Long-term outcome after temporal lobe epilepsy surgery in 434 consecutive adult patients.

Object: The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) surgery and potential risk factors for seizure recurrence after surgery.

Methods: This retrospective study included 434 consecutive adult patients who underwent TLE surgery at Bethel Epilepsy Centre between 1991 and 2002.

Results: Hippocampal sclerosis was found in 62% of patients, gliosis in 17.

Target gene activation of the Wnt signaling pathway in nuclear beta-catenin accumulating cells of adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas.

Activating beta-catenin (CTNNB1) mutations can be identified in the majority of adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas (adaCP), suggesting an aberrant Wnt signaling pathway in this histopathologically peculiar tumor entity. However, there is no proven evidence that nuclear translocation of beta-catenin is associated with CTNNB1 mutations and target gene activation. We performed a laser-microdissection-based study comparing beta-catenin accumulating vs.

Extent of resection and survival in glioblastoma multiforme: identification of and adjustment for bias.

Objective: The influence of the degree of resection on survival in patients with glioblastoma multiforme is still under discussion. The highly controlled 5-aminolevulinic acid study provided a unique platform for addressing this question as a result of the high frequency of "complete" resections, as revealed by postoperative magnetic resonance imaging scans achieved by fluorescence-guided resection and homogeneous patient characteristics.

Methods: Two hundred forty-three patients with glioblastoma multiforme per protocol from the 5-aminolevulinic acid study were analyzed.

Long-term outcome of extratemporal epilepsy surgery among 154 adult patients.

Object: The goal of this study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of patients who underwent extratemporal epilepsy surgery and to assess preoperative prognostic factors associated with seizure outcome.

Methods: This retrospective study included 154 consecutive adult patients who underwent epilepsy surgery at Bethel Epilepsy Centre, Bielefeld, Germany between 1991 and 2001. Seizure outcome was categorized based on the modified Engel classification.

Nuclear beta-catenin accumulation associates with epithelial morphogenesis in craniopharyngiomas.

Activation of the Wnt/wingless signalling cascade is a key mechanism in developmental morphogenesis, whereas aberrant nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin in adult tissues seems to be associated with neoplastic transformation and tumour progression. Adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas carry activating mutations in exon 3 of the beta-catenin gene, which results in a distinct pattern of nuclear beta-catenin accumulation in up to 95% of respective tumour specimens. To better characterise the impact of nuclear beta-catenin aggregation in these neoplasms, we systematically examined epithelial differentiation and cell cycle-associated molecules in accumulating compared to non-accumulating tumour cell clusters using a cohort of 65 adamantinomatous craniopharyngiomas.

Long-term relapse-free survival with supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor in an adult: a case report.

Objective: In adults, supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor (sPNET) is a very rare undifferentiated embryoblastic neoplasm. Prognosis is worse in comparison to infratentorial medulloblastoma. Older age appears to be prognostically favorable.

Pseudohypoxic brain swelling: a newly defined complication after uneventful brain surgery, probably related to suction drainage.

Objective: This is the first description of a severe and sometimes fatal complication after uneventful intracranial surgery. The clinical presentation and imaging features mimic those of global cerebral hypoxia. Extensive investigations were performed to discover the pathogenesis.