A Recurrent Large Posterior Cerebral Artery Aneurysm Successfully Treated with Parent Artery Occlusion Using Somatosensory-Evoked Potential: A Case Report.

Objective: Treatment of large posterior cerebral artery (PCA) aneurysm involving the P1-P2 segment is difficult by both neurosurgery and endovascular treatment. Balloon occlusion test (BOT) to identify precise peripheral collateral flow is difficult prior to parent artery occlusion (PAO). Besides, PAO at the aneurysm at this location can cause peripheral cortical infarction of the occipital and temporal lobes and/or perforator infarction involving the midbrain and thalamus perfused by the perforating artery arising from the P1-P2 segment. However, detection of the perforator during PAO is difficult. Case Presentation: The patient was a 49-year-old woman. At the age of 43 years, a right large PCA aneurysm was discovered in the right P1-P2 segment. A simple technique coiling was performed. As recurrence was identified 1 year later, embolization was performed using a same procedure. Since further recurrences were later found, a third round of treatment was planned. Somatosensory-evoked potential (SEP) was recorded as intraoperative electrophysiological monitoring. Tortuosity of the right PCA was observed at the aneurysm neck and the distal right PCA could not be secured. We could neither perform stent-assisted coil embolization nor BOT in the right PCA. Hence, we inflated the balloon in the basilar artery and checked the collateral circulation routes retrograde into the right PCA from the right middle cerebral artery via a leptomeningeal anastomosis. PAO was performed on the right P1-P2 segment at the aneurysm neck. The signal of the SEP was not decreased, and the aneurysm was not visualized. Another coil was added to strengthen the PAO to the right P1 segment, which decreased the SEP amplitude in the extremities by 3 minutes after. As the last coil was thought to be occluding the perforator branching from the right P1 segment, it was removed without detaching. The SEP amplitude began to improve and recovered by 9 minutes after. There was no postoperative deficit. No recurrence of aneurysm was observed on MRA 9 months postoperatively. Conclusion: During PAO at the P1 segment of large PCA aneurysm involving the P1-P2 segment, SEP may be helpful to prevent perforator infarction, even if perforating artery originating from the proximal portion of the aneurysm was not detected by angiography.

A cross-sectional study clarifying profiles of patients with diabetes who discontinued pharmacotherapy: reasons and consequences.

BACKGROUND: Although diabetes is one of the fastest increasing diseases in prevalence worldwide and demands significant medical resources, more than half of all patients with diabetes do not achieve the expected target level of blood glucose. As a potential cause of poor glycemic control, insufficient adherence to medication has long been discussed and variably studied. However, dropout from treatment as another plausible cause has not been fully examined. The aim of this study was to clarify profiles of patients with diabetes who discontinued pharmacotherapy (Discont group) by extracting reasons of their decisions and by comparing with those who continued (Cont group) in terms of the related factors to glycemic control. METHODS: A cross-sectional, internet-based survey was conducted among Japanese with diabetes registered in a database. A self-administered questionnaire consisting of the 8-item version of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8), glycosylated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level, and demographic and disease characteristics was completed by all participants. Reasons for medication discontinuation and resumption were also received retrospectively from participants in the Discont group. To examine the risk of uncontrolled HbA1c, logistic regression analysis was conducted in each group. RESULTS: In the Discont group (148 cases), older age at resumption of pharmacotherapy and current smoking habit increased the probability of uncontrolled HbA1c, whereas in the Cont group (146 cases), a familial history of diabetes and better medication adherence in MMAS-8 scores decreased the probability of uncontrolled HbA1c. A relationship between medication adherence and HbA1c level was seen in the Cont but not in the Discont group. About 70 % of those in the Discont group made their decision to terminate diabetes treatment without consulting physicians and half of them perceived their situations inappropriately. CONCLUSIONS: Those who discontinued pharmacotherapy were less adherent to medication than those who did not discontinue. Risk factors for glycemic control also differed between those who discontinued and those who did not. More than one-third of participants with diabetes who discontinued pharmacotherapy had inappropriate perceptions of their disease, which medical professionals should be aware of for better interventions.

[Ruptured Posterior Inferior Cerebellar Artery Communicating Artery Aneurysm:A Case Report].

