bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Outcome in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage treated with antiepileptic drugs
Authors: Rosengart Axel J. , Huo Dezheng , Tolentino Jocelyn , Novakovic Roberta L. , Frank Jeffrey I. , Goldenberg Fernando D. , Macdonald R. Loch 
Published: January 2008

Object
Prophylactic use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in patients admitted with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is common practice; however, the impact of this treatment strategy on in-hospital complications and outcome has not been systematically studied. The goal in this study was twofold: first, to describe the prescribing pattern for AEDs in an international study population; and second, to delineate the impact of AEDs on in-hospital complications and outcome in patients with SAH.

Methods
The authors examined data collected in 3552 patients with SAH who were entered into four prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials conducted in 162 neurosurgical centers and 21 countries between 1991 and 1997. The prevalence of AED use was assessed by study country and center. The impact of AEDs on in-hospital complications and outcome was evaluated using conditional logistic regressions comparing treated and untreated patients within the same study center.

Results
Antiepileptic drugs were used in 65.1% of patients and the prescribing pattern was mainly dependent on the treating physicians: the prevalence of AED use varied dramatically across study country and center (intraclass correlation coefficients 0.22 and 0.66, respectively [p < 0.001]). Other predictors included younger age, worse neurological grade, and lower systolic blood pressure on admission. After adjustment, patients treated with AEDs had odds ratios of 1.56 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16–2.10; p = 0.003) for worse outcome based on the Glasgow Outcome Scale; 1.87 (95% CI 1.43–2.44; p < 0.001) for cerebral vasospasm; 1.61 (95% CI 1.25–2.06; p < 0.001) for neurological deterioration; 1.33 (95% CI 1.01–1.74; p = 0.04) for cerebral infarction; and 1.36 (95% CI 1.03–1.80; p = 0.03) for elevated temperature during hospitalization.

Conclusions
Prophylactic AED treatment in patients with aneurysmal SAH is common, follows an arbitrary prescribing pattern, and is associated with increased in-hospital complications and worse outcome.
Intraventricular hemorrhage from ruptured aneurysm: clinical characteristics, complications, and outcomes in a large, prospective, multicenter study population
Authors: Rosen David S. , Macdonald R. Loch , Huo Dezheng , Goldenberg Fernando D. , Novakovic Roberta L. , Frank Jeffrey I. , Rosengart Axel J. 
Published: January 2008

Object
In this study the authors analyzed the relationship of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) to in-hospital complications and clinical outcome in a large population of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH).

Methods
Data from 3539 patients with aneurysmal SAH were evaluated, and these data were obtained from four prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of tirilazad that had been conducted between 1991 and 1997. Clinical characteristics, in-hospital complications, and outcome at 3 months post-SAH (Glasgow Outcome Scale score) were analyzed with regard to the presence or absence of IVH.

Results
Patients with SAH and IVH differ in demographic and admission characteristics from those with SAH but without IVH and are more likely to suffer in-hospital complications and a worse outcome at 3 months post-SAH.

Conclusions
The presence of IVH in patients with SAH has an important predictive value with regard to these aspects.
Enhancement of cerebral blood flow using systemic hypertonic saline therapy improves outcome in patients with poor-grade spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage
Authors: Tseng Ming-Yuan , Al-Rawi Pippa G. , Czosnyka Marek , Hutchinson Peter J. , Richards Hugh , Pickard John D. , Kirkpatrick Peter J. 
Published: January 2008

Object
Systemic administration of 23.5% hypertonic saline enhances cerebral blood flow (CBF) in patients with poor-grade spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Whether the increment of change in CBF correlates with changes in autoregulation of CBF or outcome at discharge remains unknown.

Methods
Thirty-five patients with poor-grade spontaneous SAH received 2 ml/kg 23.5% hypertonic saline intravenously, and they underwent bedside transcranial Doppler (TCD) ultrasonography and intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring. Seventeen of them underwent Xe-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scanning for measuring CBF. Outcome was assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) at discharge from the hospital. The data were analyzed using repeated-measurement analysis of variance and Dunnett correction. A comparison was made between patients with favorable and unfavorable outcomes using multivariate logistic regression.

