Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2014
Case ReportsIntractable yawning associated with mature teratoma of the supramedial cerebellum.
Yawning occurs in various conditions such as hypoxia, epilepsy, and sleep disorders including sleep apnea. Intractable yawning associated with a brain tumor has been rarely reported. A 19-year-old woman presented with intractable yawning. ⋯ Postoperative MRI showed resolution of compression of the brainstem. The tumor was histologically diagnosed as a mature teratoma. The present case suggested that the intractable yawning resulted from the tumor compressing the dorsal side of the junction between the midbrain and pons.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2014
Evaluation of simultaneous cranioplasty and ventriculoperitoneal shunt procedures.
Some patients with severe brain swelling treated with decompressive craniectomy may develop hydrocephalus. Consequently, these patients require cranioplasty and a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt to relieve the hydrocephalus. However, there is no consensus as to the timing of the cranioplasty and VP shunt placement in patients requiring both. The authors assessed the results of performing cranioplasty and VP shunt placement at the same time in patients with cranial defects and hydrocephalus. ⋯ Patients undergoing cranioplasty and VP shunt placement at the same time had higher complication rates, especially those with severe brain bulging.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2014
Radiosurgery for low-grade intracranial arteriovenous malformations.
Low-grade, or Spetzler-Martin (SM) Grades I and II, arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are associated with lower surgical morbidity rates than higher-grade lesions. While radiosurgery is now widely accepted as an effective treatment approach for AVMs, the risks and benefits of the procedure for low-grade AVMs, as compared with microsurgery, remain poorly understood. The authors of this study present the outcomes for a large cohort of low-grade AVMs treated with radiosurgery. ⋯ Spetzler-Martin Grade I and II AVMs are very amenable to successful treatment with stereotactic radiosurgery. While patient, physician, and institutional preferences frequently dictate the final course of treatment, radiosurgery offers a favorable risk-to-benefit profile for the management of low-grade AVMs.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2014
STAT-1 expression is regulated by IGFBP-3 in malignant glioma cells and is a strong predictor of poor survival in patients with glioblastoma.
Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of glioma. In a previous study the authors demonstrated that IGFBP-3 is a novel glioblastoma biomarker associated with poor survival. Since signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT-1) has been shown to be regulated by IGFBP-3 during chondrogenesis and is a prosurvival and radioresistant molecule in different tumors, the aim in the present study was to explore the functional significance of IGFBP-3 in malignant glioma cells, to determine if STAT-1 is indeed regulated by IGFBP-3, and to study the potential of STAT-1 as a biomarker in glioblastoma. ⋯ IGFBP-3 influences tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasion and regulates STAT-1 expression in malignant glioma cells. STAT-1 is overexpressed in human glioblastoma tissues and emerges as a novel prognostic biomarker.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2014
Prediction of methylguanine methyltransferase promoter methylation in glioblastoma using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance and diffusion tensor imaging.
The methylation status of the methylguanine methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter has been associated with treatment response in glioblastoma. The authors aimed to assess whether MGMT methylation status can be predicted by dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). ⋯ Ktrans may serve as a potential imaging biomarker to predict MGMT methylation status preoperatively in glioblastoma; however, further investigation with a larger cohort is necessary.