Ruptured pial-pial collateral aneurysm associated with left internal carotid artery occlusion: nuances of surgical management. Illustrative case.

Background: Carotid occlusion often leads to the formation of a collateral network. On rare occasions, due to hemodynamic influence, aneurysms can occur. Here, the authors describe a 69-year-old male presenting with intracerebral hemorrhage secondary to a ruptured aneurysm within such a network.

Cranial nerve and intramedullary spinal malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor associated with neurofibromatosis-1.

Background: Malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (MPNSTs) are uncommon but aggressive neoplasms associated with radiation exposure and neurofibromatosis Type I (NF1). Their incidence is low compared to other nervous system cancers, and intramedullary spinal lesions are exceedingly rare. Only a few case reports have described intramedullary spinal cord MPNST.

Parietal bone agenesis and athelia in retinoic acid embryopathy: An expansion of the phenotype.

Background: Retinoic acid signaling plays a critical role during embryogenesis and requires tight regulation. Exposure to exogenous retinoic acid during fetal development is known to have teratogenic effects, producing a recognizable embryopathy.

Case: We describe a case of retinoic acid embryopathy secondary to maternal isotretinoin use until the ninth week of gestation and expand the phenotype to include the rare features of parietal bone agenesis and athelia.

Microvessel stenosis, enlarged perivascular spaces, and fibrinogen deposition are associated with ischemic periventricular white matter hyperintensities.

Periventricular white matter hyperintensities (pvWMH) are neuroimaging abnormalities surrounding the lateral ventricles that are apparent on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). They are associated with age, neurodegenerative disease, and cerebrovascular risk factors. While pvWMH ultimately represent a loss of white matter structural integrity, the pathological causes are heterogeneous in nature, and currently, cannot be distinguished using neuroimaging alone.

α-tropomyosin gene (TPM3) mutation in an infant with nemaline myopathy.

We report a case of neonatal nemaline myopathy with a de novo mutation, which has been classified as a likely pathogenic mutation. With the expanding use of genetic testing in congenital myopathies, genotype-phenotype descriptions of novel variants are important to inform clinical care, diagnosis, genetic counseling, and management of disease.

Post-mortem 7 Tesla MRI detection of white matter hyperintensities: A multidisciplinary voxel-wise comparison of imaging and histological correlates.

White matter hyperintensities (WMH) occur in normal aging and across diagnostic categories of neurodegeneration. Ultra-high field imaging (UHF) MRI machines offer the potential to improve our understanding of WMH. Post-mortem imaging using UHF magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a useful way of assessing WMH, however, the responsiveness of UHF-MRI to pathological changes within the white matter has not been characterized.

Incisional Seeding of Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma Following Carotid Endarterectomy: An Unusual Case of an Unknown Primary Cancer Presenting as a Presumed Neck Abscess.

Background: Carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is a safe and effective procedure, with a low risk of complications when performed by experienced surgeons. Postoperative infections are particularly rare, reportedly affecting less than 1% of cases. Incisional metastases have not been described.

Executive dysfunction and blockage of brain microvessels in a rat model of vascular cognitive impairment.

Most research focuses on overt stroke caused by blockage of major blood vessels. Less attention has been paid to small vessel disease which gives rise to covert stroke that often leads to vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). One reason for this may be the relative lack of relevant animal models.

A cognitive rehabilitation paradigm effective in male rats lacks efficacy in female rats.

Cognitive dysfunction, as a consequence of dementia, is a significant cause of morbidity lacking efficacious treatment. Females comprise at least half of this demographic but have been vastly underrepresented in preclinical studies. The current study addressed this gap by assessing the protective efficacy of physical exercise and cognitive activity on learning and memory outcomes in a rat model of vascular dementia.

Early poststroke experience differentially alters periinfarct layer II and III cortex.

