World Neurosurg
-
Glioblastomas have a poor prognosis, possibly because of a subpopulation of therapy-resistant stem cells within the heterogeneous glioblastoma. Because the subventricular zone is the main source of neural stem cells, we aimed at characterizing the subventricular zone using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to show subventricular zone involvement in glioblastoma. ⋯ DTI data showed that the subventricular zone is involved in glioblastoma with increased isotropic p values in the subventricular zone with high FLAIR, indicating tumor infiltration.
-
A drawback of conventional neuronavigation is the necessity of focusing on two-dimensional images in 3 planes at the same time to determine one's position in the operating field. A solution would be to merge the images into a single three-dimensional (3D) image that mirrors the actual anatomy. The introduction of holographic glassless 3D monitors paved the way to 3D navigation. We present our experience with 3D neuronavigation as exemplified by navigation to and within the sella. ⋯ 3D navigation is a beneficial supplement that extends capabilities of conventional navigation, especially with regard to orientation in objects with complex spatial depth and configuration. The additional planning and export/sync procedures are the main disadvantages; merging the navigation system with the 3D monitor in a single system could alleviate this problem.
-
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) has become a global public health burden because of its increasing incidence, high risk of progression to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), and poor prognosis. We aimed to investigate the 1-year mortality of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) with CKD and ESRD, and compare it with that of patients with SCI without CKD by reviewing a large Taiwanese population data set. ⋯ Patients with SCI with CKD, especially those with ESRD, have a higher risk of mortality than do patients who do not have CKD. Therefore, patients with CKD should have carefully monitoring for the development of 1-year mortality after SCI, especially for ESRD.
-
Case Reports
Remote lesions of synchronous sacral and cervical dural arteriovenous fistulas: a case report.
Spinal dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) is a rare disease, and multiple concurrent lesions are extremely rare. Such multiple spinal DAVFs have similar outflow routes at neighboring levels. However, there have been no reported cases of remote lesions of multiple spinal DAVFs. The authors herein report a case of double synchronous cervical and sacral DAVFs. ⋯ Spinal DAVF is a rare disease, but clinicians should be aware of the possibility of the concurrence of multiple spinal fistulas located at different levels in the same patient.
-
Case Reports
Delayed brainstem hemorrhage secondary to mild traumatic head injury: report of a case with good recovery.
In clinical practice, secondary traumatic brainstem hemorrhage often develops during descending transtentorial herniation due to raised intracranial pressure, which is known as Duret hemorrhage. Although usually considered a fatal and irreversible event, in rare circumstances, victims of Duret hemorrhage could gain favorable outcomes. To our knowledge, secondary brainstem hemorrhage due to mild traumatic head injury without descending transtentorial herniation has never been reported. In this report, we present a case of delayed brainstem hemorrhage secondary to a relatively mild traumatic brain injury that experienced a rapid and favorable recovery. ⋯ We present a rare case of secondary traumatic brainstem hemorrhage that experienced a rapid and good recovery process. The mechanism is still obscure to us and needs to be further studied. Although traumatic brainstem hemorrhage usually means a fatal event to most of the patients, some patients may experience a favorable recovery. This rare circumstance should be stressed in prognosis consultation and clinical management of these kinds of patients.