European Medical Students' Views on Neurosurgery, with Emphasis on South-East Europe (Albania, Greece, Serbia, and Turkey).

Background: Neurosurgery, an intricate and dynamic surgical specialty, faces challenges in attracting medical graduates. Despite its potential appeal, a decreasing trend in medical students opting for surgical specialties, including neurosurgery, is noted. This study aims to assess European medical students' perceptions of neurosurgery, focusing on South-East Europe, and address concerns about the declining interest in this field.

Gender differences in work-life balance of European neurosurgeons.

Introduction: Neurosurgery is one of the most demanding medical specialties. For neurosurgeons, balancing professional activity with personal life can be challenging.

Research Question: To evaluate gender differences in contribution of neurosurgeons in the household and child-rearing, as well as their impact on personal life and career.

Long-term outcome of medically confirmed and self-reported early traumatic brain injury in two nationwide samples.

Primary Objectives: To assess long-term effects of early traumatic brain injury (TBI) on mental health, cognition, behaviour and adjustment and to identify prognostic factors.

Methods And Procedures: A 1-year nationwide cohort of all 0-19 year old Icelandic children and adolescents diagnosed with TBI in 1992-1993 (n = 550) received a questionnaire with clinical outcome scales and questions on TBI and socio-economic status (SES) by mail ∼16 years post-injury. A control group (n = 1232), newly selected from the National Registry, received the same questionnaire.

The scope of early traumatic brain injury as a long-term health concern in two nationwide samples: prevalence and prognostic factors.

Primary Objectives: To examine the scope of paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a health concern and to identify prognostic factors for TBI-related sequelae.

Methods And Procedures: The study was prospective and nationwide. A questionnaire was sent to a study group (SG) of all 0-19 years old in Iceland, diagnosed ∼16 years earlier with TBI during a 1-year period, 1992-1993 (n = 550) and to a control group (CG) (n = 1232), selected from the National Register.

Genome-wide association study identifies a sequence variant within the DAB2IP gene conferring susceptibility to abdominal aortic aneurysm.

We performed a genome-wide association study on 1,292 individuals with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) and 30,503 controls from Iceland and The Netherlands, with a follow-up of top markers in up to 3,267 individuals with AAAs and 7,451 controls. The A allele of rs7025486 on 9q33 was found to associate with AAA, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.21 and P = 4.

The same sequence variant on 9p21 associates with myocardial infarction, abdominal aortic aneurysm and intracranial aneurysm.

Recently, two common sequence variants on 9p21, tagged by rs10757278-G and rs10811661-T, were reported to be associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D), respectively. We proceeded to further investigate the contributions of these variants to arterial diseases and T2D. Here we report that rs10757278-G is associated with, in addition to CAD, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA; odds ratio (OR) = 1.

Carotid endarterectomy in high risk patients.

We elected to compare the clinical outcomes of carotid endarterectomy (CEA) patients who were thought to be at increased risk for peri-operative complications because of advanced age (> 79 years), medical comorbidities and contralateral internal carotid artery occlusion to patients without these risk factors. A prospective series of 875 CEAs done using regional anesthesia were analyzed. All patients were operated upon under the direction of one neurosurgeon (REH).