Prognostic significance of telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter gen mutations in high grade meningiomas.

Introduction: Mutations in the promoter region of telomerase reverse transcriptase occur frequently in meningiomas. Objective: To estimate the prognostic importance of telomerase reverse transcriptase mutations in Colombian patients with grades II and III meningioma. Materials and methods: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with refractory or recurrent WHO grades II and III meningiomas, recruited between 2011 and 2018, and treated with systemic therapy (sunitinib, everolimus ± octreotide, and bevacizumab).

Ventriculo-atrial shunt. Comparison of an ultrasound-guided peel-away technique versus conventional technique in the management of normal pressure hydrocephalus: A retrospective cohort.

Background: Normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) is a common neurodegenerative syndrome among the elderly characterized by ventriculomegaly and the classic triad of symmetric gait disturbance, cognitive decline and urinary incontinence. To date, the only effective treatment is a cerebrospinal fluid shunting procedure that can either be ventriculo-atrial, ventriculo-peritoneal, or lumbo-peritoneal shunt. The conventional ventriculo-atrial shunt uses venodissection, whereas the peel-away is a percutaneous ultrasound (US)-guided technique that shows some advantages over conventional technique.

Salomón Hakim, MD (1922-2011): A honeymoon with Neurosurgery.

Salomón Hakim (1922-2011) was a Colombian neurosurgeon and brain scientist This biography examines the social and cultural background through which he emerged as an inquisitive and multi-dimensional surgeon-scientist, and his lifelong contributions to the specialty of neurosurgery. With empirical knowledge in applied medical physics, electronics, electricity and chemistry, he understood the paradoxical phenomenon of symptomatic hydrocephalus with normal cerebrospinal fluid pressure. This ultimately led Hakim to describe in exquisite detail the physics of the cranial cavity and brain hydrodynamics.

Efficacy of osimertinib plus bevacizumab in glioblastoma patients with simultaneous EGFR amplification and EGFRvIII mutation.

Background: Amplification of EGFR and its active mutant EGFRvIII are common in glioblastoma (GB). While EGFR and EGFRvIII play critical roles in pathogenesis, targeted therapy with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors or antibodies has shown limited efficacy. To improve the likelihood of effectiveness, we targeted adult patients with recurrent GB enriched for simultaneous EGFR amplification and EGFRvIII mutation, with osimertinib/bevacizumab at doses described for non-small cell lung cancer.

Cerebrospinal fluid closing pressure-guided tap test for the diagnosis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Background: Tap test improves symptoms of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH); hence, it is widely used as a diagnostic procedure. However, it has a low sensitivity and there is no consensus on the parameters that should be used nor the volume to be extracted. We propose draining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during tap test until a closing pressure of 0 cm H2O is reached as a standard practice.