World Neurosurg
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Brain metastases (BMs) occur in up to 40% of patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). When surgery or radiosurgery is not possible, whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) is the standard treatment, with a cerebral response rate of approximately 30%. Pemetrexed-based chemotherapy presents an approximately 40% response rate on brain lesions of NSCLC with brain metastases. ⋯ This modality of treatment appears to a better efficacy and a good safety of BM, as well as extracerebral. Further clinical studies are warranted.
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External ventricular drains (EVDs) historically have a high rate of infection, and EVD infections are a cause of significant morbidity and mortality. We have shown previously that a simple infection control protocol reduced the rate of EVD infections during a 3-year period, and the present study examines whether infection rates were durably reduced over an additional 4 years. ⋯ A straightforward EVD infection control protocol substantially and durably reduces EVD infections to a near-zero rate.
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Transpetrosal approaches for the treatment of petroclival meningiomas are often associated with substantial morbidity and long recovery. With the goal of early clinical improvement, we have used less invasive surgical approaches for petroclival meningiomas. ⋯ In the short-term, less aggressive cranial base approaches, including retrosigmoid exposures and the recently introduced EEA, are effective alternatives to transpetrosal approaches for debulking petroclival meningiomas with significant early clinical improvement and limited major surgical complications.
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Case Reports
Improvement of Table Tennis Dystonia by Stereotactic Ventro-oral Thalamotomy: A Case Report.
Task-specific focal dystonia, such as writer's cramp and musician's cramp, is a type of dystonia that affects performance of particular tasks. Such movement disorders have been treated with stereotactic ventro-oral (Vo) thalamotomy with excellent outcomes. However, there has been no previous report of treatment of sport-related or athlete's dystonia by means of stereotactic surgery. We treated a patient with table tennis-related dystonia with Vo thalamotomy, and evaluated the outcome. ⋯ We applied Vo thalamotomy for the successful treatment of athlete's dystonia, suggesting that this condition has an underlying mechanism similar to that of other task-specific focal dystonias. This provides new hope to patients with athlete's dystonia refractive to other therapies.
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Case Reports
Mantle cell lymphoma with central nervous system involvement simulating bilateral subdural hematomas.
We describe a 71-year-old-patient receiving antiplatelet therapy and being attended by emergency medical services for psychomotor retardation and gait disturbance. An emergency computed tomographic scan showed a bilateral subacute hematoma. The patient reported a fall 2 weeks earlier. ⋯ However, this is the first report of a lymphoma with CNS involvement mimicking bilateral subdural hematomas. This report contributes to the knowledge of lymphomas with CNS involvement. Its strange radiographic appearance and histologic type make it unique.