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Background and Clinical Significance: The coexistence of spinal hemangiomas and dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF) is uncommon. Unclear imaging and progressive neurological impairment require early surgical management. Case Presentation: A 76-year-old woman presented with progressive thoracolumbar pain and worsening bladder dysfunction. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the thoracic spine revealed a round-shape expansive lesion at T11 with spinal cord edema and homogeneous contrast enhancement. Despite a chronic presentation, the subacute progression of bladder dysfunction and spinal cord edema warranted timely intervention. Intraoperatively, a vascular malformation resembling a dural arteriovenous fistula (SDAVF), unrecognized at pre-operative imaging, was found in association, and histological examination confirmed the diagnosis of hemangioma. The mechanism of coexistence remains unclear, although venous hypertension due to fistula could induce vascular malformations. Conclusions: This case emphasizes the importance of thorough imaging, timely intervention and intraoperative assessment in patients presenting with a suspicion of spinal hemangioma; it may also provide awareness of potentially associated concurrent lesions such as SDAVFs, unrecognized at pre-operative imaging, and technical insights during surgery.

Background: Spinal arachnoid cyst development (SAC) is a rare and debilitating disease with a non-well-defined treatment strategy: a series of five patients diagnosed with SAC and submitted to neurosurgical treatment was retrospectively analyzed. Objectives: SACs represent 1–2% of all spinal neoplasms; they can be extradural, intradural, or intramedullary, with intradural arachnoid cysts (IDACs) comprising only 10% of these cases. The rarity of SACs and the lack of consensus on the best treatment strategies represent a care challenge: the aim of this study is to explore the effectiveness and outcomes of the neurosurgical management in patients with SACs treated at our institution. Methods: Adult patients who underwent surgical treatment for SACs between January 2020 and December 2023 were included in the study: clinical onset, imaging, surgical technique, and neurological long-term status were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Five patients (three males, two females; average age 53.4 years) were included. The most common symptoms described were paresthesia, gait disturbances, and back pain. Radiological imaging indicated that most cysts were at the thoracic level. Surgical interventions primarily involved cyst resection and adhesiolysis. Post-operative outcomes showed overall improvement or stability in Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) and American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale (ASIA) scores in the majority of cases, although complications and recurrences occurred. Conclusions: Surgical resection combined with adhesiolysis may prevent the worsening of neurological impairment and potentially improve pain control and clinical outcomes in patients with SACs. However, careful and tailored management is required due to the high potential of complications and recurrences.

Background and Clinical Significance: Visual agnosia and speech production deficits are well-described sequelae of neurosurgical interventions, but their selective dissociation remains rare. This report presents an unusual combination of postoperative deficits following awake resection of a left frontal low-grade glioma. Case Presentation: We present the case of a right-handed female with left hemisphere language dominance who had a left frontal low-grade glioma. Preoperatively, she exhibited anomia and dysexecutive syndrome, including difficulty completing everyday goal-directed tasks such as sending emails and paying for parking. Following awake tumor resection, she developed two rare, dissociated deficits: (1) speech restricted to infinitive verb forms and (2) selective visual agnosia for static images, with preserved recognition of dynamic stimuli. Conclusions: This uncommon clinical constellation highlights the vulnerability of left frontal language and ventral visual processing networks during surgery and supports the dual-stream model of vision and language production. We describe a selective form of static visual agnosia affecting static images with relative preservation of dynamic and object recognition, for which we use the descriptive label “astatopsia”. This peculiar clinical condition is rarely documented in this particular combination and has not, to the best of our knowledge, previously been denominated in such a manner in the literature.

O6-alkylguanine-DNA alkyltransferase (AGAT), involved in temozolomide-induced DNA damage repair, plays a key role in the efficacy of temozolomide. AGAT activity may be reduced by protracted temozolomide doses. On the basis of the preclinical findings, we treated patients with a histologically-proven diagnosis of glioblastoma (GBM) following adjuvant temozolomide failure with a low protracted dose of temozolomide (130 mg/m2/day, days 1-7 and 15-21, every 4 weeks). The primary endpoint of the study was 6-month progression-free survival (PFS-6 m). The secondary endpoints were overall survival (OS) from the start of temozolomide alternative schedule and toxicity. Enrolment was ceased at 27 patients due to the lack of effectiveness of this regimen. Results indicate that our schedule is well-tolerated, but ineffective in patients with GBM and further strategies are required to improve the outcome of these patients.

