Gender differences in work-life balance of European neurosurgeons

Neurosurgery is one of the most demanding medical specialties. For neurosurgeons, balancing professional activity with personal life can be challenging. To evaluate gender differences in contribution of neurosurgeons in the household and child-rearing, as well as their impact on personal life and career. An anonymous, electronic, 59-item web-based survey was administered to National Neurosurgical Societies of Europe, and European Member Societies of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (June-October 2021). A total of 205 European neurosurgeons (87 females and 118 males, mean age 40.7) are included in our survey. In neurosurgery, females are significantly more likely to be alone (37.9%), while males are significantly more likely to have children (66.9%). In terms of household efforts, females spend more time than males on the same tasks. Most participants (71.2%) view gender issues as a disadvantage in career pursuing. Women feel less accepted (54.3%) and having fewer opportunities (58.6%), while men believe that pregnancy/child-rearing (65.8%) and having many roles (51.3%) are the main obstacles. Both genders (77.6%) favor more convenient working conditions for young parents. Discussion and Conclusion. In our study we found that, women neurosurgeons take more responsibilities at home, especially in the child-rearing years. Female neurosurgeons are more likely to live alone or stay childless more often compared to their male colleagues. Supportive facilities, flexible programs, universal life policies and presumably curbing of the social stereotypes are of importance to overcome gender inequities that women are still facing in neurosurgery

Experience-Dependent Plasticity and Modulation of Growth Regulatory Molecules at Central Synapses

Structural remodeling or repair of neural circuits depends on the balance between intrinsic neuronal properties and regulatory cues present in the surrounding microenvironment. These processes are also influenced by experience, but it is still unclear how external stimuli modulate growth-regulatory mechanisms in the central nervous system. We asked whether environmental stimulation promotes neuronal plasticity by modifying the expression of growth-inhibitory molecules, specifically those of the extracellular matrix. We examined the effects of an enriched environment on neuritic remodeling and modulation of perineuronal nets in the deep cerebellar nuclei of adult mice. Perineuronal nets are meshworks of extracellular matrix that enwrap the neuronal perikaryon and restrict plasticity in the adult CNS. We found that exposure to an enriched environment induces significant morphological changes of Purkinje and precerebellar axon terminals in the cerebellar nuclei, accompanied by a conspicuous reduction of perineuronal nets. In the animals reared in an enriched environment, cerebellar nuclear neurons show decreased expression of mRNAs coding for key matrix components (as shown by real time PCR experiments), and enhanced activity of matrix degrading enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9), which was assessed by in situ zymography. Accordingly, we found that in mutant mice lacking a crucial perineuronal net component, cartilage link protein 1, perineuronal nets around cerebellar neurons are disrupted and plasticity of Purkinje cell terminal is enhanced. Moreover, all the effects of environmental stimulation are amplified if the afferent Purkinje axons are endowed with enhanced intrinsic growth capabilities, induced by overexpression of GAP-43. Our observations show that the maintenance and growth-inhibitory function of perineuronal nets are regulated by a dynamic interplay between pre- and postsynaptic neurons. External stimuli act on this interaction and shift the balance between synthesis and removal of matrix components in order to facilitate neuritic growth by locally dampening the activity of inhibitory cues

Epidemiological Study of 1368 Cases of Surgical Repair for Traumatic Peripheral Nerve Injury.

Traumatic injury of the peripheral nerves should be treated in specialized centres. This study presents the epidemiological data of 1368 consecutive patients operated for peripheral nerve injuries beside the Service of neurosurgery, Department of Neurosciences, UHC "Mother Theresa", Tirana. In order to obtain the necessary data for this study we revised the clinical records, surgical registers and pre, intra and postoperative photo/video of the cases operated for peripheral nervous system injuries. A data recording program of the surgery cases was built ad hoc, categorizing the cases according to several variables. The data collected from the operated cases were manually inserted to be processed by the program. Results of informatics elaboration of the data were obtained, reviewed and categorized by: age, gender, type of trauma, localization of injury and type of nerve repair. Future studies to be conducted in this field will focus in determining the level of nerve injury, time from the injury to intervention, distance from the site of trauma to the effector organ. The data will build necessary information for data mining, which based on these important factors that influence the result of nerve repair, will be useful for the prediction of the result in new patients harbouring peripheral nerve injury before undergoing surgery

European women in neurosurgery: II - Historical characters and living legends

A collaborative global working group of women neurosurgeons in multiple countries at different stages of their neurosurgical careers undertook the task of researching the history of European women in neurosurgery. While doing so, we happened upon many remarkable female neurosurgeons who overcame great adversity, made tremendous contributions to society and institutional neurosurgery, and displayed numerous talents beyond the operating room. In the first part of this paper, we recounted a chronology of female neurosurgeons in Europe, highlighting the most remarkable achievements of women in every decade, from the 1920's to 2020. In this paper, we honor fascinating women in European neurosurgery, both historical characters and living legends. These women have overcome great adversity and have also excelled in a huge variety of pursuits. While some were themselves refugees, we also have uncovered noteworthy examples of women who immersed themselves in humanitarian missions and who tried to better the world through political action. There are stories of women beating the odds, taking on biased institutions and proving their worth, in spite of the prevailing system. Most inspirational, we have discovered through our comprehensive research on the history of women in European neurosurgery that the future is increasingly female

European women in neurosurgery: I - A chronology of trailblazers

Neurosurgery as a distinct speciality has been around for 100 years. Some of the earliest women neurosurgeons were European, emerging from the 1920's onwards. Here we detail the rise of women in neurosurgery across Europe with a decade by decade account of big events and firsts across the continent. The emerging themes are seen in stories of pioneers with enormous resilience, camaraderie, trailblazing and triumphing in a system with great obstacles and challenges. Our journey through this chronology brings us to the modern day, where most European countries have or have had a woman neurosurgeon and the future for women in neurosurgery in the continent is very bright

Gender differences in work-life balance of European neurosurgeons

Abstract Introduction: Neurosurgery is one of the most demanding medical specialties. For neurosurgeons, balancing professional activity with personal life can be challenging. Research question: To evaluate gender differences in contribution of neurosurgeons in the household and child-rearing, as well as their impact on personal life and career. Material and methods: An anonymous, electronic, 59-item web-based survey was administered to National Neurosurgical Societies of Europe, and European Member Societies of the European Association of Neurosurgical Societies (June–October 2021). Results: A total of 205 European neurosurgeons (87 females and 118 males, mean age 40.7) are included in our survey. In neurosurgery, females are significantly more likely to be alone (37.9%), while males are significantly more likely to have children (66.9%). In terms of household efforts, females spend more time than males on the same tasks. Most participants (71.2%) view gender issues as a disadvantage in career pursuing. Women feel less accepted (54.3%) and having fewer opportunities (58.6%), while men believe that pregnancy/child-rearing (65.8%) and having many roles (51.3%) are the main obstacles. Both genders (77.6%) favor more convenient working conditions for young parents. Discussion and Conclusion: In our study we found that, women neurosurgeons take more responsibilities at home, especially in the child-rearing years. Female neurosurgeons are more likely to live alone or stay childless more often compared to their male colleagues. Supportive facilities, flexible programs, universal life policies and presumably curbing of the social stereotypes are of importance to overcome gender inequities that women are still facing in neurosurgery