Progressive perturbations in cerebral energy metabolism after experimental whole-brain radiation in the therapeutic range

1994 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 774-779 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico D'Avella ◽  
Rocco Cicciarello ◽  
Maria E. Gagliardi ◽  
Francesca Albiero ◽  
Mario Mesiti ◽  
...  

✓ Basic mechanisms underlying the tolerance and reaction of the central nervous system to ionizing radiation have not been fully elucidated in the literature. The authors employed the [14C]-2-deoxy-D-glucose autoradiography method to investigate the effect of whole-brain x-irradiation on local cerebral glucose utilization in the rat brain. The animals were exposed to conventional fractionation (200 ± 4 cGy/day, 5 days/week for a total dose of 4000 cGy), and the effects of this regimen were assessed at 2 weeks and 3 months postirradiation. In rats evaluated 2 weeks after treatment, statistically significant decreases in cerebral metabolic activity were found in 13 of the 27 regions studied, compared to control animals. In rats studied 3 months after treatment, additional metabolic suppression and statistically significant decreases in cerebral metabolic activity were found in 11 of the 27 regions, compared to rats studied 2 weeks after treatment. A weighted-average rate for the brain as a whole was approximately 15% and approximately 25% below that of control animals 2 weeks and 3 months after exposure, respectively. Although the difference in species is significant enough so that direct extrapolation to humans may not be appropriate, the data reported here may have potential clinical implications for the evaluation of the risk-benefit ratio for radiotherapy. This model can be used reproducibly for further investigations, including evaluation of therapies that may reduce irradiation-induced brain injury.

2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 32-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru Serizawa ◽  
Toshihiko Iuchi ◽  
Junichi Ono ◽  
Naokatsu Saeki ◽  
Katsunobu Osato ◽  
...  

Object. The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the effectiveness of gamma knife radiosurgery (GKS) for multiple cerebral metastases with that of whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT). Methods. Ninety-six consecutive patients with cerebral metastases from nonsmall cell lung cancer were treated between 1990 and 1999. The entry criteria were the presence of between one and 10 multiple brain lesions at initial diagnosis, no surgically inaccessible tumors with more than a 30-mm diameter, no carcinomatous meningitis, and more than 2 months of life expectancy. The patients were divided into two groups: the GKS group (62 patients) and the WBRT group (34 patients). In the GKS group, large lesions (> 30 mm) were removed surgically and all other small lesions (≤ 30 mm) were treated by GKS. New distant lesions were treated by repeated GKS without prophylactic WBRT. In the WBRT group, the patients were treated by the traditional combined therapy of WBRT and surgery. In both groups, chemotherapy was administered according to the primary physician's protocol. The two groups did not differ in terms of age, sex, initial Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score, type, lesion number, and size of lesion, systemic control, and chemotherapy. Neurological survival and qualitative survival of the GKS group were longer than those of the WBRT group. In multivariate analysis, significant poor prognostic factors were systemically uncontrolled patients, WBRT group, and poor initial KPS score. Conclusions. Gamma knife radiosurgery without prophylactic WBRT could be a primary choice of treatment for patients with as many as 10 cerebral metastases from nonsmall cell cancer.


1986 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 490-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey I. Mechanick ◽  
Fred H. Hochberg ◽  
Alan LaRocque

✓ The authors describe 15 cases with evidence of hypothalamic dysfunction 2 to 9 years following megavoltage whole-brain x-irradiation for primary glial neoplasm. The patients received 4000 to 5000 rads in 180- to 200-rad fractions. Dysfunction occurred in the absence of computerized tomography-delineated radiation necrosis or hypothalamic invasion by tumor, and antedated the onset of dementia. Fourteen patients displayed symptoms reflecting disturbances of personality, libido, thirst, appetite, or sleep. Hyperprolactinemia (with prolactin levels up to 70 ng/ml) was present in all of the nine patients so tested. Of seven patients tested with thyrotropin-releasing hormone, one demonstrated an abnormal pituitary gland response consistent with a hypothalamic disorder. Seven patients developed cognitive abnormalities. Computerized tomography scans performed a median of 4 years after tumor diagnosis revealed no hypothalamic tumor or diminished density of the hypothalamus. Cortical atrophy was present in 50% of cases and third ventricular dilatation in 58%. Hypothalamic dysfunction, heralded by endocrine, behavioral, and cognitive impairment, represents a common, subtle form of radiation damage.


Neurosurgery ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-495 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenico d'Avella ◽  
Rocco Cicciarello ◽  
Francesca Albiero ◽  
Mario Mesiti ◽  
Maria Ester Gagliardi ◽  
...  

