Comparison of Oxygen Uptake Kinetics During Severe-intensity Laboratory and Field Cycling.

The O-kinetic response to constant work rate exercise provides an insight into the adjustment of systemic oxygen transport and muscle metabolism. Whether O-kinetics measured in laboratory conditions reflect O-kinetics in field conditions has not yet been analysed. The aim of this study was to compare O-kinetics between field and laboratory conditions.

Gross efficiency during flat and uphill cycling in field conditions.

Purpose: While a number of studies have investigated gross efficiency (GE) in laboratory conditions, few studies have analyzed it in field conditions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the effect of gradient and cadence on GE in field conditions.

Methods: Thirteen trained cyclists (mean ± SD age 23.

[Stereotactic radiosurgery and fractionated stereotactic radiotherapy of acoustic neuromas].

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a neurosurgical field that has become increasingly important in the treatment of acoustic neuromas. Radiosurgical treatment modalities include the Gamma knife, the linear accelerator (LINAC), and the CyberKnife. Gamma knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is still unsurpassed in terms of the spatial accuracy of radiation delivery and has been used for decades in acoustic neuromas (>18000 patients).

Staged gamma knife radiosurgery for large critically located benign meningiomas: evaluation of a series comprising 20 patients.

Objectives: This study investigated the efficacy of staged radiosurgical treatment for intracranial meningiomas exceeding 3 cm in diameter.

Methods: Between April 1992 and May 2008, staged gamma knife radiosurgery was performed in 20 patients with large benign meningiomas. 14 patients had undergone surgery at least once.

Combined endoscopic surgery and radiosurgery as treatment modality for olfactory neuroblastoma (esthesioneuroblastoma).

Object: Treatment of esthesioneuroblastoma (olfactory neuroblastoma) has been considerably improved by microsurgical techniques. Nevertheless, these rare tumours of the frontal skull base are still associated with high rates of tumour recurrence and mortality, thus remaining a challenge even for experienced surgeons. A novel therapeutic approach that combines endoscopic sinus surgery and Gamma Knife radiosurgery is presented here.

Radiologic findings in patients treated with boron neutron capture therapy for glioblastoma multiforme within EORTC trial 11961.

Purpose: To assess the occurrence and development of cerebral radiologic changes (cerebral atrophy and white matter lesions) in patients treated with boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) for primary supratentorial glioblastoma multiforme within the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) trial 11961.

Methods And Materials: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were performed before and after surgery and at 1 week and 2, 4.5, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months after BNCT.

Tissue uptake of BSH in patients with glioblastoma in the EORTC 11961 phase I BNCT trial.

Purpose: The uptake of the boron compound Na2B12H10-SH (BSH) in tumor and normal tissues was investigated in the frame of the EORTC phase I trial 'Postoperative treatment of glioblastoma with BNCT at the Petten Irradiation Facility' (protocol 11961).

Methods And Materials: The boron concentration in blood, tumor, normal brain, dura, muscle, skin and bone was detected using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy in 13 evaluable patients. In a first group of 10 patients 100 mg BSH/kg bodyweight (BW) were administered; a second group of 3 patients received 22.

Stereotactic radiosurgery for hypothalamic hamartomas.

Hypothalamic hamartomas are nonneoplastic lesions often characterized by central precocious puberty and gelastic epilepsy. Due to the delicate location surgery is often unsuccessful and associated with considerable risks. In the presented series, Gamma Knife radiosurgery was applied.

Optimal timing of neutron irradiation for boron neutron capture therapy after intravenous infusion of sodium borocaptate in patients with glioblastoma.

Purpose: A cooperative study in Europe and Japan was conducted to determine the pharmacokinetics and boron uptake of sodium borocaptate (BSH: Na(2)B(12)H(11)SH), which has been introduced clinically as a boron carrier for boron neutron capture therapy in patients with glioblastoma.

