Researchers used quantitative pupillometry to detect pupillary changes in high-school athletes after they sustained a high-acceleration head impact. These pupillary changes, indicative of changes in brain function, were evident even when the athletes had no discernible symptoms.
Researchers investigated whether aspirin can aid in the prevention of intracranial aneurysm rupture by hindering aneurysm growth. In 146 patients harboring multiple intracranial aneurysms, the researchers found an association between aspirin use and a decreased rate of aneurysm growth.
Researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published data on the effect of electrical stimulation therapies on spinal fusion. They found significant improvement overall in the rates of bone fusion following a course of electrical stimulation in preclinical and clinical studies.
Researchers investigated the safety and efficacy of deep brain stimulation in the treatment of refractory severe tinnitus in a small group of patients. They found the procedure to be safe and the results to be encouraging.
Announcement of new journal: Neurosurgical Focus: Video
In this paper, the authors demonstrate a significant association between pedicle screw loosening and the presence of low-virulent pathogens on spinal implants.
Researchers have found that abnormal performance on the Romberg balance test can indicate that children and adolescents will experience prolonged symptoms following sports-related concussion.
This article provides the reader with a glimpse of how effective lumbar surgery in select patients can be when performed without general anesthesia, open surgery, or a long convalescence in the hospital.
The April issue of Neurosurgical Focus contains 15 new articles on the principles of enhanced recovery after surgery and how these principles relate to spine surgery.
The authors describe how the modern golfer repeatedly experiences minor traumatic injuries to the spine, which over time can result in a pathogenic process termed “repetitive traumatic discopathy.”
The authors assess the effect of a mandatory educational program and new institutional prescriber guidelines on the behavior of physicians who prescribe opioid medications following lumbar surgery
Researchers conducted a prospective study of health-related quality of life in young athletes with a sports-related concussion or sports-related extremity fracture during the recovery period.
Researchers found pseudarthrosis (lack of bone regrowth) to be five times more likely after a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) interbody spacer device had been used to bridge the gap between vertebrae during cervical spine surgery than after a structural (bone) allograft had been used.
Researchers from Beijing have developed a new technique of external ventricular drain (EVD) insertion that involves the use of a mixed-reality holographic computer headset. Wearing this headset, the neurosurgeon can visualize holographic images of individual patients’ brain structures while performing the procedure. This makes EVD insertion more accurate than the usual freehand technique, which relies only on referral to external anatomical landmarks.
Researchers from the University of Michigan found that serum levels of two biomarkers of traumatic brain injury, tau and ubiquitin C-terminal hydrolase L1, are elevated following high-acceleration head impacts, even when there is no clinical diagnosis of concussion.
Covers the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. The authors “review the eyewitness reports of the mechanism of injury, the care rendered for 3 hours prior to the emergency craniotomy, the clinical course, and, ultimately, the autopsy.” The discussion of autopsy findings is supplemented by an artist’s depiction of the extent of Senator Kennedy’s head injury.
Researchers investigated risk factors for the development of opioid dependence in patients undergoing surgery for degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS). They found that, overall, patients were more likely to have a dependency on opioid medications before surgery than afterward.
Researchers evaluated the usefulness of biomarker testing in determining the potential extent of brain trauma suffered from repetitive subconcussive head impacts sustained over the course of a college football season.
Three neurosurgeons from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research in Chandigarh, India, set out to examine Michael Jackson's antigravity tilt, introduced in the music video “Smooth Criminal,” from a neurosurgeon’s point of view.
Patients receiving deep brain stimulation are warned that their neurostimulators may dysfunction when confronted by electromagnetic fields generated by particular electrical devices found at work, home, and in the hospital. A new and potentially dangerous source of dysfunction has been identified: nearby lightening.
Preliminary research using mcDESPOTmagnetic resonance imaging shows changes in the myelin content of white matter in the brain following mild traumatic brain injury. Myelin changes are apparent at the time of injury and 3 months afterward.
The University of Glasgow’s Sir Graham Teasdale, co-creator of the Glasgow Coma Scale, has teamed with Paul M. Brennan and Gordon D. Murray of the University of Edinburgh to create new assessment tools that build on the Glasgow Coma Scale to provide greater information on injury severity and prognosis in patients with traumatic brain injury while still offering simplicity of use.
A variety of neurosurgical procedures are performed with the aid of smartphone-endoscope integration. The smartphone takes the place of a camera and video monitor. It is easy to use, more cost effective, and provides the surgeon with a more intuitive and fluid method of performing neuroendoscopy.
Despite claims that helmets do not protect the cervical spine during a motorcycle crash and may even increase the risk of injury, researchers from the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics in Madison found that, during an accident, helmet use lowers the likelihood of cervical spine injury (CSI), particularly fractures of the cervical vertebrae.
Researchers examined exposure to high-magnitude head impacts (accelerations greater than 40g) in young athletes, 9 to 12 years of age, during football games and practice drills to determine under what circumstances these impacts occur and how representative practice activities are of game activities with respect to the impacts. This type of information can help coaches and league officials make informed decisions in structuring both practices and games to reduce risks in these young athletes.
Researchers examined differences in the number, location, and magnitude of head impacts sustained by young athletes during various youth football practice drills. Such information could lead to recommendations for football practices, including modification of some high-intensity drills in order to reduce players’ exposure to head impacts and, consequently, lessen the risks of injury.
This is a case report about a 10-month-old infant who inadvertently ingested ketamine. The authors offer details of the pastient's clinical course as well as unexpected imaging findings.
