The meiotic driver utilizes controlled protein aggregation to generate selective cell death.

Meiotic drivers are parasitic loci that force their own transmission into greater than half of the offspring of a heterozygote. Many drivers have been identified, but their molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. The gene is a meiotic driver in that uses a poison-antidote mechanism to selectively kill meiotic products (spores) that do not inherit .

3D-printed Titanium Prosthetic Reconstruction of the C2 Vertebra: Techniques and Outcomes of Three Consecutive Cases.

Study Design: Three patients were treated at our center with patient-specific three-dimensional (3D)-printed titanium prostheses for the reconstruction of structurally compromised C2 vertebrae.

Objective: To describe our surgical and device design approach to these clinical scenarios and evaluate their outcomes.

Summary Of Background Data: There are a limited but increasing number of case reports and series describing the use of 3D-printed prostheses for high cervical surgery.

Attempted use of PACE for riboswitch discovery generates three new translational theophylline riboswitch side products.

Objective: The purpose of this project was to use an in vivo method to discover riboswitches that are activated by new ligands. We employed phage-assisted continuous evolution (PACE) to evolve new riboswitches in vivo. We started with one translational riboswitch and one transcriptional riboswitch, both of which were activated by theophylline.

Spontaneous peritoneal catheter knot formation: A rare cause of ventriculoperitoneal shunt malfunction.

Ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunting remains invaluable in the management of hydrocephalus. It is a common procedure that can be complicated by shunt malfunction due to infection, blockage and disconnection. Spontaneous peritoneal catheter knot formation causing CSF flow obstruction is a rare phenomenon.

Size and Location of Ruptured Intracranial Aneurysms: A 5-Year Clinical Survey.

Background: Prospective international cohort trials have suggested that incidental cerebral aneurysms with diameters less than 10 mm are unlikely to rupture. Consequently, small ruptured cerebral aneurysms should rarely be seen in clinical practice. To verify this theory, dimensions and locations of ruptured cerebral aneurysms were analyzed across the state of Tasmania, Australia.

Seat belt syndrome with unstable Chance fracture dislocation of the second lumbar vertebra without neurological deficits.

The seat belt syndrome is a recognised complication of seat belt use in vehicles. Unstable Chance fractures of the spine without neurological deficits have been reported infrequently. We describe a young woman with completely disrupted Chance fracture of the second lumbar vertebra in association with left hemidiaphragmatic rupture/hernia, multiple bowel perforations, splenic capsular tear, left humeral shaft and multiple rib fractures.

Successful treatment of negative pressure hydrocephalus using timely titrated external ventricular drainage: a case series.

Objective: Negative-pressure hydrocephalus (NegPH) is a rare clinical entity characterised by enlarged ventricles and symptoms consistent with increased intracranial pressure (ICP) in the setting of negative ICP. Little has been published regarding appropriate treatment and outcomes of negative-pressure hydrocephalus patients, and no data have been published demonstrating successful therapy producing acceptable long-term outcomes. Here we present 8 cases successfully treated by titrated external ventricular drainage (TEVD), including drainage at negative (subatmospheric) pressure, and subsequent low-pressure ventriculoperitoneal shunting.

A rare association of cerebral dural arteriovenous fistula with venous aneurysm and contralateral flow-related middle cerebral artery aneurysm.

The association of cerebral dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) and ipsilateral flow related aneurysm has infrequently been reported. We describe a male patient who presented with an acute haemorrhagic stroke and was found to have a large right fronto-parietal intra-parenchymal haemorrhage from the ruptured Borden type II DAVF in addition to a large venous aneurysm and a flow related intraosseous aneurysm of the contralateral middle meningeal artery (MMA) all clearly delineated by CT and DSA. He underwent emergency stereotactic evacuation of the intraparenchymal haemorrhage and successful surgical treatment of all the vascular lesions at the same time with residual neurological deficit.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome and neurofibromatosis type 1 with multiple neurofibromas of the entire spinal nerve roots.

