Treatment of Terminal Syrinx With a Syringo-Subarachnoid Shunt and the Novel Use of a Titanium Knot Fastener: A Case Report.

A syrinx involves cystic dilation of the central canal of the spinal cord due to the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid and often results in a neurological deficit. While treatment options vary, surgical management is often utilized and requires an open durotomy. A 70-year-old female presented with one year of progressive low back pain with associated leg numbness, urinary incontinence, bilateral foot drop, and imbalance resulting in multiple falls.

The Rochester Model for Spinal CSF Leak Repair Simulation and Scoring.

Background And Objective: Iatrogenic spinal durotomies occur at a rate of 1% to 17%. Surgical simulation for durotomy repair is needed to provide affordable, accessible, and validated practice. This study sought to design and validate a simple 3-dimensional printed model for spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak repair and to introduce the Rochester original objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) CSF leak (ROCL) repair criteria for assessment.

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) Into the Future: Lowering Infection Rates in Cranioplasty.

Introduction: Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common complications following cranioplasty. At our institution, 3D printing has emerged as a popular option for creating customized polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cranioplasty implants that are lower profile than older, non-3D-printed implants. The 3D-printed implants can be integrated, with fixation plates already attached, or nonintegrated, with separate fixation plates available.

Combined effects of strength and balance training versus aerobic training on balance, neuropathy symptoms and quality of life in patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy.

Background: Diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) occurs in >50% of diabetic patients and is a high risk-factor of balance problems and risk of falls. Impaired balance can lead to reduced function, which has a detrimental effect on patients' quality of life. Structured strength and balance training can result in sustained improvements in muscle strength, coordination, balance, functional status and quality of life.

Infantile Colic: A Survey of Physicians in Pakistan.

Purpose: Infantile colic diagnostic criteria were established by Rome IV. A universally accepted management remains to be established. We aimed to evaluate diagnostic criteria, management strategies, and perceived regional prevalence of infantile colic in Pakistan, as well as its effect on physicians and parents.

Variations in the genomic profiles and clinical behavior of meningioma by racial and ethnic group.

Objective: The influence of socioeconomic factors on racial disparities among patients with sporadic meningiomas is well established, yet other potential causative factors warrant further exploration. The authors of this study aimed to determine whether there is significant variation in the genomic profile of meningiomas among patients of different races and ethnicities and its correlation with clinical outcomes.

Methods: The demographic, genomic, and clinical data of patients aged 18 years and older who had undergone surgery for sporadic meningioma between September 2008 and November 2021 were analyzed.

Baerveldt glaucoma implant with Supramid ripcord stent in neovascular glaucoma: a case series.

Aim: To report the outcome of Baerveldt glaucoma implant (BGI) with Supramid ripcord use in neovascular glaucoma (NVG).

Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the surgical outcome of the BGI with Supramid 3/0 ripcord stent in patients with NVG. No tube ligation or venting slits were performed.

Development and Internal Validation of Machine Learning Models to Predict Mortality and Disability After Mechanical Thrombectomy for Acute Anterior Circulation Large Vessel Occlusion.

Objective: Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) improves outcomes in patients with LVO but many still experience mortality or severe disability. We sought to develop machine learning (ML) models that predict 90-day outcomes after MT for LVO.

Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent MT for LVO between 2015-2021 at a Comprehensive Stroke Center were reviewed.

Frailty and postoperative outcomes in brain tumor patients: a systematic review subdivided by tumor etiology.

Purpose: Frailty has gained prominence in neurosurgical oncology, with more studies exploring its relationship to postoperative outcomes in brain tumor patients. As this body of literature continues to grow, concisely reviewing recent developments in the field is necessary. Here we provide a systematic review of frailty in brain tumor patients subdivided by tumor type, incorporating both modern frailty indices and traditional Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) metrics.

The Influence of Body Mass Index on Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Mechanical Thrombectomy for Anterior Circulation Large Vessel Occlusion: Institutional Experience and Meta-analysis.

Background: An obesity paradox, whereby patients with higher body mass index (BMI) experience improved outcomes, has been described for ischemic stroke. It is unclear whether this applies to patients undergoing mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for large vessel occlusion (LVO).

Methods: Mechanical thrombectomies for anterior circulation LVO between 2015 and 2021 at a single institution were reviewed.

Treatment of hydrocephalus in an ovine model with an intraparenchymal stent.

Objective: While CSF diversion is highly effective at treating hydrocephalus, shunting is unfortunately associated with a very high revision rate. Studies have demonstrated that proximal catheter obstruction is a major cause of failure. A novel proximal access device was developed, and pilot testing was performed in a sheep model of hydrocephalus.

The clinical and genomic features of seizures in meningiomas.

Meningiomas are the most common central nervous system tumors. Although these tumors are extra-axial, a relatively high proportion (10%-50%) of meningioma patients have seizures that can substantially impact the quality of life. Meningiomas are believed to cause seizures by inducing cortical hyperexcitability that results from mass effect and cortical irritation, brain invasion, or peritumoral brain edema.

The influence of pre-reperfusion blood pressure on outcomes following mechanical thrombectomy for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion.

Background: We evaluated how systolic blood pressure (SBP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) parameters between presentation and reperfusion influence functional status and intracranial hemorrhage (ICH).

