Concordance and diagnostic yield of stereotactic biopsies for posterior fossa: Technique and experience in a reference hospital.

Aim: Describe our stereotactic brain biopsy (SBB) technique for intra-axial lesions of the posterior fossa, evaluate its effectiveness and safety, and compare them with other series.

Material And Methods: Retrospective study in ten consecutive patients, whose variables were age, gender, location of the lesions, clinical, radiological, and histopathological diagnoses, complications, and mortality, for analysis using descriptive statistics and tests of concordance and diagnostic validity.

Results: Lesions were pontine in seven cases, and pontomedullary in three occasions, with histopathological diagnoses of four Grade II astrocytomas, two Grade IV astrocytomas, two infectious process, one neuroblastic tumor, and one cavernous malformation, whose frequency differs from the previous reports (χ = 0.

Specific movement and disability improvements in Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale derived from pallidotomy in refractory patients to medical treatment.

Background: Dystonia is a movement disorder associated with significant disability and is usually refractory to medical treatment. Pallidotomy may decrease dystonic movements. The aim of this study was to quantify movement and disability improvements through Burke-Fahn-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale (BFMDRS).