Precision in Practice: Inter- and Intra-rater Reliability of Linear Measurements and Tumor Growth in Vestibular Schwannoma.

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare and assess the inter- and intra-rater reliability of various linear measurement techniques for vestibular schwannomas (VS) and their impact on determining tumor growth in a multidisciplinary multicenter setting.

Methods: Six experts (neurosurgeons, otorhinolaryngologists, and radiologists) involved in VS management, from two tertiary referral centers, measured linear extrameatal VS tumor size parallel and perpendicular to the petrous ridge, and as maximum axial and maximum coronal diameter. Inter- and intra-rater reliability were evaluated using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Prevalence of vessel wall abnormalities and the risk of recurrent vascular events in young patients with stroke.

Introduction: We examined the prevalence and the characteristics of vessel wall (VW) lesions in young stroke patients and their relation to recurrent vascular events. We hypothesize that having VW lesions is associated with an increased risk on recurrent vascular events.

Patients And Methods: Single-center prospective study of participants aged 18-50 years, with a transient ischemic attack (TIA) or ischemic stroke, who underwent high-resolution 3T magnetic resonance imaging (HR-MRI) with VW imaging.

Diagnostic accuracy of 4D-MRA for the detection and localization of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas: A retrospective 10-year cohort study.

Research Question: The goal of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of spinal time-resolved contrast-enhanced MR angiography (4D-MRA) for the detection and localization of spinal dural arteriovenous fistulas (SDAVF) in our institution.

Material And Methods: Single center retrospective cohort study of patients with the clinical suspicion of a SDAVF. Patients were included who had undergone spinal 4D-MRA in the period January 2010-February 2021.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted MR imaging for predicting tumor growth of sporadic vestibular schwannomas: A prospective study.

Background: Advanced MR imaging, such as diffusion-weighted (DWI) and dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging, may provide valuable noninvasive information on intrinsic tumor biology. This study aims to evaluate apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and DCE-MRI-derived microvascular parameter values (Ktrans, ve, and vp) as potential imaging predictors for future sporadic vestibular schwannoma (VS) growth.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, patients with newly diagnosed unilateral sporadic VS and an initial wait-and-scan strategy were enrolled between January 2021 and January 2023.

Clinical applicability of signal heterogeneity and tumor border assessment on T2-weighted MR images to distinguish astrocytic from oligodendroglial origin of gliomas.

Background And Purpose: Radiological features on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were attributed to oligodendroglioma, although the diagnostic accuracy in a real-world clinical setting remains partially elusive. This study investigated the accuracy and robustness of tumor heterogeneity and tumor border delineation on T2-weighted MRI to distinguish oligodendroglioma from astrocytoma.

Materials And Methods: Eight readers from three different specialties (radiology, neurology, neurosurgery) with varying levels of experience blindly rated 79 T2-weighted MR images of patients with either oligodendroglioma or astrocytoma.

Safety and technical efficacy of early minimally invasive endoscopy-guided surgery for intracerebral haemorrhage: the Dutch Intracerebral haemorrhage Surgery Trial pilot study.

Background: Previous randomised controlled trials could not demonstrate that surgical evacuation of intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) improves functional outcome. Increasing evidence suggests that minimally invasive surgery may be beneficial, in particular when performed early after symptom onset. The aim of this study was to investigate safety and technical efficacy of early minimally invasive endoscopy-guided surgery in patients with spontaneous supratentorial ICH.

Genotype and Phenotype Analyses of a Novel Variant (c.2512C>T p.(Pro838Ser)) Associated with DFNA6/14/38.

The aim of this study is to contribute to a better description of the genotypic and phenotypic spectrum of DFNA6/14/38 and aid in counseling future patients identified with this variant. Therefore, we describe the genotype and phenotype in a large Dutch-German family (W21-1472) with autosomal dominant non-syndromic, low-frequency sensorineural hearing loss (LFSNHL). Exome sequencing and targeted analysis of a hearing impairment gene panel were used to genetically screen the proband.

Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist anakinra as treatment for paradoxical responses in HIV-negative tuberculosis patients: A case series.

Background: Paradoxical inflammatory responses can occur during microbiologically successful antituberculous therapy. Optimal treatment is unknown, but corticosteroids are used most often. It is likely that interleukin-1 (IL-1) plays a central role in the development of these paradoxical responses, and if corticosteroids fail or are undesirable because of adverse effects, anti-IL-1 therapy may therefore be a rational choice.

