11C-Methionine positron emission tomography for preoperative evaluation of suggestive low-grade gliomas.

Objective: The treatment regimen for cerebral gliomas is different, depending on the histological grade of the lesion. The therapeutic strategy for anaplastic gliomas and glioblastomas is more aggressive, including microsurgical removal, radiation and chemotherapy. The management for low-grade gliomas is still under discussion, operation or "wait and see" tactics are possible options.

CSF drainage ameliorates the motor deficit in normal pressure hydrocephalus: evidence from the analysis of grasping movements.

Apart from the classic triad of hypokinetic gait disorder, cognitive dysfunction and urinary incontinence, the clinical spectrum of normal pressure hydrocephalus has been found to affect the upper limbs. It is unclear if the motor deficit of hand and arm movements improves with CSF evacuation. The present study was designed to quantitatively assess the effect of CSF evacuation on the hypokinesia of grasping movements in normal pressure hydrocephalus.

Reirradiation of recurrent high-grade gliomas using amino acid PET (SPECT)/CT/MRI image fusion to determine gross tumor volume for stereotactic fractionated radiotherapy.

Purpose: To develop a valid treatment strategy for recurrent high-grade gliomas using stereotactic hypofractionated reirradiation based on biologic imaging and temozolomide.

Patients And Methods: The trial included a total of 44 patients with recurrent high-grade gliomas (1 patient with anaplastic oligodendroglioma, 8 with anaplastic astrocytoma, 33 with glioblastoma multiforme, and 2 with gliosarcoma) after previous surgery and postoperative conventional radiotherapy +/- chemotherapy. For fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy (SFRT) treatment planning, the gross tumor volume was defined by (11)C-methionine positron emission tomography (MET-PET) or (123)I-alpha-methyl-tyrosine (IMT) single-photon computed emission tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fusion in 82% of the patients and by CT/T1+gadolinium-MRI image fusion in 18% of the patients.

L-(methyl-11C) methionine positron emission tomography for target delineation in resected high-grade gliomas before radiotherapy.

Purpose: Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), residual tumor cannot be differentiated from nonspecific postoperative changes in operated patients with brain gliomas. The higher specificity and sensitivity of L-(methyl-11C)-labeled methionine positron emissions tomography (MET-PET) in gliomas has been demonstrated in previous studies and is the rationale for the integration of this investigation in gross tumor volume delineation. The goal of this trial was to quantify the affect of MET-PET vs.

Intraoperative imaging using a mobile computed tomography scanner.

Objective: The radicality of tumour removal in patients suffering from glioma is discussed to be an important factor for longer survival times. Therefore intraoperative imaging modalities like magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and ultrasound (US) are tested in many neurosurgical facilities for clinical use. In our department a mobile CT for intraoperative applications is used for this purpose since 1999.

Neuronavigation combined with electrophysiological monitoring for surgery of lesions in eloquent brain areas in 42 cases: a retrospective comparison of the neurological outcome and the quality of resection with a control group with similar lesions.

The purpose of this study was to achieve a more radical resection of tumors in the area of the motor cortex via minimal craniotomy using a combination of neuronavigation and neurophysiological monitoring with direct electrical cortical stimulation and to compare retrospectively the clinical outcome and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging with a control group that was operated on in our service when the combination of these monitoring techniques was not available. A total of 42 patients with tumors in or near the central region underwent surgery with neuronavigation guidance and neurophysiological monitoring. The primary motor cortex was identified intraoperatively by the somatosensory evoked phase reversal method and direct cortical stimulation.

Implications of IMT-SPECT for postoperative radiotherapy planning in patients with gliomas.

Purpose: Using MRI, residual tumor cannot be differentiated from nonspecific postoperative changes in patients with brain gliomas after surgical resection. The goal of this study was to analyze the value of 123I-alpha-methyl-tyrosine-single photon emission CT (IMT-SPECT) in radiotherapy planning of patients with brain gliomas after surgical resection.

Methods And Materials: In 66 patients with surgically resected brain gliomas (33 glioblastomas, 20 anaplastic astrocytomas, 7 anaplastic oligodendrogliomas, and 6 low-grade astrocytomas), IMT-SPECT and MRI were performed for radiotherapy planning.

Neuronavigation and functional MRI for surgery in patients with lesion in eloquent brain areas.

