Cervical Myelopathy Due to Direct Cord Compression by Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Associated with Aberrant Vertebral Artery.

Background: The effectiveness of surgical microvascular decompression (MVD) of the vertebral artery (VA) for treating conditions such as trigeminal neuralgia or hemifacial spasm is well known. However, the use of MVD for a case in which the posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) is directly compressing the high cervical cord has not been reported.

Case Description: A 48-year-old male was diagnosed with a rare case of myelopathy due to the PICA directly compressing the high cervical cord.

Experimental study to understand nonspecific protoporphyrin IX fluorescence in brain tissues near tumors after 5-aminolevulinic acid administration.

Objective: (PpIX) fluorescence induced by 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), which appears in various tumors including malignant gliomas, is a good navigator for tumor resection. However, some non-neoplastic tissue also shows a weak PpIX fluorescence. The origin of non-neoplastic PpIX is still unknown, and three hypotheses on its origins can be proposed: tumor cell-derived PpIX followed by dispersal via bulk flow, direct PpIX production by normal brain or gliotic brain tissue, or PpIX produced in other organs leaking from the tumor vessels.