Caffeine, Alcohol, and Drug Use as Work Adjuncts Among Neurosurgeons. Prevalence, Contributing Factors, and Proposed Strategies.

Background: Neurosurgeons may resort to caffeine, alcohol, and various drugs to maintain peak performance as they grapple with work demands and escalated stress. The prevalence of this controversial strategy remains largely unexplored.

Methods: An anonymous survey of 23 questions formulated by our research group was distributed through personal contacts and neurosurgical societies.

European Medical Students' Views on Neurosurgery, with Emphasis on South-East Europe (Albania, Greece, Serbia, and Turkey).

Background: Neurosurgery, an intricate and dynamic surgical specialty, faces challenges in attracting medical graduates. Despite its potential appeal, a decreasing trend in medical students opting for surgical specialties, including neurosurgery, is noted. This study aims to assess European medical students' perceptions of neurosurgery, focusing on South-East Europe, and address concerns about the declining interest in this field.

Gender differences in work-life balance of European neurosurgeons.

Introduction: Neurosurgery is one of the most demanding medical specialties. For neurosurgeons, balancing professional activity with personal life can be challenging.

Research Question: To evaluate gender differences in contribution of neurosurgeons in the household and child-rearing, as well as their impact on personal life and career.

European women in neurosurgery: II - Historical characters and living legends.

A collaborative global working group of women neurosurgeons in multiple countries at different stages of their neurosurgical careers undertook the task of researching the history of European women in neurosurgery. While doing so, we happened upon many remarkable female neurosurgeons who overcame great adversity, made tremendous contributions to society and institutional neurosurgery, and displayed numerous talents beyond the operating room. In the first part of this paper, we recounted a chronology of female neurosurgeons in Europe, highlighting the most remarkable achievements of women in every decade, from the 1920's to 2020.

European women in neurosurgery: I - A chronology of trailblazers.

Neurosurgery as a distinct speciality has been around for 100 years. Some of the earliest women neurosurgeons were European, emerging from the 1920's onwards. Here we detail the rise of women in neurosurgery across Europe with a decade by decade account of big events and firsts across the continent.

Mutant IDH1 inhibits PI3K/Akt signaling in human glioma.

Background: Recently, isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) was identified as a major participant in glioma pathogenesis. At present, the enzymatic activity of the protein has been the main topic in investigating its physiological function, but its signaling pathway allocation was unsuccessful. Interestingly, proteins regulated by phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling, are among the top downregulated genes in gliomas associated with high percentage of IDH1 and IDH2 mutations.