Occipital Nerve Stimulation in Chronic Migraine: The Relationship Between Perceived Sensory Quality, Perceived Sensory Location, and Clinical Efficacy-A Prospective, Observational, Non-Interventional Study.

Introduction: Occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) is used to treat therapy-resistant chronic migraine. Clinical use has resulted in a wide intraindividual and interindividual variation of clinical efficacy. The aim of this study was to analyze a potential relationship between sociodemographic variables, headache parameters, perceived sensory quality, perceived sensory location, as well as clinical efficacy.

Screening for Platelet Dysfunction and Use of Prophylactic Tranexamic Acid in Patients Undergoing Deep Brain Stimulation: A Retrospective Analysis of Incidence and Outcome of Intracranial Hemorrhage.

Introduction: The rate of intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) after deep brain stimulation (DBS) is between 1.5 and 6.1%, with prolonged deficits occurring in 0.

Do Adaptors Shorten the Battery Life of Nonrechargeable Generators for Deep Brain Stimulation?

Objective: Generators implanted for deep brain stimulation must be replaced after several years. If a Kinetra generator is replaced by the Activa-PC, an adaptor will be required to attach it to the original extension cables. On the basis of our clinical impression that the battery life of the Active-PC generator was shorter when an adaptor was used, we performed this retrospective study.

Fear of disease progression in adult ambulatory patients with brain cancer: prevalence and clinical correlates.

Background: Fear of progression (FoP) is frequent in patients with cancer and of high clinical relevance. Despite the often devastating prognosis of brain cancer, FoP has not yet been assessed in neurooncological patients.

Objective: The aim of this study was thus the assessment of FoP and its clinical correlates.

Assessment of preoperative anxiety in neurosurgical patients: Comparison of widely used measures and recommendations for clinic and research.

Objective: Preoperative anxiety is frequent in neurosurgical patients and of high clinical relevance (e. g., associated with anestesiological requirements and surgery outcome).

A missing piece? Neuropsychiatric functioning in untreated patients with tumors within the cerebellopontine angle.

Purpose: To date, little is known about neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with tumors within the cerebellopontine angle (CPA). These, however, might be of clinical relevance. Aim of this study was thus to assess possible impairment in cognition, elevation in mood symptoms, and fatigue in this specific patient group.

Breaking Bad News to Patients with Intracranial Tumors: The Patients' Perspective.

Objective: Bad news refers to information that subjectively impedes a patient's future prospects. Patients with intracranial tumors potentially face numerous pieces of bad news. This study assessed the patients' perspective regarding the content of bad news, patients' preferences for the communication of bad news, and clinical consequences of mismatch of patients' communication preferences.

Surgery-Related Coping in Surgery Patients with Intracranial Tumors.

Background: Neurosurgical brain tumor removal poses a unique threat for patients while also minimizing instrumental control. Thus, psychological processes used by patients to cope with surgery-related anxiety are of utmost importance. This is the first study to assess both nature and effectiveness of surgery-related coping efforts in neuro-oncological patients.

Complications of Impulse Generator Exchange Surgery for Deep Brain Stimulation: A Single-Center, Retrospective Study.

Background: Nonrechargeable deep brain stimulation impulse generators (IGs) with low or empty battery status require surgical IG exchange several years after initial implantation. The aim of this study was to investigate complication rates after IG exchange surgery and identify risk factors.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed complications following IG exchange surgery from 2008 to 2015 in our department.

Comparison of the Battery Life of Nonrechargeable Generators for Deep Brain Stimulation.

Objective: Nonrechargeable deep brain stimulation (DBS) generators must be replaced when the battery capacity is exhausted. Battery life depends on many factors and differs between generator models. A new nonrechargeable generator model replaced the previous model in 2008.

Spatial and Cellular Expression Patterns of Erythropoietin-Receptor and Erythropoietin during a 42-Day Post-Lesional Time Course after Graded Thoracic Spinal Cord Impact Lesions in the Rat.

Erythropoietin (Epo) exhibits promising neuroregenerative potential for spinal cord injury (SCI), and might be involved in other long-term sequelae, such as neuropathic pain development. The current studies investigated the time courses and spatial and cellular patterns of Epo and erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) expression along the spinal axis after graded SCI. Male Long Evans rats received 100 kdyn, 150 kdyn, and 200 kdyn thoracic (T9) contusions from an Infinite Horizon impactor.

Cellular Profiles and Molecular Mediators of Lesion Cascades in the Placode in Human Open Spinal Neural Tube Defects.

