Journal of neurosurgery
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Glossopharyngeal neuralgia is difficult to treat. On the basis of results obtained by using Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) to treat trigeminal neuralgia, the authors have used GKS to treat glossopharyngeal neuralgia in a series of patients since 2007. Their objectives with this study were to demonstrate the usefulness and safety of GKS for treating glossopharyngeal neuralgia and to describe a simple treatment method. ⋯ GKS is useful and safe for treating glossopharyngeal neuralgia, even for patients who have previously undergone surgery. GKS should be considered as the initial therapy for glossopharyngeal neuralgia.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2014
Gene-expression profiling elucidates molecular signaling networks that can be therapeutically targeted in vestibular schwannoma.
Vestibular schwannomas (VS) are common benign tumors of the vestibular nerve that cause significant morbidity. The current treatment strategies for VS include surgery or radiation, with each treatment option having associated complications and side effects. The transcriptional landscape of schwannoma remains largely unknown. ⋯ These findings implicate aberrant activation of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway as a molecular mechanism of pathogenesis in VS and suggest inhibition of this pathway as a potential treatment strategy.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2014
Chronic gliosis and behavioral deficits in mice following repetitive mild traumatic brain injury.
With the recent increasing interest in outcomes after repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (rmTBI; e.g., sports concussions), several models of rmTBI have been established. Characterizing these models in terms of behavioral and histopathological outcomes is vital to assess their clinical translatability. The purpose of this study is to provide an in-depth behavioral and histopathological phenotype of a clinically relevant model of rmTBI. ⋯ The authors demonstrate that their rmTBI model results in a characteristic behavioral phenotype that correlates with the clinical syndrome of concussion and repetitive concussion. This model offers a platform from which to study therapeutic interventions for rmTBI.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2014
Long-term follow-up studies of Gamma Knife surgery for patients with neurofibromatosis Type 2.
The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term clinical outcomes after Gamma Knife surgery (GKS) for patients with neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2) and the role of GKS in the management of NF2. ⋯ GKS was confirmed to provide long-term local tumor control for small- to medium-sized vestibular schwannomas and other types of tumors, although vestibular schwannomas in patients with NF2 responded less well than did unilateral sporadic vestibular schwannomas. Phenotype is the most strongly predictive factor of final outcome after GKS for patients with NF2. The risk for loss of hearing is high, whereas the risk for other cranial nerve complications is low.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Dec 2014
Gamma Knife rhizotomy-induced histopathology in multiple sclerosis-related trigeminal neuralgia.
In this report, the authors describe the pathological changes in the human trigeminal nerve after Gamma Knife radiosurgery. ⋯ The inflammation observed in MS-TN specimens collected following Gamma Knife radiosurgery has not previously been described in the literature. These data provide new insight into the changes that occur in trigeminal nerve following stereotactic radiosurgery.