Efficacy of Subperiosteal Drains in Chronic Subdural Hematoma: A Prospective Randomized Single-Center Study.

Background:  Chronic subdural hematomas (cSDHs) are most frequently treated by evacuation via a burr-hole craniostomy procedure. Subperiosteal drains have been introduced as alternatives to subdural ones, but only a few prospective studies have explored their efficacy. Thus, a prospective randomized trial was designed to assess their use.

Early Intravenous Magnesium Sulfate and Its Impact on Cerebral Vasospasm as well as Delayed Cerebral Ischemia in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: A Retrospective Matched Case-Control Analysis.

Background: Magnesium sulfate (MgSO) is a potential neuroprotective agent for patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). We analyzed the effect of early application of intraoperative intravenous MgSO and compared cerebral vasospasm (CV), delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI), and neurological outcome in 2 patient cohorts.

Methods: A retrospective matched-pair analysis from patients at a single center in Germany was performed without (group A) and with (group B) MgSO application <24 hours after diagnosis.

Long-Term Clinical and Radiologic Outcome Following Surgical Treatment of Lumbar Spondylodiscitis: A Retrospective Bicenter Study.

Background And Study Aims:  Spinal instrumentation for spondylodiskitis (SD) remains highly controversial. To date, surgical data are limited to relatively small case series with short-term follow-up data. In this study, we wanted to elucidate the biomechanical, surgical, and neurologic long-term outcomes in these patients.

Clinical Evaluation of an Innovative Metal-Artifact-Reduction Algorithm in FD-CT Angiography in Cerebral Aneurysms Treated by Endovascular Coiling or Surgical Clipping.

Treated cerebral aneurysms (IA) require follow-up imaging to ensure occlusion. Metal artifacts complicate radiologic assessment. Our aim was to evaluate an innovative metal-artifact-reduction (iMAR) algorithm for flat-detector computed tomography angiography (FD-CTA) regarding image quality (IQ) and detection of aneurysm residua/reperfusion in comparison to 2D digital subtraction angiography (DSA).

Prediction of Hearing Preservation in Vestibular Schwannoma Surgery According to Tumor Size and Anatomic Extension.

Objective: Vestibular schwannoma (VS) surgery is feasible for various tumor sizes that are inappropriate for wait and scan or radiosurgery. The predictive value of 2 grading systems was investigated for postoperative hearing preservation (HP) in a large series.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis.

Evidence for senescence in survival but not in reproduction in a short-lived passerine.

Senescence has been studied since a long time by theoreticians in ecology and evolution, but empirical support in natural population has only recently been accumulating. One of the current challenges is the investigation of senescence of multiple fitness components and the study of differences between sexes. Until now, studies have been more frequently conducted on females than on males and rather in long-lived than in short-lived species.

[Assessment and Therapy of Adolescent Identity Diffusion].

Assessment and Therapy of Adolescent Identity Diffusion Identity diffusion, one of the main diagnosis criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD), is characterized by a lack of coherent sense of self and of significant others, paired with a painful sense of incoherence. The revision of the age limit for the diagnosis of personality disorders in DSM-5 has opened the doors to research on diagnosis and treatment of BPD in adolescence. This paper offers a summary of past and present work on the diagnosis and therapy of identity disturbance in adolescent patients.

Flat Panel Detector Computed Tomography-Guided Placement of External Ventricular Drains Using the BrainLAB Headband and Precalibrated Disposable Stylet Instrument: A Cadaveric Feasibility Study.

Background: The standard freehand method for the insertion of external ventricular drains (EVDs) is associated with high rates of incorrect placement. Use of neuronavigation has been shown to reduce the rates of inaccurately positioned EVDs. We present a novel neuronavigation-based approach for EVD placement using flat panel detector computed tomography (FDCT) imaging.

Neurosurgical Treatment of Acromegaly.

Surgical removal of as much tumor mass as possible is usually considered the first step of treatment in acromegaly, unless the patients are unfit for surgery or refuse an operation. To date, in almost all cases, minimally invasive, transsphenoidal microscopic or endoscopic approaches are used. Whether a curative approach is feasible or a debulking procedure is planned, can be anticipated on the basis of preoperative magnetic resonance imaging.

