bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Intraoperative ventricular puncture during supraorbital craniotomy via an eyebrow incision
Authors: Menovsky Tomas , de Vries Joost , Wurzer Johannes A. L. , Grotenhuis J. Andre 
Published: January 2008

✓ The authors determined the landmarks and coordinates for intraoperative ventricular puncture directly from the supraorbital craniotomy opening via an eyebrow incision.
Fifty magnetic resonance (MR) imaging studies were obtained from patients with no pathological cerebral characteristics or ventricular distortion. The cerebral entry point of the ventriculostomy was located directly under the key bur hole (just behind the zygomatic process of the frontal bone) at the base of the frontal lobe because it represents a stable, reliable point that can be used as the bur hole during supraorbital craniotomy via an eyebrow incision. From this point, the coordinates for lateral ventricular puncture were determined using MR imaging studies and neuronavigational software.
The cerebral entry point of the ventriculostomy was situated directly under the key bur hole at the base of the frontal lobe. The catheter was directed at a 45° angle to the midline and a 20° angle up from an imaginary line parallel to the orbitomeatal line. The catheter will usually be inserted into the ventricle at a point 5 cm deep to the cortex and may be inserted as deep as 6.5 cm. Using this technique, the frontal horn of the lateral ventricle can be easily tapped. The landmark required for this technique is readily available in all patients.
Outcome of carotid endarterectomy and stent insertion based on grading of carotid endarterectomy risk: a 7-year prospective study
Authors: Iihara Koji , Murao Kenichi , Sakai Nobuyuki , Yamada Naoaki , Nagata Izumi , Miyamoto Susumu 
Published: January 2008

Object
The authors of this study prospectively compared periprocedural neurological morbidity and the appearance of lesions on diffusion-weighted (DW) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in patients who had undergone carotid endarterectomy (CEA) or carotid artery stent placement (CASP) with distal balloon protection, based on a CEA risk grading scale.

Methods
Patients undergoing CEA (139 patients) and CASP (92 patients) were classified into Grades I to IV, based on the presence of angiographic (Grade II), medical (Grade III), and neurological (Grade IV) risks. Although not randomized, the CEA and CASP groups were well matched in terms of the graded risk factors except for a greater proportion of neurologically unstable patients in the CEA group (11 compared with 3%, p = 0.037). There were greater proportions of asymptomatic (64 compared with 34%, p = 0.006) and North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial–ineligible patients (29 compared with 14%, p < 0.0001) in the CASP group. The overall rates of neurological morbidity with ischemic origin and the appearance of lesions on DW MR imaging after CEA were 2.2 and 9.3%, and those after CASP were 7.6 and 35.9% (nondisabling stroke only), respectively. The only disabling stroke was caused by an intracerebral hemorrhage attributable to hyperperfusion in one case (0.7%) of CEA. There were no deaths. There was no significant association between neurological morbidity and the risk grade in patients who had undergone CEA, although the incidence of lesions on DW imaging was significantly greater in the Grade IV risk group compared with that in the other risk groups combined (42.1 compared with 4.2%, p < 0.0001). After CASP, a higher incidence of neurological morbidity and lesions on DW imaging was noted for the Grade II and III risk groups combined as compared with that in the Grade I risk group, regardless of a symptomatic or an asymptomatic presentation (neurological morbidity: 10.5 compared with 3.1%, respectively, p = 0.41; and DW imaging lesions: 47.4 compared with 19.4%, p = 0.01). The incidence of lesions on DW imaging after CEA was significantly lower than that after CASP except for the Grade IV risk groups.

Conclusions
Despite a higher incidence of DW imaging–demonstrated lesions in the Grade IV risk group, there was no significant association between the risk group and neurological morbidity rates after CEA. The presence of vascular and medical risk profiles conferred higher rates of neurological morbidity and an increased incidence of lesions on DW imaging after CASP. Considering that no serious nonneurological complications were noted, CEA and CASP appear to be complementary methods of revascularization for carotid artery stenosis with various risk profiles.
Anatomical study of the superior orbital fissure as seen during a pterional approach
Authors: Ammirati Mario , Bernardo Antonio 
Published: January 2008

Object
The superior orbital fissure (SOF) is an important landmark in the neurosurgical pterional approach, but the anatomical features of the SOF and the procedures necessary to fully expose it and its contents have not been detailed. Although the pterional approach is commonly used during skull base or vascular surgery by neurosurgeons who may already be familiar with its nuances and anatomical relationships to the SOF, this knowledge may also be useful to the wider neurosurgical community. The authors describe the spatial relationships of the contents of the SOF and suggest a specific sequence of steps for exposing the SOF region in a pterional approach.