Results
The authors observed a maximum increase in blood pressure by 10.3% (p <0.05) and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) by 21.2% (p <0.01) at 30 minutes, followed by a maximum decrease in ICP by 93.1% (p <0.01) at 60 minutes. Changes in ICP and CPP persisted for longer than 180 and 90 minutes, respectively. The results of TCD ultrasonography showed that the baseline autoregulation was impaired on the ipsilateral side of ruptured aneurysm, and increments in flow velocities were higher and lasted longer on the contralateral side (48.75% compared with 31.96% [p = 0.045] and 180 minutes compared with 90 minutes [p <0.05], respectively). The autoregulation was briefly impaired on the contralateral side during the infusion. A dose-dependent effect of CBF increments on favorable outcome was seen on Xe-CT scans (mRS Score 1–3, odds ratio 1.27 per 1 ml/100 g tissue × min, p = 0.045).

Conclusions
Bolus systemic hypertonic saline therapy may be used for reversal of cerebral ischemia to normal perfusion in patients with poor-grade SAH.
The role of exudation in chronic subdural hematomas
Authors: Tokmak Mehmet , Iplikcioglu A. Celal , Bek Sirzat , Gökduman Cem Atilla , Erdal Mustafa 
Published: January 2008

Object
Chronic subdural hematomas (SDHs) are a local inflammatory process that causes the formation of a granulation tissue often referred to as the external or outer membrane. This membrane has abnormally permeable macrocapillaries. Therefore, exudation from the macrocapillaries in the outer membrane of chronic SDH may play an important role in the enlargement of chronic SDH. In this study the authors investigated the role of exudation in chronic SDH.

Methods
The authors examined 24 patients (16 men and eight women; age range 38–86 years [mean age 61.4 years]) with 27 chronic SDHs. The clinical status of the patients was evaluated according to the classification described by Markwalder. The diagnosis was established on computed tomography (CT) scans in all cases. The authors also used the Nomura Classification for judging the lesion's appearance on CT scans. Immediately after the diagnosis, all patients were administered 20 mCi (740 mBq) technetium-99m human serum albumin. Four hours later, blood and SDH samples were taken and radioactivity levels were measured in each. The ratio of activity of the samples taken from chronic SDH to the radioactivity of blood was determined as a percentage and defined as the exudation rate. On the follow-up CT scan obtained on postoperative Day 20, subdural collections thicker than 5 mm were determined to be a reaccumulation.

Results
The correlations between the exudation rate and age of the patients, clinical grades, CT appearances, and amount of reaccumulation were investigated. In this series the average exudation rate was 13.24% (range 2.05–28.88%). The mean exudation rates according to the clinical grades assigned to patients were as follows: Grade 0, 8.67 ± 5.64% (three patients); Grade 1, 5.07 ± 1.43% (eight patients); Grade 2, 17.87 ± 3.73% (seven patients); and Grade 3, 19.65 ± 7.67% (six patients). Exudation rates in patients with Grades 2 and 3 were significantly higher than those in Grades 0 and 1 (p < 0.05).
The mean exudation rates according to the lesion's appearance on CT scans were found as follows: hypodense appearance, 6.55 ± 4.52% (eight patients); isodense appearance, 11.07 ± 6.32% (five patients); hyperdense appearance, 19.47 ± 13.61% (three patients); and mixed-density appearance, 17.40 ± 5.80% (nine patients). The differences among the groups were significant (p < 0.05). The average exudation rate was statistically higher in the patients with reaccumulation (16.30 ± 8.16%) than that in the patients without reaccumulation (9.96 ± 6.84%) (p < 0.05).

Conclusions
The exudation rate in chronic SDH is correlated with a higher clinical grade (Markwalder Grade 2 or 3), mixed-density CT appearance, and reaccumulation. Therefore, exudation from macrocapillaries in the outer membrane of chronic SDH probably plays an important role in the pathophysiology and the growth of chronic SDH.
Chordomas of the skull base: surgical management and outcome
Authors: Samii Amir , Gerganov Venelin M. , Herold Christian , Hayashi Nakamasa , Naka Takahiko , Mirzayan M. Javad , Ostertag Helmut , Samii Madjid 
Published: January 2008

Object
The goal of this study was to report on the surgical management of skull base chordomas and to evaluate both the short- and long-term treatment outcomes.

