Journal of clinical neuroscience : official journal of the Neurosurgical Society of Australasia
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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as a viable therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). The impact of subthalamic nucleus (STN) lead placement (lateral versus medial) on motor outcome, however, has not been systematically evaluated. Forty-eight patients with PD underwent STN-DBS surgery and were evaluated postoperatively for 48 weeks for motor improvement as measured by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) part III (standardized motor examination) and levodopa equivalent daily dose (LEDD). ⋯ No significant difference in stimulation voltage was noted with respect to lead location. Our study did not find a significant effect for the location of active contact and motor outcome neither within the subregions of the STN nor between the STN and surrounding fibers. Further research is needed to better understand the neurophysiological basis for these results.
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Although recent data suggests that lumbar fusion with decompression contributes to some marginal acceleration of adjacent segment degeneration (ASD), few studies have evaluated whether it is safe to perform a laminectomy above a fused segment. This study investigates the hypothesis that laminectomy above a fused lumbar segment does not increase the incidence of ASD, and assesses the benefits and risks of performing a laminectomy above a lumbar fusion. A retrospective review of 171 patients who underwent decompression and instrumented fusion of the lumbar spine was performed to analyze the association between ASD and laminectomy above the fused lumbar segment. ⋯ There was no significant increase in ASD in patients with decompressive laminectomy above the fused lumbar segment compared to patients with laminectomy limited to the fused segment. This retrospective review of 171 patients who underwent decompression and instrumented fusion with follow-up radiographs demonstrates that laminectomy decompression above a fused segment does not significantly increase radiographic ASD. There is, however, a significant increase in ASD over time, which was observed throughout the entire cohort likely representing a natural progression of lumbar spondylosis above the fusion segment.
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Comparative Study
A comparative analysis of neurosurgical online education materials to assess patient comprehension.
Americans have increasingly utilized the internet as a first-line resource for a variety of information, including healthcare-oriented materials. Therefore, these online resources should be written at a level the average American can understand. ⋯ All neurosurgical subspecialty education material provided on the American Association of Neurological Surgeons website was uniformly written at a level that was too high, as assessed by all modalities. In order to reach a larger patient population, patient education materials on the American Association of Neurological Surgeons website should be revised with the goal of simplifying readability.
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Review
New-generation oral anticoagulants for the prevention of stroke: implications for neurosurgery.
A new generation of oral anticoagulants, namely direct thrombin inhibitors and factor Xa inhibitors, have recently been approved for clinical use in patients with atrial fibrillation. These novel families of drugs have been shown to have favorable efficacy and safety profiles in multiple clinical settings, particularly in the prevention of atrial fibrillation-related stroke, and are likely to become part of everyday practice, making a crossover to neurosurgical patients inevitable. Concern has risen regarding the complexity of managing intracranial and intraspinal hemorrhages related to these drugs. ⋯ We discuss current evidence for the use of these novel agents, their limitations, existing methods of drug-level monitoring, and controversies related to anticoagulation reversal. We also discuss specific topics such as anticoagulation resumption after intracranial or intraspinal bleeding, perioperative anticoagulant administration, and the possibility of combination with tissue plasminogen activator in the setting of acute ischemic stroke. A special focus is given to the incidence of intracranial and intraspinal hemorrhage associated with each drug.
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Acute ischemic stroke resulting from intracranial vessel occlusion is associated with high morbidity and mortality. The mainstays of therapy are fibrinolytics and mechanical thrombectomy in properly selected patients. A new Food and Drug Administration-approved technology to perform thrombectomy, retrievable stenting, may provide superior revascularization rates and improved patient outcomes. ⋯ Revascularization (83%, 82%), mortality (31%, 14%), hemorrhage (8%, 6%), device complications (5%, 6%), and good patient outcomes (51%, 47%) were found with the Trevo and Solitaire devices, respectively. Preliminary analysis reveals excellent clinical outcomes for retrievable stent technology. This may be attributable to both high rates of revascularization with a relatively short time to perfusion restoration.