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Endovascular treatment has become a major tool for managing large vessel occlusion, and its applications in cancer associated thrombosis (CAT) is increasing. Histopathological diagnosis of the collected clots aids in understanding the pathology of cerebral infarction, and enables investigation of the relationship between the primary cancer and cerebral infarction if the primary cancer cells are present. We report one lung cancer patient who achieved effective recanalization by mechanical thrombectomy (MT) for acute internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion. We diagnosed the cause of occlusion as cardiac metastasis from lung cancer based on transthoracic echocardiography and histopathological diagnosis of collected clots. In MT for large vessel occlusion induced by CAT, histopathological diagnosis of the collected clots is useful for understanding the pathology of cerebral infarction.

OBJECTIVEThe presence of disproportionately enlarged subarachnoid space hydrocephalus (DESH) on brain imaging is a recognized finding of idiopathic normal pressure hydrocephalus (iNPH), but the features of DESH can vary across patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of MRI-based DESH scoring for predicting prognosis after surgery.METHODSIn this single-center, retrospective cohort study, the DESH score was determined by consensus between a group of neurosurgeons, neurologists, and a neuroradiologist based on the preoperative MRI findings of the patients with suspected iNPH. The DESH score was composed of the following 5 items, each scored from 0 to 2 (maximum score 10 points): ventriculomegaly, dilated sylvian fissures, tight high convexity, acute callosal angle, and focal sulcal dilation. The association between the DESH score and improvement of the scores on the modified Rankin Scale (mRS), iNPH Grading Scale (iNPHGS), Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE), Trail Making Test-A (TMT-A), and Timed 3-Meter Up and Go Test (TUG-t) was examined. The primary end point was improvement in the mRS score at 1 year after surgery, and the secondary outcome measures were the iNPHGS, MMSE, TMT-A, and TUG-t scores at 1 year after surgery. Improvement was determined as improvement of 1 or more levels on mRS, ≥ 1 point on iNPHGS, ≥ 3 points on MMSE, a decrease of > 30% on TMT-A, and a decrease of > 10% on TUG-t.RESULTSThe mean DESH score for the 50 patients (mean age 77.6 ± 5.9 years) reviewed in this study was 5.58 ± 2.01. The mean rate of change in the mRS score was −0.50 ± 0.93, indicating an inverse correlation between the DESH score and rate of change in the mRS score (r = −0.749). Patients who showed no improvement in mRS score tended to have a low DESH score as well as low preoperative MMSE and TMT-A scores. There were no differences in the areas of deep white matter hyperintensity and periventricular hyperintensity on the images between patients with and without an improved mRS score (15.6% vs 16.7%, respectively; p = 1.000). The DESH score did differ significantly between patients with and without improved scores on the iNPHGS (6.39 ± 1.76 vs 4.26 ± 1.69, respectively; p < 0.001), MMSE (6.63 ± 1.82 vs 5.09 ± 1.93; p = 0.010), TMT-A (6.32 ± 1.97 seconds vs 5.13 ± 1.93 seconds; p = 0.042), and TUG-t (6.48 ± 1.81 seconds vs 4.33 ± 1.59 seconds; p < 0.001).CONCLUSIONSMRI-based DESH scoring is useful for the prediction of neurological improvement and prognosis after surgery for iNPH.

In cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST), venous sinus occlusion increases venous pressure and disrupts venous return, resulting in progression to venous infarction and venous hemorrhage, with poor neurologic outcome. Therefore, early recanalization of the major venous sinus is critical. Anticoagulant therapy with continuous intravenous infusion of heparin and subsequent oral anticoagulant administration is the recommended first line of treatment for CVST. Some large clinical trials for venous thromboembolism (VTE) have shown that direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) is non-inferior to the standard therapy with heparin or warfarin and causes less bleeding. In contrast, there are only a few reports on CVST treatment with DOAC such as Dabigatran, Rivaroxaban and Edoxaban describing good efficacy and safety. And there is one randomized clinical trial on DOAC treatment for CVST after acute phase. We report a successfully treated case of CVST in acute phase with progressive neurologic symptoms that achieved early recanalization of the obstructed sinus by an early switch from continuous intravenous infusion of heparin to oral Edoxaban.

Pineal parenchymal tumor of intermediate differentiation (PPTID) is rare. The WHO first classified PPTID in 2000 as a pineal parenchymal tumor (PPT) with an intermediate prognosis between pineocytoma (PC) and pineoblastoma (PB). It is considered an intermediate-grade tumor and divided into WHO grade II or III.The number of available reports about PPTID is presently limited, and the appropriate management for this tumor has not yet been determined.The authors report a rare case of PC in a 63-year-old woman who presented with lower-extremity weakness and gait disturbance. A pineal mass lesion was detected on MRI. A diagnosis of PC was established after microsurgical gross-total tumor resection, and the patient received no adjuvant therapy after surgery. Two years after surgery, a partial recurrence was recognized and Gamma Knife radiosurgery was performed. Fours years later, the patient developed diffuse leptomeningeal dissemination. She was successfully treated with craniospinal irradiation. Leptomeningeal dissemination may develop 6 years after the initial diagnosis of PC. A histopathological study of the recurrent tumor revealed a malignant change from PC to PPTID.The present case shows the importance of long-term follow-up of patients with PPTs following resection and the efficacy of craniospinal irradiation in the treatment of leptomeningeal dissemination.

The initial treatment of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) is intravenous heparin, however, a novel endovascular technique combining a stent retriever and an aspiration catheter has achieved rapid, safe, and effective revascularization. A 21-year-old man was transferred to our emergency department and diagnosed with CVST. Because of venous congestion due to massive thrombosis and clinical deterioration, endovascular intervention was opted for. A combination technique using a stent device (Solitaire) and a direct aspiration catheter (Penumbra) was used, which achieved recanalization with good anterograde venous flow. The combination therapy is safe and effective for CVST because of the favourable prognosis and low risk of complications reported in all 4 patients to date. Pathological examination of clots suggested that venous vasculitis is implicated in thrombus formation, fever, and raised white blood cell and C-reactive protein counts seen in CVST.

Background Segmental arterial mediolysis (SAM) is not yet well known in the neurosurgical field, even though it has become an increasingly recognized pathology in arterial dissection. Case Description A case of SAM presented as subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) due to a dissecting aneurysm of the left intracranial vertebral artery (VA), which extended from the proximal VA union to the distal portion of the left posterior inferior cerebellar artery. The lesion was successfully embolized by an endovascular technique. However, subsequent intraperitoneal hemorrhage due to rupture of a fusiform aneurysm of the middle colic artery prompted surgical treatments. The features of the extirpated visceral vascular lesion were compatible with the diagnosis of SAM based on histopathologic examinations. Conclusions It is very important that SAM is recognized as a systemic disease that affects the central nervous system, visceral arteries, and coronary arteries. The possibility of SAM should always be considered, particularly in patients with ruptured VA dissection—which is nowadays treated by endovascular techniques—since concomitantly involved visceral arteries may cause unexpected hemorrhagic complications other than SAH.