Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2015
Birth desires and intentions of women diagnosed with a meningioma.
OBJECT To the authors' knowledge, no previous study has examined the impact of meningioma diagnosis on women's birth desires and intentions. In an exploratory study, the authors surveyed women affected by meningioma to determine their attitudes toward childbearing and the influences, including physician recommendations, on this major life decision and compared their responses to those of women in the general population. METHODS Meningioma survivors from the Meningioma Mommas online support group participated in an online survey that included questions on their birth desires and intentions, whether the risk of disease recurrence influenced their reproductive decisions, and risks communicated to them by their physicians. ⋯ The most common factor influencing birth desires and intentions was risk of the meningioma returning and requiring more treatment, which was reported by nearly two-thirds of the women in their childbearing years. CONCLUSIONS A majority of the meningioma survivors of childbearing age who completed the survey reported a desire for children, although concern about the risk of meningioma recurrence was an important factor for these women when making reproductive decisions. Physicians are in a position to educate their patients on potential risk factors for recurrence and to provide contact information for services such as counseling and family planning.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2015
Comparative StudyComparison of language cortex reorganization patterns between cerebral arteriovenous malformations and gliomas: a functional MRI study.
OBJECT Cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are congenital malformations that may grow in the language cortex but usually do not lead to aphasia. In contrast, language dysfunction is a common presentation for patients with a glioma that involves language areas. The authors attempted to demonstrate the difference in patterns of language cortex reorganization between cerebral AVMs and gliomas by blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI) evaluation. ⋯ CONCLUSIONS Right-sided lateralization of BOLD signal activations was observed in patients with a cerebral AVM and in those with a glioma, suggesting that language cortex reorganization may occur with both diseases. However, the potential of reorganization in patients with gliomas seems to be insufficient compared with patients AVMs, which is suggested by clinical manifestations and the fMRI findings. Moreover, this study seems to indicate that in patients with an AVM, a nidus near the Broca area mainly leads to right-sided lateralization of the Broca area, and a nidus near the Wernicke area mainly leads to right-sided lateralization of the Wernicke area.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2015
Impact of surgical methodology on the complication rate and functional outcome of patients with a single brain metastasis.
OBJECT Brain metastases are the most common intracranial neoplasms and are on the increase. As radiation side effects are increasingly better understood, more patients are being treated with surgery alone with varying outcomes. The authors previously reported that en bloc resection of a single brain metastasis was associated with decreased incidences of leptomeningeal disease and local recurrence compared with piecemeal resection. ⋯ In addition, within subcategories of tumor volume, the incidence of various complications was generally higher for patients undergoing piecemeal resection than for those undergoing en bloc resection. CONCLUSIONS The authors' results indicate that postoperative complication rates are not increased by en bloc resection, including for lesions in eloquent brain regions or for large tumors. This gives credence to the idea that en bloc resection of brain metastases, when feasible, is at least as safe as piecemeal resection.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2015
Endovascular transvenous cure for ruptured brain arteriovenous malformations in complex cases with high Spetzler-Martin grades.
Ruptured cerebral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) with deep localization and high Spetzler-Martin grades are associated with considerable challenges regarding nidus eradication treatment. The authors report their experience with curative endovascular transvenous embolization in a series of patients harboring "untreatable" lesions. ⋯ Single-session endovascular transvenous embolization seems to be a safe and effective curative treatment for patients harboring complex brain AVMs with high Spetzler-Martin grade.
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Journal of neurosurgery · May 2015
Case Reports Comparative StudyCharacterization of radiation-induced cavernous malformations and comparison with a nonradiation cavernous malformation cohort.
The objective of this study was to characterize the clinical features of radiation-induced cavernous malformations (RICMs). ⋯ In this patient population, RICMs occurred within the radiation port approximately 12 years after radiation treatment. Compared with nonradiation CMs, RICMs were more likely to occur as multiple CMs, to present at a younger age, and were at least as likely to cause symptomatic hemorrhage.