Early poststroke rehabilitation effectively improves recovery of function, likely by engaging multiple plasticity processes through use-dependent activation of neural circuits. The loci of such neuroplastic reorganization have not been examined during the initial phase of behavioral recovery. In the current study, we sought to evaluate sub-components of rehabilitation and to identify brain sites first engaged by early rehabilitation.

Impaired executive function following ischemic stroke in the rat medial prefrontal cortex.

Small (lacunar) infarcts frequently arise in frontal and midline thalamic regions in the absence of major stroke. Damage to these areas often leads to impairment of executive function likely as a result of interrupting connections of the prefrontal cortex. Thus, patients experience frontal-like symptoms such as impaired ability to shift ongoing behavior and attention.

A model of persistent learned nonuse following focal ischemia in rats.

Background: After hemiplegic stroke, people often rely on their unaffected limb to complete activities of daily living. A component of residual motor dysfunction involves learned suppression of movement, termed learned nonuse.

Objective: To date, no rodent stroke model of persistent learned nonuse has been described that can facilitate understanding of this phenomenon and test interventions to overcome it.

Cognitive rehabilitation reduces cognitive impairment and normalizes hippocampal CA1 architecture in a rat model of vascular dementia.

Dementia is a major cause of morbidity in the western society. Pharmacological therapies to delay the progression of cognitive impairments are modestly successful. Consequently, new therapies are urgently required to improve cognitive deficits associated with dementia.

Improved working memory following novel combinations of physical and cognitive activity.

Background: In humans, retrospective studies suggest that habitual physical activity (PA) or cognitive activity (CA) can help maintain or improve cognitive function. Similar findings have been reported using physical exercise in animal studies; however, the exercise paradigms differ markedly in duration and frequency, making extrapolation difficult. Here, the authors present a novel PA and CA paradigm that combines voluntary wheel running with Hebb-Williams and radial arm maze (RAM) training.

Contribution of physical fitness, cerebrovascular reserve and cognitive stimulation to cognitive function in post-menopausal women.

Unlabelled: Studies of the effects of physical fitness on cognition suggest that exercise can improve cognitive abilities in healthy older adults, as well as delay the onset of age-related cognitive decline. The mechanisms for the positive benefit of exercise and how these effects interact with other variables known to influence cognitive function (e.g.

Prolonged, 24-h delayed peripheral inflammation increases short- and long-term functional impairment and histopathological damage after focal ischemia in the rat.

The incidence of infection among stroke patients is alarmingly high and both acute and delayed infections increase morbidity and mortality. Experimental studies support the acute clinical data, but little attention has focused on delayed systemic infections. Here, we investigated the effects of prolonged systemic inflammation either before or 24-h after ischemia.

Assessing cognitive function after intracerebral hemorrhage in rats.

Preclinical studies must rigorously assess whether putative therapies improve motor and cognitive function following brain injury. Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) causes significant sensory-motor and cognitive deficits in humans. However, no study has evaluated cognition in rodent ICH models.

Persistent behavioral impairments and neuroinflammation following global ischemia in the rat.

Cognitive deficits associated with cardiac arrest have been well documented; however, the corresponding deficits in animal models of global ischemia have not been comprehensively assessed, particularly after long-term, clinically relevant survival times. We exposed male Sprague-Dawley rats to 10 min of bilateral carotid artery occlusion + systemic hypotension (40-45 mmHg) or sham surgery, and used histopathological assessments for short-term survival animals (16 days) and both behavioral and histopathological assessments for long-term survival animals (270 days). Analyses revealed significant long-term deficits in ischemic animals' learning, memory (T-maze, radial arm maze), working memory (radial arm maze), and reference memory (Morris water maze, radial arm maze) abilities that were not associated with a general cognitive decline.

Diazepam delays the death of hippocampal CA1 neurons following global ischemia.

Although diazepam provides limited long term neuroprotection, it may be useful for expanding the therapeutic time window after stroke by delaying neuronal death. However, it is not known to what extent diazepam maintains normal cellular structure and function in the first few days after ischemia. We used histological, immunohistochemical and electrophysiological endpoints to address this question.