Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Comparative Study
Correlation between muscle atrophy on MRI and manual strength testing in hereditary neuropathies.
MRI shows areas where muscle has been replaced by fat, a process which occurs in neuropathies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness of MRI in assessing disease severity in Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) and hereditary motor neuropathy (HMN) compared to manual muscle testing (MMT). ⋯ In addition, nerve length dependent denervation was confirmed in both CMT and HMN. MRI will be useful to confirm MMT findings and may be helpful for diagnosis of early or subclinical disease, as well as to further investigate the mechanisms of hereditary neuropathies.
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We describe a unique C1-C2 lateral dislocation complicating a displaced type II odontoid fracture. We report a 63-year-old female pedestrian involved in a motor vehicle accident who required posterior open reduction and segmental C1-C2 instrumentation and fusion. Radiological examination of the cervical spine demonstrated a lateral dislocation of the atlantoaxial joint with a displaced type II fracture of the odontoid, fracture of the right lateral mass of C1 and left superior articular facet of C2. ⋯ The dislocated C1-C2 articulation was successfully reduced surgically with subsequent bony fusion and resolution of all neurological symptoms and signs at final follow-up. To our knowledge, this the first report of this type of injury. We also review the related literature on this unique injury pattern.
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Comparative Study
Relationship between brain interstitial fluid tumor necrosis factor-α and cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) has a crucial role in the onset of hemolysis-induced vascular injury and cerebral vasoconstriction. We hypothesized that TNF-alpha measured from brain interstitial fluid would correlate with the severity of vasospasm following aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH). From a consecutive series of 10 aSAH patients who underwent cerebral microdialysis (MD) and evaluation of vasospasm by CT angiogram (CTA) or digital subtraction angiography (DSA), TNF-alpha levels from MD were measured at 8-hour intervals from aSAH days 4-6 using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. ⋯ The median log TNF-alpha area under the curve (AUC) was 1.64pg/mL *day (interquartile range 1.48-1.71) for the VI<2 group, and 2.11pg/mL *day (interquartile range 1.95-2.47) for the VI>2 group (p<0.01). Thus, in this small series of poor-grade aSAH patients, the AUC of TNF-alpha levels from aSAH days 4-6 correlates with the severity of radiographic vasospasm. Further analysis in a larger population is warranted based on our preliminary findings.
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Symptomatic spontaneous pneumocephalus after a spinal fusion for spondylolisthesis without injury to the dura mater is rare. There are only a few reports of tension pneumocephalus after spinal operations published in English. ⋯ CT cisternography and MRI showed no anatomical defects that could have caused the pneumocephalus. We suggest that spontaneous pneumocephalus without dural injury may occur after a spondylolisthesis operation because of increased intra-abdominal pressure, and thus may be avoided by the careful management of abdominal pressure.
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Review Case Reports
Giant PICA aneurysm presenting as intractable hiccups.
We report a 23-year-old female with rare intractable hiccups caused by a giant posterior inferior cerebellar artery (PICA) aneurysm compressing the medulla oblongata, which resolved after surgical resection of the aneurysm and decompression of the medulla oblongata. We review the literature on lesions in the posterior fossa presenting as intractable hiccups.