Multiple abscesses of the brain

1981 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arthur I. Kobrine ◽  
David O. Davis ◽  
Hugo V. Rizzoli
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Treatment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
Brain Abscesses ◽  
Systemic Antibiotics ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

✓ A case of multiple brain abscesses is presented. The patient was treated with systemic antibiotics; one of the lesions acutely increased in size, became life-threatening, and was surgically removed. The patient continued with antibiotic treatment, and the remaining brain abscesses completely disappeared. Recent follow-up review almost 2 years after diagnosis demonstrated no evidence of recurrence.

Stereotaxic surgery in the treatment of multiple brain abscesses

1988 ◽  
Vol 69 (2) ◽  
pp. 188-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregg N. Dyste ◽  
Patrick W. Hitchon ◽  
Arnold H. Menezes ◽  
John C. VanGilder ◽  
George M. Greene
Keyword(s):  
Ct Guided ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Deep White Matter ◽  
Prior Therapy ◽  
Stereotaxic Surgery ◽  
Brain Abscesses ◽  
Neurologically Normal ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Controversy exists regarding the optimal treatment for patients with multiple brain abscesses. These lesions are often small and located deep in the brain and close to vital structures, making surgery difficult. With this in mind the authors review their experience in treating multiple abscesses using computerized tomography (CT)-guided stereotaxic aspiration. From 1983 to 1985, 15 patients were treated for multiple brain abscesses, of whom eight underwent stereotaxic aspiration. There were a total of 28 abscesses in these eight patients: 11 abscesses were aspirated and two excised using CT-guided techniques. Most were cortical in location, although there were 12 in the deep white matter, one in the thalamus, and two in the caudate nucleus. All patients received a total of 6 weeks of antibiotic therapy. Follow-up CT showed resolution of the abscesses in all patients. Currently, four are neurologically normal, one has a mild hemiparesis, one has a well-controlled seizure disorder, and one requires supportive care. A single death occurred 5 weeks postoperatively of unrelated causes. Location, size, and age of an abscess all have bearing upon the response to management and outcome of the patient. Stereotaxic surgery is a procedure with minimal morbidity and mortality. Stereotaxic aspiration should be considered in patients with small, multiple, or deep-seated abscesses, in those who are poor operative candidates, and in those who have failed prior therapy.

The long-term results of gamma knife radiosurgery for hemangioblastomas of the brain

2005 ◽  
Vol 102 ◽  
pp. 225-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
En-Min Wang ◽  
Li Pan ◽  
Bing-Jiang Wang ◽  
Nan Zhang ◽  
Liang-Fu Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gamma Knife ◽  
Tumor Control ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Prescription Dose ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Vhl Disease ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The authors assessed the long-term result of gamma knife surgery (GKS) for hemangioblastomas of the brain (HABs) and show histopathological findings after GKS. Methods. Thirty-five patients, 28 men and seven women, with a mean age of 36 years underwent GKS. Eighteen patients presented with multiple tumors and 17 with a solitary tumor. Twenty-one patients had von Hippel—Lindau (VHL) disease. The mean tumor diameter was 13 mm (range 5–55 mm). The mean follow up after GKS was 66 months (range 24–114 months). The mean prescription dose was 17.2 Gy (range 12–24 Gy) at the tumor margin. For tumors close to or within the brainstem a prescription dose of 12 to 13 Gy was used. At the most recent follow up, 29 patients were alive, six were dead, and satisfactory tumor control had been achieved in 29. A stable or improved neurological status was obtained in 21 patients. Eight patients underwent open surgery because of tumor-associated cyst enlargement or the development of new tumors after GKS. Seven patients developed new tumors and five of them required a second GKS. The 1-year tumor control rate was 94%; 2 years, 85%; 3 years, 82%; 4 years, 79%; and 5 years, 71%. Histopathology showed that no tumor cells were found and there was degeneration and necrosis in a tumor nodule 48 months after GKS with a prescription dose of 18 Gy. Conclusions. Gamma knife surgery was a useful choice for small- or medium-sized, solid HAB in the long term, especially when the tumor margin dose was 18 Gy. Although GKS can treat multiple tumors in a single session, for HABs associated with VHL disease, GKS faces the dual problems of tumor recurrence or development of a new tumor.

