Resolution of central pain after embolization of an arteriovenous malformation

1999 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 575-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toru Fukuhara ◽  
Guy M. McKhann ◽  
Paul Santiago ◽  
Joseph M. Eskridge ◽  
John D. Loeser ◽  
...  

✓ The authors describe a patient with right-sided central pain resulting from a left parietal arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The AVM was treated with staged embolization and stereotactic radiosurgery, and its obliteration was documented on follow-up angiographic studies. Surprisingly, the patient noted complete resolution of her pain syndrome after embolization, which is an extremely rare result. Central pain and its proposed mechanisms are discussed.

2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 1058-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Friedman ◽  
Bruce E. Pollock ◽  
Douglas A. Nichols

✓ This 61-year-old man with a right-sided tentorial dural arteriovenous fistula (DAVF) was initially treated with staged stereotactic radiosurgery and transarterial embolization. Results of follow-up cerebral angiography performed 4 years later demonstrated complete obliteration of the dAVF and development of a previously undetected cerebellar arteriovenous malformation (AVM). The newly diagnosed AVM was treated with repeated stereotactic radiosurgery. This represents the first reported case of the development of a cerebral AVM documented in an adult by serial angiography.


1996 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 1013-1019 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. Mendenhall ◽  
William A. Friedman ◽  
John M. Buatti ◽  
Francis J. Bova

✓ In this paper the authors evaluate the results of linear accelerator (LINAC)—based stereotactic radiosurgery for acoustic schwannomas. Fifty-six patients underwent LINAC-based stereotactic radiosurgery for acoustic schwannomas at the University of Florida between July 1988 and November 1994. Each patient was followed for a minimum of 1 year or until death; no patient was lost to follow up. One or more follow-up magnetic resonance images or computerized tomography scans were obtained in 52 of the 56 patients. Doses ranged between 10 and 22.5 Gy with 69.6% of patients receiving 12.5 to 15 Gy. Thirty-eight patients (68%) were treated with one isocenter and the dose was specified to the 80% isodose line in 71% of patients. Fifty-five patients (98%) achieved local control after treatment. The 5-year actuarial local control rate was 95%. At the time of analysis, 48 patients were alive and free of disease, seven had died of intercurrent disease, and one was alive with disease. Complications developed in 13 patients (23%). The likelihood of complications was related to the dose and treatment volume: 10 to 12.5 Gy to all volumes, three (13%) of 23 patients; 15 to 17.5 Gy to 5.5 cm3 or less, two (9%) of 23 patients; 15 to 17.5 Gy to more than 5.5 cm3, five (71%) of seven patients; and 20 to 22.5 Gy to all volumes, three (100%) of three patients. Linear accelerator—based stereotactic radiosurgery results in a high rate of local control at 5 years. The risk of complications is related to the dose and treatment volume.


1981 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-419 ◽  
Author(s):  
Blaine S. Nashold ◽  
Elizabeth Bullitt

✓ Thirteen patients with intractable long-term pain following spinal cord injury and paraplegia were treated with dorsal root entry zone lesions placed at the level just above the transection. Pain relief of 50% or more was achieved in 11 of the 13 patients, with follow-up periods ranging from 5 to 38 months. A previous report showed that central pain from brachial plexus avulsion could be relieved by dorsal root entry zone lesions, and this technique has been extended to the central pain phenomena associated with spinal trauma and paraplegia.


1998 ◽  
Vol 88 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus A. Leber ◽  
Jutta Berglöff ◽  
Gerhard Pendl

As the number of patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery increases, it becomes particularly important to define with precision adverse effects on distinct structures of the nervous system. Object. This study was designed to assess the dose—response tolerance of the visual pathways and cranial nerves after exposure of the cavernous sinus to radiation. Methods. A total of 66 sites in the visual system and 210 cranial nerves of the middle cranial fossa were investigated in 50 patients who had undergone gamma knife treatment for benign skull base tumors. The mean follow-up period was 40 months (range 24–60 months). Follow-up examinations consisted of neurological, neuroradiological, and neuroophthalmological evaluations. The actuarial incidence of optic neuropathy was zero for patients who received a radiation dose of less than 10 Gy, 26.7% for patients receiving a dose in the range of 10 to less than 15 Gy, and 77.8% for those who received doses of 15 Gy or more (p < 0.0001). Previously impaired vision improved in 25.8% and was unchanged in 51.5% of patients. No sign of neuropathy was seen in patients whose cranial nerves of the cavernous sinus received radiation doses of between 5 and 30 Gy. Because tumor control appeared to have been achieved in 98% of the patients, the deterioration in visual function cannot be attributed to tumor progression. Conclusions. The structures of the visual pathways (the optic nerve, chiasm, and tract) exhibit a much higher sensitivity to single-fraction radiation than other cranial nerves, and their particular dose—response characteristics can be defined. In contrast, the oculomotor and trigeminal nerves have a much higher dose tolerance.


2001 ◽  
Vol 94 (6) ◽  
pp. 886-891 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan A. Friedman ◽  
Bruce E. Pollock ◽  
Douglas A. Nichols ◽  
Deborah A. Gorman ◽  
Robert L. Foote ◽  
...  

