Neurosurgery Commons^™

Advancing Endovascular Neurosurgery Training With Extended Reality: Opportunities And Obstacles For The Next Decade, Shray Patel, Michael Covell, Saarang Patel, Sandeep Kandregula, Sai Krishna Palepu, Avi Gajjar, Oleg Shekhtman, Georgios Sioutas, Ali Dhanaliwala, Terence Gade, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Visish Srinivasan

SKMC Student Presentations and Publications

Background: Extended reality (XR) includes augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR). Endovascular neurosurgery is uniquely positioned to benefit from XR due to the complexity of cerebrovascular imaging. Given the different XR modalities available, as well as unclear clinical utility and technical capabilities, we clarify opportunities and obstacles for XR in training vascular neurosurgeons. Methods: A systematic review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted. Studies were critically appraised using ROBINS-I. Results: 19 studies were identified. 13 studies used VR, while 3 studies used MR, and 3 studies used AR. …

Endoscopic Transventricular "Inside-Out" Corpus Callosotomy: Illustrative Case, Michael Baumgartner, Elias Atallah, Kathleen Galligan, Pamela Mcdonnell, Benjamin Kennedy

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Tonic and atonic "drop attack" seizures are a classic and morbid semiology in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, resulting in frequent injuries and emergency room visits, in addition to neurocognitive sequelae. Recent years have seen a growing interest in less invasive techniques for performing the classic surgical treatment for drop attacks in Lennox-Gastaut syndrome, that is, corpus callosotomy.

OBSERVATIONS: A 5-year-old boy with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome presented for surgical evaluation. He experienced up to 20 daily tonic seizures despite multiple antiseizure medications. Preoperative imaging revealed highly abnormal anatomy with severe ventriculomegaly and thinning of the cortex and corpus callosum. Open microsurgery or an …

Clinical Implementation Of Tissue-Sparing Posterior Cervical Fusion: Addressing Market Access Challenges, Morgan Lorio, Pierce Nunley, Joshua Heller, Bruce Mccormack, Kai-Uwe Lewandrowski, Jon Block

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Background: The traditional open midline posterior cervical spine fusion procedure has several shortcomings. It can cause soft tissue damage, muscle atrophy, compromise of the lateral masses and painful prominent posterior cervical instrumentation or spinous process if there is dehiscence of the fascia. Additionally, patients frequently experience the rapid development of adjacent segment disease, which can result in the reemergence of debilitating pain and functional impairment. Clinical relevance: Tissue-sparing posterior cervical fusion is an alternative method for treating patients with symptomatic cervical degenerative disc disease. However, widespread clinical adoption has been challenged by ambiguity, misunderstandings and misinterpretations regarding appropriate procedural reimbursement …

Treatment Of Large Intracranial Aneurysms Using The Woven Endobridge (Web): A Propensity Score-Matched Analysis, Basel Musmar, Hamza Salim, Nimer Adeeb, Assala Aslan, Bahaa Aljeradat, Jose Diestro, Rachel Mclellan, Oktay Algin, Sherief Ghozy, Mahmoud Dibas, Sovann Lay, Adrien Guenego, Leonardo Renieri, Nicole Cancelliere, Joseph Carnevale, Guillaume Saliou, Panagiotis Mastorakos, Kareem El Naamani, Eimad Shotar, Kevin Premat, Markus Möhlenbruch, Michael Kral, Justin Vranic, Charlotte Chung, Mohamed Salem, Ivan Lylyk, Paul Foreman, Jay Vachhani, Hamza Shaikh, Vedran Župančić, Muhammad Hafeez, Joshua Catapano, Muhammad Waqas, Vincent Tutino, Mohamed Ibrahim, Marwa Mohammed, M. Ozgur Ozates, Giyas Ayberk, James Rabinov, Yifan Ren, Clemens Schirmer, Mariangela Piano, Anna Kühn, Caterina Michelozzi, Stéphanie Elens, Robert Starke, Ameer Hassan, Mark Ogilvie, Anh Nguyen, Jesse Jones, Waleed Brinjikji, Marie Nawka, Marios Psychogios, Christian Ulfert, Julian Spears, Brian Jankowitz, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Ricardo Domingo, Thien Huynh, Juan Carlos Martinez-Gutierrez, Muhammed Essibayi, Sunil Sheth, Gary Spiegel, Rabih Tawk, Boris Lubicz, Pietro Panni, Ajit Puri, Guglielmo Pero, Erez Nossek, Eytan Raz, Monika Killer-Oberfalzer, Christoph Griessenauer, Hamed Asadi, Adnan Siddiqui, Allan Brook, David Altschul, Andrew Ducruet, Felipe Albuquerque, Robert Regenhardt, Christopher Stapleton, Peter Kan, Vladimir Kalousek, Pedro Lylyk, Srikanth Boddu, Jared Knopman, Mohammad A Aziz-Sultan, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Frédéric Clarençon, Nicola Limbucci, Hugo Cuellar-Saenz, Pascal Jabbour, Vitor Pereira, Aman Patel, Adam Dmytriw

