Nutritional Status and Body Composition of Adult Patients with Brain Tumours Awaiting Surgical Resection.

Purpose: To measure the prevalence of malnutrition, risk factors for poor dietary intake and body composition in patients with brain tumours admitted to hospital for surgical resection.

Methods: In this study, 316 patients admitted for brain tumour resection to the Neurosurgical service at St. Michael's Hospital were screened.

Diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers of a sellar melanocytic tumor mimicking pituitary adenoma: Case report and literature review.

Primary or metastatic melanocytic tumors in the sellar region are rare and can pose a diagnostic challenge. Here we describe a case of a 74-year-old man who underwent radiological investigations for a transient episode of blurred vision. Based on the clinical and endocrinological findings and MRI results, the patient was assumed to have a clinically non-functioning pituitary macroadenoma, which was followed-up over a 2-year period.

Autophagy in endocrine tumors.

Autophagy is an important intracellular process involving the degradation of cytoplasmic components. It is involved in both physiological and pathological conditions, including cancer. The role of autophagy in cancer is described as a 'double-edged sword,' a term that reflects its known participation in tumor suppression, tumor survival and tumor cell proliferation.

Traumatic brain injury, driver aggression and motor vehicle collisions in Canadian adults.

Objective: This study examines the associations between lifetime traumatic brain injury (TBI), driver aggression, and motor vehicle collisions among a population sample of adults who reside in the province of Ontario, Canada.

Method: A cross-sectional sample of 3993 Ontario adults, aged 18-97 were surveyed by telephone in 2011 and 2012 as part of Center for Addiction and Mental Health's ongoing representative survey of adult mental health and substance use in Canada. TBI was defined as trauma to the head that resulted in loss of consciousness for at least five minutes or overnight hospitalization.

A comparison of head dynamic response and brain tissue stress and strain using accident reconstructions for concussion, concussion with persistent postconcussive symptoms, and subdural hematoma.

Object: Concussions typically resolve within several days, but in a few cases the symptoms last for a month or longer and are termed persistent postconcussive symptoms (PPCS). These persisting symptoms may also be associated with more serious brain trauma similar to subdural hematoma (SDH). The objective of this study was to investigate the head dynamic and brain tissue responses of injury reconstructions resulting in concussion, PPCS, and SDH.

Association of the APOE-ε4 allele with outcome of traumatic brain injury in children and youth: a meta-analysis and meta-regression.

Objective: To disentangle the temporal relationship between the APOE-ε4 allele and outcomes of paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, MEDLINE, PsychINFO and HuGE Navigator Genopedia databases were searched from their inception up to January 2015 without language limitations. Included studies were analysed under a dominant genetic model to assess the association between the APOE-ε4 allele and poor outcomes of paediatric TBI at 6 months.

The dynamic response characteristics of traumatic brain injury.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) continues to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. Research has been undertaken in order to better understand the characteristics of the injury event and measure the risk of injury to develop more effective environmental, technological, and clinical management strategies. This research used methods that have limited applications to predicting human responses.

Osteomalacia-Inducing Tumors of the Brain: A Case Report, Review and a Hypothesis.

Background: Osteomalacia-inducing tumors (OIT) are mesenchymal tumors that characteristically secrete fibroblast growth factor 23, resulting in a paraneoplastic syndrome of hypophosphatemic osteomalacia. These tumors are known to occur in soft tissues and bones in various sites. It is very unusual for OITs to occur intracranially, with only 10 reported intracranial cases since their discovery in 1959.

Invasive, atypical and aggressive pituitary adenomas and carcinomas.

Aggressive pituitary adenomas have a high risk of recurrence, a lack of therapeutic response, and resistance to conventional treatment. So far, no satisfactory biomarkers are available for predicting their behavior. Some specific pituitary adenoma histotypes are more prone to follow an aggressive behavior.

Treatment of invasive silent somatotroph pituitary adenoma with temozolomide. Report of a case and review of the literature.

Improved imaging techniques have contributed to increased diagnosis of pituitary tumors. These tumor types can be microadenomas or macroadenomas and can either be functional or non-functional. Atypical or aggressive pituitary adenomas are tumors that rapidly increase in size and may invade into the suprasellar or parasellar regions.

Long-Term Health Service Outcomes Among Women With Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objectives: To (1) assess long-term health care service utilization and satisfaction with health care services among women with traumatic brain injury (W-TBI); (2) examine barriers that prevent W-TBI from receiving care when needed; and (3) understand the perceived supports available for W-TBI.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting: Community.

Implementation of an all-ages mandatory helmet policy for ice skating.

Ice skaters sustain a significant number of head injuries each winter. We are the first to implement an all-ages helmet policy at a university-based Canadian arena. We report our experience from a cross-sectional observational study as well as the policy's consequences on helmet use and skating participation.

Endoscopic versus microscopic approach for surgical treatment of acromegaly.

Transsphenoidal surgery in the setting of acromegaly is quite challenging due to increased soft tissue mass, bony overgrowth, and bleeding. There is a debate on the endoscopic versus microscopic approach for these patients. The purpose of our study is to compare the outcomes for acromegaly after transsphenoidal surgery using both techniques.

Crooke's cell tumors of the pituitary.

Crooke's cell adenomas are a rare type of pituitary neoplasm. They produce adrenocorticotropic hormone causing Cushing's disease or may be endocrinologically silent. These tumors are usually invasive, may exhibit aggressive clinical behavior, and often recur with a low success of cure after reoperation and/or radiotherapy.

