Characterization of volumetric growth of intracranial meningiomas in Māori and Pasifika populations in New Zealand.

Background: Māori and Pasifika populations in New Zealand have a higher incidence and prevalence of intracranial meningioma (IM). We sought to evaluate the volumetric growth rate of meningiomas under surveillance in these populations.

Methods: From July 2002 to October 2020, 336 patients with a total of 408 IM underwent conservative management with serial radiological surveillance at Auckland City Hospital and met the criteria for the study.

The epidemiology of patients undergoing meningioma resection in Auckland, New Zealand, 2002 to 2011.

The incidence of meningioma is known to vary by gender and ethnicity. This study aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics of a 10-year cohort of patients undergoing meningioma resection at Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand. Of particular interest was whether there was any difference in meningioma incidence and recurrence rates between New Zealand Maori and Pacific Island patients compared with other ethnic groups.

Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome is a severe childhood epilepsy syndrome characterised by the diagnostic triad of a slow spike and wave pattern on electroencephalogram, multiple seizure types and developmental delay. Idiopathic intracranial hypertension is a syndrome characterised by raised cerebrospinal fluid pressure in the absence of an intracranial mass lesion or ventricular dilatation and often headache. We present the first reported case of Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome associated with symptomatic idiopathic intracranial hypertension in a 15 year old male, requiring cerebrospinal fluid diversion by means of ventriculoperitoneal shunting.

Ventricular catheter placement accuracy in non-stereotactic shunt surgery for hydrocephalus.

We aimed to compare the accuracy of different shunt catheter approaches to the lateral ventricle in adults with hydrocephalus. We conducted a retrospective review of 138 consecutive patients with hydrocephalus undergoing freehand initial shunt surgery. Of these, 79 had a post-operative brain scan and therefore the results were available for analysis.

Acute hydrocephalus secondary to herpes simplex type II meningitis.

A 34-year-old woman presented with a rapid onset of meningitic symptoms. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from a lumbar puncture revealed a leucocytosis with a preponderance of monocytes, elevated protein and reduced glucose. Herpes simplex virus (HSV) type II was subsequently confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of CSF.

Ventricular catheter trajectories from traditional shunt approaches: a morphometric study in adults with hydrocephalus.

Object: The purpose of this study was to compare the margins of error of different shunt catheter approaches to the lateral ventricle and assess surface anatomical aiming landmarks for free-hand ventricular catheter insertion in adult patients with hydrocephalus.

Methods: Four adults who had undergone stereotactic brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and had normal ventricles, and 7 prospectively recruited adult patients with acute hydrocephalus were selected for inclusion in this study. Reconstructed MR images obtained prior to surgical intervention were geometrically analyzed with regard to frontal, parietal, and parietooccipital (occipital) approaches in both hemispheres.

A survey of surgical techniques for catheterising the cerebral lateral ventricles.

The objective of this paper is to characterise the frequency of different surgical techniques for targeting the lateral ventricle in shunt surgery and the attitudes of Australasian neurosurgeons and advanced neurosurgical trainees to stereotactic adjuncts. Secondarily, we aim to learn from and collate the practical experiences of neurosurgeons for those attempting to improve their operative success. A survey of all practising and training members of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia (NSA) was conducted.

Wnt pathway inhibitors are strongly down-regulated in pituitary tumors.

The etiology of sporadic pituitary tumors is currently unknown. The Wnt pathways have been implicated in the pathogenesis of a variety of human tumors, but the role of these pathways in pituitary tumors is unclear. Microarray analysis using the Affymetrix HG U133 plus 2.

Paediatric central nervous system tumours in a New Zealand population: a 10-year experience of epidemiology, management strategies and outcomes.

We analysed 166 cases of paediatric central nervous system tumour presenting to Auckland City and Starship Children's Hospital, New Zealand, between 1995 and 2004. The purpose of this study was to perform an audit of paediatric neurosurgical practice in the upper North Island of New Zealand with the objective of assessing patient presentation, demographics, and modality and efficacy of therapy. The overall incidence of central nervous system tumours was 3.

Primary glioblastomas and anaplastic astrocytoma in a glioma family.

A 72-year-old man presented with a short duration of symptoms relating to a right fronto-parietal glioblastoma and a family history of children with brain tumours. Analysis of the patient's family tree revealed that out of seven children, he had a living son with anaplastic astrocytoma, a daughter who had died with a glioblastoma, and a son who had died with a histologically undiagnosed intrinsic brain tumour. One niece was also thought to have died from a brain tumour.

Encephalocoele-- epidemiological variance in New Zealand.

Considerable variation in the epidemiology of encephalocoeles throughout the world has been described in previous studies. We analysed 46 cases of encephalocoele presenting to Auckland and Starship Children's Hospital over the last 25 years to determine if our experience differed from that seen in a typical Western population, and to determine if there was variation between the different racial groups within New Zealand. The overall incidence of encephalocoeles in the area serviced by the neurosurgical services of Auckland and Starship Children's Hospitals was 1 in 13,418 births.

Acute transient cerebellar dysfunction and stuttering following mild closed head injury.

Introduction: A wide range of pathologies can cause cerebellar dysfunction but there have been few reports of transient dysfunction after mild head injury. There are none describing stuttering as an acute symptom after such injuries.

Case Report: We report a 12-year-old boy who presented with headache, stuttering speech and truncal and bilateral peripheral cerebellar dysfunction after falling prone from his skateboard.

Spontaneous spinal hematomas and low-molecular-weight heparin. Report of four cases and review of the literature.

The purpose of this article is to raise awareness of spontaneous spinal hematomas that develop after administration of low-molecular-weight heparin therapy. The authors describe four patients in whom these hematomas developed without precipitating events while receiving a treatment dose of enoxaparin (Clexane) (approximately 1 mg/kg). Spontaneous spinal hematomas (not related to trauma, surgery, or lumbar puncture) are a rare clinical entity.