Outcome Measures for Medical and Surgical Treatment of Prolactinomas. Is the Role of Surgery Underestimated?

 The first line treatment for prolactinomas is currently dopamine agonists (DAs). Medical management is prolonged, associated with side effects, financial, and psychological burdens. In dedicated centers, pituitary surgery is a low-risk alternative.

Current state and promise of user-centered design to harness explainable AI in clinical decision-support systems for patients with CNS tumors.

In neuro-oncology, MR imaging is crucial for obtaining detailed brain images to identify neoplasms, plan treatment, guide surgical intervention, and monitor the tumor's response. Recent AI advances in neuroimaging have promising applications in neuro-oncology, including guiding clinical decisions and improving patient management. However, the lack of clarity on how AI arrives at predictions has hindered its clinical translation.

BabyFM: Towards accurate 3D baby facial models using spectral decomposition and asymmetry swapping.

In this paper, we present the first publicly available 3D statistical facial shape model of babies, the Baby Face Model (BabyFM). Constructing a model of the facial geometry of babies entails specific challenges, such as occlusions, extreme and uncontrollable expressions, and data shortage. We address these challenges by proposing (1) a non-template dependent method that jointly estimates a 3D facial baby-specific template and the point-to-point correspondences; (2) a novel method to establish correspondences based on the spectral decomposition of the Laplace Beltrami Operator, which provides a more robust theoretical foundation than state-of-the-art methods; and (3) an asymmetry-swapping strategy to alleviate the shortage of large scale datasets by decoupling the identity-related and the asymmetry-related shape deformation fields.

Concussion and depressive symptoms in high school students: impact of physical activity and substance use.

Objective: To investigate the association between concussion history and depressive symptoms after adjusting for physical activity, substance use, and illicit drug use.

Methods: We analysed data from the Adolescent Behaviour and Experiences Survey, a nationally representative survey of adolescents in the USA. Our independent variables were history of concussion in the 12 months preceding survey completion; self-reported weekly physical activity (days per week with >60 min of physical activity, 0-7 scale); substance use over the past 30 days (yes vs no) and illicit drug use throughout lifetime (yes vs no).

Diurnal fluctuations of subthalamic nucleus local field potentials follow naturalistic sleep-wake behavior in Parkinson's disease.

Study Objectives: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) may improve sleep dysfunction, a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson disease (PD). Improvement in motor symptoms correlates with DBS-suppressed local field potential (LFP) activity, particularly in the beta frequency (13 - 30 Hz). Although well-characterized in the short term, little is known about the innate progression of these oscillations across the sleep-wake cycle.

Necrosis of pleomorphic adenoma of the lacrimal gland with acute and chronic arteriolar occlusion.

Pleomorphic adenoma of the lacrimal gland (PALG) is a benign neoplasm typically presenting with gradual, painless globe displacement and/or lid swelling. We report an atypical case of PALG in a 53-year old male presenting acutely, mimicking orbital cellulitis. Imaging demonstrated an extraconal rim-enhancing soft-tissue lesion medial to the left lacrimal gland, involving superior rectus and levator palpebrae superioris.

Pediatric Craniofacial Injuries Involving Alcohol: An Epidemiologic Study.

Introduction: Alcohol intoxication significantly increases an individual's risk for a variety of injuries including craniofacial injuries, although this research is limited to adults. Further research is needed on pediatric craniofacial injuries related to alcohol use in children, a group inherently different in anatomy and developmental considerations from adults. This study aims to identify alcohol-related craniofacial injury patterns, injury mechanisms, and patient disposition in the pediatric population presenting to the emergency department.

Regional Variations in the Management of Cerebral Arteriovenous Malformations: A Nationwide Inpatient Sample Analysis of Surgical Excision and Endovascular Embolization.

Introduction: Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) represent a complex neurosurgical challenge with management strategies that vary significantly across regions. The decision to treat unruptured AVMs, in particular, is controversial, with options ranging from conservative management to surgical excision or endovascular embolization. This study investigates regional variations in treating unruptured and ruptured AVMs in the United States.

Diverse phenotype of Ménière's disease associated with family history, thyroid disorder, migraine and associated disorders.

Objective: To better understand the clinical phenotype of Ménière's disease (MD), we examined family history, thyroid disorder, migraine, and associated disorders in complaints of people living with MD.

Method: We designed the study as a retrospective and examined data gathered from 912 participants with MD. Their data were originally collected by the Finnish Ménière Federation (FMF).

Malignant Cerebral Edema After Cranioplasty: A Case Report and Literature Insights.

BACKGROUND Decompressive craniectomy is a common life-saving intervention in the setting of elevated intracranial pressure. Cranioplasty restores the calvarium and intracranial physiology once swelling recedes. Cranioplasty is often thought of as a low-risk intervention.

Imagine, Discover, Inspire: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference of the Trisomy 21 Research Society.

Down syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 (T21) is present in a significant number of children and adults around the world and is associated with cognitive and medical challenges. Through research, the T21 Research Society (T21RS), established in 2014, unites a worldwide community dedicated to understanding the impact of T21 on biological systems and improving the quality of life of people with DS across the lifespan. T21RS hosts an international conference every two years to support collaboration, dissemination, and information sharing for this goal.

