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Background: Previous studies compared outcomes of intracranial meningioma surgery in octogenarians with outcomes in younger patients without accounting for different tumor locations and sizes. The aim of the current study was to evaluate outcomes of intracranial meningioma surgery in octogenarians taking into account patient preoperative status and comorbidities as well as tumor properties., Methods: The study cohort included all octogenarian patients who underwent elective craniotomies for intracranial meningiomas during 2008-2020 and patients <70 years old in the same time period matched for tumor size, tumor location, and preoperative Karnofsky scale score. Each group comprised 31 patients. Postoperative complications were divided into systemic, neurological, and wound related. Mortality and long-term complications were evaluated at 6-month follow-up., Results: Mean age of patients was 82.6 ± 2.6 years for the study group and 57.9 ± 9.9 years for the control group (P < 0.0001). Two octogenarians (6.5%) died within 30 days after elective craniotomy compared with none in the younger group (P = 0.49). Mortality rates at 6 months were comparable between the 2 groups (12.9% vs. 3.2%, P = 0.35). There was no significant difference in overall postoperative complications between the octogenarian and control groups (77.4% vs. 74.2%, P = 0.77). American Society of Anesthesiologists score was the single predictor for any postoperative complications (odds ratio = 2.219, 95% confidence interval 1.024-4.811, P = 0.04)., Conclusions: This study found no excess mortality or morbidity in octogenarians compared with younger patients. The American Society of Anesthesiologists score rather than age is a significant risk factor for overall morbidity and mortality following intracranial meningioma surgery in octogenarians., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: In type 1 diabetes (T1D), closed-loop systems provide excellent overnight fasting blood glucose control by adjusting the insulin infusion rate based on corresponding changes in sensor glucose levels. In patients on multiple daily insulin (MDI) injections, such control in overnight glucose levels has not been possible due to the inability to alter the absorption rate of long-acting insulin after injection. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that increases/decreases of fasting glucose levels could be achieved by cooling/warming the skin around the injection site, which would result in lower/higher Glargine absorption rates from its subcutaneous depot., Methods: Fourteen subjects with T1D (4 females; age 39.6 ± 16.7 years, HbA1c 7.8 ± 1.1%, BMI 25.4 ± 2.8 kg/m 2 ) on MDI therapy underwent fasting pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies that started at ~8 am and lasted 240 min on 3 separate days in random order: a control day without warming or cooling of the injection site and two experimental days, one day with injection site warming and the other with cooling., Results: Cooling the skin around the glargine injection site reduced insulin concentrations by >40% ( P < .01 versus the warming study, P = .21 versus the control study), accompanied by a 55 mg/dL increase in serum glucose ( P < .01 versus the control study). Conversely, skin warming prevented the fall in serum insulin ( P = .2 versus the control study; P < .01 versus the cooling study), resulting in a 40 mg/dL reduction in serum glucose ( P < .001 versus the cooling study, P = .11 versus the control study)., Conclusions: This proof of concept study has shown that cooling and warming the skin around the injection site provides a means to decrease and increase the rate of absorption and action of insulin glargine from its subcutaneous depot.

Introduction: Radiation necrosis (RN) and pseudoprogression are known as postradiation treatment effects and may simulate tumor progression. The disease course of glioblastoma patients who had developed RN and the impact of resecting RN on survival have not been evaluated. This study examines the clinical course of patients considered candidates for repeat surgery for a recurring brain mass proven to be RN and compared these with patients who had true tumor recurrence at surgery., Methods: Of 159 patients with glioblastoma who were reoperated on because of a presumed recurrent tumor requiring repeat surgery, 18 had RN as the major component of the resected mass. The characteristics and outcome of these 18 patients were retrospectively analyzed and compared with patients in whom active and bulky tumor was found during surgery., Results: Radiation necrosis occurred significantly earlier than true tumor recurrence. Patients with RN harbored larger lesions and were significantly more symptomatic before the second surgery. Most patients with RN who underwent GTR of the lesion in the second operation experienced faster resolution of the surrounding edema compared with patients who underwent STR or biopsy only. There was no significant difference in survival between the 2 groups., Conclusions: These data provide an opportunity to examine the clinical course of a selected group of patients with histologically verified RN. Although RN is associated with more severe neurologic symptoms that improve after surgery, its occurrence or surgical removal carries no survival advantage compared with patients who undergo a repeat operation for true tumor recurrence., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

