ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the treatment results of stereotactic (186)Re intracavitary irradiation in the patients with craniopharyngioma.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Nineteen patients were treated with stereotactic (186)Re intracavitary irradiation, including 12 males and 7 females (average age, 37.2 years). Among them 12 patients had a solitary cyst, whereas 7 patients with mixed structure (e.g., a large cyst with a small solid portion). The mean volume of the cystic portion of the tumor before irradiation was 8390 mm(3).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The patients were followed up for 6 months to 3 years. The retraction of the cyst was complete in 7 patients, cyst volume decreased more than 50% in 5 patients and less than 50% in 7 cases. Among the 8 patients with visual acuity deficit before irradiation, 5 were improved. No hypopituitarism occurred in patients with normal pituitary function before treatment. One of the 4 patients with hypopituitarism was improved, 3 of the 5 patients with diabetes insipidus was improved.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Stereotactic (186)Re endocavitary irradiation for the treatment of cystic craniopharyngioma is a safe and effective procedure.</p>
Subject(s)
Adolescent , Adult , Child , Child, Preschool , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Young Adult , Brachytherapy , Methods , Craniopharyngioma , Radiotherapy , Cysts , Radiotherapy , Follow-Up Studies , Pituitary Neoplasms , Radiotherapy , Radioisotopes , Therapeutic Uses , Rhenium , Therapeutic Uses , Stereotaxic Techniques , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To evaluate the efficacy and toxicity of combination therapy with surgery and recombinant adenovirus-p53 injection of recurrent malignant gliomas.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>38 patients with recurrent malignant gliomas were included in this study. Among them, 18 patients of combined treatment group had Ommaya reservoirs placed into the tumor cavities after the resection of the tumors and received regular recombinant adenovirus-p53 injections after the operation. The other 20 patients received surgery alone.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The 6-month and 1-year survival rates after the combination therapy were 66.7% (14/18) and 44.4% (8/18), respectively. The median survival time was 9.7 months. Compared with the surgery-alone group, the combined treatment group achieved significant improvement (P < 0.05). The Karnofsky score was significantly improved at 6 months after the combination therapy compared with that before the treatment (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The recombinant adenovirus-p53 injection is safe and effective in treatment of recurrent malignant gliomas. The combination therapy of surgery and recombinant adenovirus-p53 injection may improve the life quality and the prognosis in patients with recurrent malignant gliomas.</p>
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Adenoviridae , Genetics , Brain Neoplasms , Pathology , General Surgery , Therapeutics , Combined Modality Therapy , Follow-Up Studies , Genes, p53 , Genetic Therapy , Glioma , Pathology , General Surgery , Therapeutics , Neoplasm Recurrence, Local , Recombinant Proteins , Therapeutic Uses , Survival Rate , Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 , Genetics , Therapeutic UsesABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the effective methods for evaluating the consciousness and speech status of patients with special types of cerebral injuries.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 96 patients with injury in the language center and in coma were treated with operative and correlated conventional therapies. Then their recovery status of consciousness and speech was observed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients were recovered to consciousness. Sixty-nine patients with aphasia were cured completely, but 7 patients were complicated with incomplete ataxic aphasia, 15 with incomplete sensory aphasia, and 5 with incomplete mixed aphasia.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>For the patients with injury in the language center, evaluation of the conscious state with GCS scoring system has certain limitations and conscious behaviours are advantageous evidences to evaluate the consciousness recovery of the patients. The patients with conscious disturbance and injury in the language center should be considered to have aphasia.</p>