Severity of urban cycling injuries and the relationship with personal, trip, route and crash characteristics: analyses using four severity metrics.

Objective: To examine the relationship between cycling injury severity and personal, trip, route and crash characteristics.

Methods: Data from a previous study of injury risk, conducted in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada, were used to classify injury severity using four metrics: (1) did not continue trip by bike; (2) transported to hospital by ambulance; (3) admitted to hospital; and (4) Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale (CTAS). Multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations with personal, trip, route and crash characteristics.

Single cell-derived clonal analysis of human glioblastoma links functional and genomic heterogeneity.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is a cancer comprised of morphologically, genetically, and phenotypically diverse cells. However, an understanding of the functional significance of intratumoral heterogeneity is lacking. We devised a method to isolate and functionally profile tumorigenic clones from patient glioblastoma samples.

Human kallikrein 10 in surgically removed human pituitary adenomas.

Objective: Human kallikrein-like peptidase 10 (KLK10), a serine protease, plays an important role in the regulation of cell proliferation and tumor growth. In this work, we investigated KLK10 immunoexpression in various types of surgically removed human pituitary tumors.

Design: Specimens were fixed in formalin and embedded in paraffin.

Image-guided, intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IG-IMRT) for skull base chordoma and chondrosarcoma: preliminary outcomes.

Background: We report our preliminary outcomes following high-dose image-guided intensity modulated radiotherapy (IG-IMRT) for skull base chordoma and chondrosarcoma.

Methods: Forty-two consecutive IG-IMRT patients, with either skull base chordoma (n = 24) or chondrosarcoma (n = 18) treated between August 2001 and December 2012 were reviewed. The median follow-up was 36 months (range, 3-90 mo) in the chordoma cohort, and 67 months (range, 15-125) in the chondrosarcoma cohort.

Traumatic brain injuries: the influence of the direction of impact.

Background: Head impact direction has been identified as an influential risk factor in the risk of traumatic brain injury (TBI) from animal and anatomic research; however, to date, there has been little investigation into this relationship in human subjects. If a susceptibility to certain types of TBI based on impact direction was found to exist in humans, it would aid in clinical diagnoses as well as prevention methods for these types of injuries.

Objective: To examine the influence of impact direction on the presence of TBI lesions, specifically, subdural hematomas, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and parenchymal contusions.

Computational analyses of arteriovenous malformations in neuroimaging.

Computational models have been investigated for the analysis of the physiopathology and morphology of arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in recent years. Special emphasis has been given to image fusion in multimodal imaging and 3-dimensional rendering of the AVM, with the aim to improve the visualization of the lesion (for diagnostic purposes) and the selection of the nidus (for therapeutic aims, like the selection of the region of interest for the gamma knife radiosurgery plan). Searching for new diagnostic and prognostic neuroimaging biomarkers, fractal-based computational models have been proposed for describing and quantifying the angioarchitecture of the nidus.

Human kallikrein 10 expression in surgically removed human pituitary corticotroph adenomas: an immunohistochemical study.

Human kallikrein 10 (hk10), a secreted serine protease, was reported to function as a tumor suppressor. hK10 immunoexpression has been demonstrated in lactrotrophs and corticotrophs of the nontumorous human adenohypophysis. In the present study, for the first time we report hK10 immunoexpression in various surgically removed corticotroph adenoma subtypes.

Current status on histological classification in Cushing's disease.

Introduction: Managing Cushing's disease remains a challenge. Surgery is the first option of treatment and it offers a high success rate. Even in cases where biochemical remission is not achieved, it is crucial to obtain surgical tissue for morphological diagnosis because the therapeutic approach can be modified according to the findings.

Associations between a History of Traumatic Brain Injuries and Current Cigarette Smoking, Substance Use, and Elevated Psychological Distress in a Population Sample of Canadian Adults.

This study describes the prevalence of reported history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and its association with reports of current substance use, cigarette smoking, and psychological distress among Canadian adults in a population sample. A cross-sectional sample of 1999 Ontario adults 18-93 years of age were surveyed by telephone in 2011 as part of the Center for Addiction and Mental Health's ongoing representative survey of adult mental health and substance use in Ontario, Canada. Loss of consciousness for at least 5 min or at least one overnight hospitalization resulting from symptoms associated with the TBI injury represented minimum criteria for TBI.

A polycarboxylic/amino functionalized hyaluronic acid derivative for the production of pH sensible hydrogels in the prevention of bacterial adhesion on biomedical surfaces.

A graft copolymer derivative of hyaluronic acid bearing pendant amino and short polymethacrylate portions (HA-EDA-BMP-MANa) has been employed for the production of a pH sensible vancomycin releasing hydrogel and studied in vitro to test its potential anti adhesive property against Staphylococcus aureus colonization. The copolymer obtained through atom transfer radical polymerization bears chargeable (carboxyl and amino groups) portions and it could be formulated as a hydrogel at a concentration of 10%w/v. The HA-EDA-BMP-MANa hydrogels, produced at three different pH values (5, 6 and 7, respectively), were formulated with or without the addition of vancomycin (2%w/v).

Endoscopic transphenoidal surgery for acromegaly improves quality of life.

Background: Acromegaly has important effects on quality of life (QOL). This is the first study to measure QOL in acromegalic patients after endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery (ETSS).

Methods: We prospectively collected the RAND-36, Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D), and Pituitary QOL validated questionnaires and patients' demographics, clinical presentation, endocrine laboratory results, radiological studies, development of complications and remission rates from 20 consecutive acromegalic patients who had undergone endoscopic transphenoidal surgery.