We investigated the sensitivity and specificity of [11C]-methionine positron emission tomography ([11C]-MET PET) in the management of glioma patients. We retrospectively analysed data from 53 patients with primary gliomas (16 low grade astrocytomas, 15 anaplastic astrocytomas and 22 glioblastomas) and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) > 70. Patients underwent [11C]-MET PET scans (N=249 ) and parallel contrast-enhanced MRI (N=193 ) and/or CT (N=113 ) controls. In low grade glioma patients, MRI or CT findings associated with [11C]-MET PET additional data allowed discrimination residual disease from postsurgical changes in 96.22% of these cases. [11C]-MET PET early allowed detection of malignant progression from low grade to anaplastic astrocytoma with high sensitivity (91.56%) and specificity (95.18%). In anaplastic astrocytomas, we registered high sensitivity (93.97%) and specificity (95.18%) in the postoperative imaging and during the followup of these patients. In GBM patients, CT and/or MRI scans with additional [11C]-MET PET data registered a sensitivity of 96.92% in the postsurgical evaluation and in the tumour assessment during temozolomide therapy. A significant correlation was found between [11C]-MET mean uptake index and histologic grading (P<0.001 ). These findings support the notion that complementary information derived from [11C]-MET PET may be helpful in postoperative and successive tumor assessment of glioma patients.

We investigated the sensitivity and specificity of [(11)C]-methionine positron emission tomography ([(11)C]-MET PET) in the management of glioma patients. We retrospectively analysed data from 53 patients with primary gliomas (16 low grade astrocytomas, 15 anaplastic astrocytomas and 22 glioblastomas) and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) > 70. Patients underwent [(11)C]-MET PET scans (N = 249) and parallel contrast-enhanced MRI (N = 193) and/or CT (N = 113) controls. In low grade glioma patients, MRI or CT findings associated with [(11)C]-MET PET additional data allowed discrimination residual disease from postsurgical changes in 96.22% of these cases. [(11)C]-MET PET early allowed detection of malignant progression from low grade to anaplastic astrocytoma with high sensitivity (91.56%) and specificity (95.18%). In anaplastic astrocytomas, we registered high sensitivity (93.97%) and specificity (95.18%) in the postoperative imaging and during the followup of these patients. In GBM patients, CT and/or MRI scans with additional [(11)C]-MET PET data registered a sensitivity of 96.92% in the postsurgical evaluation and in the tumour assessment during temozolomide therapy. A significant correlation was found between [(11)C]-MET mean uptake index and histologic grading (P < 0.001). These findings support the notion that complementary information derived from [(11)C]-MET PET may be helpful in postoperative and successive tumor assessment of glioma patients.We investigated the sensitivity and specificity of [(11)C]-methionine positron emission tomography ([(11)C]-MET PET) in the management of glioma patients. We retrospectively analysed data from 53 patients with primary gliomas (16 low grade astrocytomas, 15 anaplastic astrocytomas and 22 glioblastomas) and Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) > 70. Patients underwent [(11)C]-MET PET scans (N = 249) and parallel contrast-enhanced MRI (N = 193) and/or CT (N = 113) controls. In low grade glioma patients, MRI or CT findings associated with [(11)C]-MET PET additional data allowed discrimination residual disease from postsurgical changes in 96.22% of these cases. [(11)C]-MET PET early allowed detection of malignant progression from low grade to anaplastic astrocytoma with high sensitivity (91.56%) and specificity (95.18%). In anaplastic astrocytomas, we registered high sensitivity (93.97%) and specificity (95.18%) in the postoperative imaging and during the followup of these patients. In GBM patients, CT and/or MRI scans with additional [(11)C]-MET PET data registered a sensitivity of 96.92% in the postsurgical evaluation and in the tumour assessment during temozolomide therapy. A significant correlation was found between [(11)C]-MET mean uptake index and histologic grading (P < 0.001). These findings support the notion that complementary information derived from [(11)C]-MET PET may be helpful in postoperative and successive tumor assessment of glioma patients.

