Peripheral nerve field stimulation successfully manages axial pain after posterior cervical spine surgery: case report.

Axial neck and back pain after cervical spinal surgery is a common postoperative complication and can last for years. It is sometimes refractory to conventional treatments such as pharmacotherapy and spinal cord stimulation (SCS). Peripheral nerve field stimulation (PNFS) was recently introduced as an alternative treatment in the management of axial back pain into the occipital/craniofacial region and trunk in occipital neuralgia, post-herpetic neuralgia, and low back pain after lumbar spine surgery.

Successful surgical strategy for ventral thoracic spinal perimedullary spinal arteriovenous fistulas: Case report.

Background: Spinal arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are vascular lesions that often pose significant surgical challenges. This is particularly true for those located close to the anterior spinal artery. Here, we analyzed the surgical options for treating an anterior perimedullary AVF (pAVFs).

Volume Dynamics of Dendritic Spines in the Neocortex of Wild-Type and KO Mice.

Excitatory synapses are often formed at small protrusions of dendrite, called dendritic spines, in most projection neurons, and the spine-head volumes show strong correlations with synaptic connectivity. We examined the dynamics of spine volume in the adult mouse visual cortex using time-lapse two-photon imaging with a resonant Galvano scanner. Contrary to expectations, we found that the spines in the adult neocortex showed fluctuations to a similar degree as that observed in young hippocampal preparations, but there were systematic differences in how the dynamics were dependent on spine volumes, thus allowing for fewer fluctuations in small spines, which could account for the relatively low turnover rates of neocortical spines .

Calcineurin knockout mice show a selective loss of small spines.

Calcineurin is required for long-term depression and activity-dependent spine shrinkage, and calcineurin mutations have been identified in patients with schizophrenia. Moreover, mice with conditional knockout of calcineurin B (CNB-KO) exhibit behavioral abnormalities suggestive of schizophrenia. Changes in the dendritic spines of these mice, however, have not been investigated.

Spinal extradural arteriovenous fistulas with retrograde intradural venous drainage: Diagnostic features in digital subtraction angiography and time-resolved magnetic resonance angiography.

Spinal extradural arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) may be more difficult to prospectively identify than dural AVFs because they are less common than dural AVFs. The primary purpose was to further characterize the diagnostic imaging of spinal extradural AVFs with intradural retrograde venous drainage. The magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and angiographic results of 23 patients with suspected spinal dural AVFs were analyzed in order to distinguish dural and extradural AVFs.

Successful surgical strategy for a cervical hemangioblastoma: Case report.

Background: Hemangioblastomas are hypervascular lesions and hence their surgical management is challenging. In particular, if complete resection is to be attained, all feeding and draining vessels must be occluded. Although most intramedullary spinal cord tumors are treated utilizing a posterior approach, we describe an anterior surgical strategy for resection of an intramedullary cervical hemangioblastoma.

Seismic evidence for flow in the hydrated mantle wedge of the Ryukyu subduction zone.

It is widely accepted that water-rich serpentinite domains are commonly present in the mantle above shallow subducting slabs and play key roles in controlling the geochemical cycling and physical properties of subduction zones. Thermal and petrological models show the dominant serpentine mineral is antigorite. However, there is no good consensus on the amount, distribution and alignment of this mineral.

Abnormal intrinsic dynamics of dendritic spines in a fragile X syndrome mouse model in vivo.

Dendritic spine generation and elimination play an important role in learning and memory, the dynamics of which have been examined within the neocortex in vivo. Spine turnover has also been detected in the absence of specific learning tasks, and is frequently exaggerated in animal models of autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). The present study aimed to examine whether the baseline rate of spine turnover was activity-dependent.

Spinal cord stimulation ameliorates neuropathic pain-related sleep disorders: a case series.

Objective: Although sleep disorder is one of the most serious comorbidities of refractory chronic pain, it is usually assessed only from the patients' subjective point of view. Therefore, we aimed to objectively evaluate the sleep efficiency of patients with chronic pain.

Methods: Using an actigraph, a highly sensitive accelerometer, we assessed the sleep efficiency of six patients with chronic pain before and after the introduction of spinal cord stimulation (SCS).

Diagnosis and surgical strategy for sacral meningeal cysts with check-valve mechanism: technical note.

Objective: There is agreement that symptomatic sacral meningeal cysts with a check-valve mechanism and/or large cysts representing space-occupying lesions should be treated surgically. This study investigated factors indicating a need for surgical intervention and surgical techniques for sacral meningeal cysts with a check-valve mechanism.

Methods: In ten patients presenting with sciatica and neurological deficits, myelography, computed tomography (CT) myelography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MR imaging) detected sacral meningeal cysts with a check-valve mechanism.

Rheumatoid leptomeningitis: rare complication of rheumatoid arthritis.

Rheumatoid leptomeningitis is a rare complication of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We describe a woman with rheumatoid leptomeningitis presenting with acute-onset behavioral changes and consciousness disturbance in the early stage of RA. On fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images or diffusion-weighted images, high-signal-intensity lesions in the subarachnoid spaces of the right frontal lobe were observed.

A huge presacral Tarlov cyst. Case report.

Perineural cysts have become a common incidental finding during lumbosacral magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Only some of the symptomatic cysts warrant treatment. The authors describe the successful operative treatment of a patient with, to the best of their knowledge, the largest perineural cyst reported to date.