The chromatin remodeler complex ATRX-DAXX-H3.3 and telomere length in meningiomas.

ATRX-DAXX-H3.3 chromatin remodeler complex is a well known epigenetic factor responsible for the heterochromatin maintenance and control. ATRX is an important nucleosome controller, especially in tandem repeat regions, and DAXX is a multi-function protein with particular role in histone H3.3 deposition due to its chaperone characteristic. Abnormalities in this complex have been associated with telomere dysfunction and consequently with activation of alternative lengthening of telomeres mechanism, genomic instability, and tumor progression in different types of cancer. However, the characterization of this complex is still incomplete in meningioma. We analyzed ATRX, DAXX and H3.3 expressions and the telomere length in a cohort of meningioma of different malignant grades. We observed ATRX upregulation at gene and protein levels in grade II/III meningiomas. A low variability of telomere length was observed in meningiomas across different ages and malignant grades, in contrast to the shortening of telomere length with aging in normal controls.

Dissecting spinal aneurysms: conservative management as a therapeutic option.

OBJECTIVE: Isolated dissecting spinal aneurysms are rare lesions that pose a therapeutic challenge. We report our experience in the management of four patients with dissecting spinal aneurysms. METHODS: After institutional review board approval was obtained, the neurointerventional databases of the two participating institutions were retrospectively reviewed. Aneurysms in the anterior spinal artery, posterior spinal artery, or in a radiculomedullary artery were included in the analysis. Flow-related aneurysms were excluded. Data on clinical presentation, hemorrhage location, aneurysm size, location, angiographic follow-up, re-hemorrhage, and clinical outcome were obtained and analyzed. RESULTS: Four patients with five spinal dissecting aneurysms met the inclusion criteria. There were two women and the mean age was 63 years (range 36-64). All patients presented with hemorrhage. Three radiculomedullary arteries in two different patients had one lesion each; the other two involved the anterior spinal artery and a posterior spinal artery in different patients. All four patients were managed conservatively. Follow-up angiography (5.5 months) demonstrated occlusion of all five aneurysms. There was no re-hemorrhage and all patients had a good outcome at the last follow-up (modified Rankin Scale score 0-2). CONCLUSIONS: Conservative management of ruptured spontaneous dissecting spinal aneurysms is a reasonable therapeutic option capable of achieving favorable angiographic and clinical outcomes.

Web Vessels: Literature Review and Neurointerventional Management.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe 27 patients with 32 web vessels (WVs) from our practice and provide a review of the literature regarding imaging diagnostics, clinical presentation, and treatment of WVs. METHODS: A MEDLINE search was performed using combinations of the following terms: "stroke in young adults," "web," "recurrent stroke," "diaphragm-like," "atypical fibromuscular hyperplasia," "atypical fibromuscular dysplasia," "septal fibromuscular dysplasia," "septa," "diaphragms," "pseudovalvular folds," and "carotid diaphragm." Our series was added in this review. RESULTS: According to location, there were 88 carotid WVs (91.66%), 7 vertebral WVs (7.3%), and 1 subclavian WV (1.04%). According to clinical presentation, the reported WVs caused stroke in 81 cases (84.38%). Treatment was supportive care in 46 cases (47.91%), surgery in 33 cases (35.41%), and an endovascular procedure through angioplasty and stenting in 17 cases (17.7%). Variables such as age (P = 0.7565), sex (P = 0.6912), and location (P = 0.7993) were not shown to be risk factors for stroke in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although few cases have been reported in the literature, the stroke rate in patients with WVs is high. Endovascular treatment is presented as an effective form of treatment with no associated morbidities or recurrences of ischemic events.

Flow Diverters for Treatment of 160 Ophthalmic Segment Aneurysms: Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy in a Multicenter Cohort.

BACKGROUND: Treatment of ophthalmic segment aneurysms (OSA) remains challenging. Flow diverter stents (FDS) have evolved as a promising endovascular treatment option for aneurysms of the internal carotid artery and are associated with high occlusion rates and a favorable morbidity and mortality profile. OBJECTIVE: To determine safety and efficacy of FDS for OSA in a large, multicenter cohort. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained databases of 127 consecutive patients harboring 160 OSA treated with FDS was performed. Aneurysms were classified based on location and morphology. Follow-up with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) was performed 6 to 18 months after treatment. RESULTS: Follow-up DSA was available for 101 (63.1%) aneurysms with a mean follow-up of 18 months. Complete occlusion was observed in 90 aneurysms (89.1%), near-complete occlusion (>95%) in 3 (3%), and incomplete occlusion (<95%) in 8 aneurysms (7.9%). One aneurysm was retreated with another FDS (0.9%). No risk factors for incomplete occlusion were identified. The OA was occluded at the latest follow-up in 6 cases (7.1%). Permanent morbidity occurred in 4 patients (3.1%), and there was no mortality related to the FDS procedure. CONCLUSION: Treatment of OSA with FDS was found to be safe and effective. The retreatment rate was extremely low and aneurysms that occluded did not reanalyze.

Tooth in Intracranial Compartment after Traumatic Brain Injury

A 25-year-old patient was admitted to the emergency room presenting headaches after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) 30 days before, when he collided frontally with another driver. After a skull radiography, the presence of a foreign body was observed in the frontal sinus. A cranial computed tomography (CT) scan found that it was a tooth. The patient underwent surgical treatment for the removal of the tooth. Traumatic brain injury caused by non-missile penetrating objects is unusual, and has been described in case reports in the literature. To the best of our knowledge, no similar reports can be found in the literature.