Methods
Using standard microsurgical equipment and instruments, the authors performed 20 pterional approaches in 10 embalmed cadaver heads in which the vascular systems had been injected with colored material.
Five sequential steps were delineated for approaching and dissecting the SOF and its contents: 1) drilling the sphenoidal ridge, anterior clinoidal process, and part of the greater and lesser wings of the sphenoid; 2) resecting the dural bridge; 3) detaching the hemispheric dura mater, thereby exposing the anterior portion of the cavernous sinus and the neural component entering the SOF; 4) identifying and dissecting the extraanular structures; and 5) opening the anulus of Zinn and identifying its neural constituents.

Conclusions
Knowing the 3D relationships of the contents of the SOF encountered in the pterional approach enables safe neurosurgical access to the area. The proposed sequence of steps allows a controlled exposure of the SOF and surrounding areas. Untethering the frontotemporal lobe by transecting the dural bridge connecting the dura to the perior-bita allows good exposure of the basal frontotemporal lobes, both intra- and extradurally, and reduces brain retraction.
Intraoperative brain shift prediction using a 3D inhomogeneous patient-specific finite element model
Authors: Hu Jingwen , Jin Xin , Lee Jong B. , Zhang Liying , Chaudhary Vipin , Guthikonda Murali , Yang King H. , King Albert I. 
Published: January 2008

Object
The aims of this study were to develop a three-dimensional patient-specific finite element (FE) brain model with detailed anatomical structures and appropriate material properties to predict intraoperative brain shift during neurosurgery and to update preoperative magnetic resonance (MR) images using FE modeling for presurgical planning.

Methods
A template-based algorithm was developed to build a 3D patient-specific FE brain model. The template model is a 50th percentile male FE brain model with gray and white matter, ventricles, pia mater, dura mater, falx, tentorium, brainstem, and cerebellum. Gravity-induced brain shift after opening of the dura was simulated based on one clinical case of computer-assisted neurosurgery for model validation. Preoperative MR images were updated using an FE model and displayed as intraoperative MR images easily recognizable by surgeons. To demonstrate the potential of FE modeling in presurgical planning, intraoperative brain shift was predicted for two additional head orientations.
Two patient-specific FE models were constructed. The mesh quality of the resulting models was as high as that of the template model. One of the two FE models was selected to validate model-predicted brain shift against data acquired on intraoperative MR imaging. The brain shift predicted using the model was greater than that observed intraoperatively but was considered surgically acceptable.

Conclusions
A set of algorithms for developing 3D patient-specific FE brain models is presented. Gravity-induced brain shift can be predicted using this model and displayed on high-resolution MR images. This strategy can be used not only for updating intraoperative MR imaging, but also for presurgical planning.
Localization of electrodes in the subthalamic nucleus on magnetic resonance imaging
Authors: Pollo Claudio , Vingerhoets François , Pralong Etienne , Ghika Joseph , Maeder Philippe , Meuli Reto , Thiran Jean-Philippe , Villemure Jean-Guy 
Published: January 2008

Object
The authors describe a new method of localizing electrodes on magnetic resonance (MR) images and focus on the positions of both the most efficient contact and the electrode related to the MR imaging target.

Methods
Thirty-one patients who had undergone bilateral subthalamic nucleus (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) were included in this study. Target coordinates were calculated in the anterior commissure–posterior commissure referential. A study of the correlation between the artifact and the related contact allowed one to deduce the contact position from the identification of the distal artifact on MR imaging. The best stimulation point corresponded with the contact resulting in the best Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) motor score improvement. It was compared (Student t-test) with the dorsal margin of the STN (DM STN), which was determined electrophysiologically. The distance between the target and the electrode was calculated individually in each axis.
The best stimulation point was located at anteroposterior −2.34 ± 1.63 mm, lateral 12.04 ± 1.62 mm, and vertical −2.57 ± 1.68 mm. This point was not significantly different from the DM STN (p < 0.05). The postoperative UPDRS motor score was 28.07 ± 12.16, as opposed to the preoperative score of 46.27 ± 13.89. The distance between the expected and actual target in the x- and y-axes was 1.34 ± 1.02 and 1.03 ± 0.76 mm, respectively. In the z-axis, 39.7% of the distal contacts were located proximal to the target.

