The Dural Dark-Side Approach for falcine and tentorial meningioma: A surgical series of five patients

Introduction: Falcine or tentorial meningioma can be complex to resect. When large meningiomas are located in eloquent areas, a direct ipsilateral surgical approach may cause brain injury and postoperative neurological deficits. In this series, 5 patients were surgically treated using a contralateral transfalcine or transtentorial approach to minimize brain retraction. This strategy was called the Dural Dark-Side Approach (DDSA). The aim was to analyze the quality of tumor resection and postoperative outcome. Material and methods: In our department, from June 2018 to January 2020, 5 patients underwent microsurgical DDSA for resection of 4 falcine and 1 tentorial meningioma. All tumors were selected on the following two criteria: large>40mm diameter tumor, with surrounding functional cortex. Clinical and radiologic data were retrospectively analyzed. Results and discussion: Mean follow-up was 20 months. No patients required use of a rigid retractor during surgery. Gross total resection was performed in 3 patients and near-total resection in 2. All patients had favorable neurologic outcome. Postoperative MRI showed no ipsilateral or contralateral brain lesions. Conclusion: This series suggested that meticulous DDSA allows excellent resection in selected large falcine or tentorial meningioma. The approach offered a safe and effective surgical corridor without injuring the surrounding healthy parenchyma. Keywords: Approche controlatérale; Approche transdurale; Chirurgie sans écarteur; Contralateral approach; Dural Dark-Side Approach; No-touch strategy; Retractorless surgery; Stratégie « no touch »; Transfalcine; Transfalcoriel; Transtentorial; Transtentoriel

Can faces prime a language?

Bilinguals have two languages that are activated in parallel. During speech production, one of these languages must be selected on the basis of some cue. The present study investigated whether the face of an interlocutor can serve as such a cue. Spanish-Catalan and Dutch-French bilinguals were first familiarized with certain faces, each of which was associated with only one language, during simulated Skype conversations. Afterward, these participants performed a language production task in which they generated words associated with the words produced by familiar and unfamiliar faces displayed on-screen. When responding to familiar faces, participants produced words faster if the faces were speaking the same language as in the previous Skype simulation than if the same faces were speaking a different language. Furthermore, this language priming effect disappeared when it became clear that the interlocutors were actually bilingual. These findings suggest that faces can prime a language, but their cuing effect disappears when it turns out that they are unreliable as language cues.This study was supported by the Special Research Fund (BOF) of Ghent University, the Spanish Government (PSI2011-23033), the Catalan Government (GRNC-2014SGR1210), and the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework (FP7/2007-2013 Cooperation Grant Agreement 613465-AThEME)

Can faces prime a language?

Bilinguals have two languages that are activated in parallel. During speech production, one of these languages must be selected on the basis of some cue. The present study investigated whether the face of an interlocutor can serve as such a cue. Spanish-Catalan and Dutch-French bilinguals were first familiarized with certain faces, each of which was associated with only one language, during simulated Skype conversations. Afterward, these participants performed a language production task in which they generated words associated with the words produced by familiar and unfamiliar faces displayed on-screen. When responding to familiar faces, participants produced words faster if the faces were speaking the same language as in the previous Skype simulation than if the same faces were speaking a different language. Furthermore, this language priming effect disappeared when it became clear that the interlocutors were actually bilingual. These findings suggest that faces can prime a language, but their cuing effect disappears when it turns out that they are unreliable as language cues.This study was supported by the Special Research Fund (BOF) of Ghent University, the Spanish Government (PSI2011-23033), the Catalan Government (GRNC-2014SGR1210), and the European Research Council under the European Community’s Seventh Framework (FP7/2007-2013 Cooperation Grant Agreement 613465-AThEME)

Molecular test algorithms for breast tumours

In order to advise the Federal Government on all matters related to personalised medicine in oncology, including the reimbursement of molecular tests, the Commission of Personalized Medicine (ComPerMed) has applied, for the breast tumours, the same methodology as previously applied for the digestive tumours. Meaning, the different molecular tests, represented in the shape of algorithms, are annotated with test levels — which aim to reflect their relevance based on current available data and to define the reimbursement — and are documented with recent literature, guidelines and a brief technical&nbsp;description.</p

Molecular test algorithms for breast tumours

In order to advise the Federal Government on all matters related to personalised medicine in oncology, including the reimbursement of molecular tests, the Commission of Personalized Medicine (ComPerMed) has applied, for the breast tumours, the same methodology as previously applied for the digestive tumours. Meaning, the different molecular tests, represented in the shape of algorithms, are annotated with test levels — which aim to reflect their relevance based on current available data and to define the reimbursement — and are documented with recent literature, guidelines and a brief technical&nbsp;description.</p