Metastases are the most common tumors of the spine. As an important increase in the annual incidence of spinal metastases (SMs) has been observed in the last decade, the aim of this study was to describe the epidemiology and histopathological types of SMs surgically treated in the Neurosurgery Clinics of a Regional Hospital in North-Eastern Romania over a period of five years, in order to define a certain tumor profile that would benefit from an early screening. We retrospectively evaluated 115 adult patients, searching for demographic data (gender and age of the patients), primary tumor characteristics (location and histological type), topography of the SMs, and the time interval between the diagnosis of the primary tumor and the surgery for the SMs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study assesses the predictive performance of six machine learning models and a 1D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) in forecasting tumor dynamics within three months following Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) in 77 brain metastasis (BM) patients. The analysis meticulously evaluates each model before and after hyperparameter tuning, utilizing accuracy, AUC, and other metrics derived from confusion matrices. The CNN model showcased notable performance with an accuracy of 98% and an AUC of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlioblastoma, a primary brain tumor known for its adverse prognosis and aggressive nature, presents a significant challenge when occurring in the spinal cord. We report a case of a 20-year-old female with no prior medical history who developed progressive paraparesis and urinary retention, symptoms indicative of an intramedullary glioblastoma in the spinal cord. This case study delves into the clinical presentation, diagnostic process, and therapeutic interventions, highlighting the complexities encountered during the patient's treatment course.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLow-Grade Gliomas (LGGs) represent a diverse group of brain tumors originating from glial cells, characterized by their unique histopathological and molecular features. This article offers a comprehensive exploration of LGGs, shedding light on their subtypes, histological and molecular aspects. By delving into the World Health Organization's grading system, 5th edition, various specificities were added due to an in-depth understanding of emerging laboratory techniques, especially genomic analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNowadays, infection diseases are one of the most significant threats to humans all around the world. An encouraging strategy for solving this issue and fighting resistant microorganisms is to develop drug carriers for a prolonged release of the antibiotic to the target site. The purpose of this work was to obtain metronidazole-encapsulated chitosan nanoparticles using an ion gelation route and to evaluate their properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe landscape of cranial base surgery has undergone monumental transformations over the past several decades. This article serves as a comprehensive survey, detailing both the historical and current techniques and technologies that have propelled this field into an era of unprecedented capabilities and sophistication. In the prologue, we traverse the historical evolution from rudimentary interventions to the state-of-the-art neurosurgical methodologies that define today's practice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review initiates by outlining the clinical relevance of IA, underlining the pressing need to comprehend its foundational elements. We delve into the assorted risk factors tied to IA, spotlighting both environmental and genetic influences. Additionally, we illuminate distinct genetic syndromes linked to a pronounced prevalence of intracranial aneurysms, underscoring the pivotal nature of genetics in this ailment's susceptibility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis article critically evaluates the multifunctional role of the Golgi apparatus within neurological paradigms. We succinctly highlight its influence on neuronal plasticity, development, and the vital trafficking and sorting mechanisms for proteins and lipids. The discourse further navigates to its regulatory prominence in neurogenesis and its implications in Alzheimer's Disease pathogenesis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlcohol-related cognitive disorders have long been an area of study, yet they continue to pose challenges in the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of underlying neuropsychiatric mechanisms. The present article offers a comprehensive review of Wernicke's Encephalopathy and Korsakoff's Syndrome, two conditions often seen on a continuum of alcohol-related brain damage. Drawing on current medical literature, neuroimaging studies, and clinical case reports, we explore the neuropsychiatric and neuropsychological profiles, symptomatology, and differential diagnoses of these disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review delves into neuroimmunology, focusing on its relevance to multiple sclerosis (MS) and potential treatment advancements. Neuroimmunology explores the intricate relationship between the immune system and the central nervous system (CNS). Understanding these mechanisms is vital for grasping the pathophysiology of diseases like MS and for devising innovative treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The study investigated whether three deep-learning models, namely, the CNN_model (trained from scratch), the TL_model (transfer learning), and the FT_model (fine-tuning), could predict the early response of brain metastases (BM) to radiosurgery using a minimal pre-processing of the MRI images. The dataset consisted of 19 BM patients who underwent stereotactic-radiosurgery (SRS) within 3 months. The images used included axial fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) sequences and high-resolution contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (CE T1w) sequences from the tumor center.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArtificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly integrating into diagnostic methods across many branches of medicine. Significant progress has been made in tumor assessment using AI algorithms, and research is underway on how image manipulation can provide information with diagnostic, prognostic and treatment impacts. Glioblastoma (GB) remains the most common primary malignant brain tumor, with a median survival of 15 months.