Transoral Approach to the Craniovertebral Junction: A Neuronavigated Cadaver Study.

More than 100 years after the first description by Kanavel of a transoral-transpharyngeal approach to remove a bullet impacted between the atlas and the clivus [1], the transoral approach (TOA) still represents the 'gold standard' for surgical treatment of a variety of conditions resulting in anterior craniocervical compression and myelopathy [2, 3]. Nevertheless, some concerns-such as the need for a temporary tracheostomy and a postoperative nasogastric tube, and the increased risk of infection resulting from possible bacterial contamination and nasopharyngeal incompetence [4-6]-led to the introduction of the endoscopic endonasal approach (EEA) by Kassam et al. [7] in 2005.

Advances in diagnosis and treatment of trigeminal neuralgia.

Various drugs and surgical procedures have been utilized for the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Despite numerous available approaches, the results are not completely satisfying. The need for more contemporaneous drugs to control the pain attacks is a common experience.

Recurrent and self-remitting sixth cranial nerve palsy: pathophysiological insight from skull base chondrosarcoma.

Palsy of the abducens nerve is a neurological sign that has a wide range of causes due to the nerve's extreme vulnerability. Need of immediate neuroimaging is a matter of debate in the literature, despite the risks of delaying the diagnosis of a skull base tumor. The authors present 2 cases of skull base tumors in which the patients presented with recurrent and self-remitting episodes of sixth cranial nerve palsy (SCNP).

Primary multicentric anaplastic pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma with atypical features.

Pleomorphic xanthoastrocytoma (PXA) is a rare tumor with good prognosis after surgery. Few cases of anaplastic PXA (either de novo or secondary to transformation of a recurrent low grade PXA) have been reported. Moreover, primary anaplastic PXA with dissemination at diagnosis has been described only in two patients, to our knowledge.