Endovascular treatment of posterior cerebral artery aneurysms.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to report the incidence, clinical presentation, endovascular treatment, and outcome of aneurysms of the posterior cerebral artery (PCA). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among 1880 aneurysms treated between January 1995 and January 2005, 22 aneurysms (1.2%) in 22 patients were located on the PCA. Ten patients presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from the PCA aneurysm: 2 of these patients had additional visual field deficits and 2 had additional occulomotor palsy. One patient presented with acute occulomotor palsy only. Eleven PCA aneurysms were unruptured: 9 were additional to another ruptured aneurysm and 2 were incidentally discovered. Three aneurysms were >15 mm and the other 19 aneurysms were < or = 8 mm. Eighteen aneurysms were saccular, 2 were fusiform, one was dissecting, and one was mycotic. RESULTS: All aneurysms were successfully treated, 17 with selective occlusion of the aneurysm with coils and 5 with simultaneous occlusion of the aneurysm and parent PCA with coils. There were no complications of treatment. Two patients died of sequelae of SAH shortly after treatment. One patient died 2 months after coiling of an unruptured P1 aneurysm with intramural thrombus of SAH from the same aneurysm. One patient had persistent hemianopsia. In 2 patients with intact visual field in which the parent PCA was occluded, no hemianopsia developed due to sufficient leptomeningeal collateral circulation. CONCLUSION: Aneurysms of the PCA are rare with an incidence in our practice of 1.2% of all types of aneurysms. Clinical presentation is variable with SAH, occulomotor palsy, visual field deficit or a combination. Endovascular treatment with either selective occlusion of the aneurysm or occlusion of the aneurysm together with the parent artery with coils is safe and effective with good clinical results.

The association of visual field deficits and visuo-spatial neglect in acute right-hemisphere stroke patients.

BACKGROUND: Visuo-spatial neglect (VSN) after stroke is associated with a poor prognosis for rehabilitation. The co-existence of a visual field deficit (VFD) with VSN may be associated with impaired visuo-spatial functioning and thereby poor functional outcome. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the presence of a VFD (i) exacerbates VSN and (ii) influences recovery of VSN. METHODS: A prospective study of consecutive acute (<7 days), right-hemisphere stroke patients who were able to undergo detailed assessment of visuo-spatial functioning and visual fields. Clinical assessment and a standardized neuropsychological test was administered by one observer, followed by independent assessment of visual fields by a second observer. Patients were followed up for 12 weeks with 4-weekly re-assessments. RESULTS: 44 consecutive patients (23 women) with a first in a lifetime, acute hemisphere stroke were recruited. Twenty had VSN and VFD, seven VSN only, one VFD only and 17 had normal visual fields and no neglect. The finding of a VFD was significantly associated with the presence of VSN (P<0.0001). Patients with both VFD and VSN had a significantly lower score on the behavioural inattention test. One month post-stroke, this difference was no longer significant. Recovery of VSN and VFD was maximal in the first month, however VSN recovery continued for up to 12 weeks. Patients with VSN and a VFD on admission had a greater mortality at 1 and 3 months. CONCLUSION: The presence of a VFD does appear to exacerbate neglect in the acute stroke patient; this effect is no longer seen after 1 month. Recovery of VSN continues independent of a VFD. Patients with neglect and a VFD have an increased mortality, probably because of greater neurological impairment.

Temporal lobe surgery around the world. Results, complications, and mortality.

This survey covers 2,282 published temporal lobe resections, performed from 1928-1973, all over the world, as treatment of invalidating, drug-resistant epilepsy. At follow-up, two-thirds of the patients were free or almost free from seizures; and over half of those patients who were mentally abnormal before the operation were normalized or had obtained a marked improvement. The operative mortality has always been very low. No operative mortality has been recorded within the last decade. The risk of severe complications such as persistent hemiparesis and/or a complete homonymous hemianopia has decreased markedly, and is now only a few per cent.