Gender-Pay Equity in Academic Neurosurgery at United States Public Universities.

Background Compensation has historically been unequal for men versus women in medical fields, particularly in surgical subspecialties.  Objective We analyzed associations between gender and compensation and identified factors associated with compensation among male and female academic neurosurgeons in the United States (US) public institutions. Methods This is a cross-sectional study of available data for the 2016-2017 fiscal years associated with male and female neurosurgical faculty from public, academic institutions within the US. The data used for analysis included total annual salary, which consisted of the base salary and additional compensation. Other gleaned data included faculty demographics, training, and academic appointments. The male and female neurosurgeons' data were separated into two respective gender groups and then were compared. Predictors of compensation were identified using univariable and non-imputed and multiply-imputed multivariable statistical models. Results The cohort was comprised of 460 neurosurgery faculty members (female n=34; male n=426). Total annual salaries were comparable between the genders. Females were more likely to be younger (p=0.001), to have completed neurosurgery training recently (p=0.003), to have had fellowship training (p=0.011), and to have lower h--indices (p=0.003) compared to males. Males and females differed in academic ranks (p=0.035) and neurosurgical subspecialties (p=0.038). Midwest (a[Formula: see text])=-US$337,516.7, p=0.002), South (a[Formula: see text]=-US$302,500.5, p=0.003), and West (a[Formula: see text]=-US$276,848.8, p=0.005) practices were independent predictors of lower annual compensation. Chair position (a[Formula: see text]=US$174,180.3, p=0.019) and associate professorship (a[Formula: see text]=US$126,633.4, p=0.037) were independent predictors of higher annual compensation. Gender was not a significant predictor of total annual compensation. Conclusions Total salaries were not different between male and female neurosurgeons in public, academic institutions in the US. Gender was not a significant predictor of total annual compensation. This study is applicable to public institutions in states with Freedom of Information Act reporting requirements.

Poor Results of Flow Diversion as Salvage Treatment for Intracranial Aneurysm Rerupture After Surgical Clip Reconstruction.

Rebleeding episodes after a ruptured intracranial aneurysm has been secured are considered a significant source of patient morbidity and mortality. Theoretically, acute treatment with a flow-diversion device may offer a reasonable treatment option to prevent future bleeding and to remodel the diseased vessel segment. The authors identified two patients who underwent emergent treatment with the placement of a Pipeline Embolization Device (PED) in the setting of an acute rebleeding of a ruptured intracranial aneurysm previously treated with clip reconstruction. The first patient was a 50-year-old woman who underwent clip reconstruction for a broad-based right anterior choroidal artery aneurysm measuring approximately 2×8 mm. Clip reconstruction was achieved with a single fenestrated clip. On day 14, the patient experienced a rebleeding episode. She underwent emergent treatment with a single PED but experienced another rebleeding and died. The second patient was a 53-year-old woman who presented with a ruptured dorsal variant blister aneurysm, which was treated with clip reconstruction. On day 22, she experienced a rebleeding episode and underwent emergent treatment using two PEDs in a duplicative fashion. After the procedure, she experienced another acute rebleeding episode and died. The treatment of reruptured intracranial aneurysms in a salvage fashion with emergent placement of PEDs in two patients resulted in good technical placement of the device covering the neck of the aneurysm, yet both patients experienced additional rebleeding and did not survive. Future generations of flow diverters may have more appropriate properties that would allow their use as salvage treatment in the setting of acutely ruptured aneurysms.

Neuroradiological Endovascular Intervention for Diplopia in a Case of Aneurysmal Aberrant Regeneration of the Third Nerve.

Aberrant regeneration of the third nerve occurs as a result of synkinetic 'miswiring' of the third nerve following its injury, such as in third cranial nerve palsy due to tumor, trauma, or aneurysm. The case presented is an elderly woman with new vertical diplopia, which led to a diagnosis of a third cranial nerve palsy, thought to be caused by a 5 mm blister aneurysm of the posterior communicating artery. However, neuro-ophthalmological evaluation diagnosed aberrant regeneration of the third nerve, with the cause of her new vertical diplopia being an ipsilateral fourth nerve palsy. The patient underwent endovascular treatment of her aneurysm using stent-assisted coiling. This procedure was complicated by an episode of air embolism, from which the patient made a good recovery. This patient's presentation demonstrates that the cause of any diplopia must be established, and presents a novel, semi-schematic illustration of aberrant regeneration of the third nerve that should aid clinicians in its recognition.

Meeting report: discussions and preliminary findings on extracellular RNA measurement methods from laboratories in the NIH Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium.

Extracellular RNAs (exRNAs) have been identified in all tested biofluids and have been associated with a variety of extracellular vesicles, ribonucleoprotein complexes and lipoprotein complexes. Much of the interest in exRNAs lies in the fact that they may serve as signalling molecules between cells, their potential to serve as biomarkers for prediction and diagnosis of disease and the possibility that exRNAs or the extracellular particles that carry them might be used for therapeutic purposes. Among the most significant bottlenecks to progress in this field is the lack of robust and standardized methods for collection and processing of biofluids, separation of different types of exRNA-containing particles and isolation and analysis of exRNAs. The Sample and Assay Standards Working Group of the Extracellular RNA Communication Consortium is a group of laboratories funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health to develop such methods. In our first joint endeavour, we held a series of conference calls and in-person meetings to survey the methods used among our members, placed them in the context of the current literature and used our findings to identify areas in which the identification of robust methodologies would promote rapid advancements in the exRNA field.