Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2019
Early postsurgical diffusivity metrics for prognostication of long-term pain relief after Gamma Knife radiosurgery for trigeminal neuralgia.
Gamma Knife radiosurgery (GKRS) is an important treatment modality for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). Current longitudinal assessment after GKRS relies primarily on clinical diagnostic measures, which are highly limited in the prediction of long-term clinical benefit. An objective, noninvasive, predictive tool would be of great utility to advance the clinical management of patients. Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), the authors' aim was to determine whether early (6 months post-GKRS) target diffusivity metrics can be used to prognosticate long-term pain relief in patients with TN. ⋯ The authors demonstrate that early postsurgical target diffusivity metrics have a translational, clinical value and permit prediction of long-term pain relief in patients with TN treated with GKRS. Importantly, an association was found between the footprint of radiation and clinical effectiveness, where a sufficient level of microstructural change at the radiosurgical target is necessary for long-lasting pain relief. DTI can provide prognostic information that supplements clinical measures, and thus may better guide the postoperative assessment and clinical decision-making for patients with TN.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2019
Differences between patient- and professional-reported modified Rankin Scale score in patients with unruptured aneurysms.
Clinical trials forming the basis of current guidelines for the management of intracranial aneurysms have relied on patient-reported modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores to assess functional outcome. The effect of patient demographics on perception of disability and, by extension, patient-reported mRS score, is not well understood. ⋯ The results suggest that patient demographics may influence perception of disability. These findings should be considered when using patient-reported mRS scores to determine functional outcome.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2019
Clinical TrialSignificance of fluctuations in serum sodium levels following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: an exploratory analysis.
Fluctuations in patient serum sodium levels are common after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), but their effect on patient outcome is not well described in the literature. The goal of this work was to better characterize the relationship between fluctuations in serum sodium levels, outcome, and the development of delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aSAH. ⋯ Fluctuations in serum sodium levels may play a role in clinical outcome and the development of DCI after aSAH. The timing of these fluctuations appears to have no significant effect on the development of DCI.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2019
Multimodal management of arteriovenous malformations of the basal ganglia and thalamus: factors affecting obliteration and outcome.
Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) of the basal ganglia and thalamus are particularly difficult lesions to treat, accounting for 3%-13% of all AVMs in surgical series and 23%-44% of malformations in radiosurgery series. The goal of this study was to report the results of multimodal management of basal ganglia and thalamic AVMs and investigate the factors that influence radiographic cure and good clinical outcomes. ⋯ Good outcomes are possible with multimodal treatment in these complex patients. Increasing size and, by extension, higher Spetzler-Martin grade are associated with worse outcomes. Inclusion of multiple modalities of treatment as indicated could improve the chances of radiographic cure and good outcomes.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Aug 2019
Safety of coiling with stent placement for the treatment of ruptured wide-necked intracranial aneurysms: a contemporary cohort study in a high-volume center after improvement of skills and strategy.
The authors compared the contemporary perioperative procedure-related complications between coiling with stent placement and coiling without stent placement for acutely ruptured aneurysms treated in a single center after improvement of interventional skills and strategy. ⋯ The perioperative procedure-related complications and mortality rate did not differ significantly between the coiling/stent group and the coiling/no-stent group for patients with acutely ruptured aneurysms. Considering the better angiographic follow-up results, coiling with stent placement might be a feasible, safe, and promising option for treatment in the acute phase of selected wide-necked ruptured intracranial aneurysms.