German researchers report preliminary findings that show a noninvasive method of monitoring intracranial pressure (ICP) that could rival the gold standards of invasive intraventricular and intraparenchymal monitoring. The device uses advanced signal analysis algorithms to evaluate properties of acoustic signals that pass through the brain in order to determine ICP values.
JFK promoted an image of himself as a young, healthy, strong-bodied man. But this image belies the truth: that Kennedy’s life was plagued by illnesses and he required strong medication to perform his tasks as president. This paper sheds light on JFK’s back problems and how they affected his life.
Using 3D printing and Hollywood-style special effects, researchers constructed a neurosurgery training simulation model whose physical and functional qualities closely mimic those of the head and brain structures of an adolescent human patient.
The biomechanics of head injury in youths (5 to 18 years of age) have been poorly understood. A new study reported in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics set out to determine what biomechanical characteristics predispose youths with concussions to experience transient or persistent postconcussion symptoms.
Research conducted at the University of Virginia suggests that patients may wish to take a 1 to 3 month break from lumbar epidural steroid injections (LESIs) before undergoing lumbar spinal fusion surgery. Why? An increased risk of infection has been identified when LESIs are administered within 3 months prior to surgery.
Researchers offer a treatment algorithm, or protocol, for identifying patients with global (flail arm) brachial plexus injuries who are likely to benefit from trading in their insensate and nonfunctional hand for a myoelectric prosthetic device.
Graded aerobic treadmill testing is safe, tolerable, and useful in evaluating and managing cases of sports-related concussion in children and adolescents. This is the finding of a new study reported in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.
Researchers used biomechanical sensors to investigate exposure to head impacts during practice sessions and games in 9- to 11-year-olds engaged in a youth football program. A higher proportion of head impacts greater than 60g occurred in tackling drills than in games. The findings may influence the structure of training for youth football teams.
Researchers examined the case files of all patients younger than 5 years of age who had been admitted to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital between 2009 and 2014 for abusive head injury. The authors’ goal was to identify patient demographics and determine the incidence and extent of the injuries, seasonal trends associated with this abuse, required neurosurgical procedures, and costs of hospitalization. The number of cases is on the rise,
The authors recount how Dr. Robert Hubbard, a biomechanical crash engineer, and his brother-in-law, Jim Downing, a racecar driver, joined forces to create the HANS® device, which was designed to prevent the occurrence of shear injuries between the head and neck during high-impact crashes.
Researchers have determined specific risk factors associated with hospital readmission following pediatric neurosurgery. Some are related to the specific surgical procedure performed (for example, cerebral spinal fluid [CSF] shunt placement or CSF shunt revision), others to postoperative complications (such as surgical site infection), and still others to patient demographics (Native American race).
Researchers studied children and adolescents with myelomeningocele or lipomyelomeningocele who underwent spinal cord detethering with or without addition of the Xiao procedure to assess the procedure’s effectiveness in achieving bladder control. The procedure was ineffective in all patients.
April's Neurosurgical Focus offers 12 articles presenting the most up-to-date knowledge of what constitutes sports-related brain injury, the latest diagnostic assessment tools, the neuropathology underlying symptoms, complications that may arise, prevention, and case management strategies.
A neural tube defect, myelomeningocele affects many systems in the human body and requires multidisciplinary medical care to ensure optimal function and quality of life as well as survival of the patient. These patients’ medical needs are best served by high-volume medical centers, according to a new article in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine.
The Journal of Neurosurgery Publishing Group is proud to announce a new feature available for select articles on our website (www.thejns.org): direct access to The Rhoton Collection® for a detailed neuroanatomical learning experience while reading articles featuring neuroanatomy in JNSPG journals.
In the paper “Stratification of risk to the surgical team in removal of small arms ammunition implanted in the craniofacial region: case report, by Jonathan A. Forbes, MD, and colleagues, the authors discuss risk assessments that are necessary when a surgical team is required to remove embedded ordnance that may contain explosive materials.
Researchers from Memphis, Tennessee, have examined intracranial gunshot wounds (GSWs) in children and adolescents, and identified nine clinical, laboratory, and radiological factors that were predictive of these patients’ outcomes.
Using data on 30-day postoperative morbidity and mortality from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database, the authors examined whether there is a “July Effect” in neurosurgery. Overall the findings show “no clear evidence for an increase in rates of morbidity or mortality during this transition period.”
After a thorough review of medical articles describing head injuries caused by toppled television sets in children, researchers assessed the risk factors associated with these events. Based on their assessment, the researchers developed strategies to prevent these injuries.
Prenatal repair of a myelomeningocele results in less need for a shunt at 12 months and reduces the need for shunt revision in those infants who do require shunt placement. Patients with extensive hydrocephalus at the time of prenatal evaluation do not have improved outcomes following prenatal surgery.
Researchers at the University of Virginia (UVa) examined the number and severity of subconcussive head impacts sustained by college football players over an entire season during practices and games. The researchers found that the number of head impacts varied depending on the intensity of the activity.
French researchers used clinical examinations and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies to determine whether retired professional rugby players experience more serious symptoms of cervical spine degeneration than people in the general population.
Researchers at Brown University examined three magnetically programmable shunt valves to see if the magnetic field emissions of headphones can cause unintentional changes in shunt valve settings. Based on their findings, the researchers state that it is highly unlikely that commercially available headphones will interfere with programmable shunt valve settings.
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