Methods: All patients who underwent MT for LVO at a single institution were reviewed. Independent variables included SBP and MAP measurements obtained on presentation, between presentation and reperfusion (pre-reperfusion), and between groin puncture and reperfusion (thrombectomy).

Clinical and genomic differences in supratentorial versus infratentorial NF2 mutant meningiomas.

Objective: Mutations in NF2 are the most common somatic driver mutation in sporadic meningiomas. NF2 mutant meningiomas preferentially arise along the cerebral convexities-however, they can also be found in the posterior fossa. The authors investigated whether NF2 mutant meningiomas differ in clinical and genomic features based on their location relative to the tentorium.

The Prevalence and Determinants of Child Hunger and Its Associations with Early Childhood Nutritional Status among Urban Poverty Households during COVID-19 Pandemic in Petaling District, Malaysia: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey.

Child hunger was prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the extent, determinants, and impact on pre-school children aged 6 months to 7 years old from Malaysian urban poor households are still unknown. This exploratory cross-sectional study was performed between July 2020 and January 2021 at the Lembah Subang People Housing Project, Petaling. The households' food security status was assessed using the previously validated Radimer/Cornell questionnaire, and the children's anthropometric measurements were taken.

Machine learning prediction of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction after mechanical thrombectomy for anterior circulation large vessel occlusion.

Objective: Prediction of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction (MMI) could identify patients for early intervention. We trained and internally validated a ML model that predicts MMI following mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for ACLVO.

Methods: All patients who underwent MT for ACLVO between 2015 - 2021 at a single institution were reviewed.

A Randomized Pilot Trial of Micronutrient Supplementation for Under-5 Children in an Urban Low-Cost Flat Community in Malaysia: A Framework for Community-Based Research Integration.

Early childhood nutritional deficiency has detrimental consequences on physical and cognitive development. We conducted a single-center, single-blind, two-arm pilot randomized no-treatment controlled trial (the Child of Urban Poverty Iron Project (CUPIP); NCT03819530) in a people’s housing project locale in Selangor, Malaysia, between September 2019 and February 2020, to assess the trial’s general feasibility and preliminary benefits of daily micronutrient supplementation for iron storage and anthropometric outcomes in under-5 children. Those with history of premature births, congenital abnormalities, or baseline hemoglobin <70 g/L were excluded.

Probiotics, a promising therapy to reduce the recurrence of bacterial vaginosis in women? a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Introduction: The evidence for probiotic efficacy in preventing bacterial vaginosis (BV) recurrences among women aged 18 years and above is sparse. We aimed to ascertain the efficacy of probiotics in preventing BV recurrences after at least one menstrual cycle in this population.

Methods: We conducted a systematic literature search using PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid interface), Web of Science (WoS), Scopus, Embase, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, Cochrane Library databases and registries comprised of Open Science Framework (OSF) preprints registry, the ClinicalTrials.

Transdermal Maltose-Based Microneedle Patch as Adjunct to Enhance Topical Anesthetic before Intravenous Cannulation of Pediatric Thalassemic Patients Receiving Blood Transfusion: A Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol.

Intravenous cannulation is experientially traumatic to children. To minimize this, EMLA is applied on the would-be-cannulated area before IV cannula insertion. However, the time to achieve its maximum efficacy may be affected due to incomplete cutaneous absorption and the duration of application.

Simultaneous microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia and hemifacial spasm involving a dolichoectatic vertebral artery in an elderly patient: illustrative case.

Background: Hyperactive cranial neuropathies refractory to medical management can often be debilitating to patients. While microvascular decompression (MVD) surgery can provide relief to such patients when an aberrant vessel is compressing the root entry zone (REZ) of the nerve, the arteries of elderly patients over 65 years of age can be less amenable to manipulation because of calcifications and other morphological changes. A dolichoectatic vertebral artery (DVA), in fact, can lead to multiple cranial neuropathies; therefore, a strategy for MVDs in elderly patients is useful.

Autoimmune hepatitis and metabolic syndrome-associated disease development: a U.S. cohort study.

Background: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) may coexist with metabolic syndrome-associated diseases (MSADs) given patients' inherent need for corticosteroid therapy, as well as general population trends.

Aim: To examine the impact of MSAD risk factors on AIH or its treatment, and vice versa METHODS: This was a multi-centre retrospective cohort study of 552 patients with AIH diagnosed between January 2000 and December 2019. Data relating to demographic factors, laboratory values, AIH medications and MSADs were collected at diagnosis and at 1- and 3-year follow-up.

Embolization of a Dural Arteriovenous Fistula Using Transcranial Middle Meningeal Artery Access: 2-Dimensional Operative Video.

The transcranial approach for direct middle meningeal artery (MMA) access to embolize dural arteriovenous fistulas (dAVF) has been described, but limited information regarding the setup, equipment, and technique is available. We present the details of this hybrid approach in the setting of a ruptured Cognard grade IV tentorial dAVF (Video 1). The patient was an adult female who presented with nausea, vomiting, and dizziness and was found to have a cerebellar hemorrhage.

Role of Serum Ferritin in Predicting Outcomes of COVID-19 Infection Among Sickle Cell Disease Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Unlabelled: Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) are at higher risk of getting severe COVID-19 infection. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to determine the role of serum ferritin in predicting ICU admission and mortality among patients with SCD following COVID-19 infection. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, WHO COVID-19 database, ProQuest, and Cochrane Library for articles published between 1st December 2019 to 31st November 2021.