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

The Woven EndoBridge (WEB) device is primarily used for treating wide-neck intracranial bifurcation aneurysms under 10 mm. Limited data exists on its efficacy for large aneurysms. We aim to assess angiographic and clinical outcomes of the WEB device in treating large versus small aneurysms. We conducted a retrospective review of the WorldWide WEB Consortium database, from 2011 to 2022, across 30 academic institutions globally. Propensity score matching (PSM) was employed to compare small and large aneurysms on baseline characteristics. A total of 898 patients were included. There was no significant difference observed in clinical presentations, smoking status, pretreatment mRS, presence …

Data Consistency Of Two National Registries In Iran: A Preliminary Assessment To Health Information Exchange., Mohammad Dashtkoohi, Mohammad Poursalehian, Zahra Azadmanjir, Masoomeh Vaeidi, Mahdi Mohammadzadeh, Mahdi Sharif-Alhoseini, Khatereh Naghdi, Marzieh Moniri Asl, James Harrop, Vafa Rahimi-Movaghar

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The National Spinal Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR) and the National Trauma Registry of Iran (NTRI) were established to meet the data needs for research and assessing trauma status in Iran. These registries have a group of patients shared by both registries, and it is expected that some identical data will be collected about them. A general question arises whether the spinal cord injury registry can receive part of the common data from the trauma registry and not collect them independently.

METHODS: We examined variables captured in both registries based on structure and concept, identified the overlapping period …

Improving Time To Mri In The Emergency Room For Spinal Epidural Abscesses, Karim Hafazalla, Md, Angeleah Carreras, Ms, Sean Mcgann, Md, Scott Faro, Md, Adam Flanders, Md, Richard Schmidt, Md, James Harrop, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Magnetic resonance images (MRI) is integral in assessing pathology. This is especially true in the emergency room (ER), where delays in diagnosing emergent neurologic pathologies, including spinal epidural abscesses (EDAs), where the morbidity can be severe if not addressed in time. This study aims to implement an expedited imaging pathway for this urgent / emergent pathology.

Improving Head Ct Utilization After Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage According To The Modified Brain Injury Guidelines (Mbig), Mathews Lan, Md, Michael Baldassari, Md, Caitlin Ritz, Md, Tyler Alexander, Bs, Richard Schmidt, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Problem Statement: There are subsets of patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage who are low-risk for clinically significant hemorrhage expansion and/or neurologic deterioration requiring procedural intervention, yet these patients often undergo multiple serial head CT’s requiring an extended length of stay that may not be necessary. The Brain Injury Guidelines^1,2 (BIG) and subsequent modified Brain Injury Guidelines³ (mBIG) sought to categorize these low-risk subsets and provide an algorithm for more efficient care for these patients.

Project AIM: For low-risk patients with traumatic intracranial hemorrhage (specifically mBIG 2), we aim to reduce the number of head CT’s during admission …

Improving Post-Operative Educational Handouts After Spine Surgery, Arbaz A. Momin, James Harrop

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Problem Statement: After spine surgery, patients are given take home instructions which are outdated and provide limited answers to frequently asked questions. This leads to increased office calls and overnight calls to on-call physician.

