Rejected

Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is one of the most common cranial neuropathies. Pathologies located alongside the long nerve can also cause its mechanical compression or secondary involvement in the inflammatory process, and thus cause pain. TN is characterised by severe paroxysmal unilateral facial pain in the innervation area of branches I-III of the nerve V when provoked by light touch or slight movement. Multiple therapeutic methods are available, but most of them yield unsatisfactory results. According to guidelines (AAN and EFNS) the first-line therapy in trigeminalgia is carbamazepine/oxcarbazepine, and if there is a poor response – surgical treatment [1]. The array of surgical options includes percutaneous retrogasserian glycerol injection, radiofrequency thermocoagulation, balloon decompression, thermal rhizotomy, and stereotactic radiosurgery [2-4]. This paper presents our own experiences with CyberKnife (CK), a new type of radiosurgical (RS) treatment of 64 TN patients. CONCLUSIONS: CyberKnife radiotherapy is characterised by high efficacy in 80% of patients with trigeminalgia, minimal invasiveness, and subsiding mild side effects. Radioablation of nerve V root in patients with neuralgia allows us to entirely stop antiepileptic therapy or reduce its doses, which in turn reduces the risk of potential side effects. CyberKnife can be a therapeutic option in those patients who have been offered ineffective therapies, or treatments with limited efficacy, and/or in older patients with comorbidities.

Cognitive dysfunction in the early postoperative course is common for the elderly population. Anesthetic management may affect postoperative cognitive decline. Effective analgesia, early recovery and modulation of the stress response are advantages of neuraxial blocks. This study aims to compare the effects of general anesthesia and the combination of general anesthesia with epidural analgesia for postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). We hypothesized that neuraxial block combined with general anesthesia (GA) would have a favorable influence on POCD prevention.

There is a wide differential diagnosis for intraabdominal tumors. Surgical resection and microscopic analysis of tissue structure can identify tumor origin in most cases. Most rapidly growing invasive tumors are neoplastic. Inflammatory pseudotumors are a subcategory of intraabdominal tumors that are non-neoplastic and can be rapidly growing. Urachal cysts originate from the dome of the bladder; however they are typically not invasive. There is limited literature on the appropriate management of these tumors.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative articular disorder manifested by cartilage destruction, subchondral sclerosis, osteophytes, and synovitis, resulting in chronic joint pain and physical disability in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to investigate mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA) and inflammatory cytokines in primary knee OA patients and healthy volunteers. A total of 204 knee OA patients and 169 age-matched healthy volunteers were recruited. Their relative blood leukocyte mtDNA was assessed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), and ten inflammatory cytokines in their plasma were detected by multiplex immunoassay. Blood leukocyte mtDNA in the OA group was significantly lower than that in the control group. Leukocyte mtDNA in the control group was negatively correlated with their age (r=-0.380, P<0.0001), whereas mtDNA in the OA group was positively correlated with their age (r=0.198, P<0.001). Plasma interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-6 were significantly higher in the knee OA group than in the control group. The plasma IL-6 level was positively correlated with blood leukocyte mtDNA in the OA group (r=0.547, P=0.0014). IL-5 showed as a major factor (coefficient 0.69) in the second dimension of principle components analysis (PCA)-transformed data and was significantly higher in the OA group (P<0.001) as well as negatively correlated with mtDNA (r=-0.577, P<0.001). These findings suggest that elevation of plasma IL-4 and IL-6 and a relative reduction in mtDNA might be effective biomarkers for knee OA. IL-5 is a plausible factor responsible for decreasing blood leukocyte mtDNA in knee OA patients.

Delayed acute subdural hematoma (DASDH) is defined as late onset ASDH with the absence of any abnormal radiological and clinical findings at initial examination. Moreover, this entity is very rare in traumatic brain injury and its mechanism is still unclear. Recently, endoscopic surgery for ASDH has also been performed. In this case, we describe some considerations of the mechanism of DASDH and review previous literature and usefulness of endoscopic surgical procedure for ASDH.

: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of headache in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to assess its association as a predictor for COVID-19. This study also aimed to discuss the possible pathogenesis of headache in COVID-19. : Available articles from PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched as of September 2 , 2020. Data on characteristics of the study, headache and COVID-19 were extracted following the PRISMA guidelines. Biases were assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The cumulative prevalence of headache was calculated for the general population (i.e. adults and children). The pooled odd ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) was calculated using the Z test to assess the association between headache and the presence of COVID-19 cases. : We included 104,751 COVID-19 cases from 78 eligible studies to calculate the global prevalence of headache in COVID-19 and 17 studies were included to calculate the association of headache and COVID-19. The cumulative prevalence of headache in COVID-19 was 25.2% (26,464 out of 104,751 cases). Headache was found to be more prevalent, approximately by two-fold, in COVID-19 patients than in non-COVID-19 patients with symptoms of other respiratory viral infections, OR: 1.73; 95% CI: 1.94, 2.5 with p=0.04. : Headache is common among COVID-19 patients and seems to be more common in COVID-19 patients compared to those with the non-COVID-19 viral infection. No definitive mechanisms on how headache  emerges in COVID-19 patients but several possible hypotheses have been proposed. However, extensive studies are warranted to elucidate the mechanisms. : CRD42020210332 (28/09/2020).

