BACKGROUND:. Subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) from a ruptured intracranial aneurysm is a devastating disease with high mortality and morbidity. The inciden

Standard radiological/topographical classifications of gliomas often do not reflect the real extension of the tumor within the lobar-cortical anatomy. Furthermore, these systems do not provide information on the relationship between tumor growth and the subcortical white matter architecture. We propose the use of an anatomically standardized grid system (the Brain-Grid) to merge serial morphological magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans with a representative tractographic atlas. Two illustrative cases are presented to show the potential advantages of this classification system. MRI scans of 39 patients (WHO grade II and III gliomas) were analyzed with a standardized grid created by intersecting longitudinal lines on the axial, sagittal, and coronal planes. The anatomical landmarks were chosen from an average brain, spatially normalized to the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) space and the Talairach space. Major white matter pathways were reconstructed with a deterministic tracking algorithm on a reference atlas and analyzed using the Brain-Grid system. In all, 48 brain grid voxels (areas defined by 3 coordinates, axial (A), coronal (C), sagittal (S) and numbers from 1 to 4) were delineated in each MRI sequence and on the tractographic atlas. The number of grid voxels infiltrated was consistent, also in the MNI space. The sub-cortical insula/basal ganglia (A3-C2-S2) and the fronto-insular region (A3-C2-S1) were most frequently involved. The inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, anterior thalamic radiation, uncinate fasciculus, and external capsule were the most frequently associated pathways in both hemispheres. The Brain-Grid based classification system provides an accurate observational tool in all patients with suspected gliomas, based on the comparison of grid voxels on a morphological MRI and segmented white matter atlas. Important biological information on tumor kinetics including extension, speed, and preferential direction of progression can be observed and even predicted with this system. This novel classification can easily be applied to both prospective and retrospective cohorts of patients and increase our comprehension of glioma behavior.

In this study we present the population-based patient material with spontaneous SAH, treated in our Neurosurgical unit during the 10 years (1997-2006) after the introduction of endovascular treatment of aneurysms (EVT) in our hospital. All patients that had a spontaneous SAH and a potential to survive were admitted. The present study comprises 1471 patients. 72 % had one or more aneurysms. AVM or other vascular pathological findings where found in 2%. Angiography was judged as normal in 21% and was not performed in 5%. 664 of the patients with aneurysms were treated by endovascular means, 333 were operated and 31 were treated with both methods. Thirty-five received no treatment. The main difference in admission parameters between the coiled and clipped aneurysms was the location of the aneurysm, with posterior circulation aneurysm exclusively being coiled and MCA aneurysms mainly clipped. The highest 6-month mortality for aneurysms presented in the untreated group (71.4%), and the lowest (3.2%) in the group treated with both clip and coil. Six-month mortality was 3.5% for the patients with a normal angiography. Of these, no one with Fisher grade 1 and 2/120 patients with Fisher 2 died. The mortality was high (89%) for those patients where angiography was not performed. The present patient group was compared to an earlier published a 12-year patient series from our clinic. The patients with aneurysmal SAH in the present series were older and had a lower 6-month mortality in our material compared to the published data from our clinic from 1981-1992. More patients were admitted in a good clinical condition in the present series, but there was also a higher proportion of patients from the worst clinical groups. The percentage of aneurysms treated had increased from 80% to 97% after EVT was introduced.

When diffuse gliomas (DG) affect the brain’s potential to reorganize functional networks, patients can exhibit seizures and/or language/cognitive impairment. The tumor–brain interaction and the individual connectomic organization cannot be predicted preoperatively. We aimed to, first, investigate the relationship between preoperative assessment and intraoperative findings of eloquent tumors in 36 DG operated with awake surgery. Second, we also studied possible mechanisms of tumor-induced brain reorganization in these patients. FLAIR-MRI sequences were used for tumor volume segmentation and the Brain-Grid system (BG) was used as an overlay for infiltration analysis. Neuropsychological (NPS) and/or language assessments were performed in all patients. The distance between eloquent spots and tumor margins was measured. All variables were used for correlation and logistic regression analyses. Eloquent tumors were detected in 75% of the patients with no single variable able to predict this finding. Impaired NPS functions correlated with invasive tumors, crucial location (A4C2S2/A3C2S2-voxels, left opercular-insular/sub-insular region) and higher risk of eloquent tumors. Epilepsy was correlated with larger tumor volumes and infiltrated A4C2S2/A3C2S2 voxels. Language impairment was correlated with infiltrated A3C2S2 voxel. Peritumoral cortical eloquent spots reflected an early compensative mechanism with age as possible influencing factor. Preoperative NPS impairment is linked with high risk of eloquent tumors. A systematic integration of extensive cognitive assessment and advanced neuroimaging can improve our comprehension of the connectomic brain organization at the individual scale and lead to a better oncological/functional balance.