Publications by authors named "Alejandro Berenstein"

Article Synopsis
  • * Over a 9-year period, TU access was successfully achieved in 95% of attempts without complications, with a median retreatment interval of 7 months for those needing femoral artery access later.
  • * The research supports the TU approach as a safe and effective option in neonatal neurointerventions, contributing to its acceptance as a preferred method for managing complex vascular conditions in infants.
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Article Synopsis
  • Vein of Galen malformations are congenital issues treated mainly through endovascular embolization, but challenges arise in patients with venous blockages that can lead to complications.
  • A study reviewed pediatric cases where an intracranial venous sinus stent was used to enhance blood flow following transvenous embolization, improving outcomes.
  • Results showed that all three patients experienced successful treatment with normal venous drainage post-procedure, although one had a temporary nerve issue unrelated to the stent.
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High-flow vascular malformations in neonates may require emergent embolization to prevent or treat congestive heart failure when intervention is indicated.1 While transfemoral access is the traditional approach, this route may be complicated by the sheath size (typically 4F in our experience, as a smaller sheath system may prove suboptimal) needed for embolization. This is especially true when (1) multiple acute interventions are anticipated during the neonatal period and/or (2) when it is preferred to spare femoral access for future treatments in infancy or childhood.

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  • Endovascular embolization is used as a supportive treatment for meningioma surgery, but evaluating its effectiveness is complicated because MRI scans are done before embolization and after the tumor is removed.
  • Researchers conducted a study using preoperative MRI after embolization to better measure how effective the procedure was, grading the extent of tumor devascularization and analyzing differences based on tumor location and blood supply.
  • The study found that the degree of devascularization correlated well with the volumetric extent of embolization, providing a clearer and more quantifiable way to assess the effectiveness of embolization before surgery.
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  • Preoperative embolization is an endovascular procedure that helps in the surgical removal of meningiomas but lacks a standardized system to measure its effectiveness during the procedure.
  • Researchers developed an angiographic grading system to help assess and report the level of tumor devascularization achieved through this process, involving a scale from 0 (no embolization) to 4 (complete embolization).
  • Analysis of data from 80 patients revealed that tumor location and the type of arterial feeders significantly influenced the success of embolization, with certain tumor types showing higher devascularization grades and a low complication rate of 2.5%.*
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Article Synopsis
  • - Significant advancements in diagnosing and managing vein of Galen malformations (VOGMs) have been made in recent decades.
  • - Primary treatment methods include staged transarterial embolizations, along with transvenous embolization, medical therapy, and possibly neurosurgery for symptom control in certain patients.
  • - New technologies in endovascular techniques and emerging genomic research are providing hope for better therapeutic options in the future treatment of VOGMs.
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Brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVMs) are complex, and rare arteriovenous shunts that present with a wide range of signs and symptoms, with intracerebral hemorrhage being the most severe. Despite prior societal position statements, there is no consensus on the management of these lesions. ARISE (Aneurysm/bAVM/cSDH Roundtable Discussion With Industry and Stroke Experts) was convened to discuss evidence-based approaches and enhance our understanding of these complex lesions.

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Patients with vein of Galen malformations (VOGMs) can develop fine angiogenic networks with fistulous connections to the precursor of the vein of Galen. In these cases, transarterial embolization (TAE) with liquid embolic agents (LEAs) is challenging due to reflux in the pedicle leading to the network, causing poor penetration. Transvenous approaches carry a risk of hemorrhage from pathologic vasculature.

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To elucidate the pathogenesis of vein of Galen malformations (VOGMs), the most common and most severe of congenital brain arteriovenous malformations, we performed an integrated analysis of 310 VOGM proband-family exomes and 336,326 human cerebrovasculature single-cell transcriptomes. We found the Ras suppressor p120 RasGAP (RASA1) harbored a genome-wide significant burden of loss-of-function de novo variants (2042.5-fold, p = 4.

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Endovascular embolization is the first-line therapy for dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs). Transarterial embolization (TAE) may be limited by poor anatomical access. Transvenous embolization avoids this, but carries a risk of hemorrhage, venous redirection, and neurologic deterioration.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study focused on understanding vein of Galen malformations (VOGMs), which are severe congenital brain abnormalities, by analyzing the genetic data from 310 affected individuals and their families, as well as a large database of human cerebrovascular cells.
  • Researchers identified significant genetic mutations, particularly in the gene p120 RasGAP and the Ephrin receptor-B4, which play roles in limiting Ras activation and are key to VOGM development.
  • Experiments on mice with specific genetic alterations revealed that abnormal activation of signaling pathways in endothelial cells leads to developmental issues in blood vessel formation, providing insights into both the biology of VOGMs and potential clinical applications for treatment.
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Introduction: Staged, transarterial embolization (TAE) is currently considered the gold standard for the treatment of vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation (VGAM); however, as transarterial access becomes restricted, further staged TAE may become ineffective or carry an increased risk of hemorrhagic or ischemic stroke when attempting complete obliteration.

