Association between cavernous angioma and cerebral glioma. Report of two cases and literature review of so-called angiogliomas.

The association between vascular malformations and cerebral gliomas is unusual. While the association between cavernous angioma with gliomatous lesions is even more rare, it is considered by certain authors to be a particular pathological entity termed angioglioma. The authors report on two cases of association of a cavernous angioma with a ganglioglioma and an oligodendroglioma respectively. Subsequent review of the literature on the so-called angiogliomas was conducted. In the author's opinion, the entity of angiogliomas represents a general spectrum of angiomatous neoplasms that include gliomatous tumors, in the majority low-grade gliomas, associated with a major vascular component.

Fatal subarachnoid hemorrhage from mycotic aneurysm ruptures in an immunocompetent patient with aspergillosis: a case report.

Cerebral aspergillosis is a rare condition usually encountered in severely immunodepressed patients. We review the case of an immunocompetent patient who developed a fulminant form of cerebral aspergillosis which led to death due to the rapid formation and rupture of multiple mycotic aneurysms in the cerebral arteries. We suggest the possible role of genetic factors in causing this unusual clinical history and we propose that cerebral aspergillosis should be taken into consideration early in the process of diagnosis in order to allow for timely treatment.

Spectroscopic, diffusion and perfusion magnetic resonance imaging at 3.0 Tesla in the delineation of glioblastomas: preliminary results.

Recent advances in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) have allowed the evaluation of metabolic, diffusion and hemodynamic features of malignant gliomas. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether such information provided useful, complementary information to conventional MRI for improving the evaluation of glioblastoma extent. Ten patients with glioblastoma multiforme underwent conventional MRI, proton MR spectroscopic imaging (1H-MRSI), perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI) and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). Metabolite signals, including normalized choline, N-acetylaspartate, creatine and lactate/lipids, were obtained by 1H-MRSI; apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) by DWI; and relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) by PWI. In edematous-appearing areas, 3 multiparametric patterns were identified: infiltrating tumor, with abnormal metabolite ratios, lower ADC and higher rCBV; pure edema, with normal metabolite ratios, higher ADC and lower rCBV; and tumor-infiltrated edema, with abnormal metabolite ratios and intermediate ADC and rCBV. In normal-appearing areas, 2 multiparametric patterns were identified: tumor-infiltrated tissue, with abnormal metabolite ratios and higher rCBV; and normal tissue, with normal MR parameters. The combination of 1H-MRSI, DWI and PWI features contributed to delineation of glioblastomas, offering information not available with conventional MRI. This approach may enhance the assessment of brain gliomas, providing useful information for guiding stereotactic biopsies, surgical resection and radiation treatment.

Coronary artery bypass grafting in the awake patient: combined thoracic epidural and lumbar subarachnoid block.

High thoracic epidural anaesthesia has recently been proposed to perform surgical revascularisation with arterial grafts in awake patients. However, in high-risk patients with associated co-morbidity it is not always possible to perform complete arterial revascularisation. A technique which combines thoracic epidural and selective lumbar subarachnoid block is described, allowing harvesting of saphenous vein and complete surgical revascularisation in awake patients.

Propofol EEG burst suppression in carotid endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND: The results of randomized trials indicate that carotid endarterectomy, performed with a low morbidity-mortality perioperative risk, is the best therapeutic option both for patients with high-grade symptomatic and asymptomatic stenosis. Since the main operative risk is represented by embolic or hemodynamic cerebral ischemia, it appears necessary to maintain an adequate intraoperative cerebral blood flow and to carry out a meticulous endarterectomy. METHODS: On the basis of these considerations we prospectively studied a series of 100 consecutive patients operated on for high-grade carotid stenosis, by using a protocol based on: 1) an accurate selection of patients for surgery; 2) meticulous surgical technique without any shunt; 3) perioperative cerebral protection by barbiturate or propofol; 4) pre- and postoperative medical treatment of risk factors. All patients of our series performed preoperatively brain CT scan, transcranial Doppler, carotid duplex scanning, four vessel angiography, brain 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT. Eighty-two patients had symptomatic carotid stenosis ranged between 70 and 90%, 18 had carotid stenosis higher than 90%. RESULTS: In this series there have been one postoperative death due to myocardial infarction and one major stroke. CONCLUSIONS: We think that this protocol can significantly minimize risks of endarterectomy and probably maximize the benefits of surgery, also in patients with asymptomatic high-grade carotid stenosis.

Stress-induced craving and stress response in cocaine dependent individuals.

Two laboratory studies were conducted to examine the effects of acute psychological stress on craving and stress reactivity in cocaine abusers. In the first preliminary study, we examined the effects of a speech stressor task and a personalized stress imagery task on self-reported craving and emotional state in ten cocaine abusers. Both stressors led to significant decreases in neutral and joy states, and significant increases in fear ratings as compared to baseline ratings. In addition, the stress imagery condition led to significant increases in cocaine craving and sadness and anger ratings, as compared to baseline. Thus, the personalized stress imagery task appeared to be more effective than the speech stress task in inducing craving in the laboratory. The second study examined the effects of stress imagery as compared to neutral imagery on cocaine craving, subjective anxiety and physiological responses in a second group of ten cocaine abusers. The stress imagery task once again produced significant increases in cocaine craving along with increases in heart rate, salivary cortisol and subjective anxiety ratings. These data are the first to document that acute psychological stress consistently increases craving for cocaine in cocaine abusers. The studies also provide a promising method for examining the association between stress and drug craving in the laboratory.

Cerebrovascular reactivity before and after carotid endarterectomy.

BACKGROUND: The hemodynamic relevance of internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis often does not correlate with anatomic features, as angiographically defined. The cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) has been advocated as a means of defining the cerebral hemodynamic impairment. METHODS: We assessed the results of pre- and postoperative CVR evaluation, using the CO2 transcranial doppler method, in 25 patients with high-grade ICA stenosis. The patients with history of stroke, evidence of cerebral CT infarction or symptoms from the contralateral circulation or the brain stem were excluded to avoid the effects of cerebral infarction on the hemodynamic studies. Statistical analysis was used to evaluate the CVR changes after carotid endarterectomy. RESULTS: Preoperative evaluation showed that CVR was generally well correlated with the degree of ICA stenosis and concomitant contralateral carotid steno-occlusion. Before endarterectomy the mean CVR value was 66.5% (moderately reduced). After surgery the overall mean value of CVR was 84.1% (normal), with a statistically significant improvement. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the CVR evaluation allows one to obtain hemodynamic information of clinical interest in the patients with ICA stenosis and that carotid endarterectomy is effective to restore the CVR in patients with cerebral hemodynamic impairment.