Posterior Surgical Ligation and Cyst Decompression -via Needle Puncture- of a Large Anterior Sacral Pelvic Meningocele Through Posterior Sacral Laminectomy.

The first documented description of an anterior sacral meningocele was Bryant's in 1823. Anterior sacral meningocele patients have constipation as a universal symptom; urinary incontinence is also common. All the symptoms are directly related to the pressure from a pelvic mass on adjacent structures.

Myelomeningocele Repair: Surgical Management Based on a 30-Year Experience.

Background: Myelomeningocele (MMC) is a rare but severe spinal defect resulting from a failed neurulation process. Surgical repair is a delicate procedure that needs accurate neuroanatomical knowledge and adequate surgical planning.

Materials And Methods: The authors report on the main problems of the surgical management of this type of dysraphism.

Posterior resection for childhood lesional epilepsy: neuropsychological evolution.

The aim of this study was to provide information on the neuropsychological evolution of children with symptomatic epilepsy who have undergone surgical resection of posterior (occipitoparietal) lesions. Twelve children with epilepsy with parietal and/or occipital lesions were enrolled in the study and followed after surgical resection: full clinical and epileptic examinations were performed before and after surgery, as was a neuropsychological study of both general and specific cognitive abilities. Epilepsy evolution was generally good (Engel classification IA in nine cases) with persistent selective neurological impairments (eye field defects, sensory unilateral spatial neglect) in some cases, consistent with the lesion site.

Correlations between the abnormal development of the skull base and facial skeleton growth in anterior synostotic plagiocephaly: the predictive value of a classification based on CT scan examination.

Background: Anterior cranial plagiocephaly, depending on the early hemicoronal suture fusion, is the most relevant form of plagiocephaly in terms of clinical implications. Its estimated incidence ranges between 0.4 and 1 per 1,000 live births.

Infant ependymoma in a 10-year AIEOP (Associazione Italiana Ematologia Oncologia Pediatrica) experience with omitted or deferred radiotherapy.

Purpose: The protocols of the 1990s omitted or delayed irradiation, using upfront chemotherapy to spare the youngest children with ependymoma the sequelae of radiotherapy (RT). We treated 41 children under the age of 3 years with intracranial ependymoma between 1994 and 2003.

Patients And Methods: After surgery, chemotherapy was given as follows: regimen I with four blocks of vincristine, high-dose methotrexate 5 g/m(2), and cyclophosphamide 1.

Surgery of children with frontal lobe lesional epilepsy: neuropsychological study.

Aim Of The Study: was to provide new data about the evolution of neuropsychological findings in patients with lesional frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) operated on with lesion excision.

Patients And Methods: Twelve patients with lesional FLE underwent full clinical examination including neurological, neuropsychological and developmental assessments, high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ictal and interictal prolonged EEG monitoring and evaluation of seizure semeiology before and after surgery. The mean follow-up duration was 2 years and 10 months (range=14 months-7 years).

Cranial reshaping using methyl methacrylate: technical note.

Reconstruction of the facial skeleton and cranial vault has always posed difficult problems. To obtain a good result, various autologous, homologous, and heterologous grafts and biomaterials can be used. In this work, the authors present their experience in the use of methyl methacrylate (MMA) presenting a simple technique for application of the material that reduces the risk of complications.

Role of temozolomide in pediatric brain tumors.

Unlabelled: FEATURES OF TEMOZOLOMIDE: Temozolomide (TMZ) belongs to the imidazotetrazine class and it is a DNA-methylating agent that has a good antitumor activity. Despite of dacarbazine, TMZ is spontaneously converted into its active metabolite 5-(3-methyltriazen-l-yl)imidazole-4-carboxamide at physiologic pH, so it is not required in enzymatic demethylation in the liver. TMZ is able to cross the blood brain barrier and is stable at gastric acid pH so it has almost 100% oral bioavailability and is rapidly absorbed after it is taken orally.

Neurotrophic factor expression in childhood low-grade astrocytomas and ependymomas.

Background: Neurotrophic factors (nerve growth factor [NGF], brain-derived neurotrophic factor [BDNF] and glial-derived neurotrophic factor [GDNF]) are growth factors implicated in the growth and differentiation of brain nerve cells. An involvement of these factors in the biology and progression of some specific tumours has been suggested. In accordance with the role of neurotrophic factors in tumour behaviour the aim of the present study was to investigate their expression in two childhood brain neoplasms, namely low-grade astrocytomas and ependymomas.

Dissecting giant vertebro-basilar aneurysms.

Object: Vertebro-basilar dissecting aneurysms (VDAs) are very rare in children. Strokes or subarachnoid hemorrhage are characteristic clinical manifestations, but often only non-specific symptoms are found. Radiological diagnosis may be difficult to obtain and therapy hard to perform.