Project AIM:

• Improving educational handouts given to patients after spine surgery
• Aim is to analyze current handouts given to patients after spine surgery
• Identify frequently asked questions by patients after surgery

Resumption Of Anti-Platelet/Anticoagulation Therapy Following Lumbar Spine Surgery, Stephanie Serva, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Problem Statement:

• No current guideline or protocol for AC/AP resumption in neurosurgical spine patients at TJUH
• There is difficulty in providing consistent perioperative anticoagulation recommendations to patients, as there remains no widely accepted, definitive literature of evidence or guidelines (Louie et al, 2020)

Project Aims:

• To determine standardized protocol for resuming antiplatelet/anticoagulation therapy following lumbar surgery
• To reduce combined postoperative cardiac/cerebrovascular/thrombotic events, and post-operative hematomas

Streamlined Pre-Authorization Expedites Patient Discharges From Stroke Units To Rehabilitation Centers, Michael Vo, William Nguyen, Matthew Trotter, Jeffrey Zhou, Glenn A. Gonzalez, Eric Mong, Rene Daniel, Ross-Jordan Elliott, James Harrop

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Problem statement: Patient discharge from neurosurgical stroke units to rehabilitation centers is a complex administrative and clinical endeavor involving a population often with cognitive and motor morbidity that can be intensified with extensive hospital length of stay (LOS).

Project aim: This project aims to analyze the change in LOS due to the introduction of liaisons, who advocate for and expedite pre-authorization, rounds, and plan of care establishment for patients with strokes.

Do Large Language Models Adhere To Clinical Guidelines For Cervical Fusion? A Comparison Of Chatbotgenerated Responses With Nass Coverage Recommendations, Advith Sarikonda, Ba, Bs, Emily Self, Md, Dwight Mitchell Self, Md, Abhijeet Sambangi, Bs, Angeleah Carreras, Md, Jack Jallo, Md

Health Equity and Quality Improvement (HEQI) Summit

Background

Introduction:

• Cervical fusion is a widely performed procedure with rapidly increasing usage.
• Despite this surge in utilization, there has been limited exploration into whether cervical fusion procedures align with evidence-based guidelines.
• To address these issues, the North American Spine Society (NASS) has developed EBM coverage recommendations for various diagnostic procedures and therapeutic treatments in the field of spine surgery

Project AIM:

• To assess the efficacy of chatbots in adhering to official guidelines for indications for cervical spine surgery

Antithrombotic Therapy In Cerebral Cavernous Malformations: A Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis, And Network Meta-Analysis, Basel Musmar, Hamza Salim, Jihad Abdelgadir, Samantha Spellicy, Nimer Adeeb, Ali Zomorodi, Allan Friedman, Issam Awad, Pascal Jabbour, David Hasan

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Cerebral cavernous malformations are complex vascular anomalies in the central nervous system associated with a risk of intracranial hemorrhage. Traditional guidelines have been cautious about the use of antithrombotic therapy in this patient group, citing concerns about potential bleeding risk. However, recent research posits that antithrombotic therapy may actually be beneficial. This study aims to clarify the association between antithrombotic therapy, including antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications, and the risk of intracranial hemorrhage in patients with cerebral cavernous malformations.

METHODS AND RESULTS: A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases, following Preferred Reporting Items …

Autologous Cell Immunotherapy (Igv-001) With Igf-1r Antisense Oligonucleotide In Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma Patients, Ian Y. Lee, Simon Hanft, Michael Schulder, Kevin D. Judy, Eric T. Wong, J. Bradley Elder, Linton T. Evans, Mario Zuccarello, Julian Wu, Sonikpreet Aulakh, Vijay Agarwal, Rohan Ramakrishna, Brian J. Gill, Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, Cameron Brennan, Brad E. Zacharia, Carlos Eduardo Silva Correia, Madhavi Diwanji, Gregory K. Pennock, Charles Scott, Raul Perez-Olle, David W. Andrews, John A. Boockvar

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

Standard-of-care first-line therapy for patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma (ndGBM) is maximal safe surgical resection, then concurrent radiotherapy and temozolomide, followed by maintenance temozolomide. IGV-001, the first product of the Goldspire™ platform, is a first-in-class autologous immunotherapeutic product that combines personalized whole tumor-derived cells with an antisense oligonucleotide (IMV-001) in implantable biodiffusion chambers, with the intent to induce a tumor-specific immune response in patients with ndGBM. Here, we describe the design and rationale of a randomized, double-blind, phase IIb trial evaluating IGV-001 compared with placebo, both followed by standard-of-care treatment in patients with ndGBM. The primary end point is progression-free …

Stereotactic Electroencephalogram Recordings In Temporal Lobectomy Patients Demonstrates The Predictive Value Of Interictal Cross-Frequency Correlations: A Retrospective Study, Anish Sathe, Mahdi Alizadeh, Emily Johannan, Christian Raimondo, Michael R Sperling, Ashwini Sharan, Michael Kogan

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Positive correlations between low- and high-frequency spectra from stereotactic electroencephalogram (SEEG) recordings have been implicated in pathological brain activity interictally and have been used for ictal detection in both focal and network models.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated SEEG signals in patients who ultimately underwent temporal lobectomy to evaluate their utility in seizure localization and prediction of seizure freedom post-resection.

METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed cross-frequency correlations between beta and high gamma (HG) interictal SEEG signals from 22 patients. We compared signals based on temporal versus extra-temporal locations, seizure-free (SF) versus non-seizure-free (NSF) outcomes, and mesial (M) versus mesial temporal-plus (M+) onset. …

Microsurgical Clipping Of Unruptured Anterior Circulation Aneurysms-A Global Multicenter Investigation Of Perioperative Outcomes, Jennifer Sauvigny, Richard Drexler, Tobias Pantel, Franz Ricklefs, Joshua Catapano, John Wanebo, Michael Lawton, Aminaa Sanchin, Nils Hecht, Peter Vajkoczy, Kunal Raygor, Daniel Tonetti, Adib Abla, Kareem El Naamani, Stavropoula Tjoumakaris, Pascal Jabbour, Brian Jankowitz, Mohamed Salem, Jan-Karl Burkhardt, Arthur Wagner, Maria Wostrack, Jens Gempt, Bernhard Meyer, Michael Gaub, Justin Mascitelli, Philippe Dodier, Gerhard Bavinzski, Karl Roessler, Nico Stroh, Matthias Gmeiner, Andreas Gruber, Eberval Figueiredo, Antonio Carlos Samaia Da Silva Coelho, Anatoliy Bervitskiy, Egor Anisimov, Jamil Rzaev, Harald Krenzlin, Naureen Keric, Florian Ringel, Dougho Park, Mun-Chul Kim, Eleonora Marcati, Marco Cenzato, Linda Krause, Manfred Westphal, Lasse Dührsen, Thomas Sauvigny

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Microsurgical aneurysm repair by clipping continues to be highly important despite increasing endovascular treatment options, especially because of inferior occlusion rates. This study aimed to present current global microsurgical treatment practices and to identify risk factors for complications and neurological deterioration after clipping of unruptured anterior circulation aneurysms.

METHODS: Fifteen centers from 4 continents participated in this retrospective cohort study. Consecutive patients who underwent elective microsurgical clipping of untreated unruptured intracranial aneurysm between January 2016 and December 2020 were included. Posterior circulation aneurysms were excluded. Outcome parameters were postsurgical complications and neurological deterioration (defined as decline on …

A Structurally Precise Mechanism Links An Epilepsy-Associated Kcnc2 Potassium Channel Mutation To Interneuron Dysfunction, Jerome Clatot, Christopher B. Currin, Qiansheng Liang, Tanadet Pipatpolkai, Shavonne L. Massey, Ingo Helbig, Lucie Delemotte, Tim P. Vogels, Manuel Covarrubias, Ethan M. Goldberg

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Staff Papers and Presentations

De novo heterozygous variants in KCNC2 encoding the voltage-gated potassium (K+) channel subunit Kv3.2 are a recently described cause of developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE). A de novo variant in KCNC2 c.374G > A (p.Cys125Tyr) was identified via exome sequencing in a patient with DEE. Relative to wild-type Kv3.2, Kv3.2-p.Cys125Tyr induces K+ currents exhibiting a large hyperpolarizing shift in the voltage dependence of activation, accelerated activation, and delayed deactivation consistent with a relative stabilization of the open conformation, along with increased current density. Leveraging the cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) structure of Kv3.1, molecular dynamic simulations suggest that a strong π-π stacking …

Exploring Functional Connectivity In Chronic Spinal Cord Injury Patients With Neuropathic Pain Versus Without Neuropathic Pain, Shreya Mandloi, Mashaal Syed, Isaiah Ailes, Omid Shoraka, Benjamin Leiby, J. Miao, Sara Thalheimer, Joshua Pelta-Heller, Feroze Mohamed, Ashwini Sharan, James Harrop, Laura Krisa, M. Alizadeh

