Predicting Survival in Patients Presenting With Spinal Epidural Metastases: The Limburg Spinal Metastasis Score.

Background: Patients with spinal epidural metastases (SEM) often experience a reduction in ambulatory status and, thus, the quality of life. Predicting which patients will benefit from a surgical intervention remains a challenge. Life expectancy is an essential factor to be considered in surgical decision-making, although not the only one.

WHO grade I meningiomas that show regrowth after gamma knife radiosurgery often show 1p36 loss.

WHO grade I meningiomas occasionally show regrowth after radiosurgical treatment, which cannot be predicted by clinical features. There is increasing evidence that certain biomarkers are associated with regrowth of meningiomas. The aim of this retrospective study was to asses if these biomarkers could be of value to predict regrowth of WHO grade I meningiomas after additive radiosurgery.

Unexpected death after occipital condylar fracture.

We present a rare fatal complication of an occipital condylar fracture. The patient was initially neurologically intact, but showed secondary clinical deterioration. Imaging revealed extensive extra-axial hemorrhage at the craniocervical junction and an acute obstructive hydrocephalus.

A case of a brain stem abscess with a favorable outcome.

Background: A brain stem abscess is a rare and severe medical condition. Here, we present a rare case of a brain stem abscess in a young pregnant woman, requiring acute stereotactic intervention.

Case Description: A 36-year-old woman presented with a headache, nausea, and vomiting, and computed tomography showed a space-occupying lesion in the brain stem.

Gamma Knife radiosurgery for intracranial meningiomas: Do we need to treat the dural tail? A single-center retrospective analysis and an overview of the literature.

Background: The dural tail (DT) has been described as a common feature in meningiomas. There is a great variation of tumor invasion and extent of tumor cells in the DT. Therefore, the necessity to include the whole DT in Gamma Knife radiosurgery is not clear, since inclusion increases the target volume and therefore increases the risk of complications.

Diagnostic pathway to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS): the significance of Babinski's sign in a unique patient and the necessity for a multidisciplinary approach.

In this case report, we present a patient with rare diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In this patient, four different neurological disorders were diagnosed in a short-time period of 8 months. The first three diagnoses, chronic low back and leg pain, a left frontal gemistocytic astrocytoma WHO grade 2 and suspected Lyme's disease, could not fully explain the signs of physical examination.

Deep brain stimulation of the nucleus accumbens shell increases impulsive behavior and tissue levels of dopamine and serotonin.

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is gaining interest as a target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in refractory neuropsychiatric disorders with impulsivity as core symptom. The nucleus accumbens is composed of two subterritories, core and shell, which have different anatomical connections. In animal models, it has been shown that DBS of the NAc changes impulsive action.