World Neurosurg
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China's medical education system is complex and consists of degree programs lasting from 3 to 8 years, the inconsistency across previous educational backgrounds is a challenge when implementing residency training objectives and contents. Only in several advanced medical universities, education for interventional neuroradiology (INR) is a part of a rotation in the 2-year training for neurosurgery. Advanced INR techniques are confined to big cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, where most of the Chinese INRs have their 6 to 12 months fellowship to major medical centers. With a tremendous economic growth in the region, we expect that INR practice will evolve at an equally rapid pace, and information presented in this chapter may soon become obsolete.
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Review Historical Article
Historical vignette of infamous gunshot injury to spine: 'an ailment not to be treated'?
The increasing prevalence and gloomy socioeconomic consequence of spine injury remain a concern in modern medicine. In this article, we highlight the infamous gunshot spinal injuries of a few eminent personalities across multiple centuries and their sociopolitical impact in context with the evolution of modern medicine. The role of available medicine in these victims was not more than a mere watcher, thus substantiating an infamous quote from ancient literature that describes spine injury as "an ailment not to be treated."
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The authors discuss the unmet needs for neurosurgical care around the world and some of the innovative work being done to address this need. The growing demonstration of surgical innovation and cost-effective technology represents an opportunity within neurosurgery to achieve the goal of making surgical care more accessible to the global population.
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Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is widely accepted as a treatment for advanced Parkinson disease (PD). However, published studies were conducted mainly in Western centers and recruited small numbers of patients. This study presents 1-year outcomes in Taiwanese patients with PD. ⋯ Bilateral STN-DBS therapy provided effective and sustained benefits to Eastern patients with PD over a 1-year period.
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Health literacy is the ability with which individuals can obtain, understand, and apply basic health information. Approximately 36% of Americans have basic or below basic health literacy skills. This low health literacy is particularly prevalent in neurosurgery, a growing field of medicine with considerable complexity and a patient population commonly affected with disease-related cognitive impairment. Consequences of poor patient understanding range from increased emergency department admissions rates to reduced adherence to preoperative medication instructions. Economic implications include increasing health care expenditures, decreasing access to health care, and decreasing quality of care. Health literacy costs the United States $106-236 billion per year. ⋯ Despite current efforts, further action is still needed. Health literacy is a key determinant in ensuring longevity and quality of life.