Acta neurochirurgica. Supplement
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyDevelopment of nicardipine prolonged-release implants after clipping for preventing cerebral vasospasm: from laboratory to clinical trial.
We have developed a drug delivery system using a vasodilating drug that can be implanted intracranially at the time of surgery for aneurysm clipping, without systemic side effects or side effects associated with long-term intrathecal drug administration. We started our project on 1994 for making a slowly releasing drug delivery system in vitro because cerebral vasospasm occurs 4-14 days following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). A rod-shaped pellet containing 1 mg of nicardipine for animal study was prepared by heat compression. ⋯ Vasospasm was completely prevented in the arteries by placing NPRIs adjacent to the arteries during surgery. No complications were experienced. We have performed three studies (a single-center study with consecutive patients; a single-center, randomized, double-blind trial; and a multicenter cooperative study) and have proved that implantation of NPRIs reduces the incidence of cerebral vasospasm and DINDs and improves clinical outcome after SAH.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2013
Deep brain stimulation of the ventrolateral thalamic base and posterior subthalamic area in dystonic head tremor.
Dystonic head tremor (DHT) is characterized by head tremor associated with cervical dystonia (CD). Deep brain stimulation (DBS) can be considered when local treatment with botulinum toxin or oral medication has failed. However, there is lack of data regarding the optimal target structure for surgery in DHT. ⋯ Based on these observations, we performed DBS in three patients with DHT, placing the proximal contacts of the electrodes into the inferior base of VL thalamic nuclei and the distal contacts into the adjacent PSA. Chronic stimulation improved not only head tremor but also CD. These findings suggest that DBS at the base of VL thalamus and the adjacent PSA should undergo further investigation as a potential target for patients with DHT.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2013
ReviewAngiographic vasospasm versus cerebral infarction as outcome measures after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Despite a significant reduction of angiographic vasospasm, the reduction of poor functional outcome in clinical trials on aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) remains challenging. While there is general consensus that vasospasm is associated with delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), cerebral infarction, poor functional outcome, and mortality after SAH, causal relationships are subject to discussion. Therefore, it was the aim of our study to investigate the relationship between various outcome measures and poor functional outcome in clinical trials on pharmaceutical treatment of SAH. ⋯ Future clinical trials may use cerebral infarction and functional outcome as main outcome measures to -investigate the true impact of an intervention, assuming that the intervention targets cerebral infarction and hereby improves outcome.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2013
Psychiatric side-effects of bilateral deep brain stimulation for movement disorders.
The effects of deep brain stimulation (DBS) on cognitive functions, and its psychiatric side-effects, are still controversial. The present study investigated psychiatric comorbidity and postoperative effects of DBS of different targets on mood and psychological functions in 81 patients with a mean follow-up of 37 months. ⋯ A wide range of behavioural changes may be seen following DBS. Depression was the most common side-effect after DBS, and occurred independently of the target. PD patients, in contrast to dystonia and tremor patients, developed complications in all tested subgroups, with varying frequencies. Preoperative evaluation for psychiatric and cognitive dysfunction is crucial to identify patients who are at specific risk for psychiatric complications.