Arteriovenous malformations of the brain

1972 ◽  
Vol 37 (5) ◽  
pp. 562-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. C. Forster ◽  
Ladislau Steiner ◽  
Sten Håkanson
Keyword(s):  
Arteriovenous Malformations ◽  
Indications For Surgery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The quality of survival of 150 patients with arteriovenous malformations of the brain is presented. The mean period of follow-up was over 15 years. The surgically operated and conservatively managed groups are compared, a comparison that in the long run appears to favor the operated cases. The results are discussed and indications for surgery summarized.

Electrical stimulation of the brain in treatment of chronic pain

1985 ◽  
Vol 62 (3) ◽  
pp. 389-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald F. Young ◽  
Richard Kroening ◽  
Wayne Fulton ◽  
Robert A. Feldman ◽  
Israel Chambi
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Pain ◽  
Electrical Stimulation ◽  
Gray Matter ◽  
Pain Treatment ◽  
Psychiatric Evaluation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print ◽  
Stimulation Of

✓ Forty-eight patients underwent electrical stimulation of the brain for treatment of chronic pain between 1978 and 1983. Average pain duration prior to treatment was 4.5 years. Before selection for this procedure patients underwent pain treatment in a multidisciplinary pain center, intensive psychological and psychiatric evaluation, and assessment of pain responsiveness to intravenous administration of placebo, morphine, and naloxone. A total of 71 electrodes were placed in the 48 patients at a variety of stimulating targets, including the periaqueductal gray matter, periventricular gray matter, thalamus, and internal capsule. Seventy-two percent of patients experienced complete or partial pain relief. In addition, 59% of patients were able to discontinue narcotic usage. Twenty-five percent of patients returned to normal physical activities and another 33% showed marked improvement in functional capacity. Follow-up periods ranged from 2 to 60 months; with a mean follow-up period of 20 months. A variety of relatively minor complications occurred, but no mortality or permanent sequelae were experienced. No patient's pain was made worse as a result of electrical stimulation. Electrical stimulation of the brain offers a safe and relatively effective method for the treatment of chronic pain in appropriately selected patients, who are unresponsive to other forms of therapy.

Gamma surgery for melanoma metastases in the brain

2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (3) ◽  
pp. 544-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Mingione ◽  
Marcelo Oliveira ◽  
Dheerendra Prasad ◽  
Melita Steiner ◽  
Ladislau Steiner
Keyword(s):  
Brain Metastases ◽  
Survival Time ◽  
Cox Regression ◽  
Brain Lesion ◽  
High Dose ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Melanoma Metastases ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness and limitations of gamma surgery (GS) in the treatment of brain metastases from melanoma. Methods. Imaging and clinical outcomes in 45 patients treated for 92 brain metastases from melanoma between October 1989 and October 1999 were retrospectively analyzed. Follow-up imaging studies were available in 35 patients with 66 treated lesions. Twenty-four percent of the lesions disappeared, 35% shrank, 23% remained unchanged, and 18% increased in size. No undue radiation-induced changes were observed in the surrounding brain. Clinical data were available in all patients. No deaths or neurological morbidity related to GS was observed. The median survival time, calculated using the Kaplan—Meier method, was 10.4 months from the time of GS. In both univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses, a single brain lesion and lack of visceral metastases were statistically predictive of a better prognosis. Six of eight patients with solitary metastasis (that is, a single brain metastasis with no primary visceral tumor) were still alive at the close of the study, none of them with disease progression, with a follow-up period ranging between 14 and 82 months. Sixteen patients in this series received adjunctive whole-brain radiation therapy, which had no impact on their survival time or local and distant control of the brain disease. Conclusions. Gamma surgery is effective in treating melanoma metastases in the brain. It appears that the radiobiology of a single high dose overcomes the radioresistance barrier, yielding better results than fractionated radiation.

Multifocal glioma of the brain

1976 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernardo Borovich ◽  
Marcel Mayer ◽  
Baruch Gellei ◽  
Eli Peyser ◽  
Mordechai Yahel
Keyword(s):  
Content Type ◽  
Multifocal Glioma ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

✓ A case is presented in which two separate concurrent astrocytomas of the brain in the same patient were successfully operated on. The patient has been followed for 3 years and remains well. The authors believe that the diagnosis of multifocal tumors can be established on clinical grounds when the tumors are remote from each other, and when there has been no recurrence of neoplasm between the lesions after a long follow-up period. It is felt that a more optimistic approach to the treatment of multifocal tumors may yield good results.

