Safety and feasibility of balloon aortic valvuloplasty in non-TAVI centers: The "BAV for life" experience.

Objectives: To evaluate the safety and the feasibility of balloon aortic valvuloplasty (BAV) procedure made by trained operators in centers not performing transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI).

Background: BAV is a valuable therapeutic tool for patients with symptomatic severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) at prohibitive risk for TAVI or surgery.

Methods: Consecutive high-risk AS patients underwent BAV in five non-TAVI centers, where BAV operators had completed a 6-month training period in high-volume TAVI centers (Group A).

Management of atrial fibrillation in the emergency room and in the cardiology ward: the BLITZ AF study.

Aims: To assess the number of admissions to the emergency room (ER) of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) or atrial flutter (af) and their subsequent management. To evaluate the clinical profile and the use of antithrombotics and antiarrhythmic therapy in patients with AF admitted to cardiology wards.

Methods And Results: BLITZ-AF is a multicentre, observational study conducted in 154 centres on patients with AF/af.

Review of the main surgical and angiographic-oriented classifications of the course of the internal carotid artery through a novel interactive 3D model.

The course of the internal carotid artery (ICA) and its segment classifications were reviewed by means of a new and freely available 3D interactive model of the artery and the skull base, based on human neuroimages, that can be freely downloaded at the Public Repository of the University of Barcelona (http://diposit.ub.edu/dspace/handle/2445/112442) and runs under Acrobat Reader in Mac and Windows computers and Windows 10 tablets.

Perspectives in immunotherapy: meeting report from the Immunotherapy Bridge (29-30 November, 2017, Naples, Italy).

Immunotherapy represents the third important wave in the history of the systemic treatment of cancer after chemotherapy and targeted therapy and is now established as a potent and effective treatment option across several cancer types. The clinical success of anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated antigen (CTLA)-4, first, and anti-programmed death (PD)-1/PD-ligand (L)1 agents in melanoma and other cancers a few years later, has encouraged increasing focus on the development of other immunotherapies (e.g.

Palatal Position of Patient Tracker for Magnetic Neuronavigation System: Technical Note.

Objective: Recently, the neuronavigation system (NS) has become an essential intraoperative tool for many neurosurgical procedures, allowing for precise lesion localization. It is particularly important to avoid errors during the navigation process. Here we report a novel technique using palatal positioning of the patient tracker to ensure optimal accuracy during magnetic navigation in various neurosurgical procedures.

Endoscopic Endonasal Transclival Approach to the Ventral Brainstem: Anatomic Study of the Safe Entry Zones Combining Fiber Dissection Technique with 7 Tesla Magnetic Resonance Guided Neuronavigation.

Background: Treatment of intrinsic lesions of the ventral brainstem is a surgical challenge that requires complex skull base antero- and posterolateral approaches. More recently, endoscopic endonasal transclival approach (EETA) has been reported in the treatment of selected ventral brainstem lesions.

Objective: In this study we explored the endoscopic ventral brainstem anatomy with the aim to describe the degree of exposure of the ventral safe entry zones.

Multicenter prospective study of angiogenesis polymorphism validation in HCC patients treated with sorafenib. An INNOVATE study protocol.

Introduction: Although sorafenib is the upfront standard of care for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), molecular predictors of efficacy have not been identified yet. In the ALICE-1 study, rs2010963 of VEGF-A and VEGF-C proved to be independent predictive factors for progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in multivariate analysis. The ALICE-1 study results were confirmed in the ALICE-2 study, in which VEGF and VEGFR SNPs were analyzed.

Assessment of the effect of mesoglycan in the treatment of audiovestibular disorders of vascular origin.

It is a well-known fact that inner ear diseases are often caused by microcirculatory disorders, and the recent literature is oriented towards investigations into the relationship between the cardiovascular system and cochleovestibular illness with related classical symptoms: tinnitus, hearing loss, and vertigo or instability. These symptoms, and particularly the vertigo, may be the alarm signal of microcirculatory disorders of the labyrinth or vertebrobasilar circulation so as to represent a possible symptom of posterior circulation stroke. The treatment aimed at correcting the haemodynamic and metabolic imbalance, generated by the cochleovestibular microcirculatory disorders, with drugs that act on the vessel wall being very useful, both alone and in combination with other treatment protocols.

Tivantinib for second-line treatment of MET-high, advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (METIV-HCC): a final analysis of a phase 3, randomised, placebo-controlled study.

