Determining venous thromboembolism risk in patients with adult-type diffuse glioma.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a life-threating condition that is common in patients with adult-type diffuse gliomas, yet thromboprophylaxis is controversial because of possible intracerebral hemorrhage. Effective VTE prediction models exist for other cancers, but not glioma. Our objective was to develop a VTE prediction tool to improve glioma patient care, incorporating clinical, blood-based, histologic, and molecular markers.

Correlation between social media utilization by academic neurosurgery departments and higher online patient ratings.

Objective: Patients increasingly utilize online physician review websites (PRWs) and social media to inform healthcare-related decisions. This provides neurosurgeons with opportunities for increased patient engagement. And despite the growing use of social media among neurosurgeons, the relationship between social media utilization and online reviews remains unknown.

Photographic Misrepresentation on Instagram After Facial Cosmetic Surgery: Is Increased Photography Bias Associated With Greater User Engagement?

Background: Before-and-after images are commonly used on Instagram (Menlo Park, CA) to advertise aesthetic surgical treatments and are a powerful means of engaging prospective patients. Consistency between before-and-after images accurately demonstrating the postoperative result on Instagram, however, has not been systematically assessed.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to systematically assess facial cosmetic surgery before-and-after photography bias on Instagram.

Tumor-induced peripheral immunosuppression promotes brain metastasis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Introduction: Brain metastases are a significant source of morbidity and mortality for patients with lung cancer. Lung cancer can induce local and systemic immunosuppression, promoting tumor growth and dissemination. One mechanism of immunosuppression is tumor-induced expansion of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) expressing myeloid cells.

Radiosensitization by Histone H3 Demethylase Inhibition in Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma.

Purpose: Radiotherapy (RT) has long been and remains the only treatment option for diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). However, all patients show evidence of disease progression within months of completing RT. No further clinical benefit has been achieved using alternative radiation strategies.

Systemic and local immunosuppression in patients with high-grade meningiomas.

Aim: Despite current treatments, high-grade meningiomas continue to have a poor prognosis. Immunotherapy targeting immune checkpoints, such as PD-L1, has demonstrated significant success in controlling numerous malignancies. In this study, we investigate the extent of systemic and local immunosuppression in meningiomas to assess the potential benefit of immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of high-grade meningiomas.

Lymphopenia predicts response to stereotactic radiosurgery in lung cancer patients with brain metastases.

Background: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) can enhance immune activation and improve disease control through stimulation of anti-tumor immunity. However, patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy are often immunosuppressed, which may impact the efficacy of SRS. Here we investigate the relationship between systemic lymphopenia and response to SRS in patients with brain-metastatic lung cancer.

Long-term glioblastoma survival following recovery from cytomegalovirus colitis: A case report.

Survival outcomes for patients with glioblastoma (GBM) are universally poor with only a small percentage of patients surviving five years beyond initial diagnosis. Activation of the immune system against tumor cells is the basis of immunotherapy and aims to facilitate long-term immune surveillance and tumor suppression. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has emerged as an immunologic target in GBM given that tumor cells have been shown to express the CMV-associated proteins IE1 and pp65.

Glioblastoma-Derived IL6 Induces Immunosuppressive Peripheral Myeloid Cell PD-L1 and Promotes Tumor Growth.

Purpose: Upregulation of programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) on circulating and tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells is a critical component of GBM-mediated immunosuppression that has been associated with diminished response to vaccine immunotherapy and poor survival. Although GBM-derived soluble factors have been implicated in myeloid PD-L1 expression, the identity of such factors has remained unknown. This study aimed to identify factors responsible for myeloid PD-L1 upregulation as potential targets for immune modulation.

Methylation-dependent Tissue Factor Suppression Contributes to the Reduced Malignancy of IDH1-mutant Gliomas.

Purpose: Gliomas with mutations (IDH1) are less aggressive than IDH1 wild-type (IDH1) gliomas and have global genomic hypermethylation. Yet it is unclear how specific hypermethylation events contribute to the IDH1 phenotype. Previously, we showed that the gene encoding the procoagulant tissue factor (TF), , is among the most hypermethylated and downregulated genes in IDH1 gliomas, correlating with greatly reduced thrombosis in patients with IDH1 glioma.

The immune checkpoint protein PD-L1 induces and maintains regulatory T cells in glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) promotes immunosuppression through upregulation of PD-L1 and regulatory T cell (Treg) expansion, but the association of these suppressive factors has not been well elucidated. Here, we investigate a role of PD-L1 in expanding Tregs and the value of targeting the PD-1 receptor to inhibit Treg expansion. Quantitative RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas were evaluated for an association between CD274 and FOXP3 transcript expressions and impact of FOXP3 on clinical outcomes.