Automatic localization and identification of vertebrae in arbitrary field-of-view CT scans.

This paper presents a new method for automatic localization and identification of vertebrae in arbitrary field-of-view CT scans. No assumptions are made about which section of the spine is visible or to which extent. Thus, our approach is more general than previous work while being computationally efficient.

Lymph node detection and segmentation in chest CT data using discriminative learning and a spatial prior.

Lymph nodes have high clinical relevance and routinely need to be considered in clinical practice. Automatic detection is, however, challenging due to clutter and low contrast. In this paper, a method is presented that fully automatically detects and segments lymph nodes in 3-D computed tomography images of the chest.

T lymphocytes can be effectively recruited for ex vivo and in vivo lysis of AML blasts by a novel CD33/CD3-bispecific BiTE antibody construct.

Patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) are in high need of novel targeted therapies. Here we explored the ex vivo activity of AMG330, a novel T-cell-engaging BiTE (bi-specific T-cell engagers) antibody (Ab) construct, that is bispecific for the myeloid differentiation antigen, CD33 and CD3, in primary samples from AML patients (N=23) and AML cell lines. KG-1 and U937 cells were lysed in co-culture with healthy donor T-cells at AMG330 concentrations as low as 0.

A probabilistic model for automatic segmentation of the esophagus in 3-D CT scans.

Being able to segment the esophagus without user interaction from 3-D CT data is of high value to radiologists during oncological examinations of the mediastinum. The segmentation can serve as a guideline and prevent confusion with pathological tissue. However, limited contrast to surrounding structures and versatile shape and appearance make segmentation a challenging problem.

Comparing axial CT slices in quantized N-dimensional SURF descriptor space to estimate the visible body region.

In this paper, a method is described to automatically estimate the visible body region of a computed tomography (CT) volume image. In order to quantify the body region, a body coordinate (BC) axis is used that runs in longitudinal direction. Its origin and unit length are patient-specific and depend on anatomical landmarks.

Model-based esophagus segmentation from CT scans using a spatial probability map.

Automatic segmentation of the esophagus from CT data is a challenging problem. Its wall consists of muscle tissue, which has low contrast in CT. Sometimes it is filled with air or remains of orally given contrast agent.

Fast automatic segmentation of the esophagus from 3D CT data using a probabilistic model.

Automated segmentation of the esophagus in CT images is of high value to radiologists for oncological examinations of the mediastinum. It can serve as a guideline and prevent confusion with pathological tissue. However, segmentation is a challenging problem due to low contrast and versatile appearance of the esophagus.

Identification of acyloxyacyl hydrolase, a lipopolysaccharide-detoxifying enzyme, in the murine urinary tract.

Acyloxyacyl hydrolase (AOAH) is an unusual but highly conserved lipase, previously described only in myeloid cells, that removes secondary fatty acyl chains from bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) and may also act on various glycero(phospho)lipids. Deacylation by AOAH greatly reduces the ability of LPS to stimulate cells via CD14-MD-2-Toll-like receptor 4. We report here that renal cortical tubule cells produce AOAH and secrete it into urine, where it can deacylate LPS.

Evidence for functionally significant polymorphism of human glutamate cysteine ligase catalytic subunit: association with glutathione levels and drug resistance in the National Cancer Institute tumor cell line panel.

Glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL) is the first and rate-limiting enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of glutathione (GSH). The GCL heterodimer is encoded by two genes: GLCLC, which directs synthesis of the catalytic subunit, and GLCLR, which encodes the regulatory subunit. We have previously identified a polymorphic GAG/CTC trinucleotide repeat within the 5' untranslated region of GLCLC.

Activation of human monocytic cells by Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum is facilitated by CD14 and correlates with surface exposure of spirochetal lipoproteins.

Here we examined the involvement of CD14 in monocyte activation by motile Borrelia burgdorferi and Treponema pallidum. B. burgdorferi induced secretion of IL-8 by vitamin D3-matured THP-1 cells, which was inhibited by a CD14-specific mAb known to block cellular activation by LPS and the prototypic spirochetal lipoprotein, outer surface protein A.