Objective: Although well-established in moyamoya disease (MMD), the role of direct superficial temporal artery (STA) to middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass in non-MMD (N-MMD) cerebrovascular steno-occlusive syndromes remains controversial. Nonetheless, the recurrent stroke risk in patients with N-MMD, despite best medical management, remains exceedingly high-especially for those suffering from hypoperfusion-related ischemia. The study objective was to determine the relative safety and efficacy profiles of direct STA-MCA bypass surgery for MMD and N-MMD patients in a large contemporary cohort.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Pial arteriovenous fistulas (pAVFs) are rare vascular malformations characterized by high-flow arteriovenous shunting involving a cortical arterial supply directly connecting to venous drainage without an intermediate nidus. Dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVFs) can infrequently involve additional pial feeders which can introduce higher flow shunting and increase the associated treatment risk. In the posterior fossa, arteriovenous fistula (AVF) angioarchitecture tends to be particularly complex, involving either multiple arterial feeders-sometimes from both dural and pial origins-or small caliber vessels that are difficult to catheterize and tend to be intimately involved with functionally critical brainstem or upper cervical cord structures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Intracranial solitary fibrous tumors (SFTs), formerly hemangiopericytomas (HPCs), are rare, aggressive dural-based mesenchymal tumors. While adjuvant radiation therapy has been suggested to improve local tumor control (LTC), especially after subtotal resection, the role of postoperative stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and the optimal SRS dosing strategy remain poorly defined.
Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science were systematically searched according to PRISMA guidelines for studies describing postoperative SRS for intracranial SFTs.
Background: As endoscopic transsphenoidal approaches are more routinely selected for progressively larger pituitary adenomas with parasellar extension, understanding potential anatomical factors that limit resection and contribute to complications is becoming increasingly important for tailoring a surgical approach. This study aimed to reevaluate existing predictive tools for resectability in pituitary adenomas specifically with suprasellar extension, and furthermore identify any additional measurable features that may be more useful in preoperative planning.
Methods: A single-center retrospective chart review of adult patients who underwent endoscopic transsphenoidal surgery for pituitary adenomas with suprasellar extension from 2015 to 2020 was performed.
We present surgical clipping of a giant middle cerebral artery aneurysm. The patient is a 64-year-old woman who suffered subarachnoid hemorrhage in 2005. She was treated with coiling of the aneurysm at an outside institution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe present the first report, to our knowledge, in which revascularization of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) with a high flow extracranial-intracranial procedure resulted in symptomatic hyperemia of the posterior circulation. Cerebral hyperperfusion syndrome (CHS) is a poorly understood phenomenon that is classically seen in the distribution of a revascularized artery. A 37-year-old woman presented with a 3 month history of cognitive and speech difficulties, persistent headaches, weakness, numbness, and paresthesia which was worse in the right extremities and face.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObject: Spinal epidural abscess (SEA) is a rare condition that has previously been treated with urgent surgical decompression and antibiotics. Recent availability of MRI makes early diagnosis possible and allows for the nonoperative treatment of SEA in select patients. The first retrospective review of medically and surgically managed SEA was published in 1999, and since that time several other retrospective institutional reports have been published.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSpinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disease, which is the leading genetic cause of mortality in children. To date no effective treatment exists for SMA. The genetic basis for SMA has been well documented as a mutation in the gene for survival of motor neuron (SMN).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGene therapy for motor neuron diseases requires efficient gene delivery to motor neurons (MNs) throughout the spinal cord and brainstem. The present study compared adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector serotypes 1, 6, 8, and 9 for spinal cord delivery in adult mice, by the intraparenchymal or intrathecal route of administration. Whereas intraparenchymal injections resulted in local transduction of the lumbar segment of the spinal cord, intrathecal injections led to a broader distribution, transducing cells along the sacral, lumbar, and lower thoracic spinal cord.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is neurodegenerative disease characterized by muscle weakness and atrophy due to progressive motoneuron loss. The death of motoneuron is preceded by the failure of neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) and axonal retraction. Thus, to develop an effective ALS therapy you must simultaneously preserve motoneuron somas, motor axons and NMJs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF