Background and purposeThe pathogenesis of brain injury after intracerebral hemorrhage is thought to be due to mechanical damage followed by ischemic, cytotoxic, and inflammatory changes in the underlying and surrounding tissue.In recent years, there has been a greater research interest into the various inflammatory biomarkers and growth factors that are secreted during intracerebral hemorrhage. The biomarkers investigated in this study are tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha), C-reactive protein (CRP), homocysteine (Hcy), and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The aim of this study was to further investigate the effects of these biomarkers in predicting the acute severity outcome of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH).MethodsWe conducted a retrospective chart review of patients with spontaneous ICH with TNF alpha, CRP, VEGF, and Hcy levels drawn on admission. Forty-two patients with spontaneous ICH with at least one of the above labs were included in the study. Primary outcomes included death, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) on admission, early neurologic decline (END), and hemorrhage size. Secondary outcomes included GCS on discharge, ICH score, functional outcome risk stratification scale of intracerebral hemorrhage (FUNC score), change in hemorrhage size, need for surgical intervention, and length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay.ResultsForty-two patients with spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) were analyzed, 12 patients (28.5%) required surgical intervention, and four patients (9.5%) died. Only low VEGF serum values were found to predict mortality. TNF alpha, CRP, Hcy, and VEGF levels in our patients with ICH were not found to predict early neurologic decline and were not correlated with GCS on admission, initial hemorrhage size, change in hemorrhage size, need for surgical intervention, ICH score, FUNC score, midline shift, and length of ICU stay. CRP and Hcy were elevated in 58% and 31% of patients tested, respectively. GCS on admission and ICH score were significantly associated with mortality.ConclusionAfter careful statistical review of the data obtained from this patient population, only low VEGF values were found to be a significant predictor of mortality. However, elevated CRP and Hcy levels were associated with a non-significant trend in hemorrhage size and mortality suggesting that CRP and Hcy-lowering therapies may decrease hemorrhagic stroke risk and severity.

Introduction: Deep brain stimulation has emerged as an effective treatment for movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, dystonia, and essential tremor with estimates of >100,000 deep brain stimulators (DBSs) implanted worldwide since 1980s. Infections rates vary widely in the literature with rates as high as 25%. Traditional management of infection after deep brain stimulation is systemic antibiotic therapy with wound incision and debridement (I&D) and removal of implanted DBS hardware. The aim of this study is to evaluate the infections occurring after DBS placement and implantable generator (IPG) placement in order to better prevent and manage these infections.Materials/Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of 203 patients who underwent implantation of a DBS at a single institution. For initial electrode placement, patients underwent either unilateral or bilateral electrode placement with implantation of the IPG at the same surgery and IPG replacements occurred as necessary. For patients with unilateral electrodes, repeat surgery for placement of contralateral electrode was performed when desired. Preoperative preparation with ethyl alcohol occurred in all patients while use of intra-operative vancomycin powder was surgeon dependent. All patients received 24 hours of postoperative antibiotics. Primary endpoint was surgical wound infection or brain abscess located near the surgically implanted DBS leads. Infections were classified as early (<90 days) or late (>90 days). Infectious organisms were recorded based on intra-operative wound cultures. Number of lead implantations, IPG replacements and choice of presurgical, intra-operative, and postsurgical antibiotics were recorded and outcomes compared.Results: Two hundred and three patients underwent 391 electrode insertions and 244 IPG replacements. Fourteen patients developed an infection (10 early versus 4 late); 12 after implantation surgery (3%) and 2 after IPG replacement surgery (0.8%). No intracranial abscesses were found. Most common sites were the chest and connector. Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) was the most common organism. Intra-operative vancomycin powder did not decrease infection risk. Vancomycin powder use was shown to increase risk of infection after electrode implantation surgery (Relative Risk 5.5080, p = 0.02063). Complete hardware removal occurred in eight patients, one patient had electrode only removal, three patients with I&D and no removal of hardware, and two patients with removal of IPG and extensor cables only. All patients were treated with postoperative intravenous antibiotics and no recurrent infections were found in patients with hardware left in place.Discussion/Conclusion: Infections after DBS implantation and IPG replacement occurred in 3% and 0.8% of patients respectively in our study which is lower than reported historically. Early infections were more common. No intracranial infections were found. Intra-operative use of vancomycin was not shown to decrease risk of infection after electrode implantation surgery or I...

Background: Mucormycosis is a rapidly progressive, angioinvasive fungal infection that has a predilection for the paranasal sinuses and adjacent mucosa. Rhinocerebral mucormycosis (RCM) is the most common form and is known to invade the skull base and its associated blood vessels—leading to mycotic aneurysms, ischemic infarcts, and intracerebral hemorrhage. There are documented cases of mechanical thrombectomy in ischemic stroke due to RCM, however, there are no known cases that were diagnosed primarily by histological and pathological analysis of the embolus. We present a case of treatment of large vessel occlusion that led to the diagnosis and treatment of RCM. Case Presentation: A 21 year-old male inmate with history of type 1 diabetes presented with generalized weakness, abdominal pain, right eye blindness, and ophthalmoplegia after an assault in prison. He underwent treatment for diabetic ketoacidosis, but subsequently developed left hemiplegia and was found to have complete occlusion of his right internal carotid artery. He underwent successful mechanical thrombectomy and pathological analysis of the embolus revealed a diagnosis of mucormycosis. He completed a course of amphotericin B, micafungin, and posaconazole. With the aid of acute rehabilitation he achieved a modified Rankin score of 2. Discussion: We review the pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of RCM. A comprehensive multidisciplinary approach is critical in the management of this often-fatal disease. Early diagnosis and treatment are essential in RCM as delaying treatment by more than 6 days significantly increases mortality. Treatment includes surgical debridement and intravenous antifungal therapy (amphotericin B + micafungin or caspofungin) for a minimum of 6–8 weeks.

Background: Epilepsy is estimated to affect 70 million people worldwide and is medically refractory in 30% of cases. Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study using a US database from 2012 to 2014 to identify patients aged ≥18 years admitted to the hospital with epilepsy as the primary diagnosis. The sampled population was weighted using Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project guidelines. Procedural ICD-9 codes were utilized to stratify the sampled population into two cohorts: resective surgery and implantation or stimulation procedure. Results: Query of the database yielded 152,925 inpatients, of which 8535 patients underwent surgical intervention. The nonprocedural group consisted of 76,000 White patients (52.6%) and 28,390 Black patients (19.7%) while the procedural group comprised 5550 White patients (64%) and 730 Black patients (8.6%) (P < 0.001). Patients with Medicare were half as likely to receive a surgical procedure (14.8% vs. 28.4%) while patients with private insurance were twice as likely to receive a procedure (53.4% vs. 29.3%), both were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Those in the lowest median household income quartile by zip code (<$40,000) were 68% less likely to receive a procedure (21.5% vs. 31.4%) while the highest income quartile was 133% more likely to receive a procedure (26.1% vs. 19.5%). Patients from rural and urban nonteaching hospitals were, by a wide margin, less likely to receive a surgical procedure. Conclusion: We demonstrate an area of need and significant improvement at institutions that have the resources and capability to perform epilepsy surgery. The data show that institutions may not be performing enough epilepsy surgery as a result of racial and socioeconomic bias. Admissions for epilepsy continue to increase without a similar trend for epilepsy surgery despite its documented effectiveness. Race, socioeconomic status, and insurance all represent significant barriers in access to epilepsy surgery. The barriers can be remedied by improving referral patterns and implementing cost-effective measures to improve inpatient epilepsy services in rural and nonteaching hospitals.

Advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by increasingly debilitating impaired movements that include motor fluctuations and dyskinesias. At this stage of the disease, pharmacological management can result in unsatisfactory clinical benefits and increase the occurrence of adverse effects, leading to the consideration of advanced therapies. The scope of this review is to provide an overview of currently available therapies for advanced PD, specifically levodopa–carbidopa intestinal gel, continuous subcutaneous apomorphine infusion, radiofrequency ablation, stereotactic radiosurgery, MRI-guided focused ultrasound, and deep brain stimulation. Therapies in clinical trials are also discussed, including novel formulations of subcutaneous carbidopa/levodopa, gene-implantation therapies, and cell-based therapies. This review focuses on the clinical outcomes and adverse effects of the various therapies and also considers patient-specific characteristics that may influence treatment choice. This review can equip providers with updated information on advanced therapies in PD to better counsel patients on the available options.

