Combining 5-Aminolevulinic Acid Fluorescence and Intraoperative Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Glioblastoma Surgery: A Histology-Based Evaluation.

Background: Glioblastoma resection guided by 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) fluorescence and intraoperative magnetic resonance imaging (iMRI) may improve surgical results and prolong survival.

Objective: To evaluate 5-ALA fluorescence combined with subsequent low-field iMRI for resection control in glioblastoma surgery.

Methods: Fourteen patients with suspected glioblastoma suitable for complete resection of contrast-enhancing portions were enrolled.

Preoperative C-reactive protein predicts the need for repeated intracerebral brain abscess drainage.

Background: To determine predicting factors for repeated surgical drainage in patients with intracerebral brain abscesses.

Methods: Patients operated between 01/2008 and 10/2013 with a single-burr-hole technique to drain an intracerebral brain abscess were included from our prospective database. Clinical and radiological characteristics were analyzed retrospectively and compared between patients requiring a single surgical abscess drainage (S group) vs.

Olfactory improvement in acromegaly after transnasal transsphenoidal surgery.

Object: The direct transnasal transsphenoidal approach to the sellar region has become a widely adopted surgical procedure among neurosurgeons and ear, nose, and throat specialists. Nasal complications and their incidence have been investigated, but a systematic testing of olfactory disturbance has not previously been performed. Considering that the sense of smell is deeply anchored and interwoven within the CNS, and that its impairment implies a considerable loss in quality of life, surgical practice should aim at its preservation.

Comprehensive analysis of genomic alterations in gliosarcoma and its two tissue components.

Gliosarcoma is a variant of glioblastoma multiforme characterized by two components displaying gliomatous or sarcomatous differentiation. We investigated 38 gliosarcomas for aberrations of tumor-suppressor genes and proto-oncogenes that are commonly altered in glioblastomas. Amplification of CDK4, MDM2, EGFR, and PDGFRA were found in 11% (4/35), 8% (3/38), 8% (3/38), and 3% (1/35) of the tumors, respectively.