Background: Tivantinib (ARQ 197), a selective, oral MET inhibitor, improved overall survival and progression-free survival compared with placebo in a randomised phase 2 study in patients with high MET expression (MET-high) hepatocellular carcinoma previously treated with sorafenib. The aim of this phase 3 study was to confirm the results of the phase 2 trial.

Methods: We did a phase 3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 90 centres in Australia, the Americas, Europe, and New Zealand.

Salivary levels of phosphorus and urea as indices of their plasma levels in nephropathic patients.

Background: Phosphorus and urea are measurable in saliva. Measurements of saliva phosphorus (S-Pho) and saliva urea (S-Urea) could be useful because of low invasivity. Data are limited to saliva tests methodology and to correlations between plasma and saliva compositions.

A Novel and Freely Available Interactive 3d Model of the Internal Carotid Artery.

We describe a new and freely available 3D interactive model of the intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) and the skull base that also allows to display and compare its main segment classifications. High-resolution 3D human angiography (isometric voxel's size 0.36 mm) and Computed Tomography angiography images were exported to Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) format for processing in a 3D software platform and embedding in a 3D Portable Document Format (PDF) document that can be freely downloaded at http://diposit.

Low Protein Intake in the Population: Low Risk of Kidney Function Decline but High Risk of Mortality.

Objective: This population-based study investigated low protein intake, mortality, and kidney function decline.

Design: Observational longitudinal cohort study.

Subjects: Target cohort consisted of 4,679 adults participating in 1988-1992 and 2001-2007 examinations of the Gubbio Study (baseline and follow-up).

Cerebrovascular disorders and Fahr's disease: Report of two cases and literature review.

Fahr's disease is a rare idiopathic nosological entity, characterized by calcification of the basal ganglia and dentate nuclei of the cerebellum. Sometimes it may be associated to other diseases like cerebrovascular disorders. However, this link remains unclear and it needs to be further validated.

Fluorescein-assisted stereotactic needle biopsy of brain tumors: a single-center experience and systematic review.

Over the last years, fluorescence-based technology has begun an emergent intraoperative method for diagnostic confirmation of brain tumor tissue in stereotactic needle biopsy. However, the actual level of evidence is quite low, especially about fluorescein sodium (FL) application. This method needs to be further validated and better analyzed about its impact in clinical practice.

Phenotype and genotype of 87 patients with Mowat-Wilson syndrome and recommendations for care.

Purpose: Mowat-Wilson syndrome (MWS) is a rare intellectual disability/multiple congenital anomalies syndrome caused by heterozygous mutation of the ZEB2 gene. It is generally underestimated because its rarity and phenotypic variability sometimes make it difficult to recognize. Here, we aimed to better delineate the phenotype, natural history, and genotype-phenotype correlations of MWS.

Frontolateral Approach Combined with Endoscopic Endonasal Extradural Posterior Clinoidectomy to the Upper Clival Region: Anatomic and Feasibility Study.

Background: Surgical management of lesions located in the upper clival region is challenging. Complex open transcranial approaches have been used to reach surgical targets in these areas. The frontotemporozygomatic approach combined with an intradural posterior clinoidectomy has been proposed as the most reliable route to manage such lesions.

Endoscopic transorbital superior eyelid approach: anatomical study from a neurosurgical perspective.

OBJECTIVERecent studies have proposed the superior eyelid endoscopic transorbital approach as a new minimally invasive route to access orbital lesions, mostly in otolaryngology and maxillofacial surgeries. The authors undertook this anatomical study in order to contribute a neurosurgical perspective, exploring the anterior and middle cranial fossa areas through this purely endoscopic transorbital trajectory.METHODSAnatomical dissections were performed in 10 human cadaveric heads (20 sides) using 0° and 30° endoscopes.

Long-term survival in a patient with metastatic squamous cell lung carcinoma: A case report.

Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common malignancy in industrialized countries, with a 5-year survival rate of only ~15%, as the majority of the patients have advanced-stage disease at diagnosis and the treatment options are limited. Squamous cell carcinoma the second most frequent type of NSCLC and is closely associated with cigarette smoking. We herein present the case of a 72-year-old male smoker, diagnosed with stage IV squamous cell lung carcinoma, with a solitary brain metastasis.

Does routine carpal tunnel release during fixation of distal radius fractures improve outcomes?

Objective: This case-control study was designed to test the hypothesis whether carpal tunnel release (CTR) during fixation of distal radius 23-C2 AO fractures improves outcomes.

Methods: Thirty-five consecutive patients who sustained distal radius fractures of the dominant hand participated in this study. Patients were allocated into two groups: (a) The ORIF + CTR (16 patients (11 males and 5 females)); (b) the ORIF and NOT CTR 19 patients (12 males and 7 females).