Abstract We assessed, by means of the [14C]-2-deoxy-D-glucose autoradiography method, the effect of whole-brain x-radiation on local cerebral glucose utilization in the rat brain. Animals were exposed to conventional fractionation (200 ± 4 cGy/day, 5 days/week; total dose, 4000 cGy);. Metabolic experiments were made 2 to 3 weeks after completion of the radiation exposure. In comparison with control and sham-irradiated animals, cerebral metabolic activity was diffusely decreased after irradiation. Statistically significant decreases in metabolic activity were observed in 13 of 27 brain regions studied. In general, the brain areas with the highest basal metabolic rates showed the greatest percentage of decrease in glucose utilization. The concept that radiation suppresses glucose utilization before any morphological change takes place in the cell structures was the basis of this study. Metabolic alterations after irradiation may explain the syndrome of early delayed deterioration observed in humans after whole-brain radiotherapy. These studies have applications to observations made with the [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose method in conjunction with positron emission tomographic scans in patients receiving radiation therapy for intracranial malignancies. The data reported here also have potential clinical implications for the evaluation of a risk/benefit ratio for radiotherapy in patients with benign neurosurgical diseases or children undergoing prophylactic treatment of the central nervous system.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 58-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-Jung Chen ◽  
Cheng-Loong Liang ◽  
Kang Lu

Object. Transthoracic endoscopic T2–3 sympathectomy is currently the treatment of choice for palmar hyperhidrosis. Compensatory sweating of the face, trunk, thigh, and sole of the foot was found in more than 50% of patients who underwent this procedure. The authors conducted this study to investigate the associated intraoperative changes in plantar skin temperature and postoperative plantar sweating. Methods. One hundred patients with palmar hyperhidrosis underwent bilateral transthoracic endoscopic T2–3 sympathectomy. There were 60 female and 40 male patients who ranged in age from 13 to 40 years (mean age 21.6 years). Characteristics studied included changes in palmar and plantar skin temperature measured intraoperatively, as well as pre- and postoperative changes in plantar sweating and sympathetic skin responses (SSRs). In 59 patients (59%) elevation of plantar temperature was demonstrated at the end of the surgical procedure. In this group, plantar sweating was found to be exacerbated in three patients (5%); plantar sweating was improved in 52 patients (88.1%); and no change was demonstrated in four patients (6.8%). In the other group of patients in whom no temperature change occurred, increased plantar sweating was demonstrated in three patients (7.3%); plantar sweating was improved in 20 patients (48.8%); and no change was shown in 18 patients (43.9%). The difference between temperature and sweating change was significant (p = 0.001). Compared with the presympathectomy rate, the rate of absent SSR also significantly increased after sympathectomy: from 20 to 76% after electrical stimulation and 36 to 64% after deep inspiration stimulation, respectively (p < 0.05). Conclusions. In contrast to compensatory sweating in other parts of the body after T2–3 sympathetomy, improvement in plantar sweating was shown in 72% and worsened symptoms in 6% of patients. The intraoperative plantar skin temperature change and perioperative SSR demonstrated a correlation between these changes.


1974 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 494-498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louis Wener ◽  
Giovanni Di Chiro ◽  
Robert A. Mendelsohn

✓ An external carotid-cavernous fistula diagnosed by serial common carotid arteriography is reported. The diagnosis was reached on the basis of the difference in time between filling of the distal internal and external carotid arteries and the visualization of the fistula.


2002 ◽  
Vol 97 (6) ◽  
pp. 1378-1389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell R. Lonser ◽  
Stuart Walbridge ◽  
Alexander O. Vortmeyer ◽  
Svetlana D. Pack ◽  
Tung T. Nguyen ◽  
...  

Object. To determine the acute and long-term effects of a therapeutic dose of brain radiation in a primate model, the authors studied the clinical, laboratory, neuroimaging, molecular, and histological outcomes in rhesus monkeys that had received fractionated whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT). Methods. Twelve 3-year-old male primates (Macaca mulatta) underwent fractionated WBRT (350 cGy for 5 days/week for 2 weeks, total dose 3500 cGy). Animals were followed clinically and with laboratory studies and serial magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. They were killed when they developed medical problems or neurological symptoms, lesions appeared on MR imaging, or at study completion. Gross, histological, and molecular analyses were then performed. Nine (82%) of 11 animals that underwent long-term follow up (> 2.5 years) developed neurological symptoms and/or enhancing lesions on MR imaging, which were defined as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), 2.9 to 8.3 years after radiation therapy. The GBMs were categorized as either unifocal (three) or multifocal (six), and were located in the supratentorial (six), infratentorial (two), or both (one) cranial regions. Histological examination revealed distant, noncontiguous tumor invasion within the white matter of all nine animals harboring GBMs. Novel interspecies comparative genomic hybridization (three animals) uniformly showed deletions in the GBMs that corresponded to chromosome 9 in humans. Conclusions. The high rate of GBM formation (82%) following a therapeutic dose of WBRT in nonhuman primates indicates that radioinduction of these neoplasms as a late complication of this therapy may occur more frequently than is currently recognized in human patients. The development of these tumors while monitoring the monkeys' conditions with clinical and serial MR imaging studies, and access to the tumor and the entire brain for histological and molecular analyses offers an opportunity to gather unique insights into the nature and development of GBMs.


