PASTA-kinase-mediated signaling drives accumulation of the peptidoglycan synthesis protein MurAA to promote cephalosporin resistance in Enterococcus faecalis.

The bacterial PASTA kinase, IreK, is required for intrinsic cephalosporin resistance in the Gram-positive opportunistic pathogen, Enterococcus faecalis. IreK activity is enhanced in response to cell wall stress, such as cephalosporin exposure. The downstream consequences of IreK activation are not well understood in E.

Use of an Interspecies Chimeric Receptor for Inducible Gene Expression Reveals that Metabolic Flux through the Peptidoglycan Biosynthesis Pathway is an Important Driver of Cephalosporin Resistance in Enterococcus faecalis.

Cephalosporins are commonly prescribed antibiotics that impair cross-linking of the bacterial cell wall. The Gram-positive opportunistic pathogen, Enterococcus faecalis, is intrinsically resistant to these antibiotics and proliferates substantially during cephalosporin therapy. As a result, the usage of cephalosporins has the potential to lead to life-threatening enterococcal infections.

Endoscopic Endonasal Odontoidectomy.

Odontoidectomy is the treatment of choice for irreducible ventral cervical-medullary compression. The endonasal endoscopic approach is an innovative approach for odontoidectomy. The aim of this article is to identify in which conditions this approach is indicated, discussing variants of the technique for selected cases of craniovertebral malformation with platybasia.

Endoscopic treatment of a fourth ventricle arachnoid cyst via the third ventricle: a case report.

Background And Importance: Arachnoid cysts within the fourth ventricle have rarely been reported in the literature. Different procedures have been performed to restore a normal cerebrospinal fluid dynamic or pressure, including shunting and partial or complete excision of the cyst by open microsurgery. Cerebrospinal fluid shunts give only partial improvement of symptoms and are prone to malfunctions.

Endoscopic endonasal odontoidectomy: clinical series.

Study Design: This study evaluates a series of consecutive endoscopic endonasal odontoidectomies performed since 2008 in our center.

Objective: The aim of the study was to analyze the outcome and the surgical technique to enlighten advantages and limitations of this procedure.

Summary Of Background Data: Odontoidectomy represents the treatment of choice in selected cases of basilar invagination.

Safety and diagnostic accuracy of neuroendoscopic biopsies: an international multicenter study.

Object: Analysis of the safety and morbidity of neuroendoscopic biopsies (NEBs), as well as the reliability in obtaining an accurate diagnosis, has until now been based on studies with relatively small sample sizes. Through the cooperative efforts of several international medical centers, authors of the present study collected data on a large number of patients to obtain better insight into this issue. When possible, they compared pathology obtained through an NEB with the "gold-standard" pathology obtained in open surgery.

Neuroendoscopic biopsy of ventricular tumors: a multicentric experience.

Object: Although neuroendoscopic biopsy is routinely performed, the safety and validity of this procedure has been studied only in small numbers of patients in single-center reports. The Section of Neuroendoscopy of the Italian Neurosurgical Society invited some of its members to review their own experience, gathering a sufficient number of cases for a wide analysis.

Methods: Retrospective data were collected by 7 centers routinely performing neuroendoscopic biopsies over a period of 10 years.

Endoscopic endonasal odontoidectomy in a patient affected by Down syndrome: technical case report.

Objective: Atlantoaxial instability and odontoid invagination may occur in Down syndrome. The treatment of this lesion may require an odontoidectomy. In similar circumstances, a transoral procedure may be hampered by a macroglossia which is part of Down syndrome.

Application of neuroendoscopy to intraventricular lesions.

We present an overview of the history, development, technological advancements, current application, and future trends of cranial endoscopy. Neuroendoscopy provides a safe and effective management modality for the treatment of a variety of intracranial disorders, either tumoral or non-tumoral, congenital, developmental, and degenerative, and its knowledge, indications, and limits are fundamental for the armamentarium of the modern neurosurgeon.

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus: an Italian multicenter study.

Objectives: The aim of the report is to define the indications and results of endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV) in idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus and to discuss the physiopathological mechanism of this procedure.

Methods: The cases of 110 patients with idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus who underwent ETV in four Italian neurosurgical centers were retrospectively reviewed. The postoperative outcome was correlated with patient age, length of clinical history, preoperative clinical score, symptoms of clinical onset, type of hydrocephalus, and intraoperative findings.

Long-term outcome of endoscopic third ventriculostomy in obstructive hydrocephalus.

