Towards a common language in neurosurgical outcome evaluation: the NEON (NEurosurgical Outcome Network) proposal.

Background: The aim of this study was to achieve a consensus on the minimum set of outcome measures and predictors to be used in the neurosurgical practice and on the timing of outcome assessment.

Methods: A consensus building approach was employed. All neurosurgical departments in Lombardy (Italy) were invited to participate by the Carlo Besta Neurologic Institute IRCCS Foundation.

Aneurismal subarachnoid hemorrhage during the COVID-19 outbreak in a Hub and Spoke system: observational multicenter cohort study in Lombardy, Italy.

Background: Lombardy was the most affected Italian region by the first phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and underwent urgent reorganization for the management of emergencies, including subarachnoid hemorrhage from a ruptured cerebral aneurysm (aSAH). The aim of the study was to define demographics, clinical, and therapeutic features of aSAH during the COVID-19 outbreak and compare these with a historical cohort.

Methods: In this observational multicenter cohort study, patients aged 18 years or older, who were diagnosed with aSAH at the participating centers in Lombardy from March 9 to May 10, 2020, were included (COVID-19 group).

Neurosurgeons on the front line: experience from the center of the storm in Italy.

In this tumultuous time, the entire world has been shaken up by the COVID-19 outbreak. Italy has had one of the highest infection-related mortality rates. Bergamo, a city in eastern Lombardy, was among the most affected.

Mapping neuroplastic potential in brain-damaged patients.

It is increasingly acknowledged that the brain is highly plastic. However, the anatomic factors governing the potential for neuroplasticity have hardly been investigated. To bridge this knowledge gap, we generated a probabilistic atlas of functional plasticity derived from both anatomic magnetic resonance imaging results and intraoperative mapping data on 231 patients having undergone surgery for diffuse, low-grade glioma.

Disabling Orthostatic Headache after Penetrating Stonemason Pencil Injury to the Sacral Region.

Penetrating injuries to the spine, although less common than motor vehicle accidents and falls, are important causes of injury to the spinal cord. They are essentially of two varieties: gunshot or stab wounds. Gunshot injuries to the spine are more commonly described.

STA-MCA Bypass as a "Bridge" to Pituitary Surgery in a Patient with an Adenoma Occluding the Internal Carotid Artery: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Occlusion of the intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) by a pituitary adenoma with resulting cerebral ischemia is a very rare but devastating occurrence. The authors present a case in which a condition of symptomatic ICA occlusion due to a giant pituitary adenoma was successfully treated using a preliminary extraintracranial bypass as a "bridge" to the tumor removal. A 52-year-old patient presented with a minor stroke followed by pressure-dependent transient ischemic attacks consistent with a condition of hypoperfusion.

A disconnection account of subjective empathy impairments in diffuse low-grade glioma patients.

Human empathic experience is a multifaceted psychological construct which arises from functional integration of multiple neural networks. Despite accumulating knowledge about the cortical circuitry of empathy, almost nothing is known about the connectivity that may be concerned in conveying empathy-related neural information. To bridge this gap in knowledge, we studied dispositional empathy in a large-sized cohort of 107 patients who had undergone surgery for a diffuse low-grade glioma.

Acute functional reactivation of the language network during awake intraoperative brain mapping.

Acute brain plasticity during resection of central lesions has been recently described. In the cases reported, perilesional latent networks, useful to preserve the neurological functions, were detected in asymptomatic patients. In this paper, we presented a case of acute functional reactivation (AFR) of the language network in a symptomatic patient.

Can neck swelling lead to spinal cord compression?

Spinal cord compression (SCC) caused by cervical spinal canal invasion of a pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma metastasis has never been reported previously. A 59-year-old man, with a history of pulmonary carcinosarcoma, developed over several weeks important neck swelling. Admitted to our division with severe tetraparesis he underwent a cervical spine computed tomography scan that showed a large cervical mass measuring 11 cm × 27 cm × 17 cm with SCC, extending from the occiput to C7.

Dorsal paddle leads implant for spinal cord stimulation through laminotomy with midline structures preservation.

Background: Pain relief obtained with spinal cord stimulation (SCS) in failed back surgery syndrome (FBSS) has been shown to be more effective with paddle leads than with percutaneous catheters. A laminectomy is generally required to implant the paddles, but the surgical approach may lead to iatrogenic spinal instability in flexion. In contrast, clinical and experimental data showed that a laminotomy performed through flavectomy and minimal resection of inferior and superior lamina with preservation of the midline ligamentous structures allowed to prevent iatrogenic instability.