Over the past decade, development of noninvasive diagnostic modalities for the diagnosis of intracranial aneurysms have led to a dramatic change in the management in which patients with unruptured intracranial aneurysms are diagnosed and treated. A patient with an unruptured intracranial aneurysm has three treatment options: endovascular coiling, surgical clipping, and observation. The decision making about management of intracranial aneurysms should be based on the risk of rupture and risks associated with surgical or endovascular treatment. In this report, we review the recent published articles pertaining to diagnositic modalities, natural history, management, and follow-up of unruptured intracranial aneurysms.
Decision Making ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm* ; Natural History ; Rupture ; Surgical Instruments

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the efficacy of intra-arterial nimodipine, a calcium-channel blocker acting mainly on cerebral vessels, in patients with symptomatic cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage. METHODS: Clinical records of 8 consecutively treated patients were reviewed. Patients were considered to determine the indication for cerebral angiography and subsequent endovascular treatment if they presented symptomatic cerebral vasospasm. Nimodipine was infused intra-arterially via microcatheter in the internal carotid artery or basilar artery at a rate of 0.1 mg/min. Immediate angiographic vasodilatation and clinical improvement were assessed. RESULTS: Thirteen procedures were performed in 8 patients. Clinical improvement was observed in 7 (88%) patients. 5 of 8 patients were clinically improved within 24 hours after the first endovascular treatment, and two after the third. The notable arterial dilatation at postprocedural angiography was observed in 9 (70%) of 13 procedures. After follow-up of 3-6 months, 7 (88%) patients had a favorable outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 5-4). No procedure related complications were observed. CONCLUSION: Intra-arterial nimodipine infusion is effective and safe for the treatment of symptomatic vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage. Further prospective randomized studies are needed to support these results.
Aneurysm* ; Angiography ; Basilar Artery ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Cerebral Angiography ; Dilatation ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Nimodipine* ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage* ; Vasodilation ; Vasospasm, Intracranial*

Tissue engineering can serve as an alternative treatment for a malfunctioning or lost organ. Isolated and expanded cells adhere to a temporary scaffold, proliferate, and secrete their own extracellular matrices (ECM) replacing the biodegrading scaffold. The genitourinary system, composed of the kidney, ureter, bladder, urethra, and genital organs, is exposed to a variety of possible injury sites from the time of fetal development. All the urinary organs are mainly composed of smooth muscle and uroepithelial cells and which may be approached by tissue engineering techniques. A large number of materials, including naturally-derived and synthetic polymers have been utilized to fabricate prostheses for the genitourinary system. Usually, whenever there is a lack of native urologic tissue, reconstruction is considered with native non-urologic tissue, such as, gastrointestinal segments, or skin or mucosa from multiple body sites. Engineering tissues using selective cell transplantation may provide a means to create functional new genitourinary tissues. This review concerns urinary tissues reconstructed with bladder uroepithelial cells and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) implanted on biodegradable polymer matrices.
Animal ; Biomedical Engineering*/methods ; Bioreactors ; Cytological Techniques/trends ; Human ; Stem Cells/physiology ; Urinary Tract*

A linear intracardiac foreign body was identified following a total hip replacement (THR) on chest CT and transesophageal echocardiography in a 60-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis. Leakage and migration of bone cement during arthroplasty is a possible explanation for this rare complication. Therefore, adequate preparation and handling of cement using biplane fluoroscopy are recommended during arthroplasty.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Arthroplasty ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip* ; Echocardiography, Transesophageal ; Female ; Fluoroscopy ; Foreign Bodies* ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of the coaxial technique in US-guided breast core biopsy. Materials andMethods : Using the coaxial technique, US-guided breast core biopsy was performed in 49 breast lesions (40patients). Under US-guidance the 17-gauge, 13 cm long introducer needle was positioned proximal to the lesion.Once the needle was in place, the central trocar was removed and was replaced with the core biopsy needle. We usedan 18-gauge, 16-cm-long core biopsy needle with a 17 mm specimen notch. Four to eight tissue specimens wereobtained from each lesion, and the quality and quantity of specimens, procedure time, and complications and theirrate were evaluated. RESULTS: For 48 of 49 lesions, specimens were adequate for histopathologic diagnosis, andthe findings were as follows : six cases of invasive ductal carcinoma, one of ductal carcinoma in situ, 29 offibrocystic disease, eight of fibroadenoma, two of chronic inflammation, and two of sclerosing lesion. In 12lesions agreement between the pathologic results of needle core biopsy and surgical results was 100%. Theprocedure time was about 15 minutes and no significant complications were noted. CONCLUSION: In breast corebiopsy, the coaxial technique is simple and time-saving, and compared with stan-dard breast core biopsy, may alsobe less traumatic and decrease the potential risk of seeding the biopsy tract with malignant cells.
Biopsy* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Diagnosis ; Fibroadenoma ; Inflammation ; Needles ; Surgical Instruments

