Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson Disease in Hong Kong: A Prospective Territory-Wide 2-Year Follow-Up Study.

Objective: We assessed the effects of bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) in patients with Parkinson disease at the 1-year and 2-year follow-up evaluations. Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor score at "off" medication ("on" DBS) and quality-of-life assessments (39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire [PDQ-39]) were conducted. The percentage of awake "on" time and awake "off" time and levodopa requirement were also assessed.

Concomitant use of Western and Chinese medicine treatments in neurosurgical patients in Hong Kong.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the profile of concomitant use of Chinese medicine (CM) and Western medical treatment in neurosurgical patients. METHODS: A guided questionnaire survey was conducted on 309 Chinese patients under neurosurgical care in a teaching hospital in Hong Kong from June to July 2006. RESULTS: Concomitant use of CM was reported by 25.

Introduction of an electronic monitoring system for monitoring compliance with Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" methodology.

Background: MedSense is an electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system that provides Infection Control Practitioners with continuous access to hand hygiene compliance information by monitoring Moments 1 and 4 of the WHO "My 5 Moments for Hand Hygiene" guidelines. Unlike previous electronic monitoring systems, MedSense operates in open cubicles with multiple beds and does not disrupt existing workflows.

Methods: This study was conducted in a 6-bed neurosurgical intensive care unit with technical development and evaluation phases.

Impact of a multidisciplinary trauma team on the outcome of acute subdural haematoma.

Introduction: To review the outcome of patients with post-traumatic acute subdural haematoma (ASDH) before and after the establishment of a hospital trauma team at a designated trauma centre.

Method: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 82 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for post-traumatic ASDH. The 'PRE' and 'POST' groups included patients admitted before and after the establishment of a hospital trauma team, respectively.

Thalamo-perforating artery aneurysm in Moyamoya disease - case report.

A 31-year-old man with Moyamoya disease had received a right encephalo-duro-arterial synangiosis and later developed a rupture of the left thalamo-perforating artery aneurysm. Surgical strategies were discussed. Perfusion studies revealed increased haemodynamic stress on the left hemisphere which was likely the cause of the aneurysm.

A 33-year-old Chinese woman with a left frontal tumor.

Rhabdoid tumor cells are typically observed in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) but may also be seen in meningioma,glioma, melanoma, rhabdomyosarcoma and metastatic carcinoma.We present an astroblastoma with unusual rhabdoid features which is rarely described in the English literature. Apart from the rhabdoid tumor cells, all the histopathological features typical for astroblastoma are present in this case.

Triology of neurosurgical complications after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Radiotherapy is an effective treatment for NPC. With improved survival, radiation-induced neurological complications are being diagnosed more commonly. We presented a patient with a trilogy of radiation-induced pathologies after radiotherapy for NPC.

Stereotactic radiosurgery versus gold grain implantation in salvaging local failures of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Background: Limited local failure of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) can often be salvaged by reirradiation using different techniques. Both gold grain implantation (GGI) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) have been used as salvage treatment of NPC but the relative efficacy of these two treatments is not known.

Methods And Materials: A total of 74 patients with local NPC failure were included in this retrospective analysis.

Endoscopic-assisted cranionasal resection of olfactory neuroblastoma.

Background: Cranionasal resection was first described in 1997 for the surgical resection of olfactory neuroblastoma. The endoscopic transnasal approach is used in cranionasal resection to replace the more invasive craniofacial resection. It has the advantages of avoiding the facial wound and its associated pain, swelling, and scar.

The cerebellum's involvement in the judgment of spatial orientation: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was conducted to integrate the clinical observations of the impaired judgment of spatial orientation of cerebellar patients with recent theoretical discoveries about the role of the cerebellum in cognitive functions. Ten normal healthy male right-handed Chinese postgraduates consented to participate in this study. The experimental task employed was a modified version of Benton's Judgment of Line Orientation Test, administered in a blocked fMRI study.