Actinomycosis of the brain

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
He Chen-wei
Keyword(s):  
Central Nervous System ◽  
Rare Case ◽  
Surgical Excision ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Excellent Health ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

✓ A rare case of actinomycosis of the brain is reported. The patient recovered after surgical excision of the lesion and a prolonged course of antibiotic therapy. At follow-up examination 25 months later, the patient was in excellent health. Different types of actinomycotic infections of the central nervous system are reviewed and the diagnosis and treatment of this disease are discussed.

The natural history of symptomatic arteriovenous malformations of the brain: a 24-year follow-up assessment

1990 ◽  
Vol 73 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Ondra ◽  
Henry Troupp ◽  
Eugene D. George ◽  
Karen Schwab
Keyword(s):  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Arteriovenous Malformations ◽  
Original Population ◽  
Major Morbidity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The authors have updated a series of 166 prospectively followed unoperated symptomatic patients with arteriovenous malformations (AVM's) of the brain. Follow-up data were obtained for 160 (96%) of the original population, with a mean follow-up period of 23.7 years. The rate of major rebleeding was 4.0% per year, and the mortality rate was 1.0% per year. At follow-up review, 23% of the series were dead from AVM hemorrhage. The combined rate of major morbidity and mortality was 2.7% per year. These annual rates remained essentially constant over the entire period of the study. There was no difference in the incidence of rebleeding or death regardless of presentation with or without evidence of hemorrhage. The mean interval between initial presentation and subsequent hemorrhage was 7.7 years.

Relationship between cerebral blood flow and the development of swelling and life-threatening herniation in acute ischemic stroke

1998 ◽  
Vol 89 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Firlik ◽  
Howard Yonas ◽  
Anthony M. Kaufmann ◽  
Lawrence R. Wechsler ◽  
Charles A. Jungreis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Cerebral Blood Flow ◽  
Subsequent Development ◽  
Brain Herniation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Life Threatening ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The purpose of this study was to determine whether cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurements in acute stroke could be correlated with the subsequent development of cerebral edema and life-threatening brain herniation. Methods. Twenty patients with aggressively managed acute middle cerebral artery (MCA) territory strokes who underwent xenon-enhanced computerized tomography (Xe-CT) CBF scanning within 6 hours of onset of symptoms were retrospectively reviewed. The relationship among CBF and follow-up CT evidence of edema and clinical evidence of brain herniation during the 36 to 96 hours following stroke onset was analyzed. Initial CT scans displayed abnormal findings in 11 patients (55%), whereas the Xe-CT CBF scans showed abnormal findings in all patients (100%). The mean CBF in the symptomatic MCA territory was 10.4 ml/100 g/minute in patients who developed severe edema compared with 19 ml/100 g/minute in patients who developed mild edema (p < 0.05). The mean CBF in the symptomatic MCA territory was 8.6 ml/100 g/minute in patients who developed clinical brain herniation compared with 18 ml/100 g/minute in those who did not (p < 0.01). The mean CBF in the symptomatic MCA territory that was 15 ml/100 g/minute or lower was significantly associated with the development of severe edema and herniation (p < 0.05). Conclusions. Within 6 hours of acute MCA territory stroke, Xe-CT CBF measurements can be used to predict the subsequent development of severe edema and progression to clinical life-threatening brain herniation. Early knowledge of the anatomical and clinical sequelae of stroke in the acute phase may aid in the triage of such patients and alert physicians to the potential need for more aggressive medical or neurosurgical intervention.

Seeding of malignant meningioma along a surgical trajectory on the scalp

2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (3) ◽  
pp. 683-686 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wolf O. Lüdemann ◽  
Richard Obler ◽  
Marcos Tatagiba ◽  
Madjid Samii
Keyword(s):  
Malignant Meningioma ◽  
Tumor Removal ◽  
Content Type ◽  
First Report ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cell Dissemination ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The authors report the case of an 11-year-old boy with a malignant meningioma of the right frontal meninges. The tumor was asymptomatic, despite visible exophytic extracranial growth. Neuroimaging demonstrated an en plaque meningioma bulging into the brain. Six months after the tumor had been totally removed by surgery, an isolated subcutaneous metastasis developed at the right preauricular area of the scalp, originating at the scar left by the first surgery. After removal of this metastasis, radiotherapy was conducted. To date the follow-up examinations have not revealed any additional metastases. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of a seeding of a subcutaneous metastasis in a child with a malignant meningioma. The authors review the literature with reference to malignant meningiomas and their formation of metastasis. In cases of malignant meningiomas, piecemeal tumor removal carries the risk of iatrogenic cell dissemination even when precautions are taken.

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