Assessing radiation-induced carotid vasculopathy using ultrasound after unilateral irradiation: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Increased head and neck cancer (HNC) survival requires attention to long-term treatment sequelae. Irradiated HNC survivors have a higher ischemic stroke risk. However, the pathophysiology of radiation-induced vasculopathy is unclear.

High-Accuracy Nodal Staging of Head and Neck Cancer With USPIO-Enhanced MRI: A New Reading Algorithm Based on Node-to-Node Matched Histopathology.

Objectives: Ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a potential diagnostic tool for lymph node assessment in patients with head and neck cancer. Validation by radiologic-pathologic correlation is essential before the method is evaluated in clinical studies. In this study, MRI signal intensity patterns of lymph nodes are correlated to their histopathology to develop a new USPIO-enhanced MRI reading algorithm that can be used for nodal assessment in head and neck cancer patients.

Long-term cognitive, psychosocial, and neurovascular complications of unilateral head and neck irradiation in young to middle-aged adults.

Background: With a growing, younger population of head and neck cancer survivors, attention to long-term side-effects of prior, often radiotherapeutic, treatment is warranted. Therefore, we studied the long-term cognitive effects in young adult patients irradiated for head and neck neoplasms (HNN).

Methods: Young to middle-aged adults with HNN (aged 18-40 years) and treated with unilateral neck irradiation ≥ 5 years before inclusion underwent cardiovascular risk and neuropsychological assessments and answered validated questionnaires regarding subjective cognitive complaints, fatigue, depression, quality of life, and cancer-specific distress.

Clinical characteristics and an evaluation of predictors for a favourable outcome of Mycobacterium abscessus otomastoiditis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of individual participant data.

Background: Otomastoiditis caused by Mycobacterium abscessus is rare, but its incidence has increased over the past decades and its optimal treatment remains unknown. This study aims to summarise the clinical and therapeutic features and find characteristics of patients with M. abscessus otomastoiditis associated with favourable treatment outcomes.

Effective low-dose sirolimus regimen for kaposiform haemangioendothelioma with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon in young infants.

Aims: Management of kaposiform haemangioendotheliomas (KHE) with Kasabach-Merritt phenomenon is challenging in young infants who are subjected to developmental pharmacokinetic changes. Sirolimus, sometimes combined with corticosteroids, can be used as an effective treatment of KHE. Simultaneously, toxicities such as interstitial pneumonitis related to the use of sirolimus may be fatal.

Excessive toxicity of cabozantinib in a phase II study in patients with recurrent and/or metastatic salivary gland cancer.

Aim: Because the tyrosine kinases c-MET and vascular endothelial growth factor receptors (VEGFR) are often overexpressed in salivary gland cancer (SGC), this study evaluated the efficacy and safety of cabozantinib in patients with recurrent/metastatic (R/M) SGC.

Patients And Methods: A single-centre phase II study was conducted. Patients with immunohistochemical c-MET-positive R/M SGC were included in three cohorts: adenoid cystic carcinoma (ACC); salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) and other miscellaneous SGCs.

Exploring the missing heritability in subjects with hearing loss, enlarged vestibular aqueducts, and a single or no pathogenic SLC26A4 variant.

Pathogenic variants in SLC26A4 have been associated with autosomal recessive hearing loss (arHL) and a unilateral or bilateral enlarged vestibular aqueduct (EVA). SLC26A4 is the second most frequently mutated gene in arHL. Despite the strong genotype-phenotype correlation, a significant part of cases remains genetically unresolved.

Cerebral Artery and Vein Segmentation in Four-dimensional CT Angiography Using Convolutional Neural Networks.

Purpose: To implement and test a deep learning approach for the segmentation of the arterial and venous cerebral vasculature with four-dimensional (4D) CT angiography.

Materials And Methods: Patients who had undergone 4D CT angiography for the suspicion of acute ischemic stroke were retrospectively identified. A total of 390 patients evaluated in 2014 ( = 113) or 2018 ( = 277) were included in this study, with each patient having undergone one 4D CT angiographic scan.

Merkel Cell Carcinoma: New Trends.

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare neuroendocrine tumor of the skin mainly seen in the elderly. Its incidence is rising due to ageing of the population, increased sun exposure, and the use of immunosuppressive medication. Additionally, with the availability of specific immunohistochemical markers, MCC is easier to recognize.