Treatment of Terminal Syrinx With a Syringo-Subarachnoid Shunt and the Novel Use of a Titanium Knot Fastener: A Case Report.

A syrinx involves cystic dilation of the central canal of the spinal cord due to the accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid and often results in a neurological deficit. While treatment options vary, surgical management is often utilized and requires an open durotomy. A 70-year-old female presented with one year of progressive low back pain with associated leg numbness, urinary incontinence, bilateral foot drop, and imbalance resulting in multiple falls.

The Rochester Model for Spinal CSF Leak Repair Simulation and Scoring.

Background And Objective: Iatrogenic spinal durotomies occur at a rate of 1% to 17%. Surgical simulation for durotomy repair is needed to provide affordable, accessible, and validated practice. This study sought to design and validate a simple 3-dimensional printed model for spinal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak repair and to introduce the Rochester original objective structured assessment of technical skills (OSATS) CSF leak (ROCL) repair criteria for assessment.

Timing and Morbidity of Intracranial Meningioma Resection Complications.

Background: Intracranial meningioma resection is associated with multiple acute postoperative complications, including cerebrovascular accidents, surgical site infections, and pneumonia. There is a paucity of research on the postoperative timeframe of these complications. Therefore, our objective is to characterize intracranial meningioma resection complications' time courses.

Costs, length of stay and inpatient complications of early surgical decompression after spinal cord injury in a geriatric cohort.

Debate regarding timing of surgical decompression after spinal cord injury continues. Recent evidence indicates that early decompression improves neurological outcomes. However, little investigation has been performed regarding how it affects one's hospitalization in a geriatric cohort.

Ischemic stroke caused by spontaneous anterior circulation intracranial arterial dissections: patient series.

Background: Intracranial arterial dissections (IADs) are classically associated with the vertebrobasilar system, yet are a devastating cause of ischemic stroke within the anterior circulation. Current literature regarding the surgical management of anterior circulation IAD is lacking. As a result, data on 9 patients presenting with ischemic stroke due to spontaneous anterior circulation IAD between 2019 and 2021 were collected in a retrospective manner.

Preoperative Embolization of Meningiomas Facilitates Reduced Surgical Complications and Improved Clinical Outcomes : A Meta-analysis of Matched Cohort Studies.

Purpose: The utility of preoperative embolization (PE) of intracranial meningiomas is unclear and controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PE on meningioma surgical resection by completing a meta-analysis of matched cohort studies.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of matched cohort studies was completed to evaluate the effect of PE on meningioma resection and outcomes.

A novel endovascular treatment for true ophthalmic aneurysms: A case report.

Introduction: Cerebral aneurysms located along the internal carotid artery at the origin of the ophthalmic artery can be treated through open surgery or endovascular technique. The former affords more certainty of aneurysm obliteration, while the latter poses less risk to vision. Flow diversion is an increasingly accepted treatment for side-wall carotid aneurysms, although location at the branch point of the ophthalmic artery is known to moderate occlusion outcomes.

Use of Intracranial Pressure Monitoring in Patients with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.

Objective: The Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF) recommends intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring for all salvageable patients with an abnormal computed tomography (CT) scan and a Glasgow Coma Scale <9. Studies have shown that compliance with this recommendation is low. We sought to obtain contemporary national rates of ICP monitor placement in patients with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).

All-cause and tumor-specific mortality trends in geriatric oligodendroglioma (OG) patients: A surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) analysis.

Recent efforts have been made to identify mortality risk factors in Oligodendroglioma (OG) patients, however, efforts have fallen short within the geriatric population. The purpose of this study was to identify mortality trends and risk factors within a geriatric cohort of patients with OGs. 762 cases (1973-2012, age at diagnosis 65+ years) within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included.

Annual incidences and predictors of 30-day readmissions following spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage from 2010 to 2014 in the United States: A retrospective Nationwide analysis.

Objective: 30-day readmission rate is a quality metric often employed to represent hospital and provider performance. Currently, little is known regarding 30-day readmissions (30dRA) following spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH). The purpose of this study was to use a national database to identify risk factors and trends in 30dRAs following sICH.

All-cause and tumor-specific mortality trends in elderly primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) patients: a surveillance, epidemiology, and end results (SEER) analysis.

Background: Recent primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) literature indicates that younger patients benefit from improved survival; however, this benefit is not shared by those 70+ years of age. The purpose of this study was to examine mortality trends in PCNSL patients 70+ years of age to better understand why improved prognosis has not yet reached this rapidly growing population subset.

Methods: Two thousand seventy-five cases (1973-2012, age at diagnosis 70+ years) within the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database were included in Kaplan-Meier and multivariate Cox Regression analyses.

Costs and predictors of 30-day readmissions after craniotomy for traumatic brain injury: a nationwide analysis.

Objective: There is increasing interest in the use of 30-day readmission (30dRA) as a quality metric to represent hospital and provider performance. Data regarding the incidence and risk factors for 30dRA after traumatic brain injury (TBI) are sparse. The authors sought to characterize these variables using a national database.

The Obesity Paradox in Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage: Results from a Retrospective Analysis of the Nationwide Inpatient Sample.

Background/objective: Mild obesity is associated with a survival benefit in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Only a few studies have analyzed the effect of obesity on outcomes after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), and none have used a national US database. We sought to determine whether or not obesity was associated with outcomes and in-hospital complications following ICH.

β-Alanine supplementation increased physical performance and improved executive function following endurance exercise in middle aged individuals.

Background: Sarcopenia, a reduction in muscle mass and function seen in aging populations, may be countered by improving systemic carnosine stores via beta-Alanine (β-alanine) supplementation. Increasing systemic carnosine levels may result in enhanced anti-oxidant, neuro-protective and pH buffering capabilities. This enhancement should result in improved exercise capacity and executive function.