Dissecting aneurysms of intracranial artery often arise in the posterior circulation, but those in the anterior circulation are rare, presenting with hemorrhagic event. So, we report an unusual case of isolated dissecting aneurysm of the pericallosal artery presenting with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage. A 46-year-old hypertensive woman presented with severe headache and intense nuchal rigidity after onset of two days. Computed tomography (CT) brain scan revealed a subarachnoid hemorrhage and an interhemispheric hematoma. This was due to dissecting aneurysm of left pericallosal artery on conventional cerebral angiography. Total occlusion of the dissecting aneurysm was performed with five Guglielmi detachable coils, with no apparent procedure-related complications. Endovascular treatment by aneurysm and parent artery occlusion is a relatively reliable alternative to surgery for isolated dissecting aneurysm of pericallosal artery.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, Dissecting ; Arteries ; Brain ; Cerebral Angiography ; Female ; Headache ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Rigidity ; Parents ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Background: Surgical treatment consisting of decompression and fusion is generally known to produce good clinical results for lumbar spinal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis. However, the clinical outcome of decompression alone, without fusion, remains unclear, and long-term follow-up results are scarce. This study aimed to retrospectively analyze the 5-year clinical results of decompression only in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis. Methods: Among the patients diagnosed as having lumbar spinal stenosis with degenerative spondylolisthesis, 36 patients who underwent decompression without fusion and were followed up for minimum 5 years were included in this study. The average follow-up period was 7.2 years, and the mean age of patients was 63.2 years. Visual analog scale (VAS) score and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were investigated pre- and postoperatively, and also radiologic displacement and instability were measured. In addition, patients who needed fusion or redecompression at the decompression site postoperatively were also investigated. Results: VAS score and ODI improved from an average of 7.8 points and 57 points preoperatively, respectively, to 1.4 points and 19 points at 5 years postoperatively, respectively. The degree of radiologic displacement increased from an average of 5.1 mm preoperatively to 6.4 mm at the final follow-up. Radiological instability was detected in five patients. Two patients (9.5%) required fusion. Conclusions The long-term follow-up results revealed that satisfactory clinical outcomes were obtained with decompression alone, without fusion, for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis.

BACKGROUND: Propofol often causes pain when injected into small peripheral veins, but the pain can be minimized by using a larger vein. This study was designed to determine whether local warming of the injection site and forearm before propofol injection is effective in reducing pain. METHODS: Sixty adult patients undergoing general anesthesia for an elective surgery were randomly allocated to one of two groups. All were unpremedicated and had an 18-gauge cannula inserted into a cephalic vein on the wrist. Patients in group 1 (n = 30) received 1% propofol at room temperature. Patients in group 2 (n = 30) received 1% propofol after local warming (36-37 degrees C) of the injection site and forearm using a forced-air warming system (Bair Hugger(R)). For each patient, the pain during injection of the propofol solution was graded as none, mild, moderate, or severe. RESULTS: Overall the incidence of pain was significantly reduced in group 2 (36.7%) compared with group 1 (66.7%). No patients complained of pain at the injection site and forearm in group 2. However, there was no significant difference in the incidence or severity of pain on the elbow and axilla between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: We found that local warming applied to the injection site (wrist) and forearm before propofol injection is significantly effective in reducing pain at the injection site and forearm, but there was no improvement of pain on the elbow and axilla when injecting.
Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Axilla ; Catheters ; Elbow ; Forearm* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Propofol ; Veins ; Wrist

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence of incidentally found unruptured intracranial aneurysms (UIAs) on the brain MR angiography (MRA) from a community-based general hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a prospectively collected retrospective study, carried out from January 2004 to December 2004. The subjects included 3049 persons from a community-based hospital in whom MRA was performed according to a standardized protocol in an outpatient setting. Age- and sex-specific prevalence of UIAs was calculated. The results by MRA were compared with intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) findings. RESULTS: Unruptured intracranial aneurysms were found in 137 (5%) of the 3049 patients (M:F = 43:94; mean age, 60.2 years). The prevalence of UIAs was 5% (n = 94) in women and 4% (n = 43) in men, respectively (p = 0.2046) and showed no age-related increase. The most common site of aneurysm was at the distal internal carotid artery (n = 64, 39%), followed by the middle cerebral artery (n = 40, 24%). In total, 99% of aneurysms measured less than 12 mm, and 93% of aneurysms measured less than 7 mm. Direct comparisons between MRA and DSA were available in 70 patients with 83 UIAs; the results revealed two false positive and two false negative results. CONCLUSION: This community-hospital based study suggested a higher prevalence of UIAs observed by MRA than previously reported. These findings should be anticipated in the design and use of neuroimaging in clinical practice.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aneurysm, Ruptured/diagnosis ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Cerebral Angiography ; Female ; Humans ; Incidental Findings ; Intracranial Aneurysm/*diagnosis/radiography ; *Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Young Adult

The Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare disorder characterized by infantile hypotonia, subsequent obesity with hyperphagia. Hypogonadism, cryptorchidism, delayed psychomotor development, short status, strabismus, myopia, scoliosis, kyphosis and temperature regulation abnormality are other features. The cause of this syndrome is unknown, but a disturbance in the hypothalamus has been postulated because of the various manifestation of the syndrome. The major genetic mechanism giving rise to PWS is a paternal deletion of about the same size in the 15q11-q13 region, that occurs in 70% of the cases. The principal problems related to anesthesia are those that are secondary to the patient's hypoglycemia, skeletal muscle hypotonia and obesity. An 20-month-old boy with PWS was scheduled for surgical correction of bilateral undescended testes. The trachea was intubated with the aid of succinylcholine 7.5 mg intravenous injection. Muscle relaxation was facilitated with intermittent intravenous administration of atracurium (total dose 8 mg). No prolonged effect of muscle relaxants was observed during anaesthesia. High grade fever (38-39 degrees C) was present during anaesthesia.
Administration, Intravenous ; Anesthesia ; Atracurium ; Cryptorchidism ; Fever ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Hypoglycemia ; Hypogonadism ; Hypothalamus ; Infant ; Injections, Intravenous ; Kyphosis ; Male ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Muscle Relaxation ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Myopia ; Obesity ; Prader-Willi Syndrome* ; Scoliosis ; Strabismus ; Succinylcholine ; Trachea