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

The great majority of spinal cord injury (SCI) patients have debilitating chronic pain. Despite decades of research, these pain pathways of neuropathic pain (NP) are unknown. SCI patients have been shown to have abnormal brain pain pathways. We hypothesize that SCI NP patients’ pain matrix is altered compared to SCI patients without NP. This study examines the functional connectivity (FC) in SCI patients with moderate-severe chronic NP compared to SCI patients with mild-no NP. These groups were compared to control subjects. The Neuropathic Pain Questionnaire and neurological evaluation based on the International Standard Neurological Classification of SCI were utilized to …

Robotic-Assisted Navigation For Stereotactic Neurosurgery: A Cadaveric Investigation Of Accuracy, Time, And Radiation, William Anderson, Francisco Ponce, Michael Kinsman, Sepehr Sani, Brian Hwang, Diana Ghinda, Michael Kogan, Jonathan M Mahoney, Dhara Amin, Margaret Van Horn, Joshua Mcguckin, Dominic Razo-Castaneda, Brandon Bucklen

Department of Neurosurgery Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Despite frequent use, stereotactic head frames require manual coordinate calculations and manual frame settings that are associated with human error. This study examines freestanding robot-assisted navigation (RAN) as a means to reduce the drawbacks of traditional cranial stereotaxy and improve targeting accuracy.

METHODS: Seven cadaveric human torsos with heads were tested with 8 anatomic coordinates selected for lead placement mirrored in each hemisphere. Right and left hemispheres of the brain were randomly assigned to either the traditional stereotactic arc-based (ARC) group or the RAN group. Both target accuracy and trajectory accuracy were measured. Procedural time and the …

Clinical Factors Associated With Need For Neurosurgical Care In Young Children With Imaging For Macrocephaly: A Case Control Study, Jessica F. Rohde, Jeffrey Campbell, Julie Barbera, Elena Taylor, Ashok Ramachandra, Christopher Gegg, Andrea Scherer, Joseph Piatt

Department of Pediatrics Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Macrocephaly is present in 2.3% of children with important neurosurgical conditions in the differential diagnosis. The objective of this study was to identify clinical associations with actionable imaging findings among children with head imaging for macrocephaly.

METHODS: We conducted a case-control study of head imaging studies ordered for macrocephaly among children 24 months and younger in a multistate children's health system. Four neurosurgeons reviewed the images, determining cases to be a 'concern' if neurosurgical follow-up or intervention was indicated. Electronic health records were reviewed to collect patient-level data and to determine if surgery was performed. Controls were matched 3:1 …

Racial Disparities In Access To Dbs: Results Of A Real-World U.S. Claims Data Analysis, Michael Frassica, Drew S Kern, Mitra Afshari, Allison T Connolly, Chengyuan Wu, Nathan Rowland, Juan Ramirez-Castaneda, Mwiza Ushe, Claudia Salazar, Xenos Mason

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

INTRODUCTION: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective and standard-of-care therapy for Parkinson's Disease and other movement disorders when symptoms are inadequately controlled with conventional medications. It requires expert care for patient selection, surgical targeting, and therapy titration. Despite the known benefits, racial/ethnic disparities in access have been reported. Technological advancements with smartphone-enabled devices may influence racial disparities. Real-world evidence investigations can shed further light on barriers to access and demographic disparities for DBS patients.

METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was performed using Medicare claims linked with manufacturer patient data tracking to analyze 3,869 patients who received DBS. Patients were …

Association Between Intraoperative Steroid And Postoperative Mortality In Patients Undergoing Craniotomy For Brain Tumor, Jialing He, Shuanghong He, Yu Zhang, Yixin Tian, Pengfei Hao, Tiangui Li, Yangchun Xiao, Liyuan Peng, Yuning Feng, Xin Cheng, Haidong Deng, Peng Wang, Weelic Chong, Yang Hai, Lvlin Chen, Chao You, Lu Jia, Dengkui Chen, Fang Fang

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: Despite the widespread use of intraoperative steroids in various neurological surgeries to reduce cerebral edema and other adverse symptoms, there is sparse evidence in the literature for the optimal and safe usage of intraoperative steroid administration in patients undergoing craniotomy for brain tumors. We aimed to investigate the effects of intraoperative steroid administration on postoperative 30-day mortality in patients undergoing craniotomy for brain tumors.

