Efficacy of Two-Stage Surgery for Spinal Cord Ependymomas.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: This study aimed to elucidate cases for which staged surgeries are effective by a retrospective review of previous operative cases of spinal ependymomas.

Overview Of Literature: Patients with spinal ependymomas are expected to have a good prognosis following total resection.

Spinal rosette-forming glioneuronal tumor: A case report.

Rationale: Rosette-forming glioneuronal tumor (RGNT) is a rare tumor which has been first reported as the fourth ventricle tumor by Komori et al and is classified as a distinct clinicopathological entity by the WHO Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System as in 2007. Although RGNTs were reported to occur in both supratentorial and inflatentorial sites, only 4 case reports of spinal RGNT have been demonstrated.

Patient Concerns: A 37-year-old female presenting with slowly progressing right-sided clumsiness.

Investigation of the Neuropathic Pain Caused by Syringomyelia Associated with Chiari I Malformation.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To investigate the correlation between the syrinx morphology and neuropathic pain caused by syringomyelia associated with Chiari I malformation.

Overview Of Literature: Neuropathic pain caused by syringomyelia is refractory and markedly impairs the patient.

Surgical Outcomes of Pediatric Patients with Asymptomatic Tethered Cord Syndrome.

Study Design: A retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To examine the validity of prophylactic surgery for children with tethered cord syndrome (TCS).

Overview Of Literature: Prophylactic surgery for pediatric patients with TCS remains controversial.

Surgical Outcome of Children and Adolescents with Tethered Cord Syndrome.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Purpose: To compare long-term results of surgery with the outcomes of symptomatic and asymptomatic tethered cord syndrome (TCS) in children and adolescents and to assess the surgery duration for those with TCS.

Overview Of Literature: Pediatric patients with TCS continue to pose significant diagnostic and management challenges.

Clinical Factors for Prognosis and Treatment Guidance of Spinal Cord Astrocytoma.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Purpose: To obtain information useful in establishing treatment guidelines by evaluating baseline clinical features and treatment outcomes of patients with spinal cord astrocytoma (SCA).

Overview Of Literature: The optimal management of SCA remains controversial, and there are no standard guidelines.

[A Dumbbell-Type Thoracic Spinal Lipoma: A Case Report].

Spinal lipomas are rare, accounting for less than 1% of all spinal tumors. Most are associated with spinal dysraphism. Spinal lipomas without spinal dysraphism are uncommon;they are typically subpial tumors.

Health-related quality of life in patients with spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae.

Neurological improvement in patients with spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae (SDAVF) is often partial even after adequate treatment. While treatment outcomes have been evaluated primarily on the basis of the postoperative changes in neurological deficits, outcome measures should also reflect the patient-reported outcome (PRO). We conducted a health-related quality of life (HRQOL) survey in 52 SDAVF patients; 33 (63.

A Survey of Chronic Pain Due to Spinal Dural Arteriovenous Fistulae.

Background: Chronic pain due to spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae (SDAVF) during follow-up is a serious issue because it can affect patients' quality of life. The severity of posttreatment chronic leg pain in patients with SDAVF is unclear.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence, severity, and characteristics of chronic leg pain in patients with SDAVF and to examine the clinical factors associated with chronic pain.

Long-term outcomes after surgical and endovascular treatment of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae.

Purpose: To examine the validity of our treatment strategy for spinal dural arteriovenous fistulae (SDAVF), based on the treatment results and the long-term outcome.

Methods: This study included 50 SDAVF patients (38 men, 12 women, mean age 63.2 years) with progressive myelopathy.

A case of cervical juxtafacet cyst with extensive rim enhancement on Gd-DTPA MRI.

The authors reported a case of cervical juxtafacet cyst with extensive rim enhancement on gadolinium-diethylenetriamine pentaacid magnetic resonance imaging. Operative finding revealed the epidural space around the mass filled with abundant venous plexus. Histological examination demonstrated that cyst wall was composed of the well-vascularized fibrous connective tissue with some inflammatory changes.

Primary cauda equina lymphoma treated with high-dose methotrexate.

A 69-year-old man presented with a very rare case of primary central nervous system lymphoma originating in the cauda equina manifesting as progressive paraparesis. The patient underwent a biopsy, and was treated with intravenous high-dose (3.5 g/m(2)) methotrexate chemotherapy and local irradiation.

Favorable outcome after radical resection and subsequent local irradiation of malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor in the cervical spine.

