Cancer complaints: The profile of patients from the emergency department of a Brazilian oncology teaching hospital.

With the increase in prevalence of cancer in our society, we aim to clarify through primary data use what drives emergency department (ED) utilization among patients with cancer. This is a cross-sectional study. A direct survey was applied to cancer patients over 277 visits in 2015.

Levels of MMP-9 in patients with intracranial aneurysm: Relation with risk factors, size and clinical presentation.

Background: Intracranial aneurysms are arterial anomalies affecting 2% to 3% of the general population in the world and these ruptures are associated with a high mortality. Some risk factors, such as age, gender, smoking, alcohol, hypertension and familial history are associated with the number of aneurysms and their size. In addition, inflammatory processes within the blood vessels of the brain can activate matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), which degrades various components of the extracellular matrix, such as elastin.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Anterior Pituitary Deficiency after Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage: Prospective Cohort.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of hypopituitarism in the acute stage after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) as well at the chronic stage, at least 1 year after bleeding, to assess its implications and correlation with clinical features of the studied population.

Patients And Methods: This was a prospective cohort study that evaluated patients admitted between December 2009 and May 2011 with a diagnosis of SAH secondary to cerebral aneurysm rupture. Clinical and endocrine assessment was performed during the acute stage after hospital admission and before treatment at a mean of 7.

Lateralization of the Subthalamic Nucleus with Age in Parkinson's Disease.

Age-related changes in subthalamic nucleus (STN) position have not been well characterized in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We report a systematic retrospective analysis of age-related changes in radiographic and final deep brain stimulator (DBS) STN coordinates in PD patients. The charts of 134 PD patients (97 males, 28-84 years) representing 255 STN were reviewed.

Indices of agreement between neurosurgeons and a radiologist in interpreting tomography scans in an emergency department.

Unlabelled: The power of interpretation in the analysis of cranial computed tomography (CCT) among neurosurgeons and radiologists has rarely been studied. This study aimed to assess the rate of agreement in the interpretation of CCTs between neurosurgeons and a radiologist in an emergency department.

Method: 227 CCT were independently analyzed by two neurosurgeons (NS1 and NS2) and a radiologist (RAD).

Alzheimer's disease: The role for neurosurgery.

Dementia, most commonly caused by Alzheimer's disease (AD), affects approximately 35 million people worldwide, with the incidence expected to increase as the population ages. After decades of investigation, AD is now understood to be a complex disease that affects behavior and cognition through several mechanisms: Disrupted neuronal communication, abnormal regional tissue metabolism, and impaired cellular repair. Existing therapies have demonstrated limited efficacy, which has spurred the search for specific disease markers and predictors as well as innovative therapeutic options.

Neuromodulation for eating disorders: obesity and anorexia.

Extremes of eating disorders (ED) have become prevalent in both developed and developing countries. Available therapies, though largely effective, fail in a substantial number of patients and carry considerable side effects. Morbid obesity and anorexia nervosa (AN) represent important causes of morbidity and mortality among young adults.

Intracranial stereotactic radiosurgery: concepts and techniques.

Stereotactic radiosurgery was conceptualized to treat functional diseases of the brain. The need for devices capable of molding the radiation dose to the nuances of intracranial lesions and yet preserve brain function became a challenge. Several devices capable of performing radiosurgery of high quality became commercially available, each with advantages and disadvantages.

Pituitary deficiency after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Objective: Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage puts patients at high risk for the development of pituitary insufficiency. We evaluated the incidence of pituitary dysfunction in these patients and its correlation with clinical outcome.

Methods: Pituitary function was tested in 66 consecutive patients in the first 15 days after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Skin closure in vascular neurosurgery: A prospective study on absorbable intradermal suture versus nonabsorbable suture.

Background: The craniotomy performed with minimal hair removal and closure with intradermal suture alone is an option in neurosurgical procedures, which can help faster psychological recovery of the patient, as it allows a better cosmetic result. This study is aimed at evaluating if such method is safe and effective, compared with continuous skin sutures with 2-0 nylon.

Methods: We analyzed the sutures in 117 patients undergoing craniotomies for cerebral aneurysm clipping.

Blogs for neurosurgeons.

Blogs are useful tools to research and to disseminate information. As they allow people who do not have specific knowledge on the building of sites to post content on the internet, they turned out to be very popular. In the past years, there has been a rapid expansion of blogs on several subjects and nowadays there are over 156 million blogs online.

Meningioangiomatosis without neurofibromatosis simulating encephalitis in neuroimaging.

Background: Meningioangiomatosis (MA) is a rare entity characterized by a focal lesion that affects the leptomeninges and the cerebral cortex.

Case Description: We describe a case of a 32-year-old man diagnosed with MA not associated with hamartomatous lesions or with type 2 neurofibromatosis. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) showed an extensive parieto-occipital lesion and another right frontal lesion, initially suggestive of encephalitis.

Stereotactic biopsy for brainstem tumors: comparison of transcerebellar with transfrontal approach.

Background: An important aspect of evaluating patients submitted to stereotactic biopsy of the brainstem is the trajectory used. The literature describes two principal approaches: the suboccipital transcerebellar and the transfrontal; however, no studies exist comparing these two techniques.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare diagnosis success rates and complications between the suboccipital transcerebellar and transfrontal trajectories.

Correlation between magnetic resonance imaging findings and histological diagnosis of intrinsic brainstem lesions in adults.

Management of brainstem mass lesions remains a controversial issue, especially when the lesion cannot be excised and when infiltration occurs; moreover, the benefits of a stereotactic procedure are still under debate. In most studies, treatment decisions are based solely on MRI features and do not include a histopathological diagnosis. In the current study, we compared MRI characteristics with histopathological findings of intrinsic brainstem lesions and identified the characteristics associated with the diagnosis of pathologies other than diffuse glioma.

Correlation among magnetic resonance imaging findings, prognostic factors for survival, and histological diagnosis of intrinsic brainstem lesions in children.

Object: The aim of this study was to compare MR imaging characteristics with histopathological findings of intrinsic brainstem lesions and also to show the prognostic factors in patients with diffuse brainstem glioma.

Methods: Between February 1988 and August 2007, 44 brainstem biopsies were performed at the Roger Salengro Hospital in Lille, France, in children with intrinsic brainstem lesions not amenable to excision. Twenty-six were female and 18 male, and the mean age was 6 years.

Differential aspects of stroke and congestive heart failure in quality of life reduction: a case series with three comparison groups.

Background: To assess QOL of patients with stroke in comparison to other groups (caregivers and CHF patients), to identify which items of QOL are more affected on each group and what is the functional profile of patients with stroke.

Methods: Consecutive stroke or congestive heart failure (CHF) patients were evaluated and compared to their caregivers (caregivers). The NIH Stroke Scale (NIHSS) and EuroQoL-5D (EQ-5D) scale were applied.

[Traumatic brain injury in children and adolescents at Salvador City, Bahia, Brazil].

Objective: To verify the frequency of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in the people between 0 and 19 years of age, in accordance to gender, age and cause of trauma.

Method: Descriptive study made through a period of a year, in all TBI victims, aged until 19 years admitted in a reference trauma center.

Results: The sample had a total of 390 patients; 280 (71.