthalmological outcome after orbital entry during anterior and anterolateral skull base surgery.
Partial resection of the orbital bones is not uncommon during the excision of anterior and anterolateral skull base tumors. Controversy exists regarding the need for and extent of reconstruction after this procedure. The authors studied this factor in a series of patients. ⋯ In most patients elaborate orbital reconstruction is not necessary after partial excision of the orbital bones. Isolated medial and lateral orbital wall defects, or combined superior and lateral orbital wall defects, especially in cases in which the periorbita is intact, probably do not require primary reconstruction. In cases of orbital floor defects, whether isolated or part of a multiple-wall resection, primary reconstruction is recommended.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2002
Successful and safe perfusion of the primate brainstem: in vivo magnetic resonance imaging of macromolecular distribution during infusion.
Intrinsic disease processes of the brainstem (gliomas, neurodegenerative disease, and others) have remained difficult or impossible to treat effectively because of limited drug penetration across the blood-brainstem barrier with conventional delivery methods. The authors used convection-enhanced delivery (CED) of a macromolecular tracer visible on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to examine the utility of CED for safe perfusion of the brainstem. ⋯ First, CED can be used to perfuse the brainstem safely and effectively with macromolecules. Second, a large-molecular-weight imaging tracer can be used successfully to deliver, monitor in vivo, and control the distribution of small- and large-molecular-weight putative therapeutic agents for treatment of intrinsic brainstem processes.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2002
Reversal of attenuation of cerebrovascular reactivity to hypercapnia by a nitric oxide donor after controlled cortical impact in a rat model of traumatic brain injury.
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) attenuates the cerebral vasodilation to hypercapnia. Cortical spreading depression (CSD) also transiently reduces hypercapnic vasodilation. The authors sought to determine whether the CSD elicited by a controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury masks the true effect of TBI on hypercapnic vasodilation, and whether a nitric oxide (NO) donor can reverse the attenuation of hypercapnic vasodilation following CCI. ⋯ The authors conclude that CSD elicited by CCI can mask the true effect of TBI on hypercapnic vasodilation for at least 30 minutes. Exogenous NO, but not papaverine, can reverse the attenuation of cerebrovascular reactivity to CO2 caused by TBI. This result supports the hypothesis that NO production is reduced after TBI and that the NO donor has a potential beneficial role in the clinical management of head injury.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Oct 2002
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialTreatment of chronic pain by using intrathecal drug therapy compared with conventional pain therapies: a cost-effectiveness analysis.
The object of this study was to compare the cost-effectiveness of intrathecal drug therapy (IDT) with that of conventional pain therapy (CPT) in patients suffering from chronic low back pain caused by failed back syndrome. In this study, the authors tabulated actual costs, in Canadian dollars, in a consecutive series of patients undergoing IDT within the Canadian health care system and have compared them with costs in a control group in the same environment. The influence of these treatments on the quality of life (QOL) was also analyzed. ⋯ In patients who respond to this treatment, IDT is cost effective in the long term despite high initial costs of implantable devices.