1989 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 642-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark N. Hadley ◽  
Curtis A. Dickman ◽  
Carol M. Browner ◽  
Volker K. H. Sonntag

✓ Eighteen percent of acute cervical spine fractures involve the C-2 vertebra. The odontoid Type II fracture is the most common axis fracture and it is also the most difficult to treat. The degree of odontoid dislocation has been identified as the single most important fracture feature that helps separate those patients who have a high likelihood of healing with nonoperative therapy from those who are likely to fail nonoperative therapy and should be offered early surgical stabilization. The difference is statistically significant (p < 0.001, x2 = 30.20). The present series includes 229 patients with acute axis fractures. Follow-up data were available in 92% of these patients, for a median duration of 4 years 9 months. Treatment guidelines and results are offered for each subtype of axis fracture based on this experience.


2005 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 543-546 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mustafa Aziz Hatiboglu ◽  
Murat Cosar ◽  
A. Celal Iplikcioglu ◽  
Deniz Ozcan

✓ Adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC) of the Bartholin gland is an uncommon malignant gynecological tumor. Brain metastasis from a malignant gynecological lesion is encountered rarely and the prognosis for this type of metastasis is poor. Different treatment protocols, such as resection, stereotactic radiosurgery, whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT), and chemotherapy, are available and should be considered on an individual basis. In this article, the authors report a case of brain metastasis from an ACC of the Bartholin gland that was treated by resection and WBRT. A review of the literature did not reveal any other such case.


1991 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bertrand C. Liang ◽  
Allan F. Thornton ◽  
Howard M. Sandler ◽  
Harry S. Greenberg

✓ Hochberg and Pruitt have reported glioblastomas recurring within 2 cm of the primary site in 90% of patients after whole-brain radiation therapy. They suggested that computerized tomography (CT) scan accuracy would permit smaller radiation fields. A treatment protocol with smaller-field focal brain irradiation following surgical resection is reported. The first 4500 cGy of radiation is focused to within a 3-cm margin around the tumor, with a 1500-cGy boost within a 1.5-cm margin. Forty-two patients with grade III or IV astrocytoma, treated with focal brain radiation therapy were reviewed retrospectively to assess patterns of tumor recurrence. Thirty patients received intra-arterial bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR) radiosensitization with focal brain radiation therapy, and 12 patients underwent conventional focal brain radiation therapy. Tumor margin was defined on preoperative and recurrence CT scans as the contrast-enhanced area; these were traced on acetate templates and compared with each other and with the actual scans. In all 42 patients, the lesion recurred within a 2-cm margin of the original tumor. Four patients had two recurrent areas: the second area was within the 2-cm margin in two, and outside this margin in two. These results are similar to those of Hochberg and Pruitt. It is suggested that focal irradiation is now the optimal treatment for malignant astrocytoma. Since recurrences continue to be within the irradiated volumes, it appears that higher focal doses of radiation are appropriate for clinical treatment trials of malignant astrocytomas.


2002 ◽  
Vol 96 (4) ◽  
pp. 742-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert P. Bentley ◽  
Spyros Sgouros ◽  
Kalyan Natarajan ◽  
M. Stephen Dover ◽  
Anthony D. Hockley

Object. The aim of this study was to construct a model of changes in orbital volume that occur throughout childhood from the age of 1 month to 15 years, which could be used for comparative studies of disease states affecting orbital growth. Methods. Using the procedure of segmentation on magnetic resonance images obtained in 67 healthy children, orbital volume was measured and plotted against age. During the first few months of life left orbital volume is on average 15 cm3 in male and 13 cm3 in female infants; these volumes increase to 26 cm3 and 24 cm3, respectively, by the time the child reaches 15 years of age. During the first few months of life right orbital volume is on average 16 cm3 in male and 13 cm3 in female infants; these volumes increase to 27 cm3 and 25 cm3, respectively, by the time the child is 15 years old. This represents an overall increase in orbital volume by a factor of 1.7 in boys and 1.8 in girls. By the time the child has reached 5 years of age, the orbital volume for both right and left sides has reached on average 77% of the volume seen at 15 years in both sexes. The differences between the two sides are not statistically significant for either sex. The change in orbital volume that is associated with age in general displays a linear pattern. Throughout childhood, orbital volumes are larger in boys than in girls, but share a similar growth pattern. The difference between the two sexes tends toward statistical significance during the first 5 years of life (left orbit p = 0.1, right orbit p = 0.04). Conclusions. During early childhood, orbital volume increases in a linear fashion, achieving a significant proportion of its final growth by the time the child is 5 years old.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document