Prevalence of hypopituitarism and quality of life in survivors of post-traumatic brain injury.

Background: Hypopituitarism is a recognized sequela of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and may worsen the quality of life (QoL) in survivors.

Aims: To assess the prevalence of post-traumatic hypopituitarism (PTHP) and growth hormone deficiency (GHD), and determine their correlation with QoL.

Methods: Survivors of moderate to severe TBI were recruited from two Algerian centres.

Cortisol evaluation during the acute phase of traumatic brain injury-A prospective study.

Background: Biochemical diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency (AI) is difficult in the context of traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Aim: To assess the frequency and predictive factors of AI in victims of TBI from Algiers.

Methods: Between November 2009 and December 2013, TBI victims had a single 8-9 am serum cortisol measurement during the acute postinjury period (0-7 days).

Technical considerations and outcome assessment in retrogasserian balloon compression for treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Series of 901 patients.

Background: The aim of our study was to describe the retrogasserian balloon compression (RGBC) procedure with some personal tricks and to assess the long-term results.

Methods: Between 1985 and 2012, 901 patients, suffering from refractory trigeminal neuralgia (TN), underwent RGBC procedure in our department. Concerning the surgical technique, the introducer was in close contact with the posterior extremity of the horizontal plate of the palatine bone and had the direction of the bisector of the angle clivus-superior edge of the petrous bone on an X-rays sagittal view.

Long-term results of percutaneous compression of the gasserian ganglion in trigeminal neuralgia (series of 200 patients).

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term results of a series of 200 patients operated on by percutaneous compression of the gasserian ganglion (PCGG) according to Mullan and Lichtor's technique. The balloon was inflated for 6 min with 0.7 cm3 of iopamiro.

Selective neurotomies for relief of spasticity focalized to the foot and to the knee flexors. Results in a series of 58 patients.

Fifty-eight patients with a mean age of 24 years (range 5 to 65 years) who underwent selective neurotomies (SN) for harmful spasticity focalized to the lower limb are presented. In 43 of the patients who suffered spastic foot, SN was directed to the tibial nerve. In 10 others who had spastic knee flexors, the target was the hamstring branches of the sciatic trunk.

Percutaneous balloon compression of the Gasserian ganglion in trigeminal neuralgia. Long-term results in 150 cases.

One hundred and fifty patients with trigeminal neuralgia were treated by percutaneous compression of the Gasserian ganglion (PCGG) during the last 8 years. The technique is the one described by Mullan with the balloon inflated during 6 minutes with 0,7 cc of contrast medium. Over a follow-up period ranging from 6 months to 8 years with an average of 4 years, one hundred and four patients (69,3%) have remained painfree.

[Nucleotomy of the spinal trigeminal nucleus. Apropos of 2 post-traumatic neuralgia with surgical treatment].

This report describes two patients with medically intractable post-traumatique trigeminal neuralgia, who underwent bipolar coagulation of the pars caudalis of the trigeminal spinal nucleus. Follow-up examination--36 months and 7 months, respectively, after the procedure-showed that the patients were free of pain.

[Treatment of essential trigeminal neuralgia by Gasserian compression using balloon (50 cases)].

Between 1985 and 1989, 50 patients with trigeminal neuralgia were submitted for percutaneous gasserian ganglion compression, the procedure is the technic described by Mullan with some variants. The Fogarty catheter is introduced through a teflon catheter. The balloon is inflated to 0.

[Surgery of the radiculo-spinal cord junction in the treatment of chronic pain and incapacitating spasticity. Report of a series of 29 patients].

This series involves 29 patients treated for chronic pain (9 patients) or severe spasticity (20 patients). The surgical technique used was the microsurgical D.R.

[Intracranial tumor developing from the vitelline sac. Apropos of a case].

The authors report a case of a primary intracranial yolk sac tumor which is a quite rare eventuality. The patient, an 18 months old girl was referred for severe intracranial hypertension. Neurological examination revealed a right hemiparesis, a left abducens nerve palsy and a bilateral papilledema.

[Neurosurgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia. Direct approach of percutaneous method?].

During the fifteen past years, the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia resistant to medical therapy has benefited from several neurosurgical techniques, either with percutaneous methods (RF-thermorhizotomy, cisternal injection of glycerol, balloon compression of the gasserian ganglion) or direct approach (microsurgical selective section of pars major, microvascular decompression). The respective advantages and disadvantages of these techniques are presented, both from the authors' experience (609 thermocoagulations, 150 direct approaches in the cerebello-pontine angle) and a review of some important series of the literature.

[Treatment of spastic foot by selective neurotomy of the tibial nerve. Results of a series of 31 cases].

A large number of patients suffering from various neurological diseases remain disabled because of spastic disorders in their foot. These disorders--which are responsible for abnormal postures and painful disturbances for walking and standing--can be corrected by an effective procedure: the so-called Selective Neurotomy of the Tibial Nerve (T.N.

Microsurgical selective procedures in peripheral nerves and the posterior root-spinal cord junction for spasticity.

This review deals with the long-term results of selective peripheral neurotomy (SPN) of the tibial nerve and selective posterior rhizotomy (SPR) in 123 cases of severe spastic syndromes in the limbs. The microtechniques and preoperative electrostimulation for identification of the nervous structures responsible for the spastic components give to these methods an advantage of a substantial reduction of the harmful spasticity, without suppressing the useful muscle tone and impairing the residual motor and sensory functions. The results were effective, with a 1- to 13-year follow-up, in 89% of 47 SPN of the tibial nerve for spastic foot, in 92% of 53 SPR for paraplegia and in 87% of 23 SPR for hemiplegia.