Background Autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) is more effective than conventional immunosuppressive therapies (CIT) in improving the outcome of patients with rapidly progressive diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (dcSSc). So far, there is still a paucity of data comparing AHSCT with rituximab (RTX). Aim of the study is to retrospectively compare, in patients with dcSSc, the effectiveness of AHSCT with that of RTX and CIT. Methods Thirty-five dcSSc AHSCT-treated patients were compared with 29 and 36 matched cases treated with RTX and CIT, respectively. The patients were followed up for 5 years by assessing selected outcome measures every year. Overall survival, modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS), lung function tests (FVC and DLCO), and the revised EUSTAR Activity Index (REAI) were the outcome measures chosen to evaluate the therapy efficacy. Results AHSCT was significantly more effective than RTX and CIT in prolonging survival, inducing a rapid reduction of the mRSS and REAI and maintaining the baseline level of lung function tests for a longer time. RTX therapy was also superior to CIT in reducing REAI, mRSS and in saving lung function. Conclusion AHSCT is more effective than both RTX and CIT in prolonging survival and inducing prolonged remission in patients with rapidly progressive dcSSc.

Background and Purpose To evaluate the influence of serum hemoglobin level prior to radiotherapy and other prognostic factors on survival in patients with high-grade gliomas. Material and Methods From 2001–2010, we retrospectively evaluated a total of 48 patients with malignant glioma treated with surgery and postoperative radiochemotherapy with temozolomide. A total of 37 of 48 patients received sequential temozolomide. Hemoglobin levels were assayed before radiotherapy in all patients. The Kaplan–Meier method was applied to estimate the overall survival, while the log-rank test was applied to evaluate the differences on survival probability between prognostic subgroups. Results Results were assessed in 43 patients. The median overall survival time was 18 months (95% confidence interval: 12–40 months). The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 62.2% and 36.3%, respectively. The prognostic factors analyzed were gender, age, extent of surgery, performance status before and after radiotherapy, sequential chemotherapy, hemoglobin level, and methylation of the O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase gene (MGMT). In univariate analysis, the variables significantly related to survival were performance status before and after radiotherapy, sequential chemotherapy, and hemoglobin level. The median overall survival in patients with a hemoglobin level ≤ 12 g/dl was 12 months and 23 months in patients with a hemoglobin level > 12 g/dl. The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 46.7% and 20.0%, respectively, for patients with a hemoglobin level ≤ 12 mg/dl and 69.6% and 45.7%, respectively, for patients with a hemoglobin level > 12 g/dl. Conclusion Our results confirm the impact of well-known prognostic factors on survival. In this research, it was found that a low hemoglobin level before radiotherapy can adversely influence the prognosis of patients with malignant gliomas.

To evaluate the influence of serum hemoglobin level prior to radiotherapy and other prognostic factors on survival in patients with high-grade gliomas. From 2001-2010, we retrospectively evaluated a total of 48 patients with malignant glioma treated with surgery and postoperative radiochemotherapy with temozolomide. A total of 37 of 48 patients received sequential temozolomide. Hemoglobin levels were assayed before radiotherapy in all patients. The Kaplan-Meier method was applied to estimate the overall survival, while the log-rank test was applied to evaluate the differences on survival probability between prognostic subgroups. Results were assessed in 43 patients. The median overall survival time was 18 months (95% confidence interval: 12-40 months). The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 62.2% and 36.3%, respectively. The prognostic factors analyzed were gender, age, extent of surgery, performance status before and after radiotherapy, sequential chemotherapy, hemoglobin level, and methylation of the O-6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase gene (MGMT). In univariate analysis, the variables significantly related to survival were performance status before and after radiotherapy, sequential chemotherapy, and hemoglobin level. The median overall survival in patients with a hemoglobin level ≤ 12 g/dl was 12 months and 23 months in patients with a hemoglobin level > 12 g/dl. The 1- and 2-year survival rates were 46.7% and 20.0%, respectively, for patients with a hemoglobin level ≤ 12 mg/dl and 69.6% and 45.7%, respectively, for patients with a hemoglobin level > 12 g/dl. Our results confirm the impact of well-known prognostic factors on survival. In this research, it was found that a low hemoglobin level before radiotherapy can adversely influence the prognosis of patients with malignant gliomas.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]