Myelomeningoceles (mmc) are clinically challenging CNS malformations. Although improvement in their management has been achieved with respect to antenatal diagnosis, prevention, and fetal surgery, the cellular mechanisms of damage in the neural placode are poorly understood. We aimed to identify cellular and molecular factors in lesion amplifying cascades in mmc placodes.

The sensory-motor profile awake-A new tool for pre-, intra-, and postoperative assessment of sensory-motor function.

Objectives: Awake craniotomy is a well-established procedure in surgery of intracranial tumors in eloquent areas. However, sufficiently standardized instruments for the assessment of sensory-motor function before, during and after the operation are currently lacking, despite their importance for evaluation of operative outcome.

Patients And Methods: To address this issue, we designed a standardized assessment tool (the "sensory-motor profile awake scale"; SMP-a).

Deep brain stimulation for dystonia: review of the literature.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become one of the major therapy options for movement disorders including dystonia. This article should give a review of the current literature from a neurosurgical perspective. Since dystonia is a rare disease, only few studies on larger cohorts have been published, and very few randomized controlled studies are avaialable in the international literature.

Cognitive screening in patients with intracranial tumors: validation of the BCSE.

This study presents the first validation of the Brief Cognitive Status Exam (BCSE) against two other screening tools for cognitive impairment in patients with intracranial tumors. 58 patients and 22 matched healthy controls completed the BCSE, the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). Patients were additionally tested with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery.

Down regulation of Akirin-2 increases chemosensitivity in human glioblastomas more efficiently than Twist-1.

The Twist-1 transcription factor and its interacting protein Akirin-2 regulate apoptosis. We found that in glioblastomas, highly malignant brain tumors, Akirin-2 and Twist-1 were expressed in glial fibrillary acidic protein positive tumor regions as well as in tumor endothelial cells and infiltrating macrophages / microglia. Temozolomide (TMZ) induced the expression of both molecules, partly shifting their nuclear to cytosolic localization.

Imaging sensory effects of occipital nerve stimulation: a new computer-based method in neuromodulation.

Background: Within the last years, occipital nerve stimulation (ONS) has proven to be an important method in the treatment of severe therapy-resistant neurological pain disorders. The correspondence between lead placement as well as possible stimulation parameters and the resulting stimulation effects remains unclear.

Objective: The method aims to directly relate the neuromodulatory mechanisms with the clinical treatment results, to achieve insight in the mode of action of neuromodulation, to identify the most effective stimulation sets and to optimize individual treatment effects.

Visualization of small veins with susceptibility-weighted imaging for stereotactic trajectory planning in deep brain stimulation.

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is the most significant complication of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). To prevent ICH, stereotactic contrast enhanced T1-weighted images are used to visualize vessels as source of hemorrhage. Susceptibility-Weighted Imaging (SWI) is an MRI sequence with improved visualization of susceptibility differences between tissues, particularly sensitive for brain veins.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging of motor and language for preoperative planning of neurosurgical procedures adjacent to functional areas.

Objective: Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) for motor and language mapping is used for presurgical planning. This study aimed to evaluate the value of fMRI in clinical routine for preoperative planning of brain surgery adjacent to functional brain areas.

Methods: Thirty-seven consecutive patients with brain lesions adjacent to sensomotor and/or language functional areas underwent fMRI prior to planned brain surgery on a 3T MRI scanner for identification of motor in all and language functional areas in 29 patients.

Continuous measurement of cerebral oxygenation with near-infrared spectroscopy after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Objective. The aim of our prospective study was to investigate the applicability and the diagnostic value of near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in SAH patients using the cerebral oximeter INVOS 5100C. Methods.

Factors influencing surgical outcome after anterior stabilization of the cervical spine with heterogeneous material.

Intervertebral fusion through an anterior approach with polymethylacrylate is a well-established neurosurgical technique in the treatment of cervical spine degeneration. However, questions still remain concerning the post-surgical outcome. Factors influencing surgical outcome that could help to predict which patients need further post-surgical treatment and what to expect after surgery are the subject of numerous studies.

Treatment of 817 patients with spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage: characteristics, predictive factors and outcome.

The aim of this study was to present the data of a large cohort of patients with spontaneous supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), who were treated in our department and give a current overview considering special clinical characteristics, performed therapy and different predictive factors for morbidity and mortality. We reviewed the data of all patients with spontaneous ICH, who were treated in our department in a time span of 11 years through an analysis of our prospective database. Patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH were included in the study.