Long Follow-Up of Radiosurgery for Brainstem Cavernoma.

Background: There is a relative paucity of long-term follow-up of treatment of brainstem cavernous angiomas. This has led to uncertainty and a lack of consensus regarding optimum therapy, especially radiosurgery.

Methods: Report of a single case with a 24-year follow-up.

Injection therapy for enthesopathies causing axial spine pain and the "failed back syndrome": a single blinded, randomized and cross-over study.

Background: Enthesopathies are a common cause of axial pain that is amenable to "minimally invasive" therapy.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of injection therapy for enthesopathies.

Design: Single blinded, randomized, and cross-over study.

Hope, false hope, and self-fulfilling prophecy.

Hope, false hope, and self-fulfilling prophecy are important aspects in the practice of medicine for all practitioners but are especially important in the field of neurosurgery, which deals with devastating, terrifying, and often fatal illnesses. The American Board of Medical Specialties and the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education have jointly defined 6 "general competencies" that define a competent physician and should be part of the curriculum of all residency programs. One of these 6 is interpersonal and communication skills.