Vitamin D deficiency promotes intracranial aneurysm rupture.

Intracranial aneurysm rupture causes severe disability and high mortality. Epidemiological studies show a strong association between decreased vitamin D levels and an increase in aneurysm rupture. However, the causality and mechanism remain largely unknown.

Pharmacological Inhibition of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Prevents Intracranial Aneurysm Rupture by Reducing Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

Background: Multiple pathways and factors are involved in the rupture of intracranial aneurysms. The EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) has been shown to mediate inflammatory vascular diseases, including atherosclerosis and aortic aneurysm. However, the role of EGFR in mediating intracranial aneurysm rupture and its underlying mechanisms have yet to be determined.

Inhalational Anesthesia Reduced Transient Neurological Events After Revascularization Surgery for Moyamoya Disease.

Background And Objectives: The choice between inhalational and total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) in revascularization surgery for Moyamoya disease (MMD) remains a topic of debate. Anesthesia methods have changed with the advent of new anesthetics. This study investigated whether modern anesthesia methods affected the development of neurological symptoms after revascularization surgery for MMD.

Persistent brain exposure to high sodium induces stroke onset by upregulation of cerebral microbleeds and oxidative stress in hypertensive rats.

High salt intake induces hypertension and enhances stroke onset. However, whether an increase in brain sodium exposure itself is harmful and has poor prognosis remains unknown. Therefore, we employed hypertensive rats that underwent intracerebroventricular (ICV) infusion of sodium for 28 days and evaluated stroke onset and related cytotoxic brain injuries.

Pretreatment with Clodronate Improved Neurological Function by Preventing Reduction of Posthemorrhagic Cerebral Blood Flow in Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Background: Brain perivascular macrophages (PVMs) are potential treatment targets for subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and previous studies revealed that their depletion by clodronate (CLD) improved outcomes after experimental SAH. However, the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. Therefore, we investigated whether reducing PVMs by CLD pretreatment improves SAH prognosis by inhibiting posthemorrhagic impairment of cerebral blood flow (CBF).

A Consideration of Optimal Head Position in Transsylvian Selective Amygdalohippocampectomy.

Transsylvian selective amygdalohippocampectomy (TSA) is one of the predominant surgical options for drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy. The purpose of this article is to highlight the unique features of TSA and determine the setting to perform safe and secure TSA with special reference to the optimal head position. TSA should be performed via a small surgical corridor in the temporal stem that contains functionally important fiber tracts, including the uncinate fasciculus, the inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and the optic radiation.

Loss of body weight in old 5xFAD mice and the alteration of gut microbiota composition.

The cause of age-related body weight loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is unclear. We compared the differences in food intake, malabsorption, locomotor activity, and gut microbiota composition between 5xFAD mice, a useful model of AD, and wild-type (WT) mice to investigate the mechanisms underlying lower body weight in 5xFAD mice. Fifteen-month-old male 5xFAD mice and age-matched WT mice were divided into four groups: a control diet (CD) or a high-fat diet (HFD).

Variations in the branching patterns of the anterior choroidal artery: an angiographic study with special reference to temporal lobe epilepsy surgery.

Background: The preservation of the anterior choroidal artery (AChA) is essential for avoiding neurological sequelae after mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (mTLE) surgery. The purpose of this study is to reveal the anatomical variation in which the perforating branches arise from the plexal segment of the AChA by using a modern neuroimaging modality.

Methods: This study analyzed 3D rotational angiography (3DRA) images from 56 subjects.

Outcome of Superficial Temporal Artery-to-Middle Cerebral Artery Bypass in Appropriately Selected Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke.

Background: Endovascular treatment is the preferred treatment for acute ischemic stroke (AIS) due to main artery steno-occlusive disease, but it has temporal and technical limitations. Moreover, there is no established treatment for progressive stroke. Superficial temporal artery (STA)-middle cerebral artery (MCA) bypass is sometimes considered as a treatment option.

Development of a New Image-Guided Neuronavigation System: Mixed-Reality Projection Mapping Is Accurate and Feasible.

Background: Image-guided systems improve the safety, functional outcome, and overall survival of neurosurgery but require extensive equipment.

Objective: To develop an image-guided surgery system that combines the brain surface photographic texture (BSP-T) captured during surgery with 3-dimensional computer graphics (3DCG) using projection mapping.

Methods: Patients who underwent initial surgery with brain tumors were prospectively enrolled.

Identification of the Facial Colliculus in Two-dimensional and Three-dimensional Images.

The facial colliculus (FC), an important landmark for planning a surgical approach to brainstem cavernous malformation (BCM), is a microstructure; therefore, it may be difficult to identify on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Three-dimensional (3D) images may improve the FC-identification certainty; hence, this study attempted to validate the FC-identification certainty between two-dimensional (2D) and 3D images of patients with a normal brainstem and those with BCM. In this retrospective study, we included 10 patients with a normal brainstem and 10 patients who underwent surgery for BCM.

Correlation of Inflow Velocity Ratio Detected by Phase Contrast Magnetic Resonance Angiography with the Bleb Color of Unruptured Intracranial Aneurysms.

Background: Intraoperative rupture is the most fatal and catastrophic complication of surgery for unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs); thus, it is extremely useful to predict reddish and thin-walled regions of the UIA before surgery. Although several studies have reported a relationship between the hemodynamic characteristics and intracranial aneurysm wall thickness, a consistent opinion is lacking. We aimed to investigate the relationship between objectively and quantitatively evaluated bleb wall color and hemodynamic characteristics using phase-contrast magnetic resonance angiography (PC-MRA).

Retro-odontoid Pseudotumor: Two Cases of Intradural Ganglion Cysts Arising From the Odontoid Process with Syringobulbia.

Background: Ganglion cysts mostly occur in the knuckles and wrists, but they rarely present in the odontoid process and can cause neurological symptoms by compressing the spinal cord. They are mostly localized in the epidural space, but may very rarely appear in the intradural space. There are no reports of cases of intradural ganglion cyst involving syringobulbia.

Interval between endoscopic surgery and decreased intracranial pressure related to putaminal hemorrhage prognosis.

Background: Endoscopic evacuation of a putaminal hemorrhage is effective and minimally invasive; however, it may not result in sufficient brain decompression. While monitoring postoperative intracranial pressure (ICP) is likely useful, specific ICP data in patients with a putaminal hemorrhage are limited. The aim of this study was to determine the association between postoperative ICP and the prognosis of patients with putaminal hemorrhage after endoscopic surgery.

Vasospasm as a major complication after acute mechanical thrombectomy with stent retrievers.

Objective: Mechanical thrombectomy using a stent retriever for acute large vessel occlusion is indispensable in stroke treatment, however, vasospasm may occur. The objective of this retrospective study was to investigate which cases are more likely to experience vasospasm after thrombectomy with stent retrievers.

Methods: We included 29 patients diagnosed with acute cardiogenic cerebral embolism who were treated with stent retrievers at our facility from December 2014 to December 2017.