Cerebrospinal fluid enhancement on fluid attenuated inversion recovery images after carotid artery stenting with neuroprotective balloon occlusions: hemodynamic instability and blood-brain barrier disruption.

Purpose: A rare complication of carotid artery stenting (CAS), prolonged reversible neurological symptoms with delayed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) space enhancement on fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images, is associated with blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. We prospectively identified patients who showed CSF space enhancement on FLAIR images.

Methods: Nineteen patients-5 acute-phase and 14 scheduled-underwent 21 CAS procedures.

[Accessory nerve schwannoma of the intracisternal type: a case report].

Accessory nerve schwannomas are extremely rare and they are classified into three types according to their locations; intrajugular, intracisternal and spinal canal type. We report a case of intracisternal schwannoma that arose from the spinal accessory nerve roots and we describe it's clinical characteristics. A-48-year-old female was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of left occipital pain.

Microsurgical treatment of tentorial meningiomas: Report of 30 patients.

Background: Tentorial meningiomas represent about 5% of intracranial meningiomas. This article reviews our recent institutional series of patients with tentorial meningiomas, proposes a simplified classification and analyzes postoperative evolution, discussing the salient features in the management of these patients.

Methods: From 1998 to 2005, 30 patients (22 female and 8 male) with tentorial meningiomas were operated at our institution.

Simulated microgravity maintains the undifferentiated state and enhances the neural repair potential of bone marrow stromal cells.

Recently, regenerative medicine with bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) has gained significant attention for the treatment of central nervous system diseases. Here, we investigated the activity of BMSCs under simulated microgravity conditions. Mouse BMSCs (mBMSCs) were isolated from C57BL/6 mice and harvested in 1G condition.

Relationship between cytokeratin staining patterns and clinico-pathological features in somatotropinomae.

Objective: Somatotropinomae are classified as densely and sparsely granulated adenomae, which typically exhibit a perinuclear pattern (PP) and a dot pattern (DP) in cytokeratin (CK) immunostaining respectively. Some exhibit a mixed pattern (MP). We studied the relationship between these somatotropinoma subtypes and their clinico-pathological features.

Development of a freeware for analysis of neuromagnetic epileptic discharges.

We developed a freeware for the analysis of neuromagnetic epileptic discharges and named it "hns_meg." It works as an executable standalone application, compatible with 32/64 bit Microsoft Windows Vista or Mac OSX 10.6.

Role of PROPELLER diffusion-weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient in the evaluation of pituitary adenomas.

Objective: The relationship between tumor consistency and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values is controversial. We evaluated the role of the ADC using an advanced diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technique. We employed periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) DWI acquired on a 3-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to assess the consistency of pituitary adenomas and examined the relationship between the ADC and the hormone secretion status of the tumors and their MIB-1 labeling index (MIB-1 LI).

Vulnerable carotid arterial plaque causing repeated ischemic stroke can be detected with B-mode ultrasonography as a mobile component: Jellyfish sign.

Mobile plaque is associated with increased risk of ischemic stroke, but definitions have remained unclear. We have previously reported that carotid ultrasonography can detect the mobile component of the carotid plaque surface, which rises and falls in a manner inconsistent with arterial pulsatile wall motion (Jellyfish sign). However, clinical and pathological features of Jellyfish sign remain unclear.

Cerebral angiography using gadolinium as an alternative contrast medium in a patient with severe allergy to iodinated contrast medium.

We report cerebral digital subtraction angiography (DSA) using Gadolinium in a patient allergic to iodinated contrast media. A 77-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for surgical resection of a brain tumor. Although a DSA was requested as a preoperative examination, the patient had a history of allergic reaction to non-ionic iodinated contrast medium.

Expression of phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes 15 kDa (PEA-15) in astrocytic tumors: a novel approach of correlating malignancy grade and prognosis.

Phosphoprotein enriched in astrocytes 15 kDa (PEA-15) is a multifunctional protein that was first identified in brain astrocytes and that has subsequently been shown to be expressed in different tissues. Despite its many important roles, the clinical significance of PEA-15 expression levels in astrocytic tumors has yet to be properly defined. We studied the PEA-15 expression pattern of 65 patients [diagnosed according to World Health Organization (WHO) criteria] with diffuse astrocytoma (WHO grade II), anaplastic astrocytoma (grade III), and glioblastoma (grade IV).

Gradient magnetic-field topography reflecting cortical activities of neocortical epilepsy spikes.

Purpose: To compare and validate the gradient magnetic-field topography (GMFT) method of current source localization for understanding epileptic zones against equivalent current dipole (ECD) and intracranial video-EEG (IVEEG) data in patients with intractable neocortical epilepsy.

Methods: We used retrospective data from eight patients to determine GMFT at onset (O) and peak (P) of interictal magnetoencephalography (MEG) spikes and mapped GMFT(O) and GMFT(P) locations and distributions using 12 zones in unilateral hemisphere. We compared GMFT with ECD, ictal onset zones (IOZ) and interictal zones on IVEEG, and seizure outcomes.

Hippocampal cell loss and propagation of abnormal discharges accompanied with the expression of tonic convulsion in the spontaneously epileptic rat.

Spontaneously epileptic rats (SER) are double mutants with both tonic convulsion and absence-like seizures from the age of 8 weeks. Hippocampal CA3 neurons in SER display a long-lasting depolarizing shift accompanied by repetitive firing (attributed to abnormalities of the Ca(2+) channels) with a single stimulation of the mossy fibers. In the present investigation, we examined if the seizure discharges of SER were correlated with the hippocampal abnormality of SER using electrophysiological and histological methods.

