Neurosurg Focus
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Spontaneous intracranial hypotension has become a well-recognized clinical entity, but it remains an uncommonly, and probably underdiagnosed, cause of headache; its estimated prevalence is only one in 50,000 individuals. The clinical spectrum of spontaneous intracranial hypotension is quite variable and includes headache, neck stiffness, cranial nerve dysfunction, radicular arm pain, and symptoms of diencephalic or hindbrain herniation. Leakage of the spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is the most common cause of spontaneous intracranial hypotension. ⋯ The initial treatment of choice is a lumbar epidural blood patch, regardless of the location of the CSF leak. If the epidural blood patch fails, the blood patch procedure can be repeated at the lumbar level, or a blood patch can be directed at the exact site of the leak. Surgical repair of the CSF leak is safe and generally successful, although a distinct structural cause of the leak often is not found.
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Patients with multiple brain metastases are often treated primarily with fractionated whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT). In previous reports the authors have shown that patients with four or fewer brain metastases can benefit from stereotactic radiosurgery in addition to fractionated WBRT. In this paper the authors review their experience using linear accelerator stereotactic radiosurgery to treat patients with multiple brain metastases. ⋯ Stereotactic radiosurgery can be used to treat patients with up to four brain metastases with a 91% rate of either decrease or stabilization in tumor size and a low rate of radiation-induced necrosis. In the authors' study only a small number of patients subsequently required surgical resection of a treated lesion.
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Comparative Study
Cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics study in Chiari I malformation: implications for syrinx formation.
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow abnormalities are known to be present in Chiari I malformation and to underlie the origin and progression of associated syringomyelia. The incidence of syrinx formation, however, is variable for unknown reasons. The aim of this study was to investigate whether differences in CSF flow dynamics in patients with Chiari I malformation may account for the different clinical and radiological presentation. ⋯ In patients with Chiari I malformation and associated syringomyelia different CSF flow patterns were demonstrated as compared with patients in whom syrinx was absent. Analysis of this study's findings supports the hypothesis that in Chiari I malformation an elongated systolic flow may prolong the condition of increased spinal subarachnoid pressure caused by the junctional obstruction, thus favoring CSF penetration into the spinal cord. It may be also proposed that a shortened systolic flow may be insufficient to maintain a hypertensive condition for enough time to induce syrinx formation.
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The surgical management of thoracic disc disease remains challenging. Outcomes after laminectomy had been poor, and modern posterolateral, lateral, and anterior approaches have evolved to replace this older procedure. Each has its own set of complications, and all are hampered, to varying degrees, by the limited visualization of the ventral disc space and spinal cord during decompression. ⋯ Four patients enjoyed good or excellent outcomes, with return of ambulation. One patient experienced only mild improvement in her severe paraparesis. Image-guidance was invaluable in planning the corpectomy and aiding visualization in situations in which the dura or disc were obscured; its use allowed successful surgical excisions in the most challenging circumstances.
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Clinical Trial
Bedside microdialysis for early detection of cerebral hypoxia in traumatic brain injury.
The authors evaluated the use of bedside cerebral online microdialysis for the detection of impending and present cerebral hypoxia in patients who had sustained traumatic brain injury. ⋯ The authors conclude that a PtiO2 below 10 mm Hg is critical to induce metabolic changes seen during hypoxia/ischemia. Early markers of cerebral hypoxia are increased levels of glutamate and lactate. Regional hypoxia is not always associated with anaerobic cerebral metabolism. In the future, this technology of bedside monitoring may allow optimization of the treatment of severely head injured patients.