Presence of intra-aneurysmal thrombi with delayed coil migration after embolization of an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage: illustrative case.

BACKGROUND: Coil migration is a rare, but notable complication of endovascular treatment. Risk factors include communicating segment aneurysms, aneurysmal shape, and technical factors. Although cerebral blood flow obstruction caused by early coil migration requires urgent coil removal, delayed coil migration is often asymptomatic, making it difficult to determine a treatment strategy. OBSERVATIONS: A 47-year-old woman was referred to the institute with acute-onset headache. She was diagnosed with subarachnoid hemorrhage due to rupture of the right internal carotid artery-posterior communicating artery aneurysm and underwent endovascular coil embolization. Following the procedure, the patient showed no obvious complications; however, 14 days later, images showed coil migration to the distal side, leading to surgical removal. Right frontotemporal craniotomy was performed, and the remaining coil was removed. The aneurysm was clipped again, and blood flow was confirmed. The patient was discharged 12 days after the craniotomy with transient oculomotor nerve palsy. At the 15-month follow-up, there was no aneurysm recurrence and the oculomotor nerve palsy showed improvement. LESSONS: Retrieval of the migrated coil by craniotomy is an effective remedial measure; however, intraoperative complications are common. Early detection, established protocols, and prompt treatment decisions are important for preventing undesirable outcomes.

Manual superficial temporal artery compression using a circular plastic material for embolization of meningioma: illustrative case.

BACKGROUND: In meningiomas that occur in the high-convexity region, the superficial temporal artery (STA) frequently feeds the tumor, and when embolizing from the middle meningeal artery (MMA), the embolic material may not reach the tumor vessels because of the pressure gradient resulting from the STA blood flow, resulting in inadequate embolization. In this case, a circular plastic material was used to apply circumferential pressure around the parietal foramen to control blood flow to the tumor. OBSERVATIONS: A 45-year-old male underwent head magnetic resonance imaging that revealed a 2.2-cm meningioma in the right high-convexity region. Preoperative embolization was performed. When N-butyl-2-cyanoacrylate was injected from the right MMA while using a circular plastic material to compress the skin around the parietal foramen through which the bilateral STAs (the tumor feeders) flow, it was able to fully penetrate the tumor vessel and occlude the other feeders in a retrograde manner. The patient underwent tumor removal after embolization uneventfully. LESSONS: Manual compression of the STA using a circular plastic material is useful when the tumor is fed by the STA through the parietal foramen and is also applicable to transarterial embolization of dural arteriovenous fistulas fed by the STA or occipital artery.

Favorable management of symptomatic cerebellar hemangioblastoma presenting with obstructive hydrocephalus during pregnancy: A case report and literature review.

Background: Cerebellar hemangioblastoma is a highly vascular benign tumor and the growth rate of hemangioblastomas is believed to often accelerate during pregnancy; however, the reason for this rapid increase in size remains poorly understood. There are several case reports of symptomatic hemangioblastoma during pregnancy; however, the favorable management strategy has not been well established. Case Description: A 35-year-old woman, gravida 2 para 1, with no significant medical history presented with vertigo and difficulty walking at around 11 weeks of pregnancy and was referred to our institute at 30 weeks of gestation because of worsening symptoms. Brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a 5.6 cm cystic lesion with a mural nodule in the right cerebellar hemisphere and the lesion blocked cerebrospinal fluid drainage from the fourth ventricle and brainstem, resulting in obstructive hydrocephalus. After obtaining the patient's consent, a multidisciplinary team consisting of obstetricians and neurosurgeons decided to perform resection of the intracranial lesion following delivery of the fetus by emergency cesarean section in view of the symptoms of increased intracranial pressure. The patient's general condition was confirmed to be stable postoperatively and she was discharged on the 16th day of her hospitalization without any neurological deficits or fetal complications. Conclusion: Urgent tumor resection combined with cesarean section can be planned once fetal lung maturity is confirmed. Most cases of symptomatic hemangioblastoma during pregnancy have an uneventful gestational course and a favorable outcome for both mother and child.