Delivery hemorrhage is the leading cause of maternal mortality in Morocco. It is an obstetric emergency requiring early, effective and multidisciplinary management in patients with severe postpartum bleeding resistant to medical treatment. Advances in interventional radiology and especially, in surgical techniques have provided safe and effective alternatives to hemostasis hysterectomy . We here report a case of uterine necrosis following conservative surgical treatment of delivery hemorrhage based on B-Lynch uterine compression suture combined with Tsirulnikov triple vascular ligation. The patient had sepsis on day 4 after delivery associated with fever and pelvic pain and biological inflammatory syndrome which worsened 48 hours after the onset of abdominal contracture. Abdomopelvic scanner, showed gas bubbles in the uterine myometer suggestive of necrosis. Exploratory laparotomy was performed, which objectified complete necrosis of the uterus. Uterine compression sutures are surgical techniques which play a major role in the therapeutic armamentarium of postpartum hemorrhage during cesarean section. It allows, in addition to or as an alternative to vascular ligation, the preservation of patient's fertility, but it also requires maximum caution and monitoring of complications, the most serious of which is uterine necrosis.

This article critiques the idealization of a biomarker-based "objective pain scale" in order to argue for increased investment in communication-centric approaches to chronic pain diagnosis and treatment. Although new technological advances and the rise of big data have revived old fantasies of objective pain measures, scholars have long affirmed the dangers of converting human experience into numbers, as well as the fundamental impossibility of reducing pain to physiology. Biomarkers can certainly be useful tools, but investments must also be made in fostering the "strong objectivity" that feminist scholars have advocated for and that the incorporation of narrative-driven initiatives can provide. Because expressing pain is notoriously difficult, doing this creative, communication-driven work well requires substantial effort, time, and training. Engaging with chronic pain from a feminist standpoint-one that affirms individuals' situated experiences as valuable data and that attends to the rich multi-modal vocabularies emerging on social media-can pave the way to a more equitable, ethical, and effective future of pain care.

Subdural fluid collection in patients with internal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunts has generally been linked to overdrainage and more rarely to pus accumulation. The authors present a previously unrecognized condition leading to extra-axial CSF accumulation: shunt underdrainage. Treatment of coexisting subdural fluid collection and hydrocephalus, disorders that have previously only been reported concurrently following head trauma or subarachnoid hemorrhage, is controversial. In addition, we intend to provide insight into the physiopathology of abnormal CSF accumulation within both the subdural space and ventricles simultaneously.

Adult sellar region atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a rare lesion. We aimed to elucidate clinical, radiologic, and pathological characteristics, treatment strategies, and outcomes of this disease. Five adult sellar AT/RT patients were retrospectively analyzed between January 2015 and December 2018. In addition, we performed a review of the reported data on adult sellar AT/RT. Patients ( = 5) were female with a median age of 50 years. The mean duration of symptoms, of which headache was the most frequent, was 1.6 months (range, 2 weeks-8 months). The average tumor size was 2.82 cm (range, 1.9-4.5 cm). All lesions were irregularly shaped. MRI showed heterogeneous enhancement in three of five lesions. Four of five patients underwent subtotal resection (STR) and one gross total resection (GTR). Whereas, one patient received post-operative adjuvant radiotherapy, one patient received post-operative combination of radio- and chemotherapy. The review of the reported data showed that 39 cases of adult sellar AT/RT had been reported. The estimated median overall survival (OS) was 23 months with a 1-year survival estimate of 59.7%. The median OS for patients with GTR was 28 months and 17 months for patients with STR. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with high (≥35%) MIB-1/Ki67 index value had a significantly shorter OS compared with those with low (<35%) index value ( = 0.033), and that patients who received post-operative combination radio- and chemotherapy had longer OS than that of those who did not ( < 0.001). Adult sellar region AT/RT is a rapidly growing tumor with a poor prognosis. High levels of MIB1/Ki-67 on histology may indicate aggressive feature of the tumor. Maximal safe resection followed by adjuvant radiotherapy combined with chemotherapy may be the optimal therapeutic strategy for adult sellar region AT/RT.