Sports after single-suture synostosis surgery: a survey of Synostosis Research Group members.

Objective: Patients with a history of surgery for single-suture craniosynostosis (SSC) as an infant often wish to participate in sports later in childhood. However, there are no established guidelines from neurosurgeons and craniofacial surgeons to guide parents in which sports their child should or should not participate. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the attitudes and practice patterns of experienced neurosurgeons and craniofacial surgeons regarding the counseling of caregivers of these patients about sports participation.

SHAPE: A visual computing pipeline for interactive landmarking of 3D photograms and patient reporting for assessing craniosynostosis.

3D photogrammetry is a cost-effective, non-invasive imaging modality that does not require the use of ionizing radiation or sedation. Therefore, it is specifically valuable in pediatrics and is used to support the diagnosis and longitudinal study of craniofacial developmental pathologies such as craniosynostosis - the premature fusion of one or more cranial sutures resulting in local cranial growth restrictions and cranial malformations. Analysis of 3D photogrammetry requires the identification of craniofacial landmarks to segment the head surface and compute metrics to quantify anomalies.

MIRO2 promotes cancer invasion and metastasis via MYO9B suppression of RhoA activity.

Metastasis to vital organs remains the leading cause of cancer-related deaths, emphasizing an urgent need for actionable targets in advanced-stage cancer. The role of mitochondrial Rho GTPase 2 (MIRO2) in prostate cancer growth was recently reported; however, whether MIRO2 is important for additional steps in the metastatic cascade is unknown. Here, we show that knockdown of MIRO2 ubiquitously reduces tumor cell invasion in vitro and suppresses metastatic burden in prostate and breast cancer mouse models.

Redefining Clinically Significant Blood Loss in Complex Adult Spine Deformity Surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis of prospectively-collected data.

Objective: This study aims to define clinically relevant blood loss in adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery.

Background: Current definitions of excessive blood loss following spine surgery are highly variable and may be suboptimal in predicting adverse events (AE).

Sleep spindle variation in patients with Parkinson's disease on first nights of sub-optimal deep brain stimulation.

Objective: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is a common treatment for motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease but its influence on non-motor symptoms is less clear. Sleep spindles are known to be reduced in patients with Parkinson's disease, but the effect of STN DBS is unknown. The objective of our study was to address this knowledge gap.

Irregular assessment times in pragmatic randomized clinical trials.

Deviation from protocolized assessment times is commonplace in pragmatic randomized clinical trials. Working with a stakeholder advisory board for a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute®-funded project on statistical methods for handling potential biases introduced by irregular assessment times, we identified reasons for off-schedule or missed assessments. We used the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research 2.

How Women and Men with Parkinson's Disease Approach Decision-Making for Deep Brain Stimulation Surgery.

Background: Women make up only 23% to 30% of recipients for deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery for Parkinson's disease (PD), a discrepancy that is not accounted for by differences in disease incidence. One of the many factors that may contribute to this gap includes gender differences in decision-making.

Objective: The aim was to explore how women and men approach the decision for DBS in terms of informational needs, weighing risks and benefits, and decision-making.

Extracellular Vesicles from a Novel Chordoma Cell Line, ARF-8, Promote Tumorigenic Microenvironmental Changes When Incubated with the Parental Cells and with Human Osteoblasts.

Chordomas are rare, generally slow-growing spinal tumors that nonetheless exhibit progressive characteristics over time, leading to malignant phenotypes and high recurrence rates, despite maximal therapeutic interventions. The tumors are notoriously resistant to therapies and are often located in regions that complicate achieving gross total resections. Cell lines from these tumors are rare as well.

Differential Infiltration of Key Immune T-Cell Populations Across Malignancies Varying by Immunogenic Potential and the Likelihood of Response to Immunotherapy.

Solid tumors vary by the immunogenic potential of the tumor microenvironment (TME) and the likelihood of response to immunotherapy. The emerging literature has identified key immune cell populations that significantly impact immune activation or suppression within the TME. This study investigated candidate T-cell populations and their differential infiltration within different tumor types as estimated from mRNA co-expression levels of the corresponding cellular markers.

Bedside transfontanelle drain placement reduces the need for operative intervention in infants with subdural fluid collections.

Objective: Subdural fluid collection is a common neurosurgical condition in the pediatric population. Patients requiring surgical intervention have historically been managed with subdural drains, subdural-subgaleal shunting, subdural-peritoneal shunting, and mini-craniotomies. An alternative procedure for patients with an open anterior fontanelle is bedside transfontanelle drainage.

A Visual Analytics Framework for Assessing Interactive AI for Clinical Decision Support.

Human involvement remains critical in most instances of clinical decision-making. Recent advances in AI and machine learning opened the door for designing, implementing, and translating interactive AI systems to support clinicians in decision-making. Assessing the impact and implications of such systems on patient care and clinical workflows requires in-depth studies.