The posterior inferior cerebellar artery(PICA)communicating artery is a fine tortuous artery that interconnects the bilateral vermian branches of the distal PICAs. Aneurysms of this anastomotic vessel have been reported in only seven cases(including ours)in the available literature. The PICA communicating artery supplied collateral blood flow to the contralateral vermian territory in all seven cases. A 51-year-old man presented with a rare PICA communicating artery aneurysm(which manifested as a hematoma in the fourth ventricle)and mild subarachnoid hemorrhage at the cerebellomedullary fissure. Angiography revealed a hypoplastic right PICA and a PICA communicating artery from the left PICA that supplied the right vermian territory; the ruptured aneurysm originated from this vessel. Aneurysm trapping is associated with the risk of cerebral infarction of the right vermian territory. We concluded that the distal part of the telovelotonsillar segment could be sacrificed because the right anterior inferior cerebellar artery and the superior cerebellar artery would supply collateral blood flow; therefore, we attempted trapping in this case. A bilateral midline suboccipital approach was used, and we detected a reddish fusiform aneurysm at the top of a hairpin curve of the PICA communicating artery in the uvula of the cerebellar vermis. The aneurysm was trapped and removed without complications. Histopathological evaluation confirmed findings of a true aneurysm. Congenital vulnerability of the arterial wall and hemodynamic stress are considered contributors to PICA communicating artery aneurysms. Preservation of the affected vessel is difficult in patients in whom aneurysmal clipping is challenging. Other vessels tend to establish collateral blood flow to the contralateral vermian territory in such cases. Trapping is a simple and effective therapeutic strategy for these aneurysms.

Five Cases of High-grade Arteriovenous Malformation Treated by Presurgical Embolization through the Anterior Choroidal Artery.

Objective: In cases of cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in which perforators are involved as feeder, hemostasis is difficult during surgical removal and postoperative hemorrhage may develop. If possible, presurgical embolization should be performed. However, when the anterior choroidal artery (AChA) is the feeder, the risk of embolization is particularly high, and there are few reports describing this situation. Authors report the treatment results of five cases of AVM in which a single operator performed presurgical embolization through the AChA and describe the technique with a review of the literature. Case Presentations: Of the five total cases (three men and two women; average age was 43.4 years [28-68 years]), one case presented with hemorrhage, two with epilepsy, the other ones with headache and trigeminal neuralgia, respectively. The lesions were located in the frontal lobe in one case and in the temporal lobe in four cases. On the Spetzler-Martin (SM) grading scale, four cases were grade III and one was grade IV. The eloquent area was involved within the nidus in four cases. Multimodal treatment was planned because all cases were high-grade AVM. Authors thought that performing presurgical embolization through the AChA would reduce the overall risk of treatment and performed the presurgical embolization. The embolization was possible in all cases, and the AVM was not angiographycally visible through the AChA in three cases. The blood flow through the AChA was reduced in two cases. All cases were awake immediately after embolization and no case had neurological symptom after embolization. CT or MRI after embolization revealed asymptomatic infarction in two cases. The AVM was removed safely without difficulty including hemostasis. Conclusion: In this series, there were no morbidity and embolization was performed relatively safely. Embolization through the AChA was suggested to be an effective treatment, but careful consideration is required in each individual case.

Possible associations of personality traits representing harm avoidance and self-directedness with medication adherence in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

BACKGROUND: Insufficient medication adherence in diabetes patients, of which numbers continue to increase globally, remains a critical issue. Medication adherence is multifactorial and determined by interactions among factors including socioeconomic status, health care team and system, condition, therapy, and patient-specific factors. On the other hand, personality traits have been studied in adherence other than to medication. Using the instruments of Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), Harm Avoidance (TCI-HA) and Self-directedness (TCI-SD) showed distinguishing associations with adherence of health-related programs. However, few studies have been performed to elucidate psychometric properties related to medication adherence. We investigated how TCI-HA and TCI-SD of patients with diabetes are related to medication adherence. METHOD: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among type 2 diabetes patients recruited at medical institutions or via an online research company. Medication adherence was measured using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Personality traits were assessed using the established scales of TCI-HA and TCI-SD. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses of the MMAS-8 scores were performed in addition to assessing demographic and disease characteristics and TCI-HA and TCI-SD. RESULTS: A total of 358 responses were analyzed. Multivariate regression analysis of MMAS-8 scores revealed that higher TCI-SD was related to better adherence and experiencing drug-related side effects was related to poor adherence. Aging was significantly associated with better medication adherence in univariate regression analysis but became insignificant in multivariate regression. CONCLUSIONS: In diabetes patients, the anxiety reflected in TCI-HA tends to lower and the self-control reflected in TCI-SD tends to promote medication adherence. TCI-SD has a greater effect than TCI-HA.

Lumbar Degenerative Spondylolisthesis: Changes in Surgical Indications and Comparison of Instrumented Fusion With Two Surgical Decompression Procedures.