OBJECT The number of patients with spinal tumors is rapidly increasing; spinal metastases develop in more than 30% of cancer patients during the course of their illness. Such lesions can significantly decrease quality of life, often necessitating treatment. Stereotactic radiosurgery has effectively achieved local control and symptomatic relief for these patients. The authors determined prognostic factors that predicted pain palliation and report overall institutional outcomes after spine stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT). METHODS Records of patients who had undergone treatment with SBRT for either primary spinal tumors or spinal metastases from June 2008 through June 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. Data were collected at the initial visit just before treatment and at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up visits. Collected clinical data included Karnofsky Performance Scale scores, pain status, presence of neurological deficits, and prior radiation exposure at the level of interest. Radiation treatment plan parameters (dose, fractionation, and target coverage) were recorded. To determine the initial extent of epidural spinal cord compression (ESCC), the authors retrospectively reviewed MR images, assessed spinal instability according to the Bilsky scale, and evaluated lesion progression after treatment. RESULTS The study included 99 patients (mean age 60.4 years). The median survival time was 9.1 months (95% CI 6.9-17.2 months). Significant decreases in the proportion of patients reporting pain were observed at 3 months (p < 0.0001), 6 months (p = 0.0002), and 12 months (p = 0.0019) after treatment. Significant decreases in the number of patients reporting pain were also observed at the last follow-up visit (p = 0.00020) (median follow-up time 6.1 months, range 1.0-56.6 months). Univariate analyses revealed that significant predictors of persistent pain after intervention were initial ESCC grade, stratified by a Bilsky grade of 1c (p = 0.0058); initial American Spinal Injury Association grade of D (p = 0.011); initial Karnofsky Performance Scale score, stratified by a score of 80 (p = 0.002); the presence of multiple treated lesions (p = 0.044); and prior radiation at the site of interest (p < 0.0001). However, when multivariate analyses were performed on all variables with p values less than 0.05, the only predictor of pain at last follow-up visit was a prior history of radiation at the site of interest (p = 0.0038), although initial ESCC grade trended toward significance (p = 0.073). Using pain outcomes at 3 months, at this follow-up time point, pain could be predicted by receipt of radiation above a threshold biologically effective dose of 66.7 Gy. CONCLUSIONS Pain palliation occurs as early as 3 months after treatment; significant differences in pain reporting are also observed at 6 and 12 months. Pain palliation is limited for patients with spinal tumors with epidural extension that deforms the cord and for patients who have previously received radiation to the same site. Further investigation into the optimal dose and fractionation schedule are needed, but improved outcomes were observed in patients who received radiation at a biologically effective dose (with an a/b of 3.0) of 66.7 Gy or higher.

Background: At present, there is no general agreement for the best approach to parasagittal meningiomas. Invasion of the superior sagittal sinus is frequent and responsible for relatively high recurrence rates following conventional microsurgery. Radiosurgery has the potential to treat less accessible portions of these tumors, and its application in this pathology is increasing either as a primary or a complementary therapeutic tool., Objective: To evaluate our results with LINAC radiosurgery for the treatment of parasagittal meningiomas., Methods: The patient cohort consisted of 74 patients treated for parasagittal meningioma by LINAC radiosurgery at our institution's Radiosurgery Unit during a 15-year period. Women accounted for 61% of patients. Thirteen patients (18%) underwent radiosurgery as the primary treatment for their meningioma., Results: The overall actuarial control rate was 90.6% at a mean follow-up of 49 months. In 17 patients (22.9%), there was no volumetric change. Fifty patients (67.5%) showed tumor shrinkage ranging from 15 to 80% of the original mass. In 7 patients, tumor recurrence was observed at an average time of 42.2 months after radiosurgery. All the patients with previously untreated tumors were controlled. Symptomatic transient peritumoral edema developed in 5 patients (6.7%) at a mean of 6.4 months after radiosurgery. Three patients complained of protracted headaches after treatment., Conclusions: LINAC radiosurgery was highly effective for the treatment of parasagittal meningiomas in this series. For small to medium-sized meningiomas with clear invasion of the sinusal lumen, radiosurgery is a reasonable option as a first-line treatment. Either alone or combined with conventional surgery, radiosurgery may improve the control rate for parasagittal meningiomas., (© 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Objective: Although digital subtraction angiography (DSA) remains the standard for intracranial aneurysm