Objective: To describe the first consecutive, retrospective series of VGAM treated with transvenous embolization (TVE) with coils alone, as the final treatment in staged endovascular therapy, at a single institution between January 2004 and September 2021.

Results: A total of 10 patients with a median age of 5.

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Background: Vessel tortuosity poses a challenge during endovascular treatment of neurovascular lesions. Bendit Technologies (Petah Tikva, Israel) has developed flexible, steerable microcatheters designed with unique bending and torquing capabilities.

Objective: To describe our first-in-human trial of Bendit21.

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Background: Treatment of vein of Galen malformations (VOGMs) has improved greatly since the inception of endovascular treatment. Transvenous embolization (TVE) is an attractive option to achieve complete obliteration.

Objective: To review the literature on TVE of VOGM and then analyze our practice's unique experience and evolving treatment strategies over 30 years.

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Endovascular embolization is the mainstay for treatment of infantile dural sinus malformations.1 2 Distal access and flow control are limiting factors in controlled embolization.3-6 The Scepter mini catheter (Microvention, Aliso Viejo, California, USA) is a low-profile, dual-lumen balloon microcatheter designed to provide navigability in small-caliber, tortuous intracranial vessels.

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Background: In the last few decades there has been development of innovative therapies for the treatment of craniofacial lymphatic malformations. Percutaneous sclerotherapy has demonstrated efficacy in the management of macrocystic lymphatic lesions, but it is less suitable for microcystic lesions given their size. The gravity-dependent technique is a novel augmentation of standard percutaneous sclerotherapy: the technique enables a sclerosing agent to permeate the small microchannels seen in microcystic lesions that would otherwise be difficult to treat.

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Background: Endovascular treatment of intracranial vascular diseases, such as aneurysms, is often challenged by unfavorable vascular anatomy. The Bendit Steerable Microcatheter (Bendit Technologies, Tel Aviv, Israel) has bending and torqueing capabilities designed to improve navigation and stability during device delivery, with or without a guidewire. We describe our preclinical experience with the Bendit 17 and Bendit 21 microcatheters in a rabbit aneurysm model.

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Background: Middle meningeal artery (MMA) embolization has been recognized as a promising treatment for patients with subdural hematoma (SDH).

Objective: To present the technical feasibility and efficacy of n-butyl cyanoacrylate (n-BCA) embolization in the largest consecutive cohort to date.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed our consecutive cases of recurrent SDH treated with MMA embolization using diluted n-BCA with the "sugar rush" technique.

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Multiple de novo brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) have been reported in the literature, raising questions about the contended purely congenital nature of these lesions. We present the 15-year course of a pediatric patient, who initially presented at age 5 with a thalamic cavernous malformation and was treated with radiosurgery, and then subsequently developed a thalamic de novo bAVM immediately adjacent to the initial lesion location, discovered 2 years later. Treatment of the bAVM entailed two transarterial embolizations and one radiosurgery session which ultimately led to complete angiographic resolution.

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Methods: Two patients, one 5-year-old and one 7-year-old, both presented with congestive heart failure in the newborn period and were subsequently treated in the newborn period with multiple, staged TAEs with n-BCA for choroidal VGAMs.

Results: We achieved progressive reduction in shunting and flow but were unable to accomplish complete closure of the malformation: in both patients, a small residual with numerous perforators persisted. The decision was made to perform TVE using the CHPC.

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Introduction: Appropriate treatment of scalp arteriovenous malformations (SAVMs) remains largely unclear given the rarity of reported cases. This single-institution case series presents consecutive patients with extracranial SAVMs and long-term follow up.The primary aim of this study was to review treatment decisions, evaluate clinical outcomes, and compare our experience to available literature in order to better understand SAVMs and improve future outcomes.

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Background: Achieving distal access and flow control are of significant importance for the treatment of intracerebral arteriovenous shunting lesions. The Scepter Mini catheter is a low-profile, dual-lumen balloon catheter, designed to provide navigability in small-caliber, tortuous intracranial vessels.

Objective: To describe the initial experience of the Scepter Mini catheter in the treatment of pediatric arteriovenous malformations and fistulas.

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Vein of Galen aneurysmal malformation (VGAM) is a rare anomaly associated with poor outcomes from high output cardiac failure and neurologic complications. Studies addressing fetal cardiovascular status and outcomes in this population are limited. A single-center retrospective review was conducted on patients with a prenatal diagnosis of VGAM who underwent a fetal echocardiogram between January 2015 and July 2019.

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