Methods And Materials: Data from 56 patients with glioblastoma who received BSH intravenous infusion were retrospectively reviewed. The pharmacokinetics were evaluated in 50 patients, and boron uptake was investigated in 47 patients.

Olfactory neuroblastoma (esthesioneuroblastoma): report of six cases treated by a novel combination of endoscopic surgery and radiosurgery.

Microsurgical techniques have considerably improved the results of surgical treatment for esthesioneuroblastoma (olfactory neuroblastoma). Nevertheless, these rare tumours of the frontal skull base are still associated with high rates of tumour recurrence and mortality, thus remaining a challenge even for experienced surgeons. A novel therapeutic approach that combines endoscopic sinus surgery and radiosurgery (gamma knife) is presented here.

Gamma knife radiosurgery for hypothalamic hamartomas in patients with medically intractable epilepsy and precocious puberty. Report of two cases.

Hamartoma of the hypothalamus represents a well-known but rare cause of central precocious puberty and gelastic epilepsy. Due to the delicate site in which the tumor is located, surgery is often unsuccessful and associated with considerable risks. In the two cases presented, gamma knife radiosurgery was applied as a safe and noninvasive alternative to obtain seizure control.

Radiosurgery of vestibular schwannomas: a minimally invasive alternative to microsurgery.

From April 1992 till December 1998 stereotactic radiosurgery (Gamma Knife) was applied to 192 patients with vestibular schwannomas. 56 of them had radiosurgery as primary treatment modality and were followed-up for at least 4 years (48-80 months, median 62). Without fatal complications, control of tumour growth was achieved in all but three cases, useful hearing being preserved in more than one half of the patients (62%).

Postoperative treatment of glioblastoma with BNCT at the petten irradiation facility (EORTC protocol 11,961).

The boron neutron capture therapy is based on the reaction occurring between the isotope 10B and thermal neutrons. A low energy neutron is captured by the nucleus and it disintegrates into two densely ionising particles, Li nucleus and He nucleus (alpha particle), with high biological effectiveness. On the basis of comprehensive preclinical investigations in the frame of the European Collaboration with Na2B12H11SH (BSH), as boron delivery agent, the first European phase I, clinical trial was designed at the only available epithermal beam in Europe, at the High Flux Reactor, Petten, in the Netherlands.

Boron neutron capture therapy for glioblastoma: improvement of boron biodistribution by hyaluronidase.

Boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) represents a highly promising therapeutic alternative for the treatment of the most common malignant brain tumor, glioblastoma multiforme. Both the efficacy and safety of BNCT are greatly dependent on the pattern of 10B biodistribution. The present study investigates the influence of systemic hyaluronidase applied in combination with Na2B12H11SH (BSH), a boron carrier used in current clinical trials.

Pharmacokinetics of Na2B12H11SH (BSH) in patients with malignant brain tumours as prerequisite for a phase I clinical trial of boron neutron capture.

The disposition of Na2B12H11SH (BSH) in patients with malignant glioma has been investigated, in preparation for a Phase I clinical trial of boron neutron capture therapy. BSH was found to possess a linear disposition over the dosage interval investigated (up to 75 mg/kg). A bi-phasic blood pharmacokinetics was observed.

Gamma knife for glioma: selection factors and survival.

Purpose: To determine factors associated with survival differences in patients treated with radiosurgery for glioma.

Methods And Materials: We analyzed 189 patients treated with Gamma Knife radiosurgery for primary or recurrent glioma World Health Organization (WHO) Grades 1-4.

Conclusion: The median minimum tumor dose was 16 Gy (8-30 Gy) and the median tumor volume was 5.

Na2B12H11SH (BSH) in combination with systemic hyaluronidase: a promising concept for boron neutron capture therapy for glioblastoma.

Objective: In an attempt to optimize the therapeutic potential of Na2B12H11SH (BSH) for boron neutron capture therapy for glioblastoma, the present study investigates the influence of systemically applied hyaluronidase (a glycolytic enzyme that enhances the activity of chemotherapeutic agents in different types of cancer) on the biodistribution of BSH in patients with glioblastoma.

