Walter Eichler and his role in the development of electroneurography.

Walter Eichler (1904-1942) performed the first in situ nerve conduction studies in humans. Eichler's work has been largely overlooked and there have been no biographical accounts written of him. His 1937 paper, Über die Ableitung der Aktionspotentiale vom menschlichen Nerven in situ (On the recording of the action potentials from human nerves in situ) was translated and reviewed.

Multicenter phase 1 trial of intraventricular immunochemotherapy in recurrent CNS lymphoma.

Unlabelled: Recurrent CNS lymphoma continues to be associated with poor outcomes in the rituximab era. Although IV rituximab mediates superior disease control of systemic non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), it fails to completely eliminate the risk of meningeal recurrence, likely due to minimal CNS penetration. Given that rituximab acts synergistically with chemotherapy, we conducted the first phase 1 study of intraventricular immunochemotherapy in patients with recurrent CNS NHL.

Semicontinuous low-dose-rate teletherapy for the treatment of recurrent glial brain tumors: final report of a phase I/II study.

Purpose: Semicontinuous low-dose-rate teletherapy (SLDR) is a novel irradiation strategy that exploits the increased radiosensitivity of glial cells in a narrow range of reduced dose rate. We present the final report of a prospective Phase I/II study testing the feasibility of SLDR for the treatment of recurrent gliomas.

Methods And Materials: Patients with previously irradiated recurrent gliomas were enrolled from November 1993 to March 1998.

American influence on the origins of neurosurgery in the Netherlands.

Although the Netherlands played a major role in the revival of craniotomy in the late 19th century, modern neurosurgery made a late start there. Unlike the situation in other European countries, Dutch neurosurgery lacked a protagonist when, at the turn of the last century, craniotomy became less popular due to discouraging results. During two lecture tours in the US in the 1920s and 1930s, the influential Dutch neurologist Bernard Brouwer also visited the leading neurosurgical centers.

The superior longitudinal fasciculus and speech arrest.

We present a 59-year-old woman with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme involving the left medial frontal and cingulate gyri. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) showed inferior-lateral tumor border proximity to the superior-medial (supracallosal) portion of the left frontal superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF). Dissections of the tumor border contacting the dominant SLF caused speech arrests 8 times, with full recovery.

FNAB cytology of extra-cranial metastasis of glioblastoma multiforme may resemble a lung primary: a diagnostic pitfall.

Background: As extra-cranial metastasis of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is rare, it may create a diagnostic dilemma especially during interpretation of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) cytology.

Case Presentation: We present transbronchial FNAB findings in a 62-year-old smoker with lung mass clinically suspicious for a lung primary. The smears of transbronchial FNAB showed groups of cells with ill-defined cell margins and cytological features overlapping with poorly differentiated non-small cell carcinoma.

Dexamethasone normalizes brain tumor hemodynamics as indicated by dynamic susceptibility contrast MRI perfusion parameters.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the utility of dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI-derived perfusion parameters to characterize the hemodynamic effects of dexamethasone in a 9L gliosarcoma tumor model. Twenty-four rats underwent intracerebral inoculation with 9L tumor cells. Fifteen were treated with a total of 3mg/kg of dexamethasone on days 10-14 post-inoculation, while the remaining 9 rats served as controls.

The role of diffusion tensor imaging in establishing the proximity of tumor borders to functional brain systems: implications for preoperative risk assessments and postoperative outcomes.

Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI) is a new MRI imaging technique sensitive to directional movements of water molecules, induced by tissue barriers. This provides a new form of contrast that allows the identification of functional white matter tracts within the brain, and has been proposed as a technique suitable for presurgical planning in brain tumor patients. Resection of primary brain tumors improves survival, functional performance, and the effectiveness of adjuvant therapies, provided that surgically-induced neurological deficits can be avoided.

Intravoxel distribution of DWI decay rates reveals C6 glioma invasion in rat brain.

The hypothesis was tested that the intravoxel distribution of water diffusion rates, as measured with a stretched-exponential model of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), is a marker of brain tumor invasion. Eight rats underwent intracerebral inoculation of C6 glioma cells. In three rats, cells were labeled with a fluorescent dye for microscopy.

Characterization of a first-pass gradient-echo spin-echo method to predict brain tumor grade and angiogenesis.