STUDY DESIGN: Single-center retrospective case series. OBJECTIVE: To compare outcomes of instrumented fusion and two methods of decompression for degenerative spondylolisthesis. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: There is no consensus on the surgical indications or optimum techniques for lumbar degenerative spondylolisthesis. METHODS: We analyzed the data of 140 patients treated by fusion (n = 80; mean follow-up, 77.9 months) or decompression (n = 60; mean follow-up, 38.0 months) and examined changes in surgical indications over a 12-year period. We compared the outcomes of instrumented fusion with the outcomes of two decompression techniques, the first employing a unilateral approach for bilateral decompression and the second employing a bilateral approach for contralateral decompression, with contralateral foraminal decompression as needed. Postoperative evaluation was made at the final follow-up visit beginning in 2007 by analyzing patient interviews and neurological examination data. We compared results with the Japanese Orthopedic Association symptom score before surgery and at final follow-up. RESULTS: Surgical indications for fusion narrowed over time, with fusion used less frequently and decompression used more frequently. Similar decreases in clinical symptoms, including low back pain, were achieved with all methods. In the decompression groups, preoperative slip distance and instability, and postoperative slip progression or development of instability, did not correlate significantly with clinical outcome. Slip progression occurred in 8 of 10 levels in patients with preoperative translation ≥5 mm, but these patients showed no increase in instability, defined as translation ≥ 2 mm, at final follow-up. CONCLUSION: Our findings raise a question about the value of the radiologic criteria for performing fusion used in the late period, namely translation ≥5 mm and/or rotation ≥ 10°. If discogenic pain is excluded, decompression alone may be suitable even for patients with severe low back pain and translation ≥5 mm. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 4.

Measurement of free and bound alcohol metabolites and methanol in human biological samples--free and bound alcohol metabolites and methanol in acute alcohol administration.

There are almost no studies on the in vivo distribution kinetics of free and bound ethanol, alcohol metabolites (acetaldehyde and acetate) or the related substance, methanol, during alcohol oxidation. Thus, an acute alcohol administration experiment (alcohol consumption experiment) was carried out using volunteers (five healthy adult males; 2 flushers, 3 non-flushers), and distribution kinetics were investigated in biological samples (blood and urine). The levels of alcohol metabolites and methanol were measured as free compounds in blood samples and bound and free compounds in urine samples. The results showed an increase over time of free alcohol metabolites in both the flusher and non-flusher groups, followed by a subsequent decrease. In addition, free methanol increased over time. Both bound alcohol metabolites and bound methanol were found to increase over time. Based on these findings, levels of free and bound alcohol metabolites and methanol in the biological samples were found to increase relative to levels before consumption in both the flusher and non-flusher groups. This is thought to be due to the binding of alcohol metabolites and methanol to biological components and increases during ethanol oxidation. It was concluded that this is the mechanism by which ethanol, alcohol metabolites and methanol accumulate in the body as a result of chronic alcohol consumption, suggesting that it may be possible to use these compounds as markers of consumption by measuring these compounds in biological samples taken from alcohol abusers or alcoholics.

Use of acetaldehyde and methanol as markers of alcohol abuse and their measurement.

UNLABELLED: It is believed that ethanol metabolites (ethanol, acetaldehyde and acetate) are produced when alcohol is consumed in accumulation with the binding of biological components. Additionally, it has been reported that ethanol metabolites and methanol present in the blood and urine are bound to biological components in habitual alcohol drinkers, even when alcohol has not been consumed. Consequently, with the purpose of investigating the potential for effectively using ethanol metabolite and methanol as markers of alcohol abuse, acetaldehyde level was measured in blood hemoglobin samples, and ethanol, acetaldehyde and methanol levels were measured in urine samples in healthy adult males (volunteers: control group) and alcoholics that had not consumed alcohol. Simultaneously, investigations were carried out on the genetic analysis of ADH and ALDH enzymes that participate in ethanol metabolism. Acetaldehyde levels were found to be significantly higher in alcoholics than in the volunteers for the period of 2 to 3 months after admission. In urine samples, acetaldehyde level (bound) was significantly higher in the period of 2 to 3 months after admission, and methanol level (free and bound) was significantly higher within a period of 1 month after admission. A correlation between alcoholics and genotype was found with regard to the distribution of ADH2 and ALDH2 genotypes ( VOLUNTEERS: ADH2 2-2 type, 81%; ALDH2 1-1 type, 61.9%; Alcoholics: ADH2 2-2 type, 39.6%; ALDH2 1-1 type, 84.9%). Based on these results, alcoholism or alcohol abuse might be predicted by concentration of acetaldehyde as well as methanol during abstinence. It also might be used as markers of alcohol abuse.