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OBJECTIVE Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is effective in the management of patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD). While both the globus pallidus pars interna (GPi) and the subthalamic nucleus (STN) are accepted targets, their relative efficacy in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) has not been established beyond 12 months. The objective of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of RCTs to compare outcomes among adults with PD undergoing DBS of GPi or STN at various time points, including 36 months of follow-up. METHODS The MEDLINE, Embase, CENTRAL, Web of Science, and CINAHL databases were searched. Registries for clinical trials, selected conference proceedings, and the table of contents for selected journals were also searched. Screens were conducted independently and in duplicate. Among the 623 studies initially identified (615 through database search, 7 through manual review of bibliographies, and 1 through a repeat screen of literature prior to submission), 19 underwent full-text review; 13 of these were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Data were extracted independently and in duplicate. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was used to assess the risk of bias. The GRADE evidence profile tool was used to assess the quality of the evidence. Motor scores, medication dosage reduction, activities of daily living, depression, dyskinesias, and adverse events were compared. The influence of disease duration (a priori) and the proportion of male patients within a study (post hoc) were explored as potential subgroups. RESULTS Thirteen studies (6 original cohorts) were identified. No difference in motor scores or activities of daily living was identified at 36 months. Medications were significantly reduced with STN stimulation (5 studies, weighted mean difference [WMD] -365.46, 95% CI -599.48 to -131.44, p = 0.002). Beck Depression Inventory scores were significantly better with GPi stimulation (3 studies; WMD 2.53, 95% CI 0.99-4.06 p = 0.001). The motor benefits of GPi and STN DBS for PD are similar. CONCLUSIONS The motor benefits achieved with GPi and STN DBS for PD are similar. DBS of STN allows for a greater reduction of medication, but not as significant an advantage as DBS of GPi with respect to mood. This difference is sustained at 36 months. Further long-term studies are necessary.

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide, and half of all incident lung cancers are believed to occur in the developing countries, including Iran. Objective: We investigated the association of opium with the risk of lung cancer in a case-control study. Methods: We enrolled 242 cases and 484 matched controls in this study. A questionnaire was developed, containing questions on basic demographic characteristics, as well as lifelong history of smoking cigarettes, exposure to passive smoking, opium use and alcohol consumption. For smoking cigarettes and opium and also oral opium intake frequency, duration and cumulative use were categorized into three groups: no use, low use and high use. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Multivariate analysis in men showed that after adjusting for the effect of ethnicity, education and pack years of smoking cigarettes, smoking opium remained as a significant independent risk factor with an OR of 3.1 (95% CI 1.2–8.1). In addition, concomitant heavy smoking of cigarettes and opium dramatically increased the risk of lung cancer to an OR of 35.0 (95% CI 11.4–107.9). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that smoking opium is associated with a high risk of lung cancer as an independent risk factor.

The incidence of symptomatic hemorrhage or rehemorrhage is higher in brainstem lesions. First symptomatic hemorrhage increases the chance of symptomatic rehemorrhage, which decreases after 2 years.

M eningioMas are the second most common primary intracranial tumors in adults. 32 These tumors tend to exhibit a slow growth rate and minimal invasion of the brain parenchyma; therefore, they are typically considered benign. The optimal management of meningiomas is complete resection of the tumor along with the associated dura and bone, traditionally recognized as a Simpson Grade I resection. 30 However, this goal cannot always be achieved safely. This is particularly true for meningiomas in regions that are associated with critical neurovascular structures, typically in the skull base. Also, it has been suggested that even upon achieving an apparent abbreviatioNs CI = confidence interval; EOR = extent of resection; GTR = gross-total resection; IQR = interquartile range; NF2 = neurofibromatosis Type 2; OR = odds ratio; PR = progesterone receptor; STR = subtotal resection. obJective The objective of this study was to identify the natural history and clinical predictors of postoperative recurrence of skull base and non-skull base meningiomas. methods The authors performed a retrospective hospital-based study of all patients with meningioma referred to their institution from September 1993 to January 2014. The cohort constituted both patients with a first-time presentation and those with evidence of recurrence. Kaplan-Meier curves were constructed for analysis of recurrence and differences were assessed using the log-rank test. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to identify potential predictors of recurrence. results Overall, 398 intracranial meningiomas were reviewed, including 269 (68%) non-skull base and 129 (32%) skull base meningiomas (median follow-up 30.2 months, interquartile range [IQR] 8.5-76 months). The 10-year recurrence-free survival rates for patients with gross-total resection (GTR) and subtotal resection (STR) were 90% and 43%, respectively. Skull base tumors were associated with a lower proliferation index (0.041 vs 0.062, p = 0.001), higher likelihood of WHO Grade I (85.3% vs 69.1%, p = 0.003), and younger patient age (55.2 vs 58.3 years, p = 0.01). Meningiomas in all locations demonstrated an average recurrence rate of 30% at 100 months of follow-up. Subsequently, the recurrence of skull base meningiomas plateaued whereas non-skull base lesions had an 80% recurrence rate at 230 months follow-up (p = 0.02). On univariate analysis, a prior history of recurrence (p < 0.001), initial WHO grade following resection (p < 0.001), and the inability to obtain GTR (p < 0.001) were predictors of future recurrence. On multivariate analysis a prior history of recurrence (p = 0.02) and an STR (p < 0.01) were independent predictors of a recurrence. Assessing only patients with primary presentations, STR and WHO Grades II and III were independent predictors of recurrence (p < 0.001 for both). coNclusioNs Patients with skull base meningiomas present at a younger age and have less aggressive lesions overall. Extent of resection is a key predictor of recurrence and long-term follow-up of meningiomas is nec...

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This study showed that pirfenidone is able to decrease pulmonary fibrosis following paraquat poisoning in a rat model.