Neurosurgery
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To analyze the role of industry sponsorship of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published exclusively in 3 major North American neurosurgical journals. ⋯ Industry funding was associated with a much greater chance of positive findings in RCTs published in neurosurgical journals. Further efforts are needed to define the relationship between the authors and financial sponsors of neurosurgical research and explore the reasons for this finding.
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Curative transvenous embolization is an emerging strategy for treatment of cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). ⋯ This prospective contemporary series demonstrates a high rate of complete AVM obliteration and excellent functional outcomes in patients with both ruptured and unruptured AVMs treated with transvenous embolization. This approach is promising and warrants further investigation as a treatment for select AVMs.
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Thrombolysis is the standard of care for acute ischemic stroke patients presenting in the appropriate time window. Studies suggest that the risk of recurrent ischemia is lower if carotid revascularization is performed early after the index event. The safety of early carotid revascularization in this patient population is unclear. ⋯ Thrombolysis is a strong risk factor for ICH, PPS, poor outcome, and in-hospital mortality in patients with carotid stenosis/occlusion who undergo carotid revascularization. The increased risk of ICH or PPS due to tPA declines with time after thrombolysis. Delaying carotid revascularization in these patients may therefore be appropriate. This delay, however, will expose these patients to the risk of recurrent stroke. Future studies are needed to determine the relative risks of these 2 adverse events.
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Frameless, non-isocentric irradiation of an extended segment of the trigeminal nerve introduces new concepts in stereotactic radiosurgery for medically resistant trigeminal neuralgia (TN). ⋯ Targeting a 6-mm segment of the trigeminal nerve with a prescribed dose of 60 Gy appears safe and effective. Persistent pain control was achieved in most patients with acceptable risk of sensory complications, which were typically found after re-irradiation.
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A reliable method to specifically identify low vasospasm risk in aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) patients has not been previously proposed. ⋯ Application of our novel clinical algorithm produced successful identification of aSAH patients who experience zero risk of clinical vasospasm. Our algorithm is simple to apply with high reliability and is superior to currently available clinical and radiographic metrics.