Endoscopic treatment of cerebrospinal fluid pathway obstructions

This article describes our endoscopic techniques developed for the treatment of various obstructions of cerebrospinal fluid pathways. Blocked cerebrospinal fluid pathways result in ventricular dilation in front of the obstruction, which may cause acute or chronic symptoms of hydrocephalus. The traditional treatment is insertion of a shunt. Because of the high failure rate in the long term, shunts should be avoided whenever possible. Our techniques of septum pellucidum fenestration, third ventriculostomy, lamina terminalis fenestration, temporal ventriculostomy, foraminoplasty of the foramen of Monro, aqueductoplasty, aqueductal stenting, and retrograde aqueductoplasty for trapped fourth ventricle are presented. Neuroendoscopic techniques can effectively treat obstructive hydrocephalus by restoration of the obstructed cerebrospinal fluid pathway or creating a bypass into the ventricles or subarachnoid spaces

Pathology Case Study: Sellar / Suprasellar Mass

This is a case study presented by the University of Pittsburgh Department of Pathology in which a woman noticed a deterioration of vision and movement in her right eye over the course of four weeks. Visitors can view the neuropathological findings, and have the opportunity to diagnose the patient. This is an excellent resource for students in the health sciences to familiarize themselves with using patient history and laboratory results to diagnose disease. It is also a helpful site for educators to introduce or test students of neuropathology

Endoscopic Biopsy for Intra- and Paraventricular Tumors: Rates of Complications, Mortality, and Tumor Cell Dissemination

Background and Study Aim Intra- and paraventricular tumors are frequently associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pathway obstruction. Thus the aim of an endoscopic approach is to restore patency of the CSF pathways and to obtain a tumor biopsy. Because endoscopic tumor biopsy may increase tumor cell dissemination, this study sought to evaluate this risk. Patients, Materials, and Methods Forty-four patients who underwent endoscopic biopsies for ventricular or paraventricular tumors between 1993 and 2011 were included in the study. Charts and images were reviewed retrospectively to evaluate rates of adverse events, mortality, and tumor cell dissemination. Adverse events, mortality, and tumor cell dissemination were evaluated. Results Postoperative clinical condition improved in 63.0% of patients, remained stable in 30.4%, and worsened in 6.6%. One patient (2.2%) had a postoperative thalamic stroke leading to hemiparesis and hemineglect. No procedure-related deaths occurred. Postoperative tumor cell dissemination was observed in 14.3% of patients available for follow-up. Conclusions For patients presenting with occlusive hydrocephalus due to tumors in or adjacent to the ventricular system, endoscopic CSF diversion is the procedure of first choice. Tumor biopsy in the current study did not affect safety or efficacy

Intraventricular infusion of the neurotrophic protein S100B improves cognitive recovery after fluid percussion injury in the rat

Elevated serum S100B levels have been shown to be a predictor of poor outcome after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Experimental data, on the other hand, demonstrate a neuroprotective and neurotrophic effect of this calcium-binding protein. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of increased S100B levels on functional outcome after TBI. Following lateral fluid percussion or sham injury in male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 56), we infused S100B (50 ng/h) or vehicle into the cerebrospinal fluid of the ipsilateral ventricle for 7 days using an osmotic mini-pump. Assessment of cognitive performance by the Morris water maze on days 30-34 after injury revealed an improved performance of injured animals after S100B infusion (p < 0.05), when compared to vehicle infusion. Blood samples for analysis of clinical markers of brain damage, S100B and neuron specific enolase, taken at 30 min, 3 h, 4 h, 2 days, or 5 days showed a typical peak 3 h after injury (p < 0.01), and higher serum levels correlated significantly with an impaired cognitive recovery (p < 0.01). The correlation of higher serum S100B levels with poor water maze performance may result from injury induced opening of the blood-brain barrier, allowing the passage of S100B into serum. Thus while higher serum levels of S100B seem to reflect the degree of blood-brain barrier opening and severity of injury, a beneficial effect of intraventricular S100B administration on long-term functional recovery after TBI has been demonstrated for the first time. The exact mechanism by which S100B exerts its neuroprotective or neurotrophic influence remains unknown and needs to be elucidated by further investigation