Neurosurgery
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Multicenter Study
Sustained Long-Term Outcomes With Closed-Loop Spinal Cord Stimulation: 12-Month Results of the Prospective, Multicenter, Open-Label Avalon Study.
Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) activates the dorsal column fibers using electrical stimuli. Current SCS systems function in fixed-output mode, delivering the same stimulus regardless of spinal cord (SC) activation. ⋯ The majority of patients experienced more than 80% pain relief with stable SC activation, as measured by ECAP amplitude at 12 mo, providing evidence for the long-term effectiveness of the Evoke closed-loop SCS system.
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Case Reports
Case Series: Unilateral Amygdala Ablation Ameliorates Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms and Biomarkers.
Post-traumatic stress disorder is a severe psychobiological disorder associated with hyperactivity of the amygdala, particularly on the right side. Highly selective laser ablation of the amygdalohippocampal complex is an effective neurosurgical treatment for medically refractory medial temporal lobe epilepsy that minimizes neurocognitive deficits relative to traditional open surgery. ⋯ These observations support the emerging hypothesis that the right amygdala particularly perpetuates the signs and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and suggests that focal unilateral amydalohippocampotomy can provide therapeutic benefit.
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Degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS) is often treated with lumbar spinal fusion (LSF). However, there is concern that the morbidity of LSF may be prohibitively high in older adults. ⋯ LSF may be performed safely in older adults with DS. Our results suggest older age alone should not exclude a patient from undergoing lumbar fusion for DS.