Prediction of quality of life improvements in patients with lumbar stenosis following use of membrane stabilizing agents.

Objective: Membrane stabilizing agents (MSAs) improves function and reduces neuropathic pain in a subset of patients with LSS. No study has investigated the pre-treatment demographic and psychosocial factors associated with quality of life (QOL) outcomes following the use of MSAs. In this study we sought to create prediction models for post-treatment outcome.

The temporal association of sphenoid sinus mucosal thickening on MR imaging with pituitary apoplexy.

Aim: Pituitary apoplexy is an infrequent but potentially devastating complication in patients with pituitary adenomas. Previous studies have cited an association between MR visualized sphenoid sinus mucosal thickening and apoplexy. However, uncertainties still remain on the significance and temporal association of this finding with pituitary apoplexy.

Wisconsin Spine Outcome Study-Pilot: preliminary data.

Object: Given the pragmatic difficulties in developing randomized controlled trials in patients with disorders of the spine, the Wisconsin Spine Outcome Group has adopted the use of a prospective registry design to perform comparative effectiveness research on treatments for degenerative lumbar disorders. The goal of the Wisconsin Spine Outcome Study-Pilot (WISPOS-P) was to establish a Web-based, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act-compliant registry and to implement a patient registration paradigm that demonstrates at least 80% compliance in collecting pre- and posttreatment data in patients with lumbar disorders, regardless of the treatment they receive. The primary outcome measures were the percentage of patients with lumbar spine disorders who completed a Web-based survey preappointment, and at 1 and 3 months postappointment; the percentage of patients receiving a physician-assigned diagnosis in the registry; and the success of electronic data transition from the Web-based interface to a locally controlled registry.

Evaluation of cancer stem cell migration using compartmentalizing microfluidic devices and live cell imaging.

In the last 40 years, the United States invested over 200 billion dollars on cancer research, resulting in only a 5% decrease in death rate. A major obstacle for improving patient outcomes is the poor understanding of mechanisms underlying cellular migration associated with aggressive cancer cell invasion, metastasis and therapeutic resistance. Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most prevalent primary malignant adult brain tumor, exemplifies this difficulty.

Microfluidics-based devices: New tools for studying cancer and cancer stem cell migration.

Cell movement is highly sensitive to stimuli from the extracellular matrix and media. Receptors on the plasma membrane in cells can activate signal transduction pathways that change the mechanical behavior of a cell by reorganizing motion-related organelles. Cancer cells change their migration mechanisms in response to different environments more robustly than noncancer cells.

Superficial vascular anatomy of the medial prefrontal cortex: an anatomical study.

Background: Superficial vascular anatomy of the medial prefrontal cortex, which is exposed after craniotomy for the anterior interhemispheric approach, has received little attention in the anatomy literature. This study focuses on the precise vascular anatomy of the medial part of the prefrontal cortex and provides more detailed information for surgery.

Methods: Five adult cadaveric heads were used in this study.