Pituitary neuroendocrine tumors treated with stereotactic radiosurgery.

Purpose: Pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (pitNETs) are benign tumors that may recur after surgical resection or persist following medical management. The objective of this study was to evaluate outcomes and toxicities of patients with pitNETs treated with stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) at a single institution.

Methods: We completed a retrospective, single-institution study of patients with pitNETs treated with frame-based, single-fraction, cobalt-60 SRS between September 2005 and June 2023.

MRI-guided focused ultrasound enhances drug delivery in experimental diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.

Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a surgically unresectable and devasting tumour in children. To date, there are no effective chemotherapeutics despite a myriad of clinical trials. The intact blood-brain barrier (BBB) is likely responsible for the limited clinical response to chemotherapy.

Distinct regional ontogeny and activation of tumor associated macrophages in human glioblastoma.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) constitute up to 50% of tumor bulk in glioblastoma (GBM) and play an important role in tumor maintenance and progression. The recently discovered differences between invading tumour periphery and hypoxic tumor core implies that macrophage biology is also distinct by location. This may provide further insight into the observed treatment resistance to immune modulation.

Outcome and prognostic features in paediatric pineoblastomas: analysis of cases from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry (1990-2007).

Background: Paediatric pineoblastomas are rare central nervous system tumours. Patient and treatment factors associated with outcome are poorly defined and limited to small retrospective case series and single case reports.

Methods: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) cancer registry, we investigated clinical and pathological factors associated with outcome in paediatric pineoblastomas.

Brainstem blood brain barrier disruption using focused ultrasound: A demonstration of feasibility and enhanced doxorubicin delivery.

Magnetic Resonance Image-guided Focused Ultrasound (MRgFUS) has been used to achieve transient blood brain barrier (BBB) opening without tissue injury. Delivery of a targeted ultrasonic wave causes an interaction between administered microbubbles and the capillary bed resulting in enhanced vessel permeability. The use of MRgFUS in the brainstem has not previously been shown but could provide value in the treatment of tumours such as Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) where the intact BBB has contributed to the limited success of chemotherapy.

To Stent or Not to Stent: A Tale of Two Occlusions.

Stenting and balloon angioplasty, along with mechanical thrombectomy, have gained notability as adjunctive treatment options to intravenous tissue plasminogen activator (IV-tPA) for tandem internal carotid artery (ICA) and middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusions (TIM occlusions). Acute ischemic strokes (AISs) secondary to TIM occlusions are associated with poor patient outcomes primarily due to low recanalization rates following intravenous thrombolysis, consequently prompting the need for more invasive recanalization efforts. Often, the treatment algorithm is based on the success of the initial angioplasty, suspected volume of completed infarction, and whether or not thrombolytics are utilized.

Microsurgical removal of craniopharyngioma: endoscopic and transcranial techniques for complication avoidance.

Craniopharyngioma remains a challenging entity for neurosurgeons because of its midline, deep seated location and intimate relationship with critical neurovascular structures. Although gross total resection is ideal, the need to reduce surgical morbidity and preserve quality of life has led to a number of neurosurgical approaches which have attained this goal. Here we discuss the commonly used approaches for surgical resection and highlight technical considerations to reduce the potential of complications.

Proposal for a prospective multi-centre audit of chronic subdural haematoma management in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

BACKGROUND. Chronic subdural haematoma (CSDH) is a common condition that increases in incidence with rising age. Evacuation of a CSDH is one of the commonest neurosurgical procedures; however the optimal peri-operative management, surgical technique, post-operative care and the role of adjuvant therapies remain controversial.

Myocarditis and diffuse skeletal muscle oedema: new features of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder? A case report.

We present a case report of newly diagnosed neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD) with associated myocarditis and diffuse oedema of the pelvic and anterior compartment thigh muscles on magnetic resonance imaging. Aquaporin 4 antibodies are expressed in skeletal myofibres but involvement of skeletal muscle is rarely reported in NMOSD and myocarditis has not previously been described in this context. This case highlights the need for further research into the involvement of cardiac and skeletal muscle in NMOSD.