In vivo 2-hydroxyglutarate-proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (3 T, PRESS technique) in treatment-naïve suspect lower-grade gliomas: feasibility and accuracy in a clinical setting.

Isocitrate dehydrogenase 1/2 (IDH1/2) mutations are often detected in lower-grade gliomas (LGG) and result into 2-hydroxyglutarate (2HG) synthesis. Prior studies showed that 2HG can be detected in vivo using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), but its accuracy and translational impact are still under investigation. PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical feasibility of MRS for in vivo detection and quantification of 2HG on consecutive treatment-naïve suspect LGG patients and to compare MRS accuracy with tissue IDH1/2 analysis. METHODS: MRS spectra at 3 T were acquired with 1H-MRS single-voxel PRESS 2HG-tailored sequences with TE 30 (group 1) or TE 97 (groups 2A and B). Voxel sizes were 1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 cm3 for group 1 (n = 13) and group 2A (n = 14) and 2 × 2 × 2 cm3 for group 2B (n = 32). Multiple metabolites' concentrations were analyzed with LCModel. Tumors were assessed for IDH status and main molecular markers. 2HG levels in urine/blood were measured by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. RESULTS: The larger voxel TE 97 sequence resulted in highest specificity (100%), sensitivity (79%), and accuracy (87%). Urine and blood 2HG did not result predictive. CONCLUSION: Our data confirm that 2 × 2 × 2-cm3 voxel TE 97 MRS shows high accuracy for 2HG detection, with good sensitivity and 100% specificity in distinguishing IDH mutant gliomas. Main limits of the technique are small tumor volume and low cellularity. Integrating 2HG-MRS with other metabolites may help non-invasive diagnosis of glioma, prognostic assessment, and treatment planning in clinical setting.

A propensity score analysis for comparison of T-3b and VATET in myasthenia gravis.

OBJECTIVE: We performed propensity score (PS) models to compare the outcome of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) submitted to 2 different surgical approaches: extended transsternal (T-3b) or thoracoscopic extended thymectomy (VATET). METHODS: Patients' clinical data were retrieved from the MG database of the C. Besta Neurologic Institute Foundation. In the PS analysis, a matching ratio of 1:1 of the main clinical variables was obtained for the 2 groups of patients and treatment effect was estimated by comparing their outcome. RESULTS: A total of 210 patients met the inclusion criteria, by having a complete set of clinical data, and were included in the PS model; a matched dataset of 122 participants (61 per group) showed an adequate balance of all the covariates. Our analysis demonstrated that 68.9% of patients who had thymectomy by the VATET technique reached the pharmacologic remission/remission status at 2 years from thymectomy compared to 34.4% of those operated on by the T-3b technique (p < 0.001), had a lower INCB-MG score (p < 0.001), and had less muscle fatigability (p = 0.004). Similar results were found considering only nonthymomatous patients with MG. Results were also confirmed by paired statistical tests. CONCLUSIONS: Our PS matching analysis showed that VATET is a reliable and effective surgical approach alternative to T-3b in patients with MG who are candidates for thymectomy. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class IV evidence that for patients with MG, VATET is more effective than T-3b thymectomy.

Radiosurgery for intracranial meningiomas: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Radiosurgery(RS), both in single and multiple sessions, have been performed for intracranial meningiomas. Different aspects are still controversial on this field. The aim of this systematic review is to summarize the current literature on long-term efficacy and safety of RS for meningiomas. METHODS: Online databases were searched for studies published until April 2015. The primary outcomes were disease control and progression-free-survival(PFS). The secondary outcomes were symptom control and radiation-induced toxicity. RESULTS: The estimate of disease control rate ranged from 87.0% to 100.0% at 5 years and from 67.0% to 100.0% at 10 years. The PFS rate ranged 78.0%-98.9% and 53.1%-97.2% at 5 and 10 years, respectively. The overall symptom control was 92.3%, the overall toxicity was 8.1%. CONCLUSIONS: RS can be considered a safe and effective treatment. Efforts are needed in standardizing the definition of local and symptom control and toxicity in order to properly compare different treatment schedules.

Validation of the MG-DIS: a disability assessment for myasthenia gravis.

This paper is aimed to present the validation of the myasthenia gravis disability assessment (MG-DIS), a MG-specific patient-reported disability outcome measure. Consecutive MG patients were enrolled, followed-up for 12 months and administered the SF-36, the WHO disability assessment schedule (WHODAS 2.0) and the preliminary 31-item MG-DIS addressing impairments and activity limitations. Factor structure and metric properties were assessed. In total, 109 patients were enrolled: 76 were females, mean age 50, mean MG duration 10.4 years, 86 were AChR-positive. The MG-DIS was reduced to 20 items, explaining 70.6 % of the original questionnaire variance, four subscales (generalized impairment-related problems; bulbar function-related problems; mental health and fatigue-related problems; vision-related problems) and an overall disability index. The MG-DIS has good metric properties (Cronbach's alpha ranging between .808 and .930), is stable, showed to be more sensitive than the WHODAS 2.0 and SF-36 to detect group differences and longitudinal changes and was well correlated with the MG-composite (.642). The MG-DIS includes items representing ocular, generalized, bulbar and respiratory symptoms, and is therefore well-built around MG-specific features. MG-DIS can be used in clinical trials as well as in observational or epidemiological studies to characterize patients' disability level and address the amount of improvement in disability. Further studies are needed to explore the possibility of a shorter disability scale.

Validation of the Besta Neurological Institute rating scale for myasthenia gravis.

INTRODUCTION: We validated the scale for myasthenia gravis (MG) developed at the Neurological Institute Foundation of Milan (INCB-MG scale). METHODS: A total of 174 patients were evaluated with the INCB-MG and compared with the MG Composite (MGC) as the gold standard. Dimensionality, reliability, and validity of the INCB-MG scale were studied by principal component factor analysis, Cronbach alpha, and Pearson correlation coefficients; interobserver reliability was calculated by the weighted Cohen K coefficient. RESULTS: Generalized and bulbar INCB-MG subscales were unidimensional with excellent consistency; the INCB-MG and MGC scales were strongly correlated. Fatigability assessment was correlated with the INCB-MG generalized, bulbar, and respiratory subscales. CONCLUSIONS: The INCB-MG scale is a reliable tool to assess MG and is strongly correlated with the MGC. The INCB-MG scale is a valid tool for every day practice and should be further investigated for its application in clinical trials.