A 25-year-old man presented with malignant transformation to malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor (MPNST) in the cervical spine associated with neurofibromatosis type 1. He presented with a 3-week history of rapidly increasing weakness and numbness in all four extremities. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of the cervical spine demonstrated a dumbbell-shaped tumor, which compressed the spinal cord at the C2-3 level.

Clinical and radiographic characteristics of upper lumbar disc herniation: ten-year microsurgical experience.

Upper and lower lumbar disc herniation apparently have different background, symptoms, and operative results. This retrospective study reviewed the clinical records of 403 patients (409 discs) who underwent lumbar microdiscectomy performed by different surgeons at our institute between 1999 and 2009. The 290 male (72.

[Sacral dural arteriovenous fistula: report of 4 cases].

Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) in the sacral region is relatively rare and remains difficult to diagnose because of the uncommon origin of its feeder. It also has higher incidence of recurrence than usual thoraco-lumbar lesion and needs subsequent treatment. We reviewed 51 cases of SDAVF over the past 10 years.

[Conus perimedullary arteriovenous fistula with multiple shunt points including the cauda equina: a case report].

Perimedullary arteriovenous fistula (AVF) is usually located on the surface of the spinal cord and is fed by the anterior spinal artery and/or the posterior spinal artery. We report a rare case of Conus perimedullary AVF with multiple shunt points including the cauda equina. A 68-year-old man presented with leg pain when walking long distances.

Acute onset intramedullary spinal cord abscess with spinal artery occlusion: a case report and review.

Intramedullary spinal cord abscess (ISCA) without meningitis is an extremely rare entity in the central nervous system, and it is often difficult to diagnose immediately, and no definitive imaging findings have been established. We experienced the case of a 61-year-old male who presented with a sudden onset back pain without fever following rapidly worsening paraparesis for 3 days, who subsequently become unable to walk. According to the initial MRI and 3D-CTA, the presumptive diagnosis was spinal infarction due to spinal artery embolism.

Spinal cord swelling with abnormal gadolinium-enhancement mimicking intramedullary tumors in cervical spondylosis patients: Three case reports and review of the literature.

Objective: Spinal cord swelling with abnormal gadolinium (Gd) enhancement is a rare preoperative radiological finding in patients with cervical spondylosis. In the presence of progressive myelopathy, timely surgical decompression can be curative.

Case Presentation: We report 3 patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy.

Synergistic effects of bone marrow stromal cells and a Rho kinase (ROCK) inhibitor, fasudil on axon regeneration in rat spinal cord injury.

Transplanted bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) through multiple mechanisms. A Rho kinase inhibitor, Fasudil also enhances axonal regeneration. This study was aimed to evaluate whether combination therapy of BMSC transplantation and Fasudil further enhances axonal regeneration and functional recovery in rats subjected to SCI.

Ventrally located cervical intramedullary cavernous angioma: selection of posterior and anterior approaches: case report.

A 41-year-old woman presented with a rare cervical intramedullary cavernous angioma manifesting as acute paralysis in her left upper extremity. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed hematomyelia. Laminectomy (C2-C7) was performed, followed by posterior midline myelotomy and removal of the intramedullary hematoma and the tumor.

Cervical myelopathy by C1 posterior tubercle impingement in a patient with DISH.

Study Design: A unique case of a patient with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) associated with C1 posterior tubercle impingement resulting in spinal canal stenosis and cervical myelopathy.

Objective: To describe an uncommon mechanism of spinal cord compression in patient with DISH.

Summary Of Background Data: The neurologic deficits due to cervical DISH are relatively rare and a few cases of cervical spinal cord compression due to atlantoaxial subluxation, odontoid fracture, pseudotumor, ligamentous hypertrophy, and basilar impression have been reported.

[Current advances in spinal vascular disease].

During treatment of spinal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), such as dural arteriovenous fistula (AVF), perimedullary AVF, and intramedullary AVM, it is often difficult to identify the feeding artery and draining vein because of presence of multiple dilated veins in the dural space and multiple shunts. Disruption of incorrect vessels may elicit major functional deficits in the spinal cord. To avoid such complications, it is extremely important to identify the correct vessels prior to and during surgical treatment.

Huge intradural ossification caused by a mature spinal teratoma: case report.

Objective: Huge intradural ossifications in the spine are quite rare. We report for the first time a patient with a huge intradural ossification caused by a mature teratoma at the conus medullaris.

Clinical Presentation: A 68-year-old woman presented with low back pain and gait disturbance.