Conclusions
This approach proposed for the localization of the electrodes on MR imaging shows that DBS is most effective in the dorsal and lateral part of the STN and indicates that the DBS electrode can be located more proximally than originally expected because of the caudal brain shift that may occur during the implantation procedure.
Lack of association between the apolipoprotein E gene and aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage in an Italian population
Authors: Fontanella Marco , Rainero Innocenzo , Gallone Salvatore , Rubino Elisa , Rivoiro Chiara , Valfrè Walter , Garbossa Diego , Nurisso Chiara , Ducati Alessandro , Pinessi Lorenzo 
Published: January 2008

Object
The results of genome-wide scan studies have suggested the presence of a genetic risk factor for aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) on chromosome 19 (at 19p13). The apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene is located in this chromosomal region and encodes a protein that exerts several neuroprotective and neurotrophic functions in the brain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether a particular allele or genotype of the APOE gene would modify the occurrence or the clinical features of SAH.

Methods
Genomic DNA was extracted from 146 patients with aneurysmal SAH and 222 age- and sex-matched healthy controls and genotyped for the triallelic polymorphism of the APOE gene (ε2, ε3, and ε4). Allele and genotype frequencies were compared between patients and controls. The clinical characteristics of the disease were compared according to the different APOE genotypes. Allele and genotype frequencies of the APOE gene polymorphism were nearly identical in cases and controls. Patients carrying the APOE ε4 allele had a significantly higher Hunt and Hess grade on admission (p = 0.0014). There was no significant relationship between any of the other clinical characteristics and the APOE genotype.

Conclusions
The authors’ data do not support the hypothesis that genetic variations within the APOE gene are associated with aneurysmal SAH. However, the APOE gene influences the disease phenotype and may be regarded as a disease modifier gene.
Attenuation of oxidative injury after induction of experimental intracerebral hemorrhage in heme oxygenase–2 knockout mice
Authors: Qu Yan , Chen-Roetling Jing , Benvenisti-Zarom Luna , Regan Raymond F. 
Published: January 2008

Object
Experimental evidence suggests that hemoglobin degradation products contribute to cellular injury after intracerebal hemorrhage (ICH). Hemoglobin breakdown is catalyzed in part by the heme oxygenase (HO) enzymes. In the present study, the authors tested the hypothesis that HO-2 gene deletion is cytoprotective in an experimental ICH model.

Methods
After anesthesia was induced with isoflurane, 3- to 6-month-old HO-2 knockout and wild-type mice were stereotactically injected with 15 μl autologous blood and a group of control mice were injected with an equal volume of sterile saline. Striatal protein and lipid oxidation were quantified 72 hours later using carbonyl and malondialdehyde assays. Cell viability was determined by performing a 3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Following blood injection, the investigators found a 3.4-fold increase in protein carbonylation compared with that in the contralateral striatum in wild-type mice; in knockout mice, the investigators found a twofold increase. The mean malondialdehyde concentration in injected striata was increased twofold in wild-type mice at this time, compared with 1.5-fold in knockout mice. Cell viability, as determined by MTT reduction, was reduced in injected striata to 38 ± 4% of that in the contralateral striata in wild-type mice, compared with 66 ± 5% in HO-2 knockout mice. Baseline striatal HO-1 protein expression was similar in wild-type and HO-2 knockout mice, but was induced more rapidly in the former after blood injection.

