Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2012
Review Case ReportsLong-term tumor control and cranial nerve outcomes following γ knife surgery for larger-volume vestibular schwannomas.
γ knife surgery (GKS) for vestibular schwannoma (VS) is an accepted treatment for small- to medium-sized tumors, generally smaller than 2.5 cm in the maximum posterior fossa dimension. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of GKS for larger tumors. ⋯ Single-session radiosurgery is a successful treatment for the majority of patients with larger VSs. Although tumor control rates are lower than those for smaller VSs managed with GKS, the cranial nerve morbidity of GKS is significantly lower than that typically achieved via resection of larger VSs.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2012
Review Case ReportsClinical, radiological, and pathological features of 24 atypical intracranial epidermoid cysts.
Most intracranial epidermoid cysts typically present with long T1 and T2 signals on MR images. Other epidermoid cysts with atypical MR images are often misdiagnosed as other diseases. In this study the authors aimed to analyze the incidence and the clinical, radiological, and pathological features of atypical epidermoid cysts. ⋯ Radiologically, an atypical epidermoid cyst should be differentiated from dermoid cyst, teratoma, schwannoma, glioma, craniopharyngioma, and cavernous angioma. A tendency toward spontaneous hemorrhage is confirmed in atypical epidermoid cysts, and a hypothesis was proposed for spontaneously intracystic hemorrhage in atypical epidermoid cysts. Follow-up confirmed long-term survival of patients with atypical epidermoid cysts.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2012
Comparative StudyComparison of induced hypertension, fluid bolus, and blood transfusion to augment cerebral oxygen delivery after subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Critical reductions in oxygen delivery (DO(2)) underlie the development of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). If DO(2) is not promptly restored, then irreversible injury (that is, cerebral infarction) may result. Hemodynamic therapies for DCI (that is, induced hypertension [IH] and hypervolemia) aim to improve DO(2) by raising cerebral blood flow (CBF). Red blood cell (RBC) transfusion may be an alternate strategy that augments DO(2) by improving arterial O(2) content. The authors compared the relative ability of these 3 interventions to improve cerebral DO(2), specifically their ability to restore DO(2) to regions where it is impaired. ⋯ The IH, fluid bolus, and blood transfusion interventions all improve DO(2) to vulnerable brain regions at risk for ischemia after SAH. Transfusion appeared to provide a physiological benefit at least comparable to IH, especially among patients with anemia, but transfusion is associated with risks. The clinical significance of these findings remains to be established in controlled clinical trials.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2012
Comparative StudySlower growth of skull base meningiomas compared with non-skull base meningiomas based on volumetric and biological studies.
The precise natural history of incidentally discovered meningiomas (IDMs) remains unknown. It has been reported that for symptomatic meningiomas, tumor location can be used to predict growth. As to whether the same is true for IDMs has not been reported. This study aims to answer this question and provide biological evidence for this assumption by extending the study to involve symptomatic cases. ⋯ Skull base IDMs tend not to grow, which is different from non-skull base tumors. Even when IDMs grow, the rate of growth is significantly lower than that of non-skull base tumors. The same conclusion with regard to biological behavior was confirmed in symptomatic cases based on MIB-1 index analyses. The authors' findings may impact the understanding of the natural history of IDMs, as well as strategies for management and treatment of IDMs and symptomatic meningiomas.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Mar 2012
Comparative StudyAre routine repeat imaging and intensive care unit admission necessary in mild traumatic brain injury?
More than 1.5 million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year. Seventy-five percent of these patients have a mild TBI, with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) Score 13-15. At the authors' institution, the usual practice has been to admit those patients with an associated intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) to an ICU and to obtain repeat head CT scans 12-24 hours after admission. The purpose of this study was to determine if there exists a subpopulation of mild TBI patients with an abnormal head CT scan that requires neither repeat brain imaging nor admission to an ICU. This group of patients was further classified based on initial clinical factors and imaging characteristics. ⋯ Most patients with mild TBI have a good outcome without the necessity of neurosurgical intervention. Mild TBI patients with a convexity SAH, small convexity contusion, small IPH (≤ 10 ml), and/or small subdural hematoma do not require admission to an ICU or repeat imaging in the absence of a neurological decline.