Objective: Surgery in patients with lesions in eloquent areas is still a challenge for the neurosurgeon. The aim of surgical interventions should be the radical removal of the lesions with functional preservation. Functional brain imaging methods provide the preoperative demonstration of those brain areas and their relationship to pathologic structures.

Stereotactic guided laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (SLITT) in gliomas with intraoperative morphologic monitoring in an open MR-unit.

Stereotactic guided laser-induced interstitial thermotherapy (SLITT) represents a minimal invasive method to produce necrosis in cerebral tumor tissue by local heating. The dose/response relationship relies on experimental studies and few clinical data performed in high field MR systems. A better understanding of the energy-dose/tissue response in human brain tumors is important to optimize this treatment modality.

Intracerebral paraganglioma.

Paragangliomas of the CNS are relatively rare. Cases of location in the pineal and pituitary glands, cerebellopontine angle, cauda equina and filum terminale are known. In our neurosurgical unit a 42-year-old male patient with a history of vertigo and a generalized seizure underwent an operation for a fronto-temporal tumour.

Neuroendoscopy combined with frameless neuronavigation.

Minimal invasive neurosurgery is becoming more and more standard in neurosurgical procedures. Several types of lesions are now approached endoscopically. The surgical planning and intraoperative orientation during endoscopic surgical procedures are sometimes difficult.

Intraneural growth of a capillary haemangioma of the cauda equina.

Solitary intraneural haemangiomas are very rare. A case of intraneural capillary haemangioma involving two nerve roots of the cauda equina is reported. The patient was a 63-year-old woman with a three years history of intermittent lumbalgia and numbness of the ventral surface of the left thigh.

BrainLab VectorVision Neuronavigation System: technology and clinical experiences in 131 cases.

Objective: The BrainLab VectorVision neuronavigation system was used in 131 cases of different brain pathological conditions. The neuronavigation system was used without problems in 125 cases. These cases included 114 microsurgical operations, 4 endoscopic procedures, 4 frameless stereotactic biopsies, and 3 catheter placements.

[Multifocal hemangioblastoma in a young woman with Hippel-Lindau syndrome].

A 25 years old female person suffered from v. Hippel-Lindau disease with three manifestations within the central nervous system (cerebellum, nerve root C1 and Medulla oblongata). Pancreatic cysts, a cyst and a tumour of the kidney were diagnosed as well.

The operating microscope guided by a neuronavigation system: a technical note.

A frameless, armless neuronavigation system with microscope interconnection is described. The registration accuracy lies within 0.7 to 3.

Three-dimensional computer-assisted stereotactic-guided microneurosurgery combined with cortical mapping of the motor area by direct electrostimulation.

TIM (Zeppelin Chirurgische Instrumente GmbH, 82 049 Pullach, Germany) is a tomographic imaging system which enables surgeons to visualize the pathologic lesions three dimensionally in relationship to the surrounding structures. The distance and the angle between the pathologic lesion and the anatomical and/or bony landmarks as well as the volume of the mass lesion can be measured. Therefore an accurate localization of the lesion is possible with this technique.

Therapeutic management of grade IV aneurysm patients.

Background: The timing of surgery in patients suffering from subarachnoid hemorrhage grade IV and V according to Hunt and Hess, is still controversial. Several authors advocate early surgery for patients in poor clinical condition. Improved outcome and decreased mortality rates were reported.

[Percutaneous puncture tracheostomy in neurosurgical intensive care patients].

In critical care patients requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation, tracheostomy is necessary. Alternatively to the standard surgical method, a percutaneous dilatational technique is available. From September 1993 to October 1994 38 critically ill neurosurgical patients underwent tracheostomy using the minimal invasive puncture method.

Expression of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in human pituitary adenomas in vitro.

The production of cytokines and their receptors in the pituitary gland as well as receptor-mediated cytokine effects on pituitary function have been demonstrated. We have investigated whether the naturally occurring interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), which has been shown to block IL-1 biological actions during inflammatory processes, could be expressed in human pituitary adenomas (n = 16) cultured in vitro. By polymerase chain reaction of reverse-transcribed RNA we detected IL-1ra messenger RNA in cultures of all types of pituitary adenomas under basal conditions as well as after stimulation of the cells with endotoxin or phorbol myristate acetate.