The promise of deep brain stimulation in X-linked dystonia parkinsonism

X-linked dystonia parkinsonism (XDP) is a rapidly progressive and disabling neurodegenerative disease affecting mainly male Filiponos with origins from Panay Island. We reviewed all the past neurosurgical ablative procedures done for XDP patients listed in the Philippine XDP registry. From 1960 to 1982, six patients had undergone bilateral chemopallidotomies or bilateral thalomotomies stage over time. Half of these patients had significant improvement in their symptoms but five of the six patients (83%) developed postoperative morbidities, mainly speech impairment or hemiparesis, All the five reported GPi deep brain stimulation (DBS) cases for XDP were also reviewed, showing consistently immediate improvement of symptoms (61.5%-88.3% decrease in the Burke-Marsden Dystonia Rating Scale) lasting up to a year with effects noted. We also present the first Philippine case of GPi DBS done in the youngest XDP patients to date. This present case showed dramatic improvement(83.3% desrease of the Burke-Marsden_Fahn Dystonia Rating Scale) of his dystonic symptoms, without incurring any persistent adverse effects. The results of these early cases of pallidal DBS for XDP show that DBS is generally a safe and effective procedure for alleviating the disabling symptoms of XDP in contrast to previous ablative surgeries on these patient

Intracranial neoplasms: A ten year experience

The epidemiologic features of 652 histologically confirmed intracranial tumors were reviewed. 600 were primary tumors and 52 were metastatic. 17.4% of all tumors were gliomas and 23.2% were meningiomas. 73% of adult tumors were supratentorial, most commonly meningiomas, while 10% of pediatric tumors (age14) were infratentorial, predominantly medulloblastomas. There was an equal distribution of the tumors in the first decades of life. The medulloblastomas and astrocytoma I-II, peaked in early childhood whereas meningiomas, neurilemmomas and metastatic tumors increased in frequency with advancing age. The overall risk for intracranial tumors was the same for both sexes. However, women had greater susceptibility for meningiomas, pituitary adenomas and merilemmomas. The features of intracranial tumors in Filipinos mirrored those seen in Blacks and other Asians, and differed from most Western profiles. It is possible that racial difference play a role in the development of intracranial tumors.