In Vitro Killing Activities of Anidulafungin and Micafungin with and without Nikkomycin Z against Four Clades.

is a multidrug-resistant pathogen against which echinocandins are the drug of choice. However, information on how the chitin synthase inhibitor nikkomycin Z influences the killing activities of echinocandins against is currently lacking. We determined the killing activities of anidulafungin and micafungin (0.

Characteristics of adult patients with chronic intestinal failure due to short bowel syndrome: An international multicenter survey.

Background And Aims: The case-mix of patients with intestinal failure due to short bowel syndrome (SBS-IF) can differ among centres and may also be affected by the timeframe of data collection. Therefore, the ESPEN international multicenter cross-sectional survey was analyzed to compare the characteristics of SBS-IF cohorts collected within the same timeframe in different countries.

Methods: The study included 1880 adult SBS-IF patients collected in 2015 by 65 centres from 22 countries.

A tribute to Dr. A. Earl Walker.

Doctor Walker died on January 1, 1995, at the age of 87 years. His contributions to neuroscience and neurosurgery are presented and discussed, together with his impact on national and international organizations of neurosurgery. A short account of his background and professional career is given, with emphasis on his 25 years at The Johns Hopkins Hospital as Chief of Neurosurgery.

Why did we not see the light? A retrospective analysis of ideas in neurosurgery.

Based on personal experience, a retrospective analysis of the changes in neurosurgical thinking during the past 50 years is presented. The four phases of the organisational pattern are discussed. The contributions of a few pioneer neurosurgeons are emphasized.

Comparison of patients with and without emotional/behavioral deterioration during the first year after traumatic brain injury.

The records of 34 patients who showed evidence of emotional deterioration 6 months or more following traumatic brain injury were compared with a group of patients matched for severity of initial neuropsychiatric impairment who did not show deterioration. The deterioration group was more likely to have been involved in assaults and less likely to have been involved in a motor vehicle accident than the improvement group. The deterioration group was also more likely to have a prior history of alcohol abuse and to have sustained a skull fracture with left parietal lobe injury than the improvement group.

Thoracolumbosacral laminectomy in achondroplasia: long-term results in 22 patients.

Neurologic problems caused by vertebral stenosis in the thoracolumbosacral (TLS) region are common in achondroplasia. Surgical decompression by means of laminectomy is recommended often, but its long-term results have not been assessed. We reviewed the clinical history of 22 achondroplastic patients who had at least one TLS laminectomy performed before 1981.

Cerebellopontine angle lipoma.

Lipomas rarely occur intracranially. Moreover, the cerebellopontine angle is one of the more unusual sites of such hamartomas. Of the 11 reported cases, all but three caused symptoms related to compression of the cranial nerves in the cerebellopontine angle.

Pure motor hemiplegia and lower cranial nerve palsies in a primary medullary tumor with review of the literature.

A case is described of pure motor hemiplegia and lower cranial nerve palsies in a primary medullary tumor. The literature is reviewed to support the contention that this is a case of primary medullary glioma and to show the uniqueness of the presentation of pure motor hemiplegia with a tumor in this location. A discussion of the problems of brainstem tumor is presented; surgical exploration is recommended if indicated, followed by radiation therapy.

Myelography in achondroplasia: value of a lateral C1-2 puncture and non-ionic, water-soluble contrast medium.

Because of technical difficulties and diagnostic limitations encountered with other myelographic techniques in patients with achondroplasia, the authors employed a lateral C1-2 puncture and non-ionic, water-soluble contrast medium in 18 achondroplastic patients with spinal compression (21 procedures). This technique proved most appropriate for identifying the upper limit of degenerative osteophytes causing exacerbation of congenital spinal stenosis, which is crucial in planning decompressive surgery. A potentially important additional finding was the presence of degenerative lower cervical spine disease in the majority of patients.

Spinal epidural extramedullary hematopoiesis with cord compression in a patient with refractory sideroblastic anemia. Case report.

Spinal cord compression by epidural extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is a rare phenomenon. A case of acute compressive myelopathy is reported in a 72-year-old man with EMH secondary to sideroblastic anemia. Technetium colloid scanning was used to document extensive ectopic marrow formation.

Lumbosacral skin lesions as markers of occult spinal dysraphism.

Early treatment of occult spinal dysraphism may prevent progressive neurological deficits. However, diagnosis is often delayed until the onset of irreversible neurological damage. A review of data from the literature and patients at Johns Hopkins Hospital suggests that lumbosacral skin abnormalities such as tufts of hair, hemangiomas, lipomas, skin tags, or pigmented nevi should alert the physician to search for occult spinal dysraphism.

Medulloblastoma causing a corticosteroid-responsive optic neuropathy.

A 25-year-old man had signs of optic nerve dysfunction. A diagnosis of optic neuritis was made and was supported by rapid resolution of signs and symptoms with use of corticosteroids. After initial negative radiologic investigations, his corticosteroid dosage was tapered, and the recurrence of his symptoms and signs prompted repeat computed tomographic scans.

Results and complications in 55 shunted patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus.

This retrospective study of 55 shunted patients with "normal pressure" hydrocephalus evaluates the surgical results. Sixty percent of these patients had objective improvement following cerebrospinal fluid diversion but 44% had shunt-related complications of which 9% were fatal. Those patients who received a single theco-peritoneal shunt had a higher improvement rate and a lower incidence of postoperative complications.

The so-called Dandy-Walker syndrome: analysis of 12 operated cases.

Twelve patients between the years of 1964 and 1971 underwent surgical treatment for the so-called Dandy-Walker syndrome at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Five patients belonged to an early group (1-8 weeks); four patients to an intermediary group (3-20 months); and a late group consisted of three patients (3 years, 14 years and 34 years). The value of the various diagnostic studies is discussed on the basis of an analysis of the plain skull X-rays, cerebral angiograms, and combined air studies.

Normal-pressure hydrocephalus: diagnosis and patient selection for shunt surgery.

Currently accepted modes of clinical and radiologic evaluation were analyzed retrospectively in 55 patients with "normal-pressure" hydrocephalus on whom a cerebrospinal fluid shunting procedure was done. When applied alone, each criterion neither reliably differentiated normal-pressure hydrocephalus from cortical atrophy nor indicated in a significant number of cases which patients would benefit from shunting. Therefore, future prospective evaluations should include clinical history, physical and neurologic examination, skull radiography, echoencephalography, psychometric testing, brain scanning, lumbar puncture with cerebrospinal fluid laboratory analysis, isotope cisternography, pneumoencephalography, and constant-infusion manometric testing.