Sellar plasmacytomas masquerading as pituitary adenomas: A systematic review.

Given the rarity of intracranial plasmacytomas, these lesions are frequently misdiagnosed as pituitary adenomas. We report on the distinguishing characteristics of sellar plasmacytomas from cases in the literature and our experience. A literature search was conducted to collect all documented cases of a plasmacytoma originating in the sellar region.

Safety and outcomes of preoperative embolization of intracranial hemangioblastomas: A systematic review.

Introduction: While preoperative embolization is often reserved for large and highly vascular tumors in order to minimize blood loss, its safety and efficacy in the treatment of hemangioblastomas (HB) is unclear. We present the largest systematic review focusing on the safety and outcome of preoperative embolization of intracranial HB.

Materials And Methods: To identify all cases of preoperative embolization for HB, a literature search was conducted via Medline (OVID and PubMed), Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science.

Semi-automated counting of axon regeneration in poly(lactide co-glycolide) spinal cord bridges.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a debilitating event with multiple mechanisms of degeneration leading to life-long paralysis. Biomaterial strategies, including bridges that span the injury and provide a pathway to reconnect severed regions of the spinal cord, can promote partial restoration of motor function following SCI. Axon growth through the bridge is essential to characterizing regeneration, as recovery can occur via other mechanisms such as plasticity.

Clinical attributes and surgical outcomes of angiocentric gliomas.

Angiocentric gliomas (AG) are exceedingly rare low-grade neoplasms which often present in the form of intractable epilepsy within younger patients. The current study extensively reviews all reported cases which were pathologically verified as AG in the literature to analyze clinical attributes and surgical outcomes of this neoplasm. There were 88 patients with AG reported in the literature consisting mostly of pediatric cases.

Immunomonitoring in glioma immunotherapy: current status and future perspectives.

Given the continued poor clinical outcomes and refractory nature of glioblastoma multiforme to traditional interventions, immunotherapy is gaining traction due to its potential for specific tumor-targeting and long-term antitumor protective surveillance. Currently, development of glioma immunotherapy relies on overall survival as an endpoint in clinical trials. However, the identification of surrogate immunologic biomarkers can accelerate the development of successful immunotherapeutic strategies.

Predictors of recurrence in the management of chordoid meningioma.

Management of chordoid meningiomas (CMs) is complicated by high rates of recurrence, particularly following subtotal resection. Optimal management is not established given the paucity of published experience. To identify prognostic factors for recurrence following resection, the authors conducted the largest systematic review of CMs to date.

Prognostic factors for recurrence and complications in the surgical management of primary chordoid gliomas: A systematic review of literature.

Objective: Chordoid gliomas (CG) are rare neoplasms which frequently arise within the third ventricle. Surgery remains the mainstay treatment for CG. The present study comprehensively reviews all reported cases of CG within the literature in order to identify risk factors for surgical complications and tumor recurrence.

Heat shock protein vaccines against glioblastoma: from bench to bedside.

Current adjuvant treatment regimens available for the treatment of glioblastoma are widely ineffective and offer a dismal prognosis. Advancements in conventional treatment strategies have only yielded modest improvements in overall survival. Immunotherapy remains a promising adjuvant in the treatment of GBM through eliciting tumor specific immune responses capable of producing sustained antitumor response while minimizing systemic toxicity.

Comparison of dendritic calcium transients in juvenile wild type and SOD1(G93A) mouse lumbar motoneurons.

Previous studies of spinal motoneurons in the SOD1 mouse model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis have shown alterations long before disease onset, including increased dendritic branching, increased persistent Na(+) and Ca(2+) currents, and impaired axonal transport. In this study dendritic Ca(2+) entry was investigated using two photon excitation fluorescence microscopy and whole-cell patch-clamp of juvenile (P4-11) motoneurons. Neurons were filled with both Ca(2+) Green-1 and Texas Red dextrans, and line scans performed throughout.

Vaccine therapies in malignant glioma.

Glioblastoma is a grade IV astrocytoma that is widely accepted in clinical neurosurgery as being an extremely lethal diagnosis. Long-term survival rates remain dismal, and even when tumors undergo gross resection with confirmation of total removal on neuroimaging, they invariably recur with even greater virulence. Standard therapeutic modalities as well as more contemporary treatments have largely resulted in disappointing improvements.

Force characterization of intracranial endovascular embolization: coil type, microcatheter placement, and insertion rate.

Background: Intraoperative rupture (IOR) is a rare, but potentially morbid complication of endovascular aneurysm coil embolization. Yet, IOR predictors have remained relatively uninvestigated in relation to coil design.

Objective: To develop a novel in vitro aneurysm model to characterize forces exerted by coils of different design on the aneurysm during endovascular embolization that are hypothesized to contribute to IOR.