The result of the DREZotomy procedure used for the treatment of chronic intractable neuropathic pain caused by injuries at the T9-L4 spine level in 26 patients has been reported. For the purpose of identifying the most favorable pain pattern for DREZ surgery we retrospectively analyzed the effectiveness of surgical treatment on different forms of pain in the follow-up period of 13-50 months, 37 months on average. All pain forms were classified according to subjective sensory pain expression including the rhythm and topography of the pain. Three groups of pain were formed according to subjective sensory equivalents: pain of thermal quality (burning, boiling, baking, warm etc.), pain of mechanical-nonthermal quality (shooting, cutting, stabbing, sharp, incisive, cramping, constriction, distraction, throbbing etc.). The third group was the combination of the previous two. Success in pain relief has been defined as a 50% or greater reduction in pain after surgery such that pain no longer interferes with patient activities of daily living and sleeping pattern and no longer requires routine analgesic pain medication. Our results revealed that the pain of mechanical-nonthermal nature and intermittent rhythm, confined to segmental topography was the most responsive to the DREZ surgical treatment so that 90% patients suffering from this pain pattern experienced a good long-term pain relief (70% had complete long term pain relief). Neuropathic pain of thermal quality with the diffuse infralesional distribution and steady rhythm was the most resistant to the DREZ surgical treatment: neither patient had long-term relief of this pain pattern. In the group of patients suffering from pain consisting of combined mechanical and thermal sensory components with confined pain territory, 75% experienced a good long-term pain relief (50% had complete long-term pain relief). Immediate pain relief was obtained in 88% of patients and was long lasting in 69% of the total series. Our results pointed to confined territory, intermittent rhythm and mechanical nature of the pain as the most relevant predictors of the expected pain relief achieved by the DREZ surgery.
The results of DREZlesioning procedure used for the treatment of chronic intractable pain due to deafferentation caused by gunshot injuries at the thoracolumbar (T10-L1) spine level are reported in six patients. The specificity of these cases arises from the fact that all the patients underwent, after decompressive laminectomy, an implantation of vascularized omental graft on the injured cord segments, 4-17 months after injury. Because of the failure of this method, which did not improve spinal function nor hinder the development of pain, surgery in the DREZ was performed 2-5 years after implantation. The results of the microsurgical DREZotomy procedure in those patients, 7-12 months after the surgery were: 4 patients with complete pain relief and 2 patients with pain relieved of 80%. All the patients with well-confined segmental pain were completely cured.
Total resection of convexity meningioma and decompression of the brain tissue in the region of limbic pathways that are involved, may contribute to a complete remission of depression symptoms. This case also illustrates the need for a prompt neuroimaging of the brain when patients present any atypical psychiatric symptoms, with late onset (> 50 years old) of the first depressive episode or fast changes of the mental state.
Brain tumors account for 1.4% of all cancers and 2.4% of all cancer-related deaths. The incidence of brain tumors varies and it is higher in developed countries of Western Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand. In Serbia, according to data from 2009, malignant brain tumors account for 2.2 of all tumors, and from all cancer-related deaths, 3.2% is caused by malignant brain tumors. According to recent statistical reports, an overall incidence of brain tumors for benign and malignant tumors combined is 18.71 per 100,000 persons/year. The most common benign brain tumor in adults is meningioma, which is most present in women, and the most common malignant tumor is glioblastoma, which is most present in adult men. Due to high mortality, especially in patients diagnosed with glioblastoma and significant brain tumor morbidity, there is a constant interest in understanding its etiology in order to possibly prevent tumor occurrence in future and enable more efficient treatment strategies for this fatal brain disease. Despite the continuously growing number of epidemiological studies on possible factors of tumor incidence, the etiology remains unclear. The only established environmental risk factor of gliomas is ionizing radiation exposure. Exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields via cell phone use has gained a lot of attention as a potential risk factor of brain tumor development. However, studies have been inconsistent and inconclusive, so more definite results are still expected.
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