Journal of neurosurgery
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2024
Brain tumor surgery guided by navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation mapping for arithmetic calculation.
The onco-functional balance represents the primary goal in neuro-oncology. The increasing use of navigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) allows the noninvasive characterization of cortical functional anatomy, and its reliability for motor and language mapping has previously been validated. Calculation and arithmetic processing has not been studied with nTMS so far. In this study, the authors present their preliminary data concerning nTMS calculation. ⋯ Based on the authors' preliminary data, nTMS can be an advantageous tool to study cognitive functions, aimed at minimizing neurological impairment. The postoperative clinical outcome for patients who underwent operation with nTMS was very good. Considering these results, nTMS has proved to be a feasible method to map cognitive areas including those for calculation functions. Further analyses are needed to validate these data. Finally, other cognitive functions (e.g., visuospatial) may be explored with nTMS.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2024
Microsurgical anatomy and approaches to thalamic gliomas. Part 1: A cartography guide for navigating to the thalamus. Integrating 3D model rendering with anatomical dissections.
The selection of appropriate microsurgical approaches to treat thalamic pathologies is currently largely subjective. The objective of this study was to provide a structured cartography map for surgical navigation to treat gliomas involving different surfaces of the thalamus. ⋯ Microsurgical approaches to thalamic gliomas continue to be challenging. Nonetheless, safe and effective cisternal, ventricular, and cortical corridors can be developed with thoughtful planning, anatomical understanding, and knowledge of the advantages, risks, and limitations of each approach. In some cases, it is wise to combine these approaches with staged procedures, as the authors demonstrate in Part 2. In Part 1 of this two-part series, they discuss thalamic microsurgical anatomy and illustrate the trajectory and exposures of all six approaches to guide decision-making. Part 2 discusses their thalamic glioma microsurgical case series, which utilizes these microsurgical approaches.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2024
Surgical treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia: a single-center experience.
Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal-dominant disorder characterized by multiple vascular malformations. Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) are a significant manifestation of HHT. The surgical management of these lesions in patients with HHT remains debated, with limited literature on postoperative outcomes. The goal of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of surgical treatment for bAVMs in patients with HHT and propose a treatment rationale based on a single-center experience. ⋯ In this most extensive surgical series published to date, resection of bAVMs in patients with HHT showed favorable outcomes with a low complication rate, suggesting that the benefits of surgery outweigh the risks, especially considering the potential cumulative lifetime risk of hemorrhage. MR arterial spin labeling was found to be the most sensitive noninvasive measure of detecting bAVMs in patients with HHT.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2024
Adult craniopharyngioma concomitant with unruptured intracranial aneurysms: incidence, risk factors, and treatment strategies.
Concomitant unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) in patients with craniopharyngioma (CP) pose a challenge for surgical management. This study presents the largest known single-institution case series to investigate the incidence of UIA in CP patients, with the aim of exploring the potential risk factors for the occurrence of UIA in CP patients and proposing treatment strategies. ⋯ The incidence rate of IA in patients with CP was higher than that in the general population. Routine preoperative CTA is advised for adult CP patients. Patients with papillary CP exhibited a higher proportion of CP-UIAs. Older age, hypertension, estrogen deficiency, and suprasellar tumor were independent risk factors for the occurrence of IAs in CP patients. IAs in CP patients are predominantly located in the C6 and C7 segments of the internal carotid artery and are often suitable for EVT. When treating CP-UIAs, tumor-related symptoms, risk of aneurysm rupture, the spatial relationship between the tumor and IA, and the approach for tumor resection should be considered.
-
Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2024
Characteristics of radiation-induced brain tumors: case series and systematic review.
Radiation therapy (RT) improves the outcome of patients with cancer but introduces the risk of radiation-induced neoplasms in cancer survivors. The most common radiation-induced brain tumors (RIBTs) are gliomas (RIGs), meningiomas (RIMs), and sarcomas (RISs). To investigate the characteristics of these RIBTs, the authors conducted a comprehensive review and analysis of their case series and relevant cases from the literature. ⋯ The prognosis was poor and worse for patients with RIGs and RISs than for those with RIMs, and patients with RIBTs who underwent higher-dose irradiation for primary disease had poor prognoses. Because RIBTs develop more than a decade after cranial irradiation, long-term follow-up is crucial.