Conclusions
Deletion of HO-2 attenuates oxidative cell injury after whole-blood injection into the mouse striatum. Therapies that specifically target HO-2 may improve outcome after ICH.
Subarachnoid hemorrhage and diffuse vasculopathy in an adult infected with HIV
Authors: Hamilton D. Kojo , Kassell Neal F. , Jensen Mary E. , Dumont Aaron S. 
Published: January 2008

✓This 34-year-old man with a 10-year history of HIV infection presented with an acute onset of severe headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, and left-sided weakness. Computed tomography (CT) scanning demonstrated diffuse subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and subsequent CT angiography revealed multiple large and giant intracranial aneurysms with diffuse vasculopathy. The patient's CD4-positive cell count was low, although he had been receiving combination antiret-roviral therapy and his viral load was undetectable.
The preponderance of the literature on HIV-infected patients with intracranial vascular involvement has concerned children in whom there is a high viral load. In such children, appropriate antiretroviral therapy may result in the complete resolution of these vascular abnormalities. In the present study, the authors report on the unique case of an HIV-infected adult patient who presented with SAH, diffuse intracranial vasculopathy, and multiple giant and fusiform aneurysms, despite having received adequate antiretroviral treatment and demonstrating an undetectable viral load. Intracranial vascular involvement in these patients may become increasingly common as the management of HIV infection continues to improve and afflicted patients survive for longer periods.
Is intracranial pressure monitoring in the epidural space reliable? Fact and fiction
Authors: Poca Maria Antonia , Sahuquillo Juan , Topczewski Thomaz , Peñarrubia Maria Jesús , Muns Asunción 
Published: January 2008

Object
Epidural pressures have been reported as being systematically higher than ventricular fluid pressures. These discrepancies have been attributed both to the characteristics of the sensor and to the particular anatomy of the epidural space. To determine which of these two possible causes better explains higher epidural readings, the authors compared pressure values obtained during simultaneous epidural and lumbar pressure monitoring in 53 patients and during simultaneous subdural and lumbar pressure monitoring in 22 patients. The same nonfluid coupled sensor device was used in all compartments.

Methods
All 75 patients had normal craniospinal communication. Simultaneous intracranial and lumbar readings were performed every 30 seconds. The epidural–lumbar and subdural–lumbar pressure values were compared using correlation analysis and the Bland–Altman method.
The median differences in initial epidural–lumbar and subdural–lumbar pressure values were 11 mm Hg (interquartile range 2–24 mm Hg) and 0 mm Hg (interquartile range −2 to 1 mm Hg), respectively. The correlation coefficients of the mean epidural–lumbar and subdural–lumbar intracranial pressure (ICP) values were ρ = 0.48 (p < 0.001) and ρ = 0.88 (p < 0.001), respectively. Using the Bland–Altman analysis, epidural–lumbar methods showed a mean difference of −20.93 mm Hg; epidural pressure values were systematically higher than lumbar values, and these discrepancies were greater with higher ICP values. Subdural–lumbar methods showed a mean difference of 0.35 mm Hg and both were equally valid with all mean ICP values.

Conclusions
Epidural ICP monitoring produces artifactually high values. These values are not related to the type of sensor used but to the specific characteristics of the epidural intracranial space.
Prognostic significance of surgery and radiation therapy in cases of anaplastic astrocytoma: retrospective analysis of 170 cases
Authors: Nomiya Takuma , Nemoto Kenji , Kumabe Toshihiro , Takai Yoshihiro , Yamada Shogo 
Published: January 2008

Object
The purpose of this retrospective study was to estimate the prognostic impact of treatment parameters for 170 patients with anaplastic astrocytoma (AA).

Methods
Survival outcome and prognostic factors were analyzed for 170 patients with AA. In the multivariate analysis, site of lesion (frontal or parietal lobe, p = 0.002), extent of surgery (total or subtotal resection, p = 0.001), Karnofsky Performance Scale status (0–2, p = 0.021), age (≤ 50 years, p = 0.024), and total dose of radiation therapy (> 60 Gy, p = 0.029) were significant favorable prognostic factors.
In the analysis of groups according to extent of surgery, patients who underwent total or subtotal resection had a significantly more favorable prognosis than did patients who underwent partial resection or biopsy (5-year survival rate 54.0% for total or subtotal resection compared with 17.5% for partial resection or biopsy; median survival time [MST] 62.6 months compared with 22.9 months [p < 0.0001, log-rank test]; hazard ratio [HR] 0.67; and 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52–0.85 [p = 0.001]).
In the analysis of groups according to total radiation dose, the group of patients who received doses greater than 60 Gy had a significantly more favorable prognosis than did the group who received 60 Gy or less (5-year survival rate 45.0% for patients who received doses greater than 60 Gy compared with 21.1% for those receiving 60 Gy or less; MST 48.9 months compared with 21.6 months [p = 0.0006, log-rank test]; HR 0.96; 95% CI 0.93–0.99 [p = 0.029]).

