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Systemic heparinization has become the mainstay anticoagulant in neurointerventional procedures to prevent thromboembolic complications. Its benefit during endovascular therapy for acute stroke however has not been established. The purpose of this study is to retrospectively evaluate the impact of heparin during endovascular therapy for acute ischemic stroke (AIS).We performed a retrospective review of our interventional stroke database from February 2009 to September 2012 for patients with anterior circulation AIS with ICA-T or MCA M1 occlusions. 76 patients were categorized into 2 groups: intraprocedural vs. no intraprocedural heparin use. Outcomes measured included reperfusion (modified TICI scale), cerebral hemorrhages (ECASS criteria), and 90-day outcomes (modified Rankin scale).Baseline characteristics were similar between heparin and non-heparin treated patients, except for presence of CAD (6% vs. 30%, p=0.01), Coumadin (0% vs. 11%, p=0.04), and NIHSS (15.6±5.0 vs. 18.1±4.6, p=0.03). There was a nonsignificantly higher reperfusion rate achieved in heparin-treated patients compared to non heparin-treated patients (63% vs. 50%, p=0.35). Patients who received heparin had significantly lower rates of hemorrhage (p=0.02). Multivariate logistic regression for good outcome revealed only age (OR 0.86; 95% CI 0.78-0.95; p0.01), ASPECTS (OR 2.14; 95% CI 1.01-4.50; p=0.04), and successful reperfusion (OR 19.25; 95% CI 2.37-155.95; p0.01) independently associated with mRS 0-2 at 90 days.The use of intraprocedural heparin in patients with AIS from MCA M1 or ICA-T occlusion was found safe. The impact of heparinization is unclear and warrants further evaluation.

Introduction Intracranial Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease caused by the proliferation and dissemination of antigen presenting cells in the skin. Few cases have been reported on to date and there is a lack of consensus on the most effective means of diagnosis and treatment of these lesions. This paper will serve as a review of this malady. Methods MeSH database search was performed to include all relevant studies on intracranial LCH. Results A total of 146 studies with 192 patients were included in our review. Men were more commonly affected and the average age of diagnosis was 31.6 and 28.0 in men and women respectively. CT and MRI were the most common imaging modalities. The majority of the case reports performed biopsies and the most common lesion location was the hypothalamus-pituitary axis. All studies used surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy or combination therapy as means of treatment, with resection plus chemotherapy being the most successful. 74 cases were successful in preventing recurrence. Conclusion LCH rarely affects the brain as primary or secondary focus. Biopsy is required for precise diagnosis and exclusion of other intracranial lesions. There is no standard treatment for LCH of the central nervous system, but this review may serve as a guide to chronicle previous efficacious therapeutics strategies.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and deadly form of brain tumor. After standard treatment of resection, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy, the 5-year survival is5%. In recent years, research has uncovered several potential targets within the Notch signaling pathway, which may lead to improved patient outcomes.A literature search was performed for articles containing the terms "Glioblastoma" and "Receptors, Notch" between 2003 and July 2015. Of the 62 articles retrieved, 46 met our criteria and were included in our review. Nine articles were identified from other sources and were subsequently included, leaving 55 articles reviewed.Of the 55 articles reviewed, 47 used established human GBM cell lines. Seventeen articles used human GBM surgical samples. Forty-five of 48 articles that assessed Notch activity showed increased expression in GBM cell lines. Targeting the Notch pathway was carried out through Notch knockdown and overexpression and targeting δ-like ligand, Jagged, γ-secretase, ADAM10, ADAM17, and Mastermindlike protein 1. Arsenic trioxide, microRNAs, and several other compounds were shown to have an effect on the Notch pathway in GBM. Notch activity in GBM was also shown to be associated with hypoxia and certain cancer-related molecular pathways such as PI3K/AKT/mTOR and ERK/MAPK. Most articles concluded that Notch activity amplifies malignant characteristics in GBM and targeting this pathway can bring about amelioration of these effects.Recent literature suggests targeting the Notch pathway has great potential for future therapies for GBM.