Clinical approach to the diagnosis and management of small bowel bleeding.

The diagnosis and management of small bowel bleeding (SBB) can be a clinical challenge. Advances in video capsule endoscopy, balloon-assisted enteroscopy, and multiphasic computed tomography allow for localization and therapeutic intervention. Etiologies of SBB including vascular, neoplastic, and inflammatory conditions are associated with age and comorbidities.

Wide-field ESD for Barrett's adenocarcinoma at the gastroesophageal junction: technical approaches to facilitate en bloc R0 resection.

Video 1Wide-field ESD for Barrett's adenocarcinoma.

The Prion-like Properties of Amyloid-beta Peptide and Tau: Is there Any Risk of Transmitting Alzheimer's Disease During Neurosurgical Interventions?

Recent studies have recognized similarities between the peptides involved in the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease and prions. The Tau protein and the Amyloid β peptide represent the theoretical pillars of Alzheimer's disease development. It is probable that there is a shared mechanism for the transmission of these substances and the prion diseases development; this presumption is based on the presentation of several cases of individuals without risk factors who developed dementia decades after a neurosurgical procedure.

WACEM Consensus Paper on Deep Venous Thrombosis after Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury.

The risk and outcome of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in patients who sustained spinal cord injury (SCI) remain a challenge. We aimed to assess the incidence, risk, burden, and prophylaxis of DVT after SCI. Thirty-nine studies were identified from among 250 relevant articles based on firstly, broad criterion of DVT among SCI cases.

Aicardi-Goutières Syndrome: Brief Case Report.

The case of a term newborn diagnosed with Aicardi-Goutières syndrome, a rare encephalopathy in our environment, with Mendelian inheritance pattern, characterized by a set of nonspecific neurological symptoms associated with typical findings of intracerebral calcifications. The case is presented with diagnostic imaging, in addition to elevated levels of interferon alpha and cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis.

Targeting Beta-Amyloid at the CSF: A New Therapeutic Strategy in Alzheimer's Disease.

Although immunotherapies against the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide tried so date failed to prove sufficient clinical benefit, Aβ still remains the main target in Alzheimer's disease (AD). This article aims to show the rationale of a new therapeutic strategy: clearing Aβ from the CSF continuously (the "CSF-sink" therapeutic strategy). First, we describe the physiologic mechanisms of Aβ clearance and the resulting AD pathology when these mechanisms are altered.

Intra-fourth Ventricular Schwannoma in Pediatric Age Group: Report of Second Case in the Western Literature with Review of Literature.

Schwannoma originates from the myelin sheath of peripheral nerves. It accounts for about 8% of all intracranial tumors. Commonly, schwannoma is located in the extra-axial locations; intra-axial schwannomas are extremely uncommon.

Clearing Extracellular Alpha-Synuclein from Cerebrospinal Fluid: A New Therapeutic Strategy in Parkinson's Disease.

This concept article aims to show the rationale of targeting extracellular α-Synuclein (α-Syn) from cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) as a new strategy to remove this protein from the brain in Parkinson's disease (PD). Misfolding and intracellular aggregation of α-synuclein into Lewy bodies are thought to be crucial in the pathogenesis of PD. Recent research has shown that small amounts of monomeric and oligomeric α-synuclein are released from neuronal cells by exocytosis and that this extracellular alpha-synuclein contributes to neurodegeneration, progressive spreading of alpha-synuclein pathology, and neuroinflammation.

Sacroiliac Pain: A Clinical Approach for the Neurosurgeon.

Pain originating from sacroiliac joint may also cause pain in the lumbar and gluteal region in 15% of the population. The clinical manifestation represents a public health problem due to the great implications on the quality of life and health-related costs. However, this is a diagnosis that is usually ignored in the general clinical practice; probably because of the unknown etiology, making harder to rule out the potential etiologies of this pathology, or maybe because the clinical criteria that support this pathology are unknown.