This multicentric study reports on 140 patients who underwent endoscopic third ventriculostomy for obstructive hydrocephalus in four Italian neurosurgical centers between 1994 and 1999. Its aim is to define the long-term outcome of these patients many years (6-12) after the initial procedure. The study includes both children and adults; the etiology of the hydrocephalus was malformative aqueductal stenosis in 88 cases (62.

Cooperative study by the Italian neuroendoscopy group on the treatment of 61 colloid cysts.

Objects: Microsurgical resection, stereotactic aspiration and VP shunt have for years been the choice options for the treatment of colloid cysts of the third ventricle. Recently, endoscopic approaches have aroused increasing interest and gained acceptance. Although safer, this minimally invasive approach is considered less efficacious than microsurgery.

Endoscope-controlled microneurosurgery for the treatment of intracranial fluid cysts.

Objective: This study assessed the role of endoscope-controlled microneurosurgery (ECM) in the treatment of intracranial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) cysts.

Methods: Twelve patients affected by symptomatic arachnoid cysts (11 in the sylvian fissure and 1 in the cerebellopontine angle) underwent ECM, in which the endoscope is used to view the operating field while microsurgical instruments can be passed alongside the endoscope for surgical maneuvers. All the cysts were superficially located and could be reached directly through a burr hole on their surface, so that the endoscope was inserted into the cyst without passing through the brain parenchyma.

Bobble-head doll syndrome due to a suprasellar arachnoid cyst: endoscopic treatment in two cases.

Object: We report two cases of bobble-head doll syndrome associated with a large suprasellar arachnoid cyst successfully treated with a minimally invasive endoscopic approach.

Methods: The clinical history, surgical treatment and results of two children, a 9-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl, both presenting the clinical features of the bobble-head doll syndrome, are described. As a first procedure, a ventriculo-cystostomy was endoscopically performed in both patients, obtaining either resolution of the symptoms or notable cyst reduction.

An intact intermediate filament network is required for collateral sprouting of small diameter nerve fibers.

Expression of the intermediate filament (IF) protein peripherin is initiated during development at the time of axonal extension and increases during regeneration of nerve fibers. To test whether the IF network is essential for neuron process outgrowth in the mature organism in vivo, we disrupted endogenous peripherin IF in small-sized dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons in transgenic mice via expression of a mutant peripherin transgene under control of peripherin gene regulatory sequences. Anatomical and functional analyses showed that these neurons send peripheral and central axonal projections to correct targets, express correct neuropeptides, and mediate acute pain responses normally.

En bloc vertebrectomy and dural resection for chordoma: a case report.

Study Design: Case report.

Objectives: Report a surgical technique for dural reconstruction after vertebrectomy.

Summary Of Background Data: None available.

Spondylectomy (thoracolumbar spine) combined with dural resection for bone tumor: surgical technique.

The authors describe the technique of vertebral resection combined with resection and reconstruction of the dura mater for bone tumor. The literature relevant to this topic is reviewed.

Endoscopic treatment of para- and intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid cysts.

This study has been made to define the role of endoscopy and the most appropriate approach and technique of endoscopic fenestration of paraventricular and intraventricular CSF cysts according to the cyst size and location. Twenty-two patients with intraventricular (13 cases) and paraventricular (9 cases) CSF cysts, operated upon by endoscopic technique in three Italian neurosurgical centers, are reviewed. Paraventricular hemispheric cysts have been treated by endoscopic fenestration from the cyst to the lateral ventricle.

Endoscopic third ventriculostomy for hydrocephalus.

The authors report on 125 patients who underwent endoscopic third ventriculostomy for obstructive hydrocephalus in three Italian Neurosurgical Centers. The series includes 77 cases of primary aqueductal stenosis, 33 with triventricular hydrocephalus due to external tumor compression, and 15 with tetraventricular hydrocephalus. The operations were carried out mainly under general anesthesia, using a flexible endoscope.

Female rats are more susceptible to the development of neuropathic pain using the partial sciatic nerve ligation (PSNL) model.

A comparison study was conducted to determine if a gender difference could be detected using an animal model for causalgia. The sciatic nerve was tightly ligated so that 1/3 to 1/2 of the nerve thickness was trapped by the ligature, just distal to the point at which the posterior biceps semitendinosus nerve branches off the common sciatic nerve. By measuring paw withdrawal from innocuous stimulation with Von Frey filaments, the percent of rats displaying average mechanical sensitivity of the injured paw that was significantly elevated compared to sham or unoperated control animals (days 22-24) was 28.