Methods
The authors retrospectively studied data from 49 patients who had undergone consecutive surgeries at a single institution. They also analyzed patterns of chordoma extension. Complications and surgery-related morbidity were recorded. A Kaplan–Meier analysis was performed to determine survival rates in patients 5 and 10 years after their first surgery. Operative approaches were selected on the basis of the predominant tumor extension.

Results
The approach used most frequently was the transethmoidal in 36.3%, followed by the pterional in 23.4% and the retrosigmoid in 23.4%. The tumor was totally removed in 49.4% and subtotally in 50.6%. The rate of total removal was highest at initial surgery (78%) and progressively declined thereafter. In 11.8% of cases a new neurological deficit developed, while the preoperative deficit remained unchanged. In 20% of cases the preoperative deficits improved, but new deficits also appeared. The 5- and 10-year survival rates are 65 and 39%, respectively.

Conclusions
With an individually tailored surgical approach, total tumor removal in 78% of the cases was achieved at the initial surgery. Radical surgery appears to increase slightly the surgical morbidity, but at the same time prolongs the recurrence-free interval. Chordomas cannot be regarded as surgically curable tumors given the 5- and 10-year survival rates in patients harboring such lesions.
Gamma Knife surgery for benign meningioma
Authors: Kollová Aurelia , Liščák Roman , Novotný Josef , Vladyka Vilibald , Šimonová Gabriela , Janoušková Ladislava 
Published: January 2008

Object
Meningioma is the most frequent benign tumor treated with Gamma Knife surgery (GKS); however, the assessment of its efficacy and safety in slow-growing tumors is an ongoing process, requiring analysis of long-term results.

Methods
Three hundred sixty-eight patients harboring 400 meningiomas treated between 1992 and 1999 at Na Homolce Hospital were evaluated. The median patient age was 57 years (range 18–84 years). The median tumor volume was 4.4 cm3 (range 0.11–44.9 cm3). The median tumor margin dose to the 50% isodose line was 12.55 Gy (range 6.5–24 Gy). Descriptive analysis was performed in 331 patients (90%); 325 patients had a follow-up longer than 24 months (median 60 months), and six patients were included because of posttreatment complications. The volume of treated tumors decreased in 248 cases (69.7%), remained the same in 99 (27.8%), and increased in nine (2.5%). The actuarial tumor control rate was 97.9% at 5 years post-GKS. Perilesional edema after radiosurgery was confirmed on neuroim-aging in 51 patients (15.4%). The temporary and permanent morbidity rates after radiosurgery were 10.2 and 5.7%, respectively.

Results
A significantly higher incidence of tumor volume increase was observed in men compared with women and in tumors treated with a margin dose lower than 12 Gy. Significant risk factors for edema included an age greater than 60 years, no previous surgery, perilesional edema before radiosurgery, a tumor volume greater than 10 cm3, a tumor location in the anterior fossa, and a margin dose greater than 16 Gy.

Conclusions
Stereotactic radiosurgery is a safe method of treatment for meningiomas. A minimum margin dose of 12 to 16 Gy seems to represent the therapeutic window for benign meningiomas with a high tumor control rate in a mid-term follow-up period.
Postoperative improvement in visual function in patients with tuberculum sellae meningiomas: results of the extended transsphenoidal and transcranial approaches
Authors: Kitano Masahiko , Taneda Mamoru , Nakao Yuzo 
Published: January 2008

Object
Recently, extended transsphenoidal surgery (ETSS) has become an alternative to transcranial surgery (TCS) for suprasellar meningiomas, although the relative benefits of ETSS have yet to be established. To evaluate the effectiveness of ETSS, the authors analyzed surgical outcomes of TCS and ETSS.

Methods
During a 12-year period, 28 patients with meningiomas arising from the tuberculum sellae underwent tumor removal at Kinki University Hospital. The first 12 patients underwent TCS, and the remaining 16 underwent ETSS. In the TCS group, the optic canal on the approach side was unroofed in all cases. In the ETSS group bilateral optic canals were opened, and the dural and bone defects of the skull base were repaired using abdominal fascia and hydroxyapatite cement. In half of the cases, lumbar drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was also performed.