Object. Most dural arteriovenous fistulas (DAVFs) of the transverse and sigmoid sinuses do not have angiographically demonstrated features associated with intracranial hemorrhage and, therefore, may be treated nonsurgically. The authors report their experience using a staged combination of radiosurgery and transarterial embolization for treating DAVFs involving the transverse and sigmoid sinuses. Methods. Between 1991 and 1998, 25 patients with DAVFs of the transverse and/or sigmoid sinuses were treated using stereotactic radiosurgery; 22 of these patients also underwent transarterial embolization. Two patients were lost to follow-up review. Clinical data, angiographic findings, and follow-up records for the remaining 23 patients were collected prospectively. The mean duration of clinical follow up after radiosurgery was 50 months (range 20–99 months). The 18 women and five men included in this series had a mean age of 57 years (range 33–79 years). Twenty-two (96%) of 23 patients presented with pulsatile tinnitus as the primary symptom; two patients had experienced an earlier intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Cognard classifications of the DAVFs included the following: I in 12 patients (52%), IIa in seven patients (30%), and III in four patients (17%). After treatment, symptoms resolved (20 patients) or improved significantly (two patients) in 96% of patients. One patient was clinically unchanged. No patient sustained an ICH or irradiation-related complication during the follow-up period. Seventeen patients underwent follow-up angiographic studies at a mean of 21 months after radiosurgery (range 11–38 months). Total or near-total obliteration (> 90%) was seen in 11 patients (65%), and more than a 50% reduction in six patients (35%). Two patients experienced recurrent tinnitus and underwent repeated radiosurgery and embolization at 21 and 38 months, respectively, after the first procedure. Conclusions. A staged combination of radiosurgery and transarterial embolization provides excellent symptom relief and a good angiographically verified cure rate for patients harboring low-risk DAVFs of the transverse and sigmoid sinuses. This combined approach is a safe and effective treatment strategy for patients without angiographically determined risk factors for hemorrhage and for elderly patients with significant comorbidities.


1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Tognetti ◽  
Alvaro Andreoli ◽  
Anna Cuscini ◽  
Claudio Testa

✓ The reduction of an intracranial arteriovenous malformation (AVM) by conventional radiation therapy is described in a patient who refused surgery. The 2-year follow-up angiogram documented nearly complete obliteration of the nidus of the AVM, accompanied by progressive narrowing of the arteries supplying the lesion. The scanty literature dealing with this form of treatment is summarized.


2000 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 873-875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angelo Franzini ◽  
Paolo Ferroli ◽  
Domenico Servello ◽  
Giovanni Broggi

✓ The authors describe a case of complete recovery from the so-called “thalamic hand” syndrome following chronic motor cortex stimulation in a 64-year-old man suffering from poststroke thalamic central pain. As of the 2-year follow-up examination, the patient's dystonia and pain are still controlled by electrical stimulation.It is speculated that a common mechanism in which the thalamocortical circuit loops are rendered out of balance may sustain hand dystonia and central pain in this case of thalamic syndrome. To the authors' knowledge this is the first reported case of its kind.


2004 ◽  
Vol 101 (Supplement3) ◽  
pp. 435-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio A. F. De Salles ◽  
Alessandra G. Pedroso ◽  
Paul Medin ◽  
Nzhde Agazaryan ◽  
Timothy Solberg ◽  
...  

Object. Spinal radiosurgery was implemented to improve quality of life (QOL) in patients with malignancies. It may also be applicable to the treatment of benign lesions. Methods. Between July 2002 and January 2004, 14 patients harboring 22 lesions were treated; 13 received single-dose stereotactic radiosurgery. Six were women. The mean age was 60.2 years (range 48–82 years). There were 11 metastases, two neurofibromas, and one meningioma. Six lesions were cervical, 10 thoracic, and six lumbar. Ten patients suffered pain, three paresthesias, two weakness, and three were asymptomatic. Seven patients underwent spinal surgery, with four receiving instrumentation. Twelve patients underwent conventional irradiation before stereotactic radiosurgery/stereotactic radiotherapy. A mean dose of 12 ± 2.7 Gy (range 8–21 Gy) was prescribed to the 91% isodose line (range 85–97%). The mean tumor volume was 25 ± 27.1 ml (range 0.75–91.8 ml). Treatment was planned using intensity-modulated radiosurgery (IMRS) fields in 15 cases, dynamic arcs in five, and conformal beams in two. The mean follow-up period was 6.1 ± 3.9 months (range 1–16 months). Three patients became pain free and four experienced considerable relief. Weakness improved in the two patients with this preoperative symptom and the asymptomatic patients remained so. Four lesions decreased in size, five remained stable, seven progressed, and six were not followed up (two patients died before follow up). Four patients in all died, three of systemic disease and one of thoracic lesion progression. No complications due to shaped beam and IMRS/intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) techniques were observed. Conclusions. Shaped beam and IMRS/IMRT involving the Novalis system may delay neurological deterioration, improving QOL. The lack of complication suggests that higher doses can be delivered to improve the control rate in patients with metastases.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (5) ◽  
pp. 879-882 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Tyler-Kabara ◽  
Douglas Kondziolka ◽  
John C. Flickinger ◽  
L. Dade Lunsford

✓ The purpose of this report was to review the results of stereotactic radiosurgery in the management of patients with residual neurocytomas after initial resection or biopsy procedures. Four patients underwent stereotactic radiosurgery for histologically proven neurocytoma. Clinical and imaging studies were performed to evaluate the response to treatment. Radiosurgery was performed to deliver doses to the tumor margin of 14, 15, 16, and 20 Gy, depending on tumor volume and proximity to critical adjacent structures. More than 3 years later, imaging studies revealed significant reductions in tumor size. No new neurological deficits were identified at 53, 50, 42, and 38 months of follow up. The authors' initial experience shows that stereotactic radiosurgery appears to be an effective treatment for neurocytoma.


1974 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 244-247
Author(s):  
Ivan I. Ribaric

✓ The author reports the successful surgical treatment of an arteriovenous malformation of the basal ganglia. Follow-up angiography verified that the single supplying artery had been clipped. The operative approach to the malformation is discussed.


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