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is one of the biggest challenges of cardiovascular medicine. The significance of the RAS in the chronic progression of SARS-CoV-2 infection and its consequences is one of the topics that are currently being mostly discussed. SARS-CoV-2 undermines the balance between beneficial and harmful RAS pathways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInvasive forms of aspergillosis of the nervous system are relatively rare and are usually diagnosed in immunocompromised patients. We present the case of a young female patient, treated in the last two months with corticosteroids and antifungal drug for pulmonary aspergillosis, who developed progressive paraparesis. An intramedullary abscess at the C7-D1 level was identified and the lesion was treated with a combination of surgery and antifungal therapy.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBecause the circle of Willis (CoW) supplies blood to the brain in case of occlusion of one of the cerebral arteries, identification of any change in its classical shape could be useful in the assessment of cerebrovascular morbidity. The purpose of our research was to study the anatomical variants of CoW identified on fresh brains obtained at the clinical autopsies of adult deceased patients belonging to a specific population (Northeastern region of Romania), as no data are available for Romania population up to date. The study group included consecutive patients who died in Prof.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlioblastoma (GB) is the most aggressive and recurrent form of brain cancer in adults. We hypothesized that the identification of biomarkers such as certain microRNAs (miRNAs) and the circulating microvesicles (MVs) that transport them could be key to establishing GB progression, recurrence and therapeutic response. For this purpose, circulating MVs were isolated from the plasma of GB patients (before and after surgery) and of healthy subjects and characterized by flow cytometry.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA spinal cord injury (SCI) is one of the most devastating lesions, as it can damage the continuity and conductivity of the central nervous system, resulting in complex pathophysiology. Encouraged by the advances in nanotechnology, stem cell biology, and materials science, researchers have proposed various interdisciplinary approaches for spinal cord regeneration. In this respect, the present review aims to explore the most recent developments in SCI treatment and spinal cord repair.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe incidence of brain metastases (BMs) originating in breast cancer (BC) is increasing due to advances in imaging techniques, which can detect such events early, and due to new therapies that can ensure longer survival. We performed a retrospective study on patients with BMs originating in BC and receiving surgical treatment in Neurosurgery Clinics of Prof. Dr.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, healthcare workers are at high risk to be infected with this new coronavirus, particularly when they handle not only patients, but also their body fluids. In Romania, even though the protective measures to be used by medical staff in emergency departments, clinical departments, radiology departments, clinical laboratories and morgues services are well known, there is little information about the protection of medical staff in the laboratories of cytopathology and histopathology. In this article, we will discuss the transmission routes of the new coronavirus, the surfaces it could contaminate in a hospital, as well as the modalities of its inactivation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMany developments were made in the area of endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms, but this procedure also requires a good assessment of vascular anatomy prior to intervention. Seventy-six cases with brain aneurysms were selected and 1:1 scale 3D printed models were created. We asked three interventional neurosurgeons with different degrees of experience (ten years, four years, and a fourth-year resident) to review the cases using CTA (computed tomography angiogram) with MPR (multiplanar reconstructions) and VRT (volume rendering technique) and make a decision: coil embolization or stent-assisted coil embolization.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFrom their discovery, antibiotics have significantly improved clinical treatments of infections, thus leading to diminishing morbidity and mortality in critical care patients, as well as surgical, transplant and other types of medical procedures. In contemporary medicine, a significant debate regarding the development of multi-drug resistance involves all types of pathogens, especially in acute care hospitals due to suboptimal or inappropriate therapy. The possibility of nanotechnology using nanoparticles as matrices to encapsulate a lot of active molecules should increase drug efficacy, limit adverse effects and be an alternative helping to combat antibiotic resistance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Gingival overgrowth refers to an increase in the size of the gingival tissue. The etiology varies, and is often a multi-factor issue; what may contribute to gingival enlargement are aspects, such as disease, local and systemic conditions and idiopathic factors. The aim of the present study is to analyze and to correlate the clinical, epidemiological, imaging and histopathological (HP) features of gingival overgrowth in northeastern Romanian population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWarthin tumor is described using various terms, such as papillary cystadenoma lymphomatosum, adenolymphoma or monomorphic adenoma. It is a medical condition related to the salivary glands, namely a benign cystic tumor which contains an epithelial component and an abundant lymphoid stroma. It is also named Warthin tumor after Aldred Scott Warthin, the pathologist who described this entity in 1929 by observing it in two patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: Penile squamous cell carcinoma (pSCC) and glioblastoma (GB) are rare malignant tumors that develop especially in the elderly. The aim of our paper is to present two patients diagnosed and treated for a cerebral GB developed after a prior pSCC and to discuss the possible mechanism of their association.
Patients, Materials, And Methods: The medical records of 632 patients admitted for a GB in the Department of Neurosurgery, "Prof.