Results
In a retrospective analysis of this consecutive series of patients, improvement in visual acuity and intraoperative blood loss were significantly better in the ETSS group (p = 0.010 and p = 0.011, respectively), whereas improvement in visual field defects, operative times, and the tumor removal rate were not significantly different between the two groups. Nonvisual surgical complications such as CSF leakage (one patient) and infarction of a perforating artery (three patients) were observed in the TCS group. In the ETSS group, CSF leakage (two patients), anosmia (two patients), and infarction of a perforating artery (two patients) were observed.

Conclusions
Given the encouraging results in improvement in visual acuity, ETSS may be acceptable for the treatment of tuberculum sellae meningiomas.
Reduction of cerebrospinal fluid rhinorrhea after vestibular schwannoma surgery by reconstruction of the drilled porus acusticus with hydroxyapatite bone cement
Authors: Baird Clinton J. , Hdeib Alia , Suk Ian , Francis Howard W. , Holliday Michael J. , Tamargo Rafael J. , Brem Henry , Long Donlin M. 
Published: January 2008

Object
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea remains a significant cause of morbidity after resection of vestibular schwannomas (VSs), with rates of rhinorrhea after this procedure reported to range between 0 and 27%. The authors investigated whether reconstruction of the drilled posterior wall of the porus acusticus with hydroxyapatite cement (HAC) would decrease the incidence of postoperative CSF rhinorrhea.

Methods
A prospective observational study of 130 consecutive patients who underwent surgery for reconstruction of the posterior wall of the drilled porus acusticus with HAC was conducted between October 2002 and September 2005. All patients underwent a retrosigmoid transmeatal approach for VS resection and were followed up to document cases of CSF rhinorrhea, incisional CSF leak, meningitis, or rhinorrhea-associated meningitis. A cohort of 150 patients with VSs who were treated with the same surgical approach but without HAC reconstruction served as a control group.

Results
The authors found that HAC reconstruction of the porus acusticus wall significantly reduced the rate of postoperative CSF rhinorrhea in their patients. In the patients treated with HAC, rhinorrhea developed in only three patients (2.3%) compared with 18 patients (12%) in the control group. This was a statistically significant finding (p = 0.002, odds ratio = 5.8).

Conclusions
The use of HAC in the reconstruction of the drilled posterior wall of the porus acusticus, occluding exposed air cells, greatly reduces the risk of CSF rhinorrhea.
Survival of transplanted neural progenitor cells enhanced by brain irradiation
Authors: Niranjan Ajay , Fellows Wendy , Stauffer William , Burton Edward A. , Hong Chang-Sook , Lunsford L. Dade , Kondziolka Douglas , Glorioso Joseph C. , Gobbel Glenn T. 
Published: January 2008

Object
Authors of previous studies have reported that adult transplanted neural progenitor cells (NPCs) are suitable for brain cell replacement or gene delivery. In this study, the authors evaluated survival and integration of adult rat–derived NPCs after transplantation and explored the potential impact on transplant survival of various mechanical and biological factors of clinical importance.

Methods
Adult female Fischer 344 rats were used both as a source and recipient of transplanted NPCs. Both 9L and RG2 rat glioma cells were used to generate in vivo brain tumor models. On the 5th day after tumor implantation, NPCs expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) were administered either intravenously (3.5 × 107 cells) or by stereotactic injection (1 × 104–1 × 106 cells) into normal or tumor-bearing brain. The authors evaluated the effect of delivery method (sharp compared with blunt needles, normal compared with zero-volume needles, phosphate-buffered saline compared with medium as vehicle), delivery sites (intravenous compared with intratumoral compared with intraparenchymal), and pretreatment with an immunosuppressive agent (cyclosporin) or brain irradiation (20–40 Gy) on survival and integration of transplanted NPCs.

Results
Very few cells survived when less than 105 cells were transplanted. When 105 cells or more were transplanted, only previously administered brain irradiation significantly affected survival and integration of NPCs. Although GFP-containing NPCs could be readily detected 1 day after injection, few cells survived 4 days to 1 week unless preceded by whole-brain radiation (20 or 40 Gy in a single fraction), which increased the number of GFP-containing NPCs within the tissue more than fivefold.