Background And Purpose: No widespread clinical method provides specific information about the angiogenic characteristics of gliomas. We characterized blood volume and vascular morphologic parameters from combined gradient-echo (GE) and spin-echo (SE) MR imaging and assessed their relationship to tumor grade, a known correlate of glioma angiogenesis.

Methods: Simultaneous GE and SE echo-planar imaging was performed with bolus gadolinium administration (0.

Lesion-induced pseudo-dominance at functional magnetic resonance imaging: implications for preoperative assessments.

Objective: To illustrate how lesion-induced neurovascular uncoupling at functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can mimic hemispheric dominance opposite the side of a lesion preoperatively.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed preoperative fMRI mapping data from 50 patients with focal brain abnormalities to establish patterns of hemispheric dominance of language, speech, visual, or motor system functions. Abnormalities included gliomas (31 patients), arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) (11 patients), other congenital lesions (4 patients), encephalomalacia (3 patients), and tumefactive encephalitis (1 patient).

Evaluation of photodynamic therapy near functional brain tissue in patients with recurrent brain tumors.

Introduction: Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves the selective retention of a photosensitizer that upon activation with light mediates tumor cell destruction via the production of singlet oxygen. This study evaluates the toxicity of PDT and a new light-delivery device based on light-emitting diode (LED) technology in selected patients with brain tumors.

Methods: Twenty patients with recurrent malignant brain tumors received 22 treatments with PDT.

A cost-minimizing diagnostic methodology for discrimination between neoplastic and non-neoplastic brain lesions: utilizing a genetic algorithm.

Rational And Objectives: The purpose of this study was to make an improvement in the performance of a logistic regression model in predicting the presence of brain neoplasia with magnetic resonance spectroscopy data by using a new approach for logistic regression coefficient estimation. This new approach, termed cost minimizing (C-min), introduced by one of the authors (Chetty), uses the cost function for prediction outcomes to estimate model coefficients and the prediction decision rule. To do this requires use of a genetic algorithm.

Antiangiogenic effects of dexamethasone in 9L gliosarcoma assessed by MRI cerebral blood volume maps.

Depending on dose, dexamethasone has been shown to inhibit or stimulate growth of rat 9L gliosarcoma and decrease the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an important mediator of tumor-associated angiogenesis. We demonstrate, by constructing relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) maps with MRI, that dexamethasone also decreases total blood volume while increasing microvascular blood volume in Fischer rats bearing intracranial 9L gliosarcoma. Animals were inoculated with 1 x 10(5) 9L gliosarcoma tumor cells.

Noninvasive assessment of neoplastic angiogenesis: the role of magnetic resonance imaging.

The study of the effect of angiogenesis inhibitors on tumors is limited by our ability to assess their effect in vivo. Approaches that are currently employed have significant limitations. An ideal approach would employ a widely available noninvasive technology that can be used repeatedly to assess the antiangiogenic effect on the same lesions in a serial fashion.

Neurologic complications of bone marrow transplantation.

The various forms of HSCT are or will soon be accepted treatments for an ever-increasing number of hematologic and solid cancers. Attempts to reduce the mortality and morbidity of HSCT and at the same time preserve or increase its efficacy in tumor control include development of nonmyeloablative allogeneic stem-cell transplant strategies [208] and allogeneic laboratory research-enhancing graft acceptance [209,210]. Eventually, these efforts will reduce complication rates of HSCT, including neurologic complications.

Pseudo-reorganization of language cortical function at fMR imaging: a consequence of tumor-induced neurovascular uncoupling.

A left-handed patient with a grade II left frontal lobe astrocytoma had spontaneous seizures causing speech arrest and uncontrolled right upper extremity movements. Word-generation functional MR (fMR) imaging showed activity nearly exclusively in the right inferior frontal gyrus. The clinical history of the speech arrest and the intraoperative mapping proved left-hemisphere language dominance.

Post-radiation dedifferentiation of meningioma into osteosarcoma.

Background: A number of osteoblastic meningiomas, primary osteosarcomas of the meninges, and post-radiation osteosarcomas of the head have been reported. However, postradiation dedifferentiation of meningioma into osteosarcoma has not been reported previously.

Case Presentation: In 1987 a caucasian man, then 38 years old, presented with a pituitary macroadenoma.