Vascular complications after radiosurgery for meningiomas.

During the past 25 years, radiosurgery has evolved as a primary treatment modality for certain meningiomas when resection would be associated with high patient morbidity. In addition, radiosurgery is now routinely used as an adjunctive therapy for residual or recurrent meningiomas after surgical removal. In this review the authors summarize the vascular complications that occur after radiosurgery for meningiomas as well as experimental study data that give insight into the pathogenesis of this complication.

Management of newly diagnosed single brain metastasis using resection and permanent iodine-125 seeds without initial whole-brain radiotherapy: a two institution experience.

Object: Whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) after resection of a single brain metastasis can cause long-term radiation toxicity. The authors evaluated the efficacy of resection and placement of 125I seeds (without concomitant WBRT) for newly diagnosed single brain metastases.

Methods: In a retrospective review from two institutions (1997-2003), 15 women and 11 men (mean age 55 years) with single brain metastasis underwent gross-total resection and placement of permanent low-activity 125I seeds.

Papillary tumors of the pineal region: case report.

Objective: The pineal region is a rare intracranial site for metastasis. We report three patients initially considered to have metastatic papillary adenocarcinoma to the pineal region. On review, these papillary, keratin-positive neoplasms meet the criteria for papillary tumor of the pineal region (PTPR).

Large sphenoid wing meningiomas involving the cavernous sinus: conservative surgical strategies for better functional outcomes.

Objective: The ability to resect meningiomas that involve the medial and anterior compartments of the cavernous sinus has been refuted. In this retrospective study, we determined the efficacy of total resection of meningiomas that invade the cavernous sinus but are restricted to the lateral compartment.

Methods: We reviewed the charts of 38 consecutive patients with sphenocavernous, clinoidocavernous, and sphenoclinoidocavernous meningiomas who underwent surgical treatment.

Glutamate receptor blockade alters the development of intracortical connections in rat barrel cortex.

We tested the hypothesis that glutamate receptor mediated activity is required for the postnatal development of intracortical connections in layers II/III of rodent barrel cortex. To block glutamate receptors, a slow release polymer (elvax) loaded with a glutamate receptor antagonist (D-AP5) was targeted subdurally over the future rat barrel cortex on P0 (day of birth). On P14-16 biotinylated dextran amine (BDA) was injected under the elvax into all layers to label neurons retrogradely.

Acute foramen magnum syndrome caused by an acquired Chiari malformation after lumbar drainage of cerebrospinal fluid: report of three cases.

Objective And Importance: The perioperative use of lumbar drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is relatively common in neurosurgery, and the development of "acquired" Chiari malformations (tonsillar herniation) with lumbar CSF diversion procedures has been reported.

Clinical Presentation: We describe the history of three patients who developed a foramen magnum syndrome, attributable to acquired Chiari I malformations, after perioperative lumbar drainage of CSF.

Conclusion: We propose that the mechanism responsible for Chiari I malformations involves a negative pressure gradient between the cranial and spinal regions, created by CSF drainage.

Facial nerve neuromas: report of 10 cases and review of the literature.

Objective: This study reviewed the management and outcomes of facial neuromas during the past decade at our institution. The goal was to analyze differences in presentation on the basis of location of the facial neuroma, review facial nerve function and hearing preservation postoperatively, and understand the characteristics of patients with tumors limited to the cerebellopontine angle or internal auditory canal. We also report an unusual case of a facial neuroma limited to the nervus intermedius.