The state of art of awake craniotomy in Latin American countries: a scoping review.

Background And Objective: Awake craniotomy (AC) is a valuable technique for surgical interventions in eloquent areas, but its adoption in low- and middle-income countries faces challenges like limited infrastructure, trained personnel shortage, and inadequate funding. This scoping review explores AC techniques in Latin American countries, focusing on patient characteristics, tumor location, symptomatology, and outcomes.

Methods: A scoping review followed PRISMA guidelines, searching five databases in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.

The rule of five: A novel anatomical landmark for approaching cavernous sinus content.

Background: The main objective of this study is to enhance neurosurgeons' anatomical knowledge by providing specific anatomical references of the cavernous sinus (CS). However, it is essential to clarify that our study does not seek to establish an absolute intraoperative rule due to the inherent anatomical variability that must be considered.

Methods: Fifty-three cadaveric specimens were procured from the Forensic Institute (Bogotá) and subjected to dissection through an extradural approach.

DICER1-associated central nervous system sarcoma: A comprehensive clinical and genomic characterization of case series of young adult patients.

Background: alterations are associated with intracranial tumors in the pediatric population, including pineoblastoma, pituitary blastoma, and the recently described "primary -associated CNS sarcoma" (DCS). DCS is an extremely aggressive tumor with a distinct methylation signature and a high frequency of co-occurring mutations. However, little is known about its treatment approach and the genomic changes occurring after exposure to chemoradiotherapy.

Prognostic significance of telomerase reverse transcriptase promoter gen mutations in high grade meningiomas.

Introduction: Mutations in the promoter region of telomerase reverse transcriptase occur frequently in meningiomas. Objective: To estimate the prognostic importance of telomerase reverse transcriptase mutations in Colombian patients with grades II and III meningioma. Materials and methods: This was a multicenter retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with refractory or recurrent WHO grades II and III meningiomas, recruited between 2011 and 2018, and treated with systemic therapy (sunitinib, everolimus ± octreotide, and bevacizumab).

Efficacy of osimertinib plus bevacizumab in glioblastoma patients with simultaneous EGFR amplification and EGFRvIII mutation.

Background: Amplification of EGFR and its active mutant EGFRvIII are common in glioblastoma (GB). While EGFR and EGFRvIII play critical roles in pathogenesis, targeted therapy with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors or antibodies has shown limited efficacy. To improve the likelihood of effectiveness, we targeted adult patients with recurrent GB enriched for simultaneous EGFR amplification and EGFRvIII mutation, with osimertinib/bevacizumab at doses described for non-small cell lung cancer.

Cerebrospinal fluid closing pressure-guided tap test for the diagnosis of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Background: Tap test improves symptoms of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH); hence, it is widely used as a diagnostic procedure. However, it has a low sensitivity and there is no consensus on the parameters that should be used nor the volume to be extracted. We propose draining cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during tap test until a closing pressure of 0 cm H2O is reached as a standard practice.

Systemic management of malignant meningiomas: A comparative survival and molecular marker analysis between Octreotide in combination with Everolimus and Sunitinib.

Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of octreotide/everolimus vs. sunitinib for the systemic treatment of recurrent aggressive meningiomas.

Methods: 31 patients with recurrent or refractory WHO II or WHO III meningiomas were examined in two reference centers in Colombia.

Efficacy and safety of Levetiracetam vs. other antiepileptic drugs in Hispanic patients with glioblastoma.

Epilepsy is a common symptom in patients with glioblastoma (GB). 213 patients with GB from RedLANO follow-up registry were included. All patients underwent surgery, if feasible, followed by chemoradiation based on temozolomide (Stupp platform).

Genotyping low-grade gliomas among Hispanics.

Background: Low-grade gliomas (LGGs) are classified by the World Health Organization as astrocytoma (DA), oligodendroglioma (OD), and mixed oligoastrocytoma (OA). TP53 mutation and 1p19q codeletion are the most-commonly documented molecular abnormalities. Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1/2 mutations are frequent in LGGs; however, IDH-negative gliomas can also occur.