Paciente com 25 anos de idade trazido à sala de emergência com quadro de cefaleia frontal , que não melhorava com uso de analgésicos. Apresentava história prévia de trauma de crânio (TCE) 30 dias antes, quando ele colidiu frontalmente com outro motorista. Após radiografia crânio, a presença de um corpo estranho foi observada no seio frontal. A tomografia computadorizada de crânio evidenciou a presença de um dente. O paciente foi submetido a tratamento cirúrgico para a remoção do dente. A evolução foi satisfatória, o paciente apresentava-se assintomática na alta hospitalar. TCE penetrantes são incomuns e são descritos na literatura na maioria das vezes como relatos de casos. Para o nosso conhecimento, não há relatos semelhantes em outras séries sobre o assunto.

Spinal surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disease: Predictors of outcome.

OBJECTIVES: Identify predictors of outcomes for results in Degenerative Lumbar Spine Disease (DLSD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 164 patients who underwent surgery for DLSD was performed. The study duration was 24 months (January 2013-December 2014). The patients were first evaluated and were assessed for their results regarding the extent of surgery in four groups: patients undergoing surgery for treatment of one segment, two segments, three segments, and four or more segments of DLS. Posteriorly, the same group of patients was divided based on the presence or absence of Dural Tear (DT) during surgery. In addition, the relationship between elderlies and the incidence of surgical site infection (SSI) and reoperation was also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 193 surgeries were performed on 164 patients (74 males/90 females), with a mean age of 53.18 years old (53.18 ± 17.54). SSI occurred in 7.31% of cases and re-operations due to SSI or because of complications resulting from the first procedure occurred in 11,58% of cases. Results statistically significant were found regarding the incidence of SSI (P=0.05) and the rate of re-operation (p=0.003) in surgeries involving more than three segments. DT is directly related to the rate of re-operation (p=0.0172) and SSI (p=0.0002). Elderly patients were not a predictor of poor outcome, neither to incidence of SSI (p=0.2), nor chance of re-operation (p=0.36). CONCLUSION: Surgeries involving more than three segments are directly related to SSI, incidence of accidental DT and chance of re-operation. The presence of DT during the procedure is presented as a predictor of postoperative SSI and an increase in re-operation rate. Furthermore, elderly patients are not related to a higher risk for SSI and re-operations.

Assessment of Cerebral Blood Flow with Micro-Doppler Vascular Reduces the Risk of Ischemic Stroke During the Clipping of Intracranial Aneurysms.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the impact of the introduction of Micro-Doppler vascular (MDV) as a method of cerebral blood flow analysis during microsurgical clipping of intracranial aneurysms to check the partial occlusion of the aneurysm and the occurrence of stenosis by comparing these results with those provided by the postoperative digital subtraction angiography (DSA) scan as well as the occurrence of ischemic infarction on the postoperative computed tomography (CT) images. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the last 50 patients operated on before the introduction of the MDV (group 1) compared with the first 50 patients operated on using this technique (group 2). RESULTS: Nine (18%) of the 50 patients evaluated in the group 1 showed a new hypodensity in the postoperative CT images, whereas only 2 (4%) patients showed infarction in the group 2 (P = 0.02). In addition, in the group 1, 10 (20%) patients presented unexpected findings on DSA images (residual aneurysms, stenosis, and arterial occlusion), whereas in the group 2, those unexpected DSA findings were observed in only 3 (6%) patients (P = 0.023). CONCLUSION: MDV is an excellent method for cerebral blood flow assessment during the microsurgical clipping of intracranial aneurysms, reducing the unexpected angiographic results (residual aneurysms, stenosis, and arterial occlusion), as well as reducing the incidence of ischemic infarction on postoperative CT images, evidence of the positive impact of this method in the microsurgical treatment of intracranial aneurysms.

Impact of body mass index in spinal surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disease.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a factor for degenerative lumbar spine disease (DLSD), with increasing prevalence worldwide. Consequently, patients who are overweight or obese have benefited from surgical treatment for DLSD, despite their anatomical and clinical differences. OBJECTIVES: To analyse the effect of body mass index (BMI) in spinal surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disease (DLSD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 100 patients who underwent surgery for DLSD was performed. The study time was 13 months (January 2013-January 2014). The patients were first evaluated with regard to their BMI and were subsequently divided into four groups of patients: BMI <25, BMI between 25 and 30, BMI between 30 and 35, and BMI above 35. The same patients were assessed for their results regarding the extent of surgery in four groups: patients undergoing surgery for treatment of one segment, two segments, three segments, and four or more segments of DLS. The aspects evaluated were surgical time, bleeding, surgical complications, surgical site infection (SSI), and re-operation due to failure of the first procedure. RESULTS: A total of 118 surgeries were performed on 100 patients (52 male/48 female), mean age 52.77 years old (52.77 ± 14.45), range between 26 and 85 years old, and a mean BMI of 29.43 kg/m(2) (29.43 ± 5.54). The surgical time averaged 258.1 min (258.1 ± 82.79); the bleeding was 660 millilitres (ml) (660 ± 509.1); complications that were related to the surgical procedure occurred in 38% of cases; SSI occurred in 5% of cases, and re-operations or SSI due to complications occurred in 12% of cases. After analysis of all variables, it was observed that the groups were homogeneous without statistical variation when divided by the BMI; however, it was also observed that the extent of surgery was the factor responsible for the increased rate of SSI (p=0.05) and increased potential of re-operation due to complications (p=0.003). CONCLUSION: BMI is not a complicating factor for the outcome of patients undergoing surgery for DLSD in terms of SSI, surgical complications, and re-operation rates. Furthermore, the extent of surgery was associated with increased postoperative SSI and the need for a second surgery due to the failure of the first procedure.