Biographies of international women leaders in neurosurgery.

We received so many biographies of women neurosurgery leaders for this issue that only a selection could be condensed here. In all of them, the essence of a leader shines through. Many are included as "first" of their country or color or other achievement. All of them are included as outstanding-in clinical, academic, and organized neurosurgery. Two defining features are tenacity and service. When faced with shocking discrimination, or numbing indifference, they ignored it or fought valiantly. When choosing their life's work, they chose service, often of the most neglected-those with pain, trauma, and disability. These women inspire and point the way to a time when the term "women leaders" as an exception is unnecessary.-Katharine J. Drummond, MD, on behalf of this month's topic editors.

Carole A. Miller, MD: Matriarch of the Ohio State University's Department of Neurosurgery.

Carole A. Miller, M.D., was born (May 7, 1939) and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She obtained her undergraduate and medical degrees at the Ohio State University. She went on to complete her neurosurgical training at the Ohio State University Medical Center. After her first faculty role at the University of Michigan (1971), she returned to the Ohio State University Medical Center (1975) where she spent nearly 4 decades. She thrived in the specialty, achieving in every facet of academic practice including scientific contributions, graduate medical education, clinical care, and leadership roles within her academic department, locally, and at the national level of organized neurosurgery. Dr. Miller passed away peacefully, on October 28, 2015, after a courageous battle with cancer. Based on her essential programmatic and specialty-related contributions, she is remembered as the 'founding mother' of neurosurgery at the Ohio State University.

Monitoring of creatinine kinase during weaning of intrathecal baclofen and with symptoms of early withdrawal.

Abrupt withdrawal from intrathecal baclofen (ITB) can result in severe rebound spasticity, confusion, and seizures. It has been recently recognized that abrupt withdrawal from ITB may, in rare cases, result in life-threatening rhabdomyolysis, hyperthermia, autonomic disturbances, and sepsis-like presentations. Early recognition of the most severe forms of the withdrawal syndrome is essential for effective intervention. The common and unique features in such individuals seem to be severe increased spasticity and marked elevation in creatinine kinase levels. This case of an individual with T4 paraplegia with recurrent episodes of ITB withdrawal associated with severe spasticity and elevated creatinine kinase levels who required rapid weaning of high-dose ITB to allow removal of an infected pump and catheter illustrates the value of monitoring creatinine kinase levels in evaluation of suspected ITB withdrawal and during rapid weaning of ITB when necessary.