Clinical Significance of Venous Anomalies in Syndromic Craniosynostosis.

Background: The pattern of cranial venous drainage in syndromic craniosynostosis is unpredictable and not adequately understood. Collateral channels substitute for stenotic venous sinuses and pose potential risk for surgical intervention. The purpose of this study was to analyze the patterns of venous drainage in patients with syndromic craniosynostosis and their influence on operative planning and morbidity.

Endovascular treatment of a large ruptured middle cerebral artery bifurcation aneurysm in a 5-week-old infant: case report.

Ruptured intracranial aneurysms are extremely rare in infants. The optimal treatment strategy is not well established. Both microsurgical and endovascular techniques and strategies have been tried, and in the literature there is a significant variability in outcome.

Molecular Pathways Mediating Metastases to the Brain via Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition: Genes, Proteins, and Functional Analysis.

Background: Brain metastases are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with disseminated cancer. The development of metastatic disease involves an orderly sequence of steps enabling tumor cells to migrate from the primary tumor and colonize at secondary locations. In order to achieve this complex metastatic potential, a cancer cell is believed to undergo a cellular reprogramming process involving the development of a degree of stemness, via a proposed process termed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT).

Malignant carotid body tumor presenting with myelopathy: case report.

Malignant carotid body tumors are rare, with spread of the tumor mostly noted in regional lymph nodes. Vertebral metastases are an exceedingly rare presentation, only reported in isolated case reports, and present a diagnostic and management challenge. A case of widespread vertebral metastasis, presenting with myelopathy, from a carotid body tumor is discussed in this paper, along with management strategies.

Involvement of mTOR signaling pathways in regulating growth and dissemination of metastatic brain tumors via EMT.

Background: Metastatic dissemination to the brain may involve a process termed epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which results in a migratory, invasive and proliferative cell phenotype. Recent studies suggest that Mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR, that exists in two multi-protein complexes (mTORC1 and mTORC2), may regulate EMT, in addition to controlling cell growth, survival, metabolism and motility. However, the role of mTOR in brain metastases remains elusive.

Cerebrospinal fluid leaks and encephaloceles of temporal bone origin: nuances to diagnosis and management.

Objective: Temporal bone encephalocele has become less common as the incidence of chronic mastoid infection and surgery for this condition has decreased. As a result, the diagnosis is often delayed, and the encephalocele is often an incidental finding. This situation can result in serious neurologic complications with patients presenting with cerebrospinal fluid leak and meningitis.

Modern endovascular treatments of occlusive pediatric acute ischemic strokes: case series and review of the literature.

Purpose: Literature on the endovascular treatment of occlusive acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in the pediatric population remains nebulous. Clinical trials evaluating the role of systemic and intra-arterial thrombolysis, and mechanical thrombectomy have been strictly isolated to the adult population and largely unknown in their safety and efficacy in the pediatric group.

Methods: The authors present a review of the literature and their own two cases of occlusive acute ischemic stroke in children younger than the age of 10 years who were treated with modern endovascular devices, specifically with stent retrievers, and discuss their clinical and technical considerations as well as their limitations.

Hemorrhagic ganglioglioma of the posterior fossa: case report.

Gangliogliomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system that are usually found in the supratentorial compartment, although cases throughout the nervous system have been described. They are generally low-grade malignancies that are amenable to cure by surgical resection. Most manifest as seizures, though, based on location, they can present with focal neurological deficits.

Targeting cancer stem cells in glioblastoma multiforme using mTOR inhibitors and the differentiating agent all-trans retinoic acid.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive primary brain tumor, portends a poor prognosis despite current treatment modalities. Recurrence of tumor growth is attributed to the presence of treatment-resistant cancer stem cells (CSCs). The targeting of these CSCs is therefore essential in the treatment of this disease.

Deconstructing mTOR complexes in regulation of Glioblastoma Multiforme and its stem cells.

Atypical serine-threonine kinase, mTOR (mechanistic target of Rapamycin; originally coined "mammalian TOR"), exists in two distinct multi-protein complexes termed mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) and 2 (mTORC2), that senses and integrates a variety of environmental signals to control organism growth and homeostasis via non-overlapping signaling pathways. mTOR belongs to the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3-K)-related kinase family, and an aberrant activation of mTORC1 is a potential contributing factor in uncontrolled cell growth, proliferation, and survival of tumor cells via specific effects on cap-dependent translation initiation, as well as in a more sustained manner via advancing ribosome biogenesis. It is thereby shown to be deregulated in numerous pathological conditions including cancer, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and neurodegeneration.

Abnormal venous drainage in syndromic craniosynostosis and the role of CT venography.

Objective: Venous hypertension is emerging as a significant contributor to intracranial pressure in children with syndromic craniosysnostosis. This is associated with jugular foramen stenosis or atresia and with the development of collateral emissary veins. We demonstrate how computed tomography venography can document the prevalence of these emissary veins and how their visualisation plays an important role in operative planning.