Conclusions
The most important parameter in the treatment of AA was extent of surgery, and total radiation dose was the second most important factor. Resection of as much of the tumor as possible and delivery of a total radiation dose of greater than 60 Gy seem to be required for local control of AA.
Epidemiology of venous thromboembolism in 9489 patients with malignant glioma
Authors: Semrad Thomas J. , O'Donnell Robert , Wun Ted , Chew Helen , Harvey Danielle , Zhou Hong , White Richard H. 
Published: January 2008

Object
The authors sought to define the incidence of symptomatic venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients harboring malignant gliomas.

Methods
The authors conducted a retrospective analysis of data obtained in all cases of malignant glioma diagnosed in California during a 6-year period; the occurrence of a VTE was identified using linked hospital discharge data. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the association of specific risk factors with the development of a VTE or death within 2 years of the cancer diagnosis.
Among 9489 cases, the 2-year cumulative incidence of VTE was 7.5% (715 cases), with a rate of 16.1 events per 100 person-years during the first 6 months. Three hundred ninety-one (55%) of these 715 cases were diagnosed within 61 days of major neurosurgery. Risk factors for VTE included older age (hazard ratio [HR] 2.6, confidence interval [CI] 2.0–3.4 for age range 65–74 years compared with ≤ 45 years), glioblastoma multiforme histology (HR 1.7, CI 1.4–2.1), three or more chronic comorbidities (HR 3.5, CI 2.8–4.3 [compared with no comorbidity]), and neurosurgery within 61 days (HR 1.7, CI 1.3–2.3). Patients in whom a VTE was present were at higher risk of dying within 2 years (HR 1.3, CI 1.2–1.4). In a nested case–control analysis of all VTE cases, there was no association between insertion of a vena cava filter and the risk of a recurrent VTE.

Conclusions
In patients harboring a glioma there was a very high incidence of symptomatic VTEs, particularly within 2 months of neurosurgery. The development of a VTE was associated with a 30% increase in the risk of death within 2 years. Further studies are needed to determine if risk stratification and the use of medical prophylaxis after neurosurgery improves outcomes.
Unilateral intraputamenal glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor in patients with Parkinson disease: response to 1 year of treatment and 1 year of withdrawal
Authors: Slevin John T. , Gash Don M. , Smith Charles D. , Gerhardt Greg A. , Kryscio Richard , Chebrolu Himachandra , Walton Ashley , Wagner Renee , Young A. Byron 
Published: January 2008

Object
Glial cell line–derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) infused unilaterally into the putamen for 6 months has been previously shown to improve significantly motor functions and quality of life measures in 10 patients with Parkinson disease (PD) in a Phase I trial. In the present study the authors report the safety and efficacy of continuous treatment for a minimum of 1 year. After the trial was halted by the drug sponsor, the patients were monitored for an additional 1 year during which the effects of drug withdrawal were evaluated.

Methods
During the extended study period, patients received a 30-μg/day unilateral intraputamenal infusion of GDNF at a basal infusion rate supplemented with pulsed boluses every 6 hours at a convection-enhanced delivery rate to increase tissue penetration of the protein. When the study was stopped, the delivery system was reprogrammed to deliver sterile saline at the basal infusion rate of 2 μl/hour.
The Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) total scores after 1 year of therapy were improved by 42 and 38% in the off- and on-medication states; the motor UPDRS scores were also improved 45 and 39%, respectively. Benefits from treatment were lost by 9 to 12 months after the cessation of GDNF infusion. The UPDRS scores returned to their baseline and the patients required higher levels of conventional antiparkinsonian drugs to treat symptoms. After 11 months of treatment, the delivery system had to be removed in one patient because of risk of infection. Seven patients developed antibodies to GDNF but without evident clinical sequelae. There was no evidence for GDNF-induced cerebellar toxicity, as evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging and clinical testing.

Conclusions
The unilateral administration of GDNF results in significant, sustained bilateral benefits in patients with PD. These improvements are lost within 9 months of drug withdrawal. Safety concerns with GDNF therapy can be closely monitored and managed.