METHODS: Adult patients who underwent craniotomy for brain tumors between January 2011 to January 2020 were included at West China Hospital, Sichuan University in this retrospective cohort study. Stratified analysis based on the type of …

Therapeutic Strategies Targeting Respiratory Recovery After Spinal Cord Injury: From Preclinical Development To Clinical Translation, Pauline Michel-Flutot, Michael A. Lane, Angelo C. Lepore, Stéphane Vinit

Farber Institute for Neuroscience Faculty Papers

High spinal cord injuries (SCIs) lead to permanent functional deficits, including respiratory dysfunction. Patients living with such conditions often rely on ventilatory assistance to survive, and even those that can be weaned continue to suffer life-threatening impairments. There is currently no treatment for SCI that is capable of providing complete recovery of diaphragm activity and respiratory function. The diaphragm is the main inspiratory muscle, and its activity is controlled by phrenic motoneurons (phMNs) located in the cervical (C3–C5) spinal cord. Preserving and/or restoring phMN activity following a high SCI is essential for achieving voluntary control of breathing. In this review, …

Exploring The Past, Present, And Future Of Anti-Angiogenic Therapy In Glioblastoma., Ashley B. Zhang, Khashayar Mozaffari, Brian Aguirre, Victor Li, Rohan Kubba, Nilay C Desai, Darren Wei, Isaac Yang, Madhuri Wadehra

Department of Pathology, Anatomy, and Cell Biology Faculty Papers

Glioblastoma, a WHO grade IV astrocytoma, constitutes approximately half of malignant tumors of the central nervous system. Despite technological advancements and aggressive multimodal treatment, prognosis remains dismal. The highly vascularized nature of glioblastoma enables the tumor cells to grow and invade the surrounding tissue, and vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) is a critical mediator of this process. Therefore, over the past decade, angiogenesis, and more specifically, the VEGF signaling pathway, has emerged as a therapeutic target for glioblastoma therapy. This led to the FDA approval of bevacizumab, a monoclonal antibody designed against VEGF-A, for treatment of recurrent glioblastoma. Despite the …

Use Of High-Resolution Ultrasound To Guide Alcohol Neurolysis For Chronic Pain, Russell A. Reeves, Cole J. Miller, Dajie Wang, Andrew Ng, Joshua E. Heller, Levon N. Nazarian

Department of Radiology Faculty Papers

BACKGROUND: The diagnosis and treatment of neuropathic pain is often clinically challenging, with many patients requiring treatments beyond oral medications. To improve our percutaneous treatments, we established a clinical pathway that utilized ultrasound (US) guidance for steroid injection and alcohol ablation for patients with painful neuropathy.

OBJECTIVES: To describe a collaborative neuropathy treatment pathway developed by a neurosurgeon, pain physicians, and a sonologist, describing early clinical experiences and patient-reported outcomes.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective case series was performed.

METHODS: Patients that received percutaneous alcohol ablation with US guidance for neuropathy were identified through a retrospective review of a single provider's …

Outcomes Of Children With Low-Grade Gliomas In Low- And Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review, Richard Ward, Hannah M Jones, Davis Witt, Frederick Boop, Eric Bouffet, Carlos Rodriguez-Galindo, Ibrahim Qaddoumi, Daniel C Moreira

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Purpose: Pediatric CNS tumors are increasingly a priority, particularly with the WHO designation of low-grade glioma (LGG) as one of six index childhood cancers. There are currently limited data on outcomes of pediatric patients with LGGs in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Methods: To better understand the outcomes of LGGs in LMICs, this systematic review interrogated nine literature databases.

Results: The search identified 14,977 publications. Sixteen studies from 19 countries met the selection criteria and were included for data abstraction and analysis. Eleven studies (69%) were retrospective reviews from single institutions, and one (6%) captured institutional data prospectively. The studies …

Association Between Vitamin D Supplementation And Cancer Mortality: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Renjie Zhang, Yu Zhang, Zheran Liu, Yiyan Pei, Ping Xu, Weelic Chong, Yang Hai, Ling He, Yan He, Jiayi Yu, Jingjing Wang, Fang Fang, Xingchen Peng

Department of Medical Oncology Faculty Papers

Background: Vitamin D deficiency is related to increased cancer risk and deaths. However, whether vitamin D supplementation reduces cancer mortality remains unclear, and several randomized controlled trials yield inconsistent results.

