Assessment of processed porcine extracellular matrix as a protective barrier in a rabbit nerve wrap model.

Nerve wrapping can improve outcomes by protecting nerves in a scarred tissue bed. Autologous tissue wraps have shown good results, but there are limitations associated with harvesting and availability. Extracellular matrix (ECM) derived from porcine small intestinal submucosa offers an attractive off-the-shelf option.

Utility of intraoperative electromyography in microvascular decompression for hemifacial spasm: a meta-analysis.

Object: In this paper, the authors' goal was to determine the utility of monitoring the abnormal muscle response (AMR) or "lateral spread" during microvascular decompression surgery for hemifacial spasm.

Methods: The authors' experience with AMR as well as the data available in the English-language literature regarding resolution or persistence of AMR and the resolution or persistence of hemifacial spasm at follow-up was pooled and subjected to a meta-analysis.

Results: The pooled OR revealed by the meta-analysis was 4.

Neuroimaging of hypoxia and cocaine-induced hippocampal stroke.

The hippocampus has been a subject of numerous studies of behavior and memory in patients who demonstrate atrophy, sclerosis, or injury by autopsy or imaging. It has also been studied in patients who undergo surgical treatment for intractable epilepsy. The effects of hypoxia and ischemia on the hippocampus have been studied in animals; however, human cases of hippocampal stroke are rarely reported.