Background: Anatomically, deep brain stimulation (DBS) targets such as the ventral intermediate and subthalamic nucleus are positioned such that the long axis of the nucleus is often most accessible through a transventricular trajectory. We hypothesize that using this trajectory does not place patients at increased risk of neurologic complications. Methods: A series of 206 patients at a single institution between 2000 and 2017 were reviewed. All patients had a confirmed transventricular trajectory and their clinical course was reviewed to assess neurologic complication rates in the postoperative period. Results: The average length of hospital stay was 2.4 days. The most common neurologic complication was altered mental status in 1.2% of cases (four patients). This was followed by seizure in 0.6% of cases (two patients). No patients had ischemic stroke or postoperative hemiparesis. There were two mortalities in this series, one with lobar hemorrhage contralateral from the surgical site and one with a thalamic hemorrhage. There was only one confirmed intraventricular hemorrhage postoperatively; however, this was clinically asymptomatic. Conclusion: Although the total incidence of intraventricular or intracerebral hemorrhage cannot be reliably assessed from this data set, the low incidence of neurologic complications challenges the notion that DBS electrode trajectories that transgress the ventricle significantly increase the risk of complications.

The authors present the case of a 78-year-old right-handed female with a past medical history of Parkinson's disease, treated with implantation of a left-sided subthalamic nucleus St. Jude Medical Infinity® (Abbott Medical, Austin, TX) deep brain stimulator, who presented with leadassociated discomfort, or "bowstringing". Further investigation by chest X-ray revealed an extensive case of distal lead coiling. However, it was surprising that, despite the extensive coiling, the lead stayed intact without hardware failure as proven by patient remaining asymptomatic from her Parkinson's disease and intraoperative impedance testing demonstrating normal results. After revision surgery, the patient remained asymptomatic. Due to paucity of cases of this disease in the literature, specific predictive risk factors are not known, but certain patient characteristics may help take precautions.

Introduction Traumatic brain injury (TBI) results in primary and secondary brain injuries. Secondary brain injury can lead to cerebral edema resulting in increased intracranial pressure (ICP) secondary to the rigid encasement of the skull. Increased ICP leads to decreased cerebral perfusion pressure which leads to cerebral ischemia. Refractory intracranial hypertension (RICH) occurs when ICP remains elevated despite first-tier therapies such as head elevation, straightening of the neck, analgesia, sedation, paralytics, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drainage, mannitol and/or hypertonic saline administration. If unresponsive to these measures, second-tier therapies such as hypothermia, barbiturate infusion, and/or surgery are employed. Methods This was a retrospective review of patients admitted at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center from 2008 to 2019 for severe TBI who developed RICH requiring placement into a pentobarbital-induced coma with therapeutic hypothermia. Primary endpoints included mortality, good recovery which was designated at Glasgow outcome scale (GOS) of 4 or 5, and improvement in ICP (goal is <20 mmHg). Secondary endpoints included complications, length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, length of hospital stay, length of pentobarbital coma, length of hypothermia, need for vasopressors, and decompressive surgery versus no decompressive surgery. Results Our study included 18 patients placed in pentobarbital coma with hypothermia for RICH. The overall mortality rate in our study was 50%; with 60% mortality in pentobarbital/hypothermia only group, and 46% mortality in surgery plus pentobarbital/hypothermia group. Maximum ICP prior to pentobarbital/hypothermia was significantly lower in patients who had a prior decompressive craniectomy than in patients who were placed into pentobarbital/hypothermia protocol first (28.3 vs 35.4, p<0.0238). ICP was significantly reduced at 4 hours, 8 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours, and 48 hours after pentobarbital and hypothermia treatment. Initial ICP and maximum ICP prior to pentobarbital/hypothermia was significantly correlated with mortality (p=0.022 and p=0.026). Patients with an ICP>25 mmHg prior to pentobarbital/hypothermia initiation had an increased risk of mortality (p=0.0455). There was no statistically significant difference in mean ICP after 24 hours after pentobarbital/hypothermia protocol in survivors vs non-survivors. Increased time to reach 33°C was associated with increased mortality (r=0.47, p=0.047); with a 10.5-fold increase in mortality for >7 hours (OR 10.5, p=0.039).