Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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We used PubMed, Medline, and EMBASE to conduct a meta-analysis to determine the significance of high signal intensity on T2-weighted MRI for predicting postoperative prognosis in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). Although patients with CSM with high signal intensity on T2-weighted MRI usually had a poor prognosis even after undergoing surgery, some researchers have argued recently that high-intensity signals are not associated with postoperative prognosis. Data consistent with the inclusion criteria of this study were cited for meta-analysis using Review Manager 5 Software. ⋯ Five articles (one prospective; four retrospective) involving 309 patients with CSM were included. The aggregate WMD with regard to the postoperative JOA recovery ratio between the T2-weighted high signal intensity positive (+) group and the T2-weighted high signal intensity negative (-) group was -6.56, and the 95% confidence interval (CI) was -12.15 to -0.97 (p=0.02). Thus, we concluded that in patients with CSM, the postoperative JOA recovery ratio in the T2-weighted (+) group was lower than that in the T2-weighted (-) group.
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Although prostate adenocarcinoma is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men, intracranial metastases are rare. We describe a 72-year-old patient with known metastatic prostate cancer, presenting with a dural-based parafalcine lesion on radiological imaging, following a seizure. Total macroscopic excision of the lesion was achieved at surgery, with histopathology confirming prostate adenocarcinoma embedded in an atypical (World Health Organization Grade II) meningioma, fulfilling all the criteria for true tumour-to-tumour metastasis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of prostate cancer metastasising to an atypical meningioma.
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Anterior cervical decompression and fusion is most successful when bone graft is combined with stabilizing instrumentation. The use of bioresorbable anterior cervical plates has been reported recently instead of the traditional titanium plate. ⋯ Successful fusion is visualized on CT imaging at 8-year follow-up. To our knowledge this is the first report of long-term follow-up showing successful fusion with this technology.
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Patients with spontaneous non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (non-aSAH) are considered to have a benign illness in contrast to patients with aSAH. The occurrence of the systemic inflammatory response syndrome has been linked to worse outcomes in patients with aSAH. We analyzed systemic interleukin (IL)-6, a proinflammatory cytokine, to determine whether its concentration differs between patients with non-aSAH and those with aSAH, reflecting the more benign illness. ⋯ A subgroup analysis revealed a higher mean IL-6 concentration in patients with non-pmSAH compared to patients with pm-SAH (p=0.001). We concluded that systemic IL-6 concentration reflects the severity of the inflammatory stress response and course of the illness. The more benign illness and good prognosis of patients with pmSAH or non-pmSAH in contrast to patients with aSAH is reflected by the lower concentrations of IL-6.
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Intracranial hemangiopericytoma (HPC) is an aggressive meningothelial neoplasm. A particularly challenging aspect of management of patients with HPC is optimizing treatment for recurrence, progression, and extracranial metastasis. Here we describe a modern cohort of patients with recurrent HPC to better understand treatment strategies that may improve outcome. ⋯ We conclude that when combined with surgical resection, EBRT appears promising in the extension of second recurrence-free survival and overall survival. This multimodality approach also appears to outperform GKS in extending time to second recurrence. Accordingly, when safe and feasible, surgical resection of recurrent HPC with adjuvant EBRT should be the first steps in management.