Intra-Plaque Vessels on Contrast-Enhanced Ultrasound Sonography Predict Carotid Plaque Histology.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Although the echogenicity of carotid plaques on carotid enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) was reported to correlate with the historological density of intra-plaque neovessels, it is unclear whether the intra-plaque vessel size is associated with carotid plaque vulnerability. We evaluated the relationship of size of intra-plaque vessels on CEUS with carotid plaque histology. METHODS: We prospectively registered patients with carotid stenosis who were hospitalized to receive carotid endarterectomy between 2012 and 2016. CEUS was performed by ultrasound specialists using a 7-MHz linear transducer (GE LOGIQ7; GE Healthcare, Milwaukee, WN, USA). Sonazoid® was used for conducting CEUS. The sizes of microbubbles inside the plaques were scored at 0, 1, 3, and 5 min after the injection of contrast agent, and were categorized according to our defined vascular score (Vas-S; 0: the effect of contrast was not recognized; 1: the microbubbles were visible, but so blurred and vague that their shape could not be recognized; 2: dot or string-like microbubbles with movement, localized in part or the whole site of the plaque). At histological examination, we simplified the modified American Heart Association classification and defined as an atherosclerotic category (Ath-cat; 1: unruptured plaque; 2: ruptured plaque; 3: healed plaque). We then assessed the correlation of Vas-S with Ath-cat, which describes the process of rupture and restoration of carotid plaques. RESULTS: A total of 97 patients were included in this study. A higher Ath-cat was significantly associated with higher Vas-S at any time. Spearman signed-rank test indicated that Vas-S at 1 min was most strongly correlated with Ath-cat (ρ = 0.43, p = 0.001). Receiver operating curve analysis indicated that a Vas-S of 0 at 1 min was significantly associated with an unruptured plaque (area under curve [AUC] 0.72, p = 0.006), while a Vas-S of 2 at 1 min was significantly associated with a healed plaque (AUC 0.72, p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: Vas-S values of 0 and 2 at 1 min indicated unruptured and healed plaques respectively. Thus, a Vas-S of 1 at 1 min is an indicator of a ruptured plaque. The intra-plaque vessel size on CEUS was significantly associated with carotid plaque histology, and may predict the process of plaque rupture and restoration.

Wake-up stroke in a young woman with rotational vertebral artery occlusion due to far-lateral cervical disc herniation.

Wake-up stroke is most likely to be caused by small-vessel disease, and is related to snoring. The authors present a rare case of far-lateral cervical disc herniation with neck rotation, resulting in wake-up stroke in a young woman. The patient, a 31-year-old woman, was admitted to the hospital because of dysarthria and confusion when she awoke in the morning. Brain MRI showed acute infarction in the posterior fossa. Cerebral angiography showed thrombus in the distal top of the basilar artery and the bilateral posterior cerebral arteries. During angiography, the thrombus size decreased with heparinization. There was severe stenosis of the right vertebral artery (VA) at C5-6, and head rotation to the right resulted in complete occlusion of the right VA. Neck MRI showed far-lateral intervertebral disc herniation. Surgical decompression of the VA was performed via the anterior cervical approach. Histological examination showed a degenerative intervertebral disc. Postoperative angiography confirmed successful decompression of the VA.

The own-sex effect in facial expression recognition.

Responses to smiling and nonsmiling expressions are influenced by sex of both viewer and expresser. This study investigated the stage of neural processing at which the sexes of viewer and expresser modulate the recognition of smiling and nonsmiling expressions by measuring event-related potentials. The results showed that late positive component was larger to neutral expression of own-sex faces than to that of opposite-sex faces. These results indicate that neural correlates of facial expression recognition are influenced by the sexes of both viewer and expresser of facial expression at the stage of cognitive evaluation.