Percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty for painful vertebral body fractures in cancer patients.

Object: The current North American experience with minimally invasive vertebro- and kyphoplasty is largely limited to the treatment of benign osteoporotic compression fractures. The objective of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of these procedures for painful vertebral body (VB) fractures in cancer patients.

Methods: The authors reviewed a consecutive group of cancer patients (21 with myeloma and 35 with other primary malignancies) undergoing vertebro- and kyphoplasty at their institution.

Posterior fossa decompression for life-threatening tonsillar herniation in patients with gliomatosis cerebri: report of three cases.

Objective And Importance: Gliomatosis cerebri (GC) is a rare type of primary brain tumor that diffusely infiltrates more than two lobes of the brain while the normal cerebral architecture is maintained. To the best of our knowledge, the association between an acquired tonsillar herniation and GC has never been reported. In this article, we describe three patients with progressive gliomatosis of the cerebellar hemispheres who subsequently showed signs and symptoms secondary to tonsillar herniation.

Early sacral stress fracture after reduction of spondylolisthesis and lumbosacral fixation: case report.

Objective And Importance: Early sacral fracture is an extremely rare complication of instrumented lumbosacral fusion seen in older, osteopenic women. Previous reports have attributed the problem to the use of multisegmental (three or more levels) fixation, with the transfer of stress forces from rigid spinal implants to the sacrum. We report the only case, to the best of our knowledge, of early sacral fracture after a two-level lumbosacral fusion and the only case of early sacral fracture after reduction of spondylolisthesis.

Total cervical spondylectomy for primary osteogenic sarcoma. Case report and description of operative technique.

The authors describe a technique for total spondylectomy for lesions involving the cervical spine. The method involves separately staged anterior and posterior approaches and befits the unique anatomy of the cervical spine. The procedure is described in detail, with the aid of radiographs, intraoperative photographs, and illustrations.

Spinal cord ependymoma: radical surgical resection and outcome.

Objective: Several authors have noted increased neurological deficits and worsening dysesthesia in the postoperative period in patients with spinal cord ependymoma. We describe the neurological progression and pain evolution of these patients over the 1-year period after surgery. In addition, our favored method of en bloc tumor resection is illustrated, and the rate of complications, recurrence, and survival in this group of patients is addressed.

Sacrococcygeal ganglioneuroma.

Ganglioneuromas are benign slow-growing masses that can be treated with complete surgical extirpation without any adjuvant therapy. Such lesions involving the sacrococcygeal region are exceedingly rare. The authors present the case of a 70-year-old woman with a sacrococcygeal ganglioneuroma treated by total en bloc resection.

Experimental rodent models of brainstem tumors.

Despite recent advances in surgical technology, resection is not an option for many brainstem tumors. Experimental models have played essential roles in examining new approaches to therapy. The objective of the present study was to generate models by determining coordinates for safe inoculation into the brainstem of mice and rats, and to establish whether the implantation of heterotopic cells would create reproducible survival curves.

Total en bloc lumbar spondylectomy. Case report.

The authors describe a technique for total en bloc spondylectomy that can be used for lesions involving the lumbar spine. The technique involves a combined anterior-posterior approach and takes into account the unique anatomy of the lumbar spine. This technique allows for the en bloc resection of lumbar vertebral tumors, thus optimizing outcome while minimizing the risk of neurological injury.

Prevention and reversal of experimental posthemorrhagic vasospasm by the periadventitial administration of nitric oxide from a controlled-release polymer.

Objective: Despite improvements in the care of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, delayed cerebral vasospasm remains a major cause of morbidity and death. There is now evidence that a decrease in the local availability of nitric oxide (NO) plays a role in delayed cerebral vasospasm. We evaluated a controlled-release polymer containing the NO donor (Z)-1-[2-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2-diolate (DETA/NO) for the treatment of chronic posthemorrhagic vasospasm in the rat femoral artery model.

Simultaneous anterior-posterior approach to the thoracic and lumbar spine for the radical resection of tumors followed by reconstruction and stabilization.

Object: Thoracic or lumbar spine malignant tumors involving both the anterior and posterior columns represent a complex surgical problem. The authors review the results of treating patients with these lesions in whom surgery was performed via a simultaneous anterior-posterior approach.

Methods: The hospital records of 26 patients who underwent surgery via simultaneous combined approach for thoracic and lumbar spinal tumors at our institution from July 1994 to March 2000 were reviewed.

O6-benzylguanine potentiates the antitumor effect of locally delivered carmustine against an intracranial rat glioma.

Local delivery of carmustine (BCNU) via biodegradable polymers prolongs survival against experimental brain tumors and in human clinical trials. O6-benzylguanine (O6-BG), a potent inhibitor of the DNA repair protein, O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGT), has been shown to reduce nitrosourea resistance and, thus, enhance the efficacy of systemic BCNU therapy in a variety of tumor models. In this report, we demonstrate that O6-BG can potentiate the activity of BCNU delivered intracranially via polymers in rats challenged with a lethal brain tumor.

Paracrine delivery of IL-12 against intracranial 9L gliosarcoma in rats.

Object: Interleukin-12 (IL- 12) has potential for the treatment of tumors because it can stimulate an antitumor immune response and possesses antiangiogenic properties. In the study reported here, the authors investigated the therapeutic role of locally delivered IL-12 in a malignant brain tumor model.

Methods: After genetically engineering 9L gliosarcoma cells to express IL-12 (9L-IL12 cells), the authors used these cells as a source of locally delivered cytokine.

Cultured olfactory interneurons from Limax maximus: optical and electrophysiological studies of transmitter-evoked responses.

1. The olfactory processing network in the procerebral (PC) lobe of the terrestrial mollusk Limax maximus exhibits a coherent oscillation of local field potential that is modulated by odor input. To understand the cellular basis of this oscillation, we developed a cell culture preparation of isolated PC neurons and studied the responses of isolated cells to stimulation with neurotransmitters known to be present in the PC lobe.

Coherent network oscillations by olfactory interneurons: modulation by endogenous amines.

1. The procerebral (PC) lobe of the terrestrial mollusk Limax maximus contains a highly interconnected network of local olfactory interneurons that receives direct axonal projections from the two pairs of noses. This olfactory processing network generates a 0.