Never Too Old? Occurrence of Medulloblastoma in the Elderly beyond the 70th Year of Life.

The occurrence of medulloblastoma (MB) in the elderly is an absolutely rare event. Concerning this issue we report on two MB patients beyond the 70th year of life. Two patients older than 70 years presented with a mass in the posterior fossa without evidence of a preexisting malignant tumor.

Cerebral arterio-venous malformations in the paediatric population: Angiographic characteristics, multimodal treatment strategies and outcome.

Objectives: Cerebral arterio-venous malformations (AVM) are considered congenital lesions, emerging as an important cause of haemorrhagic stroke in children. The potential influence of age on clinical presentation and angio-architecture have been analysed extensively in the last years. Yet, comparative studies comprising ascending age groups may be limited in their conclusions, especially when comparing young children and adults.

Multiple cerebral arterio-venous malformations: impact of multiplicity and hemodynamics on treatment strategies.

Background: Multiple AVMs are exceptionally rare lesions and only a few larger series have been published, including other vascular pathologies, such as arterio-venous fistulae (AVF) or patients with hereditary syndromes. Our study presents clinical, angiographic, and therapeutic characteristics of patients harboring sporadic multiple AVMs.

Methods: Basic demographic data, vascular architecture, clinical presentation, treatment strategies, and treatment outcome were analyzed retrospectively from patients with cerebral AVMs treated in our department between 1990 and 2015.

Activation of multiple angiogenic signaling pathways in hemangiopericytoma.

Hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is a highly vascularized mesenchymal tumor. Local recurrence and distant metastasis are common features of HPC. Considering the remarkable hyper-vasculature phenotype of HPC, we assumed that dysregulated angiogenic signaling pathways were involved in HPC.

Associated Aneurysms in Infratentorial Arteriovenous Malformations: Role of Aneurysm Size and Comparison with Supratentorial Lesions.

Background: The natural history and treatment of brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) is the object of ongoing debates and discussions. To capture the entirety of these complex lesions, associated vascular pathologies, such as associated aneurysms (AAs), have to be implemented in future risk stratification models, as they are believed to represent additional risk factors for intracranial hemorrhage. The present study aims to determine AA characteristics in posterior fossa AVMs and to compare with AAs accompanying supratentorial AVMs, with special focus on aneurysm size.

Downregulation of programmed cell death 10 is associated with tumor cell proliferation, hyperangiogenesis and peritumoral edema in human glioblastoma.

Background: Neovascularization and peritumoral edema are hallmarks of glioblastoma (GBM). Programmed cell death 10 (PDCD10) plays a pivotal role in regulating apoptosis, neoangiogenesis and vessel permeability and is implicated in certain tumor signaling pathways. However, little is known about PDCD10 in GBM.

Dynamic transpedicular stabilisation and decompression in single-level degenerative anterolisthesis and stenosis.

Background: Different treatment options exist for symptomatic single-level degenerative anterolisthesis and stenosis. While simple micro-decompression has been advocated lately, most authors recommend posterior decompression with fusion. In recent years, decompression and dynamic transpedicular stabilisation has been introduced for this indication.

Elderly patients are at increased risk for mortality undergoing surgical repair of dens fractures.

Objective: Dens fractures are common cervical injuries in advanced aged patients. The presented study was undertaken to analyze the clinical results and risks of surgically treated patients with dens fractures over 70 years.

Methods: Data of 28 patients (17 female, 11 male) over 70 years treated from September 2004 to October 2009 were recorded.

Intramedullary spinal cord astrocytomas: the influence of localization and tumor extension on resectability and functional outcome.

Background: Intramedullary spinal cord tumors (IMSCT) are rare lesions, ependymomas and astrocytomas being the most common ones. Different studies have been published showing results of different treatment strategies as extensive/ limited surgery, biopsy and adjuvant radiation therapy with regard to functional outcome and survival. The present study was undertaken to analyse our series of surgically treated intramedullary astrocytomas in order to identify factors with impact on functional outcome and resectability.

The value of dual-energy CTA for control of surgically clipped aneurysms.

Objective: Comparison of image quality in DE-CTA with and without automatic head bone removal (BR) versus CTA with 16-detectors as a tool in postoperative evaluation of patients after neurosurgical clipping.

Methods: In this study 30 aneurysms that had undergone neurosurgical clipping were included: 18 with DE-CTA and 12 with conventional CTA. The images were further processed using the volume rendering technique (VRT) and BR.