The coexistence of polyneuropathy which has the definite clinical and electromyographical findings consistent with Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) syndrome and neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) has infrequently been reported. We describe a patient with both CMT and NF1, who had multiple neurofibromas involving the entire spinal neural axis. In addition, he had multiple neurofibromas distributed within the ileopsoas and gluteus muscles and subcutaneous tissues.

Intramedullary spinal cord metastases: a 20-year institutional experience with a comprehensive literature review.

Objectives: To review previous reports as well as our institutional experience to address the issues regarding patient management and also to assess the predisposing factors that might influence outcome and survival.

Methods: We undertook a 20-year (1989-2009) retrospective study of a series of eight patients diagnosed with intramedullary spinal cord metastases (ISCMs) in our institute. We further reviewed 293 cases of ISCMs reported in the English literature since 1960.

Atypical meningiomas--a case series.

Meningiomas, in particular the Atypical (grade 2), vary greatly in their behaviour and prognosis. Over a 19 year period, we operated on 169 meningiomas (on 86 patients) and of those, 9 cases of atypical meningiomas were found which met the 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) classification. The 9 patients represented 5.

An intraneural ganglion cyst causing unilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy.

Intracranial ganglion cysts are rare. We report a patient with a rare unilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy caused by an intraneural ganglion cyst. To our knowledge, there are only four reports of ganglion/synovial cysts causing unilateral hypoglossal nerve palsy.

Combined modality treatment of newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme in a regional neurosurgical centre.

The "local experience" of the Stupp protocol was examined in the treatment of patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) with particular emphasis given to the extent of surgical resection and its effect on survival. Thirty-one patients with newly diagnosed GBM who underwent combined modality treatment according to the Stupp protocol were assessed retrospectively. Variables assessed were the extent of surgery, size and site of the tumour, age and performance status.

Spontaneous regression of syringomyelia--review of the current aetiological theories and implications for surgery.

A number of hypotheses have been postulated to explain the development of syringomyelia associated with Chiari I malformation. However, the mechanism of syrinx development is still poorly understood. Furthermore, the outcomes of current surgical procedures have been variable.

Traumatic intracranial aneurysm: a brief review.

Traumatic intracranial aneurysms are uncommon and represent fewer than 1% of all cerebral aneurysms. They may develop after blunt or penetrating head injuries and can present both diagnostic challenges and surgical difficulties. Because traumatic aneurysms are fragile and prone to rupture, early diagnosis with cerebral angiography and prompt treatment are essential.

Ventriculoperitoneal shunt blockage due to spontaneous knot formation in the peritoneal catheter. Case report.

The authors report the third case of ventriculoperitoneal shunt blockage due to spontaneous knot formation in the peritoneal catheter that had been placed in a 3.5-year-old boy 8 months earlier. On surgical exploration a double knot was found 10 cm from the distal end of the peritoneal catheter.

Solitary choroid plexus metastasis from carcinoma of the oesophagus.

Metastatic tumors to the brain presenting exclusively in the choroid plexus are rare and are most frequently associated with renal cell carcinoma. In this paper, the authors report an unusual case of intraventricular metastasis, and to the authors' knowledge, this is the first case of solitary metastasis from oesophageal carcinoma to the choroid plexus to be described in the literature. Metastatic disease is an important differential diagnosis which must be considered even for a patient without a documented primary malignancy who presents with a single lesion in the ventricle.

Traumatic carotid artery-cavernous sinus fistula treated with a covered stent. Report of two cases.

The authors describe the cases of two patients with unilateral traumatic caroticocavernous fistulas in whom a self-expanding covered stent was successfully used to obliterate the fistula after failed occlusion with detachable balloons and coils. They discuss this option as a primary therapeutic modality in cases in which detachable balloons or coils, with or without a bare stent, have failed to obliterate the fistula. The placement of a covered stent to occlude the lesion from the outset may represent a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of these lesions.