Cystic tuberculomas of the brain--two case reports.

A 19-year-old male presented with raised intracranial pressure and a peripherally enhanced multinodular lesion with a large subjacent cyst in the right medial frontal lobe. Surgery revealed a solid tuberculoma and an underlying cyst lined with normal brain tissue. A 22-year-old male with a history of tuberculous meningitis and hydrocephalus presented with an exophytic brain stem and a left temporal tuberculoma, which were excised in two stages.

Posttraumatic total dislocation of the upper thoracic spine.

Background: Difficulty in proper visualization of the upper thoracic spine in plain radiographs allows for injuries at this level to be missed, especially in a busy trauma center. This window of error is increased when the patient presents with no symptoms or signs of neurologic or spinal involvement, as upper thoracic dislocations commonly present early.

Case Description: The authors report a 19-year-old girl who developed progressive paraparesis 18 hours following initial presentation with a scalp avulsion injury.

Appropriate technology for neurosurgery.

Though more than 50 years have elapsed since neurosurgery has come to the developing countries, vast areas of the population do not have neurosurgical facilities available to them. This is due not only to the economic status of the country but also as a result of the training that the neurosurgical trainee receives. It is proposed in this article that while the young neurosurgeon must, without doubt, be very well trained in the latest technology, at the same time he must be taught to work with confidence with whatever facilities are available without any feeling of inferiority.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of charged species in the afterglow of plasmas containing negative ions.

The spatiotemporal evolution of charged species densities and wall fluxes during the afterglow of an electronegative discharge has been investigated. The decay of a plasma with negative ions consists of two stages. During the first stage of the afterglow, electrons dominate plasma diffusion and negative ions are trapped inside the vessel by the static electric field; the flux of negative ions to the walls is nearly zero.

Surgery for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine.

The authors present their surgical experience with fifty seven cases of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the cervical spine, operated between January 1992 and January 1999. Continuous OPLL was seen in the majority of patients (40/57). Posterior decompressive surgery was performed in 18 patients, a median corpectomy and excision of the OPLL in 28 and anterior segmental decompression in 11 patients.

Giant invasive spinal schwannomas: definition and surgical management.

Object: Confusion exists regarding the term giant spinal schwannoma. There are a variety of nerve sheath tumors that, because of their size and extent, justify the label "giant schwannoma." The authors propose a classification system for spinal schwannomas as a means to define these giant lesions.

Stereotactic surgery in India: the past, present and the future.

The achievements of Indian neurosurgeons in different fields of stereotactic surgery over the past decades have been discussed. This covers diverse areas like Parkinson's disease, abnormal movements, cerebral palsy, spasticity, pain relief, and sedative and functional neurosurgery. Recently, technological advances have made stereotactic surgery useful in many fields like deep biopsies, minimally invasive surgery and radiosurgery.

Negative ion density fronts during ignition and extinction of plasmas in electronegative gases.

Negative ion density fronts have been shown to occur in electronegative steady-state plasmas with hot electrons. In this Letter, we report theoretical and numerical results on the spatiotemporal evolution of negative ion density fronts during plasma ignition and extinction (afterglow). During plasma ignition, the negative ion fronts are analogous to hydrodynamic shocks.

Magnetic resonance imaging artifact following acoustic neurofibroma surgery--case report.

Metallic artifacts in magnetic resonance (MR) imaging occur mostly in patients who have received an implant at surgery. Similar artifacts are now increasingly recognized in patients in whom high-speed drills have been used. A 15-year-old male with neurofibromatosis 2 had undergone excision of acoustic neurofibroma on the left 1.

Limited unilateral approach for extramedullary spinal tumours.

Traditionally, spinal extramedullary tumours are approached by a wide multilevel laminectomy and a midline dural incision. This exposure may result in immediate or delayed instability of the spine, and exposes the spinal cord to the possibility of inadvertent injury during surgery. To avoid these complications the authors have, in 27 patients, used a limited unilateral approach to remove extramedullary tumours.

The fourth state of consciousness: the Thuriya Avastha.

Present day neurophysiology stops with attributing thinking processes as the highest level of function of the brain. It has been common knowledge to oriental thinkers for many centuries, that there are many further states of the human mind, culminating in the state of thoughtless awareness; the fourth state of consciousness. This state must have a physiological basis.

Cystic meningiomas.

Background: Meningiomas are generally solid tumors and are easily diagnosed by CT scans and MRI scans. Rarely are these tumors associated with cysts that can cause a confusion in the pre- and intraoperative diagnosis. Cysts associated with meningiomas may be intratumoral or peritumoral.

Mentality and behaviour in India.

Based on a historical survey of the origins and development of the Hindu religion and its absorption of Buddhism the author outlines that tolerance, gentle behaviour, profound optimism and a lack of obsession with time are the main features of Indian mentality and behaviour. But with industrial revolution, urbanisation and population explosion many old values have been eroded and even aggression of different degrees found its way into the Indian psyche.

The continuing challenge of acoustic neurinomas (1949-1993).

Experience gained in the treatment of acoustic neurinomas over a period of 43 years is presented. This is divided into three eras based on the prevailing knowledge and techniques. Advances in diagnosis, anaesthesia and microsurgical techniques have reduced the mortality to 4% in large tumours and to less than 1% in small tumours.

The changing face of tuberculomas.

Tuberculomas of the brain continue to be prevalent in all the developing countries of Asia, Africa, South American and Europe and seem to be making a comeback in the richer nations of the West. They pose a challenge to the neurosurgeon, in spite of the advances that have been made in the diagnosis of these lesions and in the available therapeutic regimes. During the last decade, computed tomographic (CT) scan has facilitated early diagnosis of tuberculomas at a stage when the lesions are small and antituberculous therapy (ATT) has been found beneficial in the majority of patients.

Hyperdense cystic craniopharyngiomas : a report of three cases.

Craniopharyngioma present on the CT scan with cysts, calcification and contrast enhancing solid tumour. The cysts are usually hypodense and do not enhance with contrast. Hyperdense cysts are rare.