Accuracy and pitfalls of multidetector-row computed tomography in detecting spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas.

Object: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of multidetector-row CT angiography (MDCTA) in demonstrating spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVFs).

Methods: The authors studied 10 patients with SDAVFs, including 2 with spinal epidural AVFs, who underwent preoperative MR imaging, MDCTA, and digital subtraction angiography (DSA). In the evaluation of coronal sections of multiplanar reformation MDCTA images, inspection was focused on the presence of the following findings: 1) dilated perimedullary veins in the spinal canal; 2) focal enhancement of the nerve root, suggesting the location of the AVF, around the dural sleeve; and 3) a radicular vein that drains the AVF into perimedullary veins.

Evaluation of dural arteriovenous fistulas of cavernous sinus before and after endovascular treatment using time-resolved MR angiography.

Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) is the preferred method for confirming dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs), but it has the disadvantage of being invasive. In contrast, time-resolved magnetic resonance angiography (TR-MRA) is a useful, noninvasive imaging technique. The aim of this study was to compare the evaluation of DAVFs of the cavernous sinus (CS) using TR-MRA and DSA.

Pharmacokinetic–pharmacodynamic target attainment analysis of meropenem in Japanese adult patients.

This study was a pharmacokinetic (PK)-pharmacodynamic (PD) target attainment analysis of meropenem in Japanese adult patients. Plasma drug concentration data (265 samples from 42 patients) were used for population PK modeling and Monte Carlo simulation to assess the probability of attaining the PK-PD target (40% of the time above the MIC for the bacterium). The final population PK model identified creatinine clearance (Cl(cr), ml/min) and body weight (BW, kg) as the most significant covariates: Cl (l/h) = 0.

Ruptured vertebral artery dissecting aneurysms treated with endovascular treatment.

Intracranial vertebral artery (VA) dissecting aneurysms often present with severe subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and a subsequent high rate of mortality. We retrospectively studied the treatment efficacy and outcomes of 26 patients with ruptured VA dissecting aneurysms treated with endovascular surgery. Twenty-six patients with ruptured VA dissecting aneurysms were enrolled.

A magnetoencephalographic study of sensorimotor activity differences during unilateral and bilateral forearm movements.

This study compared activation of the sensorimotor area using magnetoencephalography after unilateral and bilateral movements. Thirteen healthy individuals and a patient with mild hemiplegia performed unilateral and bilateral forearm pronation movements. Among healthy participants, there were no significant differences in motor-evoked field during unilateral and bilateral movements, and equivalent current dipoles were located around the sensorimotor area.

Effects of simulated microgravity on proliferation and chemosensitivity in malignant glioma cells.

A three-dimensional (3D) clinostat is a device for generating multidirectional G force, resulting in an environment with an average of 10(-3)G. We cultured human malignant glioma cell lines in a 3D-clinostat (CL group) and examined the growth properties and chemosensitivity of the cells compared to cells cultured under normal 1G conditions (C group). The growth rate was significantly inhibited in the CL group, but without cell cycle change.

Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis after closed head injury.

Background: Cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT) after closed head injury is an uncommon but potentially serious complication. The aim of this study was to determine whether diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) provide predictive information regarding prognosis.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed a series of 11 patients with CSVT after closed head injury.

Spinal epidural granulocytic sarcoma in a child precedent to clinical manifestation of acute myeloid lymphoma: case report.

A 13-year-old boy presented with an epidural thoracic granulocytic sarcoma manifesting as rapidly progressive paraplegia preceding clinical manifestation of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a thoracic epidural tumor. He underwent emergent laminectomy and the tumor was totally resected.

Role of PROPELLER diffusion weighted imaging and apparent diffusion coefficient in the diagnosis of sellar and parasellar lesions.

Objective: To evaluate the role of the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) using periodically rotated overlapping parallel lines with enhanced reconstruction (PROPELLER) diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) in the differentiation between sellar and parasellar mass lesions.

Materials And Methods: The study protocol was approved by our institutional review board. We retrospectively studied 60 patients with sellar and parasellar lesions who had undergone PROPELLER DWI on a 3-T MR imager.

Traumatic anterior communicating artery pseudoaneurysm with cavernous sinus fistula.

A traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula and an intracranial pseudoaneurysm are uncommon but well-known complications of head trauma. A rare subtype of arteriovenous fistula may occur from a pseudoaneurysm of the anterior communicating artery (AcoA) instead of the internal carotid artery. We describe a patient with a traumatic pseudoaneurysm of the AcoA with a cavernous sinus fistula treated with endovascular treatment.

The combination of low cytoplasmic and high nuclear expression of p27 predicts a better prognosis in high-grade astrocytoma.

Background: The function of the cyclin-dependent kinase (cdk) inhibitor p27 is regulated by translocation between the nucleus (activate) and the cytosol (inactivate). No previous reports have examined the subcellular localization of p27 in glioma which was evaluated here regarding the prognosis in high-grade astrocytomas.

Patients And Methods: The pattern of subcellular localization of p27 expression was examined immunohistochemically in 49 patients with high-grade astrocytoma who were over 20 years of age.

Quality of life of extremely long-time germinoma survivors mainly treated with radiotherapy.

Purpose: To assess the quality of life (QOL) of extremely long-time survivors with germinoma mainly treated with radiotherapy.

Patients And Methods: We enrolled 52 of 68 patients who received radiotherapy between 1968 and 1995 at our hospital. They were 41 males and 11 females; the tumor location was pineal in 20, neurohypophyseal in 15, pineal and neurohypophyseal in 11 patients; in 6 it was located in another region.