British journal of neurosurgery
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Comparative Study
The safety and efficacy of vertebroplasty using Cortoss cement in a newly established vertebroplasty service.
Vertebroplasty provides an effective means of treating painful vertebral lesions although the majority of the literature relates to vertebroplasty using PMMA cement. The purpose of this study is to assess the safety and efficacy of vertebroplasty using Cortoss, a recently developed bis-GMA resin. Our newly established vertebroplasty service exclusively uses Cortoss cement and has a patient database which is updated on a regular basis using the medical records. ⋯ In 38% there was an asymptomatic leakage of Cortoss. Four patients (11.8%) experienced significant complications: one asymptomatic PE, one episode of transient radicular leg pain, one generalized rash and one patient suffered retropulsion of the Cortoss due to further vertebral malignancy. Cortoss vertebroplasty provides comparable efficacy and safety to the published literature for PMMA.
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Spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) is an uncommon clinical entity that is often diagnosed after a delay, or it is misdiagnosed due to the variety of clinical presentations and the associated radiological findings. We present here a case of SIH associated with chronic subdural haematoma (SDH) and subarachnoid haemorrhage. Following the diagnosis of the SIH, the patient underwent injection of an epidural blood patch for the SIH and burr hole trephination was done for treating the chronic subdural haematoma.
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The pedunculopontine nucleus is a promising new target for deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinsonian patients with gait disturbance and postural instability refractory to other treatment modalities. This region of the brain is unfamiliar territory to most functional neurosurgeons and has been the subject of inaccurate descriptions and representations. ⋯ The stereotactic coordinates for both structures are reviewed, as are methods of anatomical localization in surgical practice. The precise understanding and use of anatomical terminology together with accurate postoperative lead localization are essential when reporting on the clinical effects of novel DBS targets.
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Large animal neuroscience enables the use of conventional clinical brain imagers and the direct use and testing of surgical procedures and equipment from the human clinic. The greater complexity of the large animal brain additionally enables a more direct translation to human brain function in health and disease. Economical, ethical, scientific and practical issues may on the other hand hamper large animal neuroscience. ⋯ We have, accordingly, during the last ten years used the Gottingen minipig to examine neuromodulatory treatment modalities such as stem cell transplantation and deep brain stimulation directed towards Parkinson disease. This has been accomplished by the development of a MPTP-based large animal model of Parkinson disease in the Gottingen minipig and the development of stereotaxic and surgical approaches needed to manipulate the Gottingen minipig CNS. The instituted changes in the CNS can be evaluated in the live animal by brain imaging (PET and MR), cystometry, gait analysis, neurological evaluation and by post mortem examination based on histology and stereological analysis.
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Subthalamic deep brain stimulation is now well established as a treatment for the dopaminergic motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease. It has little effect on postural instability and "on-state" gait freezing. Animal experiments and early human pilot studies suggest that Pedunculopontine nucleus stimulation may alleviate these phenomenon, consistent with the hypothesis that these disabling symptoms are secondary to degeneration in non-dopaminergic pathways.