Long-Term Results of Deep Brain Stimulation of the Mamillotegmental Fasciculus in Chronic Cluster Headache.

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) and the proper target for chronic cluster headache (CCH) are still subjects of controversy. OBJECTIVES: We present our long-term results of analysis of the target and its structural connectivity. METHODS: Fifteen patients with drug-resistant CCH underwent DBS in coordinates 4 mm lateral to the III ventricular wall and 2 mm behind and 5 mm below the intercommissural point. The clinical parameters recorded were the number of weekly attacks, pain intensity, and duration of the headache. Structural connectivity was studied using 3-T MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). RESULTS: All of our patients improved from a mean of 39 attacks/week to 2; pain intensity decreased from 9 to 3 out of 10, and the mean cephalalgia duration decreased from 53 to 8 min. The mean stereotactic coordinates of the effective contact location were 6.1 mm lateral to the midcommissural point and 1.2 mm behind and 4.0 mm below the intercommissural point. DTI analysis showed that this target was connected to tracts and nuclei of the posterior mesencephalic tegmentum, specifically the dorsal longitudinal and mamillotegmental fasciculi. CONCLUSIONS: Our data showed DBS to be a safe and useful procedure for the treatment of drug-resistant CCH; the rate of improvement was higher than those found in other series. Although these are promising results, larger series targeting those fasciculi with a longer follow-up are needed.

Calidad de vida tras el tratamiento quirúrgico del infarto maligno de la arteria cerebral media / Quality of life following surgical treatment of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction

Introducción. Son escasas las publicaciones que valoran la capacidad de adaptación a la enfermedad de pacientes con infarto maligno de la arteria cerebral media sometidos a cirugía descompresiva. El propósito del trabajo es analizar la calidad de vida final y el grado de satisfacción de pacientes y familiares. Pacientes y métodos. Analizamos 21 pacientes al año de ser intervenidos. Para evaluar la calidad de vida, empleamos la versión española del Sickness Impact Profile. Para conocer el grado de satisfacción retrospectiva, preguntamos a familiares y pacientes si, conociendo las secuelas actuales del afectado, habrían estado igualmente de acuerdo con realizar la craniectomía descompresiva. Resultados. La esfera física se percibe como más perturbada que la relativa a aspectos emocionales. No existen diferencias en la calidad de vida entre pacientes con afectación del hemisferio derecho o izquierdo. Los pacientes con mejor situación funcional refieren una mejor calidad de vida. El 81% de los pacientes se encuentra satisfecho. Conclusión. A pesar de que todos los pacientes muestran una reducción en la calidad de vida después de la craniectomía descompresiva, la mayoría parecen satisfechos con el tratamiento recibido, incluso en afectación del hemisferio dominante o aquéllos con una discapacidad moderada-grave (AU)

Introduction. Little work has been published on the capacity to adapt to the disease of patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction who have undergone decompressive surgery. The purpose of this study is to analyse the final quality of life and the degree of satisfaction of patients and their relatives. Patients and methods. We analysed 21 patients one year after their operation. The quality of life was evaluated using the Spanish version of the Sickness Impact Profile. In order to determine the degree of retrospective satisfaction, we asked relatives and patients whether, now that the patient’s current sequelae are known, they would have still agreed to a decompressive craniectomy. Results. The physical sphere is felt to be more disrupted than that concerning emotional aspects. There are no differences in the quality of life between patients who have the right or the left hemisphere affected. Patients with a better functional situation report a better quality of life. Altogether, 81% of patients said they were satisfied. Conclusions. Despite the fact that all the patients show a loss of quality of life after a decompressive craniectomy, most of them seem to be satisfied with the treatment they have received, even in cases in which the dominant hemisphere is compromised or in those with a moderate-severe disability (AU)

[Quality of life following surgical treatment of malignant middle cerebral artery infarction]. / Calidad de vida tras el tratamiento quirúrgico del infarto maligno de la arteria cerebral media.

INTRODUCTION: Little work has been published on the capacity to adapt to the disease of patients with malignant middle cerebral artery infarction who have undergone decompressive surgery. The purpose of this study is to analyse the final quality of life and the degree of satisfaction of patients and their relatives. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We analysed 21 patients one year after their operation. The quality of life was evaluated using the Spanish version of the Sickness Impact Profile. In order to determine the degree of retrospective satisfaction, we asked relatives and patients whether, now that the patient's current sequelae are known, they would have still agreed to a decompressive craniectomy. RESULTS: The physical sphere is felt to be more disrupted than that concerning emotional aspects. There are no differences in the quality of life between patients who have the right or the left hemisphere affected. Patients with a better functional situation report a better quality of life. Altogether, 81% of patients said they were satisfied. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the fact that all the patients show a loss of quality of life after a decompressive craniectomy, most of them seem to be satisfied with the treatment they have received, even in cases in which the dominant hemisphere is compromised or in those with a moderate-severe disability.

Revisión de la diana para la estimulación cerebral profunda de la cefalea en racimos crónica / Review of the target for the deep brain stimulation of chronic cluster headache

La cefalea en racimos pertenece al grupo de las cefalalgias trigeminales autosómicas. Aunque su fisiopatología no está suficientemente clara, se cree que una disfunción hipotalámica es la causante de este tipo de cefaleas. Desde 001 se ha tratado a más de 50 pacientes con estimulación cerebral en el hipotálamo posterior. Los resultados obtenidos hasta la fecha son de mejoría en más del 60% de los casos y se ha abierto un camino prometedor para el tratamiento de la cefalea en racimos crónica rebelde a tratamiento farmacológico. La diana quirúrgica utilizada hasta ahora se basa en la disfunción del hipotálamo posteroinferior como origen de la cefalea en racimos; sin embargo, hay varias cuestiones no resueltas como son, entre otras, la falta de demostración de que el hipotálamo posteroinferior es el generador de las cefaleas, no existe un consenso sobre la anatomía de la diana quirúrgica y la variabilidad de estructuras anatómicas neuroestimuladas en estos pacientes. El objetivo de este artículo es hacer una revisión crítica de la diana utilizada en esta patología y proponer, sobre la base de conceptos fisiopatológicos, otra diana que explique el efecto beneficioso de la estimulación cerebral profunda en estos pacientes (AU)

Cluster headache is included in the group of trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias. Although the pathophysiology of cluster headache has not yet been sufficiently established, the theory of a central origin tells us that this headache is produced by hypothalamic dysfunction. More than 50 patients have been treated with deep brain stimulation of the posterior nucleus of the hypothalamus from 2001. The results show clinical improvement in more than 60% of the cases, opening a promising issue for the treatment of the cluster headache persistent after medical treatment. The surgical target that have been used until now is based on the origin of the cluster headache in the hypothalamic dysfunction. Nevertheless, It has still some open questions as the lack of proving the posterior nucleus of the hypothalamus is the real origin of the cluster headache, the lack of consensus about the anatomy of the surgical target and the variability of the structures stimulated with the surgery. The aim of this article is a review of the target used and propose another surgical target based on physiopathological concepts to explain the improvement with the deep brain stimulation in these patients (AU)