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This article compares the presentation and outcomes of surgically treated acromegaly in New Zealand (NZ) and the United States (US) to evaluate the impact of health care access on tumor size and associated comorbidities. The study found that the average size of GH-secreting pituitary tumors at presentation did not significantly differ between the two health care systems. Additionally, there were no significant differences in age, gender distribution, or the occurrence of cardiovascular and metabolic comorbidities. However, the study acknowledges the limitations of a small sample size and suggests further research to compare the presentation of functioning and nonfunctioning tumors across different health care systems. [Extracted from the article]

This article, published in the Journal of Neurological Surgery, explores the use of a random forest algorithm to predict functional outcomes following microvascular decompression (MVD) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN). TN is a painful disorder caused by blood vessel compression, and MVD is considered the most effective treatment. The study reviewed 225 cases of TN and trained a random forest algorithm to predict postoperative pain outcomes. The algorithm demonstrated 88% accuracy in predicting average postoperative pain, with sleep and mood found to be important predictors. The study highlights the potential of machine learning in identifying meaningful associations for rare conditions like TN. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the impact of patient demographics and socioeconomic status on surgical outcomes in endonasal endoscopic pituitary surgery. The study reviewed 187 patients who underwent this surgery between 2017 and 2019. The findings revealed that male patients were more likely to have larger tumors and higher comorbidity scores, while Hispanic patients had smaller tumors and lower comorbidity scores. Black patients experienced longer hospital stays, higher costs, and higher rates of readmission, regardless of income. These results suggest that racial health disparities are not solely due to socioeconomic status and emphasize the importance of considering social determinants of health in clinical practice. [Extracted from the article]