Methods: Patients in two uniform groups (Groups A and B, each of which had 10 patients with histologically confirmed glioblastomas) received BSH at a dose used in earlier therapeutic trials (75 mg/kg of body weight, administered intravenously) 24 hours before surgical debulkment. Patients from Group B received additional hyaluronidase (200,000 IU, administered intravenously) immediately before BSH infusion.

Assay of anticancer drugs in tissue culture: comparison of a tetrazolium-based assay and a protein binding dye assay in short-term cultures derived from human malignant glioma.

Because of the methodological difficulties associated with the MTT assay in screening short-term cultures derived from human malignant glioma, a chemosensitivity assay based on the protein staining using sulforhodamine B (SRB) has been optimized for use with these cells. SRB at a fixed dye concentration achieved maximal staining density at 20 min for most cell lines and this intensity was not further increased by using dye concentrations above 0.2%.

Boron neutron capture therapy: boron biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of Na2B12H11SH in patients with glioblastoma.

Data on biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of Na2B12H11SH are few and lack in standardization. This study comprises a uniform series of 10 patients with glioblastoma administered Na2B12H11SH i.v.

Subcellular boron-10 localization in glioblastoma for boron neutron capture therapy with Na2B12H11SH.

Because of the short range of the highly energetic particles helium-4 and lithium-7 that results from neutron-induced disintegration of boron-10, the efficacy of Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT) is heavily dependent on 10B-microlocation. Despite the crucial importance of boron-10, there is little specific information with regard to the agent currently used for inducing BNCT, namely Na2B12H11SH. In the present study, a subcellular 10B-location was investigated in tumor tissue obtained from seven patients with glioblastoma World Health Organization Grade IV.

Extracranial-intracranial arterial bypass after cerebral foreign body embolization: effective treatment of transient ischemic attacks.

A case of traumatic foreign body embolism into the right intracranial carotid artery with stenosis of the right middle cerebral artery in a 9-year-old boy is presented. Initial hemiparesis and a consecutive asymptomatic interval of 12 months were followed by a period of frequent transient ischemic attacks. After an extracranial-intracranial arterial bypass had been performed 18 months later, symptoms ceased without relapse.

Surgery of tumours of the lateral ventricle.

Tumours of the lateral ventricle in most cases enlarge significantly before signs and symptoms are exhibited. In the years between 1980 and 1991 we encountered 55 patients of all age groups with tumours of the lateral ventricle. All were diagnosed either by CT or MRI, and in lesions with good enhancement on CT additional angiography was performed.

Prognosis after acute subdural or epidural haemorrhage.

In a series of 171 patients suffering acute subdural haemorrhage (SDH) (111 patients) or epidural haemorrhage (EDH) (60 patients) after closed head injury accumulated during the years 1978-1985 at the University Hospital of Graz, the mortality rate and the grade of clinical recovery were evaluated. The overall mortality in acute SDH was 57%, in acute EDH 25%, the percentages of good recoveries--full recovery and minimal neurologic deficit--25 and 58%, respectively. Outcome was found to be predominantly influenced by the preoperative state of consciousness, associated brain lesions, and, in comatose patients, the duration of the time interval between onset of coma and surgical decompression.

Effect of intravenous mannitol on cat pial arteries and veins during normal and elevated intracranial pressure.

In two series of cats, totaling 12 animals, the effect of 1 g of intravenous mannitol per kg over 15 minutes on pial vessels (cranial window technique, multichannel videoangiometry) and intracranial pressure (ICP) was investigated under circumstances of normal ICP and ICP elevated to 20 mm Hg by the cisternal infusion of mock cerebrospinal fluid. Under conditions of normal ICP, mannitol induced an 18% reduction of ICP at the end of the infusion and a further decrease to 38% below the initial level 10 minutes later. Pial veins and arteries remained more or less unreactive over 35 minutes, with changes never exceeding 2 to 3%.