Lumbar Facet Effusions and Other Degeneration Parameters and Its Association with Instability.

Background: Controversy exists in the literature about whether facet effusions and other degeneration parameters are associated with instability.

Objective: To assess the association between facet effusions and other lumbar degeneration parameters and segmental instability.

Material And Methods: In this study, 207 L4-L5 and L5-S1 levels in 104 patients were assessed.

Unsuccessful pulsed radiofrequency of the sphenopalatine ganglion in patients with chronic cluster headache and subsequent successful thermocoagulation.

We present the results of pulsed and continuous radiofrequency (CRF) of the sphenopalatine ganglion in a case series of 3 patients with chronic cluster headache (CCH). Three patients were referred to our neurosurgical department because of CCH, which was refractory to pharmacological treatment. They underwent pulsed radiofrequency of the sphenopalatine ganglion (PRF-SPG), and the procedure was performed through an infrazygomatic approach.

[The use of neuromodulation for the treatment of tremor].

Background: Tremor may be a disabling disorder and pharmacologic treatment is the first-line therapy for these patients. Nevertheless, this treatment may lead to a satisfactory tremor reduction in only 50% of patients with essential tremor. Thalamotomy was the treatment of choice for tremor refractory to medical therapy until deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the ventral intermedius nucleus (Vim) of the thalamus has started being used.

[Surgery for behavioral disorders: the state of the art].

Background: Surgery for behavioral disorders (SBD) is becoming a more common treatment since the development of neuromodulation techniques.

Methods: This article is a non-systematic review of the history, current indications, techniques and surgical targets of SBD. We divide its history into 3 eras: the first era starts in the beginning of psychosurgery and finishes with the development of stereotactic techniques, when the second one starts.

Is spinal cord stimulation safe? A review of its complications.

Objective: We aim to evaluate the complications of spinal cord stimulation (SCS).

Methods: This article is a nonsystematic review of literature about the safety of SCS. The complications of this technique are described, focusing the analysis in their prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

Dorsal column stimulator applications.

Background: Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been used to treat neuropathic pain since 1967. Following that, technological progress, among other advances, helped SCS become an effective tool to reduce pain.

Methods: This article is a non-systematic review of the mechanism of action, indications, results, programming parameters, complications, and cost-effectiveness of SCS.

Multicentric extramedullary myxopapillary ependymomas: Two case reports and literature review.

Background: Ependymoma has been described typically as an intramedullary tumor derived from ependymal cells. Intradural extramedullary presentation is rarely described and almost always as a unique lesion. Myxopapillary ependymoma is a histological variant that distinguishes from the ordinary type of ependymoma because of its generally better prognosis.

Epilepsy due to a temporal ganglioglioma and its subsequent malignant transformation into a primitive neuroectodermal tumor.

Background: Gangliogliomas (GGs) are rare brain tumors, and their malignant changes are still less frequent. In these cases, almost always the malignant component is the glial one. However, there are few cases in which the neuronal component exhibits malignant transformation.

Ectopic prolactinoma within the sphenoidal sinus associated with empty sella.

Background: Pituitary adenomas are a common cause of endocrinal dysfunction, which comprise 10-20% of all intracranial tumors. Although almost all of them arise within the sella turcica, there are some rare cases in which a pituitary adenoma is located outside the intrasellar region, so it is defined as an ectopic pituitary adenoma (EPA).

Case Description: We described a case of a 31-year-old male with a serum prolactin (PRL) value of 240 ng/ml Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a space-occupying mass within the sphenoid sinus (SS) which partially enhanced by gadolinium.

Supratentorial and infratentorial brain abscesses: surgical treatment, complications and outcomes--a 10-year single-center study.

Objective: To analyze the variables determining morbidity, mortality and outcome in subjects with brain abscesses treated at a single center over a 10-year period.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on a series of 59 patients with brain abscesses surgically treated with stereotactically guided aspiration or open craniotomy excision. Such variables as age, gender, clinical presentation, number of days to diagnosis, location, number of lesions, predisposing factors, mechanism of infection, etiological agent, and therapy were analyzed independently.

[Tension sellar pneumocele: A case report and review of the literature].

Background: Tension pneumocephalus is uncommon after transsphenoidal surgery. There are only few cases reported in the literature in which the air was located at the sellar region exclusively, constituting a sellar pneumocele. In this article, an unusual case of a late onset tension sellar pneumocele is reported.

Sternberg's canal as a cause of encephalocele within the lateral recess of the sphenoid sinus: A report of two cases.

Background: Intrasphenoidal encephaloceles are extremely rare findings. Sternberg's canal is a lateral craniopharyngeal canal resulting from incomplete fusion of the greater wings of the sphenoid bone with the basisphenoid. It acts as a weak spot of the skull base, which may lead to develop a temporal lobe encephalocele protruding into the lateral recess of the sphenoid sinus (SS).