diagnosis, computed tomography angiography (CTA) is being increasingly used for this purpose. CTA has sensitivities and specificities reported as high as 97% and 100%, respectively. We analyzed a prospective cohort of 112 patients with 134 unruptured aneurysms who underwent community CTAs and confirmatory DSAs in a tertiary facility., Methods: Patients referred between 2007 and 2010 (mean age 53.2 years) with aneurysms identified by CTA underwent confirmatory DSA. The results were compared to determine accuracy of CTA in diagnosing aneurysms. Aneurysms diagnosed by CTA but ruled out by DSA or aneurysms missed by CTA but diagnosed by DSA were analyzed by size and location. Anatomical variants leading to false CTA positive results were noted., Results: CTA identified 132 aneurysms, of which 27 (20.5%) were false positives. Of these 27 aneurysms, 18 were completely negative but 9 had an anatomical structure that explained the CTA finding, 18 were either small (6-10 mm, 4%) or very small (1-5 mm, 63%), and 16 were located either in the anterior communicating artery (ACoA) region (33%) or at the basilar artery bifurcation (26%). Additionally, DSA identified 29 aneurysms (21.6%) missed by CTA. The most common locations for these were the cavernous segment of the internal carotid artery (24%) and the middle cerebral artery (24%), and all but 1 were very small (1-5 mm)., Conclusion: The CTA accuracy rate may be lower than previously reported. CTA is particularly inaccurate in aneurysms 5 mm or smaller and those in the ACoA region., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: As systemic therapies improve and patients live longer, concerns mount about the toxicity of whole-brain radiation therapy (WBRT) for treatment of brain metastases. Development of delayed white matter abnormalities indicative of leukoencephalopathy have been correlated with cognitive dysfunction. This study assesses the risk of imaging-defined leukoencephalopathy in patients whose management included WBRT in addition to stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). This risk is compared to patients who only underwent SRS., Methods: We retrospectively compared 37 patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent WBRT plus SRS to 31 patients who underwent only SRS. All patients survived at least 1 year after treatment. We graded the development of delayed white matter changes on magnetic resonance imaging using a scale to evaluate T(2) /FLAIR (fluid attenuated image recovery) images: grade 1 = little or no white matter hyperintensity; grade 2 = limited periventricular hyperintensity; and grade 3 = diffuse white matter hyperintensity., Results: Patients treated with WBRT and SRS had a significantly greater incidence of delayed white matter leukoencephalopathy compared to patients who underwent SRS alone (P < .001). On final imaging, 36 of 37 patients (97.3%) treated by WBRT developed leukoencephalopathy (25% with grade 2; 70.8% with grade 3). Only 1 patient treated with SRS alone developed leukoencephalopathy., Conclusions: Risk of leukoencephalopathy in patients treated with SRS alone for brain metastases was significantly lower than that for patients treated with WBRT plus SRS. A prospective study is necessary to correlate these findings with neurocognition and quality of life. These data supplement existing reports regarding the differential effects of WBRT and SRS on normal brain structure and function., (Copyright © 2012 American Cancer Society.)

Background: Somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring is used during intracranial aneurysm surgery to track the effects of anesthesia, surgical manipulation, and temporary clipping., Objective: To present the outcomes of 663 consecutive patients (691 cases) treated surgically for intracranial aneurysms who underwent intraoperative SSEP monitoring and to analyze the sensitivity and specificity of significant SSEP changes in predicting postoperative stroke., Methods: Of 691 surgeries analyzed, 403 (391 anterior circulation, 12 posterior circulation) were unruptured aneurysms and 288 (277 anterior, 11 posterior) were ruptured. Postoperatively, symptomatic patients underwent computed tomography imaging. Positive predictive value, negative predictive value, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated with a Fisher exact test (2-tailed P value)., Results: Changes in SSEP occurred in 45 of 691 cases (6.5%): 16 of 403 (4.0%) in unruptured aneurysms and 29 of 288 (10%) in ruptured aneurysms. In unruptured aneurysms, reversible SSEP changes were associated with a 20% stroke rate, but irreversible changes were associated with an 80% stroke rate. In ruptured aneurysms, however, reversible changes were associated with a 12% stroke rate, and irreversible changes were associated with a 42% stroke rate. The overall accuracy of SSEP changes in predicting postoperative stroke was as follows: positive predictive value, 30%; negative predictive value, 94%; sensitivity, 25%; and specificity, 95%., Conclusion: Intraoperative SSEP changes are more reliable in unruptured aneurysm cases than in ruptured cases. Whereas irreversible changes in unruptured cases were associated with an 80% stroke rate, such changes in ruptured cases did not have any adverse ischemic sequelae in 58% of patients. This information is helpful during the intraoperative assessment of reported SSEP changes.