Neurosurgery
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Perioperative adverse events (AEs) lead to patient disappointment and greater costs. There is a paucity of data on how AEs affect long-term outcomes. ⋯ Major AEs after lumbar spine surgery lead to worse functional outcomes and lower satisfaction. This highlights the need to implement strategies aimed at reducing AEs.
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Responsive Neurostimulation of the Mesial Temporal White Matter in Bilateral Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.
Responsive neuromodulation (RNS) is a treatment option for patients with medically refractory bilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). A paucity of data exists on the feasibility and clinical outcome of hippocampal-sparing bilateral RNS depth lead placements within the parahippocampal white matter or temporal stem. ⋯ Extrahippocampal or temporal stem white matter targeting during RNS surgery for bitemporal MTLE is feasible and allows for electrographic seizure detection. Larger controlled studies with longer follow-up are needed to validate these preliminary findings.
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Middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization has emerged as a promising treatment for chronic subdural hematoma (cSDH). ⋯ MMA embolization may provide a safe and efficacious minimally invasive alternative to conventional surgical techniques.
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Chordomas are aggressive bone tumors that often recur despite maximal resection and adjuvant radiation. To date there are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved chemotherapies. Computational drug repositioning is an expanding approach to identify pharmacotherapies for clinical trials. ⋯ Cytarabine administration reduces the viability of human chordoma cells. The equally effective reduction in viability seen with tretinoin seems to be cell line dependent. Based on our findings, we recommend the evaluation of cytarabine and tretinoin in an expanded set of human chordoma cell lines and animal models.
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Cancer stem-like cells are a major cause of resistance to therapy in patients with glioblastoma (GBM) as well as other cancers. Tumor cells are maintained in a stem-like proliferative state in large part through the Notch signaling pathway. The function of this pathway in turn depends on gamma secretase activity. Inhibition of this enzyme therefore inhibits the Notch pathway and tumor growth as measured by a reduction in the formation of brain tumor neurospheres in murine models. RO4929097 is an oral gamma secretase inhibitor. ⋯ RO4929097 was inactive in recurrent GBM patients and demonstrated minimal inhibition of neurosphere formation in fresh tissue samples.