Right temporal lobe epilepsy surgery activates suppressed post-traumatic stress disorder 31 years after a robbery.

Hippocampus and amygdala play central roles in the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Changes in neurological structures due to surgery leading to PTSD have previously been reported. In this case, we present a patient that develops PTSD right after epilepsy surgery in the right temporal lobe. The case adds knowledge to the mechanisms of storage of PTSD memories. A 56-year-old male suffering from refractory temporal lobe epilepsy was treated with an anteromesial temporal lobe resection on the right side. A few weeks after the surgery, he developed strong PTSD symptoms. They included flashbacks from a robbery he was subjected to three decades ago when he was 25 years old. In addition, he suffered from hypervigilance, irritability, and avoidance behavior. Psychotherapy eventually eased his symptoms. No previous disorders were recorded. No psychiatry symptoms were present before surgery. This case is one of few reports on the sudden occurrence of PTSD after epilepsy-surgery in the form of right-sided anteromesial temporal lobe resection. The disorder may not have been detected if not included in the Danish Epilepsy-Surgery-Protocol, among them both the pre-surgery psychiatric management and in the post-operative monitoring.

Primo non nocere or maximum survival in grade 2 gliomas? A medical ethical question.

BACKGROUND: Maximum safe resection is the "gold standard" in surgical treatment of grade 2 gliomas (G2Gs), aiming to achieve maximal survival benefit with minimal risk of functional deficit. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the attitude of patients and experts towards more extensive surgery with a trade-off between neurological function and survival time. METHODS: Eight patients and seven experts participated in semi-structured focus group interviews. RESULTS: Both patients and experts accepted the premise of balancing neurological function versus longevity. Some patients would accept an increased risk of permanent neurological deficits in order to obtain a chance of increased survival. There was a significant variance in what constituted "quality of life" both between patients and for the individual patient over time. CONCLUSIONS: In important life-changing decisions there is no "one size fits all". We find that it is ethically acceptable to offer more extensive surgery than is possible within the concept of maximal safe surgery as a treatment option, when balancing the principles of beneficence, non-maleficience, autonomy and justice supports the decision. At the same time it must be remembered that even when the patients have made a well-informed decision, some will regret it. In that situation it will be our job as healthcare professionals to support them and help carry some of this burden.

Awake Laser Ablation with Continuous Neuropsychological Testing During Treatment of Brain Tumors and Epilepsy.

MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT) is feasible and safe in the awake patient. Awake LITT may be performed with analgesics for head fixation in a head-ring, no sedation during laser ablation, and with continuous neurological testing in patients with brain tumors and epilepsy. In the LITT treatment of lesions near eloquent areas and subcortical fiber tracts, neurological function can potentially be preserved by monitoring the patient during laser ablation.

Delineation of Grade II and III Gliomas Investigated by 7T MRI: An Inter-Observer Pilot Study.

PURPOSE: Diffuse low-grade gliomas (DLGGs) are low-malignancy brain tumors originating from the glial cells of the brain growing continuously and infiltratively along the neural axons and infiltrating the surrounding brain tissue. DLGGs usually transform into higher malignancy, causing progressive disability and premature death. MRI scans are valuable when assessing soft tissue abnormalities, but, due to the infiltrative properties of DLGGs, delineating the tumor borders is a challenging task. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the difference in gross tumor volume (GTV) of DLGGs delineated from 7 Tesla and 3 Tesla MRI scans. METHOD: Patients were recruited at the department of neurosurgery and were scanned in both a 7T and a 3T MRI scanner prior to the operation. Two observers delineated the tumors using semi-automatic delineation software. The results from each observer were blinded to the other observer's delineation. RESULTS: Comparing GTVs from 7T and 3T, the percentage difference varied up to 40.4% on the T2-weighted images. The percentage difference in GTV varied up to 15.3% on the fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images. On the T2-weighted images, most cases varied by approximately 15%; on the FLAIR sequence, half of the cases varied by approximately 5% and the other half by approximately 15%. The overall inter-observer agreement was near perfect, with an intraclass correlation of 0.969. The intraclass correlation was better on the FLAIR sequence than on the T2 sequence. CONCLUSION: Overall, the GTVs delineated from 7T images were smaller. The increase in field strength improved the inter-observer agreement only on the FLAIR sequence.

[Cognitive disturbances following severe traumatic brain injury]. / Kognitive forstyrrelser ved svaer traumatisk hjerneskade.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) very often has extensive effects of cognitive character such as changes in recognition, thought, memory, language and perception. The purpose of this paper is to give a short status of cognitive impairment after severe traumatic brain injury and to illustrate that cognitive impairment varies according to levels of consciousness. The article shortly describes typical observed behaviour in the patient when waking up after severe TBI, including post-traumatic amnesia.