Conclusions
he authors' findings indicate that most NPCs, including those from a syngeneic autologous source, do not survive at the site of implantation, but that brain irradiation can facilitate subsequent survival in both normal and tumor-bearing brain. An understanding of the mechanisms of this effect could lead to improved survival and clinical utility of transplanted NPCs.
Malignant transformation-related genes in meningiomas: allelic loss on 1p36 and methylation status of p73 and RASSF1A
Authors: Nakane Yukimi , Natsume Atsushi , Wakabayashi Toshihiko , Oi Sachie , Ito Motokazu , Inao Suguru , Saito Kiyoshi , Yoshida Jun 
Published: January 2008

Object
Analysis of meningiomas supports the suggestion that loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosome arm 1p plays an important role in malignancy. The aim of this study was to identify genes related to meningioma progression from the benign state to the atypical and anaplastic states by examining 1p LOH and the promoter methylation of RASSF1A and p73.

Methods
The authors studied 40 surgical specimens (22 WHO Grade I, 11 Grade II, and seven Grade III) obtained in 37 patients with meningioma. The LOH at 1p36 was analyzed using microsatellite markers, and promoter methylation of p73 and RASSF1A was analyzed using methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction.

Results
No 1p LOH was detected in the Grade I tumors, whereas it was detected in more than 80% of the Grade II and III tumors. Methylation of the p73 promoter was observed in 81.8 and 71.4% of the Grade II and III tumors, respectively, but it was not observed in any of the Grade I tumors; methylation of the RASSF1A promoter was observed in 18.2, 63.6, and 42.9% of the Grade I, II, and III tumors, respectively. Interestingly, 1p LOH and p73 promoter hyper-methylation were detected in the malignantly transformed tumors but not in the lower-grade primary ones.

Conclusions
Based on the hypothesis that meningiomas cumulatively acquire genetic alterations and thus progress from the benign to the atypical and anaplastic states, genetic alterations in the methylation status of p73 or RASSF1A along with 1p LOH may result in the malignant transformation of a meningioma. This type of genetic fingerprint may play both diagnostic and therapeutic roles.
Endothelial injury and inflammatory response induced by hemodynamic changes preceding intracranial aneurysm formation: experimental study in rats
Authors: Jamous Mohammad A. , Nagahiro Shinji , Kitazato Keiko T. , Tamura Tetsuya , Aziz Hani Abdel , Shono Masayuki , Satoh Koichi 
Published: January 2008

Object
Intracranial aneurysms are the leading cause of subarachnoid hemorrhage, which is associated with high morbidity and mortality rates. Despite advances in the microsurgical and endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysms, little is known about the mechanisms by which they originate, grow, and rupture. To clarify the series of early events leading to formation of intracranial aneurysms, the authors compared aneurysmal morphological changes on vascular corrosion casts with parallel pathological changes in the cerebral arteries of rats.

Methods
The authors induced cerebral aneurysms by renal hypertension and right common carotid artery ligation in 40 male Sprague–Dawley rats; 10 intact rats served as the controls. The anterior cerebral artery–olfactory artery bifurcation was assessed morphologically by using vascular corrosion casts of Batson plastic reagent and immunohis-tochemically by using antibodies against endothelial nitric oxide synthase, α–smooth muscle actin, macrophages, and matrix metalloproteinase–9.

Results
Surgically treated rats manifested different degrees of aneurysmal changes. Based on these staged changes, the authors propose that the formation of intracranial aneurysms starts with endothelial injury at the apical intimal pad (Stage I); this leads to the formation of an inflammatory zone (Stage II), followed by a partial tear or defect in the inflammatory zone. Expansion of this defect forms the nidus of the intracranial aneurysm (Stage III).

Conclusions
This is the first study to demonstrate the in vivo mechanisms of intracranial aneurysm formation. The inflammatory response that follows endothelial injury is the basic step in the pathogenesis of these lesions. In this study the investigators have expanded the understanding of the origin of intracranial aneurysms and have contributed to the further development of measures to prevent and treat aneurysms.