Methods: Medline, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched from their inception until 28 June 2022, for randomized controlled trials investigating vitamin D supplementation. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated. Trials with vitamin D supplementation combined with calcium supplementation versus placebo alone and recruiting participants with cancer at baseline were excluded in the present study.

Results: This study included 12 …

Evolution Of The Ao Spine Sacral And Pelvic Classification System: A Systematic Review, Barry Ting Sheen Kweh, Jin W. Tee, F. Cumhur Oner, Klaus J. Schnake, Emiliano N. Vialle, Frank Kanziora, Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran, Marcel Dvorak, Jens R. Chapman, Lorin M. Benneker, Gregory Schroeder, Alexander R. Vaccaro

Rothman Institute Papers

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to describe the genesis of the AO Spine Sacral and Pelvic Classification System in the context of historical sacral and pelvic grading systems.

METHODS: A systematic search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases was performed consistent with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines to identify all existing sacral and pelvic fracture classification systems.

RESULTS: A total of 49 articles were included in this review, comprising 23 pelvic classification systems and 17 sacral grading schemes. The AO Spine Sacral and Pelvic Classification System represents both the evolutionary …

Ten-Year Safety Of Pluripotent Stem Cell Transplantation In Acute Thoracic Spinal Cord Injury., Stephen L Mckenna, Reza Ehsanian, Charles Y Liu, Gary K Steinberg, Linda Jones, Jane S Lebkowski, Edward Wirth, Richard G Fessler

Department of Medicine Faculty Papers

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (LCTOPC1) derived from human pluripotent stem cells administered between 7 and 14 days postinjury to patients with T3 to T11 neurologically complete spinal cord injury (SCI). The rationale for this first-in-human trial was based on evidence that administration of LCTOPC1 supports survival and potential repair of key cellular components and architecture at the SCI site.

METHODS: This study was a multisite, open-label, single-arm interventional clinical trial. Participants (n = 5) received a single intraparenchymal injection of 2 × 106 LCTOPC1 caudal to the epicenter of …

Accuracy Of High-Frequency Oscillations Recorded Intraoperatively For Classification Of Epileptogenic Regions., Shennan A Weiss, Richard J Staba, Ashwini Sharan, Chengyuan Wu, Daniel Y. Rubinstein, Sandhitsu Das, Zachary J. Waldman, Iren Orosz, Gregory Worrell, Jerome Engel, Michael R Sperling

Department of Neurology Faculty Papers

To see whether acute intraoperative recordings using stereo EEG (SEEG) electrodes can replace prolonged interictal intracranial EEG (iEEG) recording, making the process more efficient and safer, 10 min of iEEG were recorded following electrode implantation in 16 anesthetized patients, and 1–2 days later during non-rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Ripples on oscillations (RonO, 80–250 Hz), ripples on spikes (RonS), sharp-spikes, fast RonO (fRonO, 250–600 Hz), and fast RonS (fRonS) were semi-automatically detected. HFO power and frequency were compared between the conditions using a generalized linear mixed-effects model. HFO rates were compared using a two-way repeated measures ANOVA with anesthesia type …

Variations In Management Of A3 And A4 Cervical Spine Fractures As Designated By The Ao Spine Subaxial Injury Classification System, Barry Ting Sheen Kweh, Jin Wee Tee, Sander Muijs, F Cumhur Oner, Klaus John Schnake, Lorin Michael Benneker, Emiliano Neves Vialle, Frank Kanziora, Shanmuganathan Rajasekaran, Gregory D. Schroeder, Alex R. Vaccaro, Ao Spine Subaxial Injury Classification System Validation Group

Rothman Institute Papers

Objective: Optimal management of A3 and A4 cervical spine fractures, as defined by the AO Spine Subaxial Injury Classification System, remains controversial. The objectives of this study were to determine whether significant management variations exist with respect to 1) fracture location across the upper, middle, and lower subaxial cervical spine and 2) geographic region, experience, or specialty.

Methods: A survey was internationally distributed to 272 AO Spine members across six geographic regions (North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East). Participants' management of A3 and A4 subaxial cervical fractures across cervical regions was assessed in four clinical …