Intraoperative seizures (IOS) represent a complication during surgery of diffuse low-grade gliomas (DLGGs), particularly in cases of awake craniotomy, history of tumor-related epilepsy (TRE), and cortical mapping

Background: Glioblastoma (GBM) prognosis has been reported to be influenced by age and comorbidity in several investigations. Identifying factors that contribute to poor survival is crucial to optimizing and personalizing therapeutic strategies. In the present retrospective analysis, we investigated the impact of GBM patient stratification using the age adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (ACCI). Methods: A total of 165 patients diagnosed with IDH wild-type GBM, treated with post-operative radio or radio-chemotherapy, were evaluated. To assess the impact of comorbidities, patients were stratified into two groups according to their ACCI scores: Group A (ACCI 0–2) and Group B (ACCI >2). The Cox proportional hazards model test was used to compare overall survival (OS) between the two groups of patients and determine whether the presence of comorbidities significantly affected outcomes. Primary and secondary endpoints were OS and progression free survival (PFS), respectively. Results: The median follow-up period was 36 months, and the median OS was 14 months (95% CI 12.4–15.5). The univariate analysis evidenced that patients in Group A had a significantly longer OS compared to those in Group B, with median OS times of 18 months (95% CI 16–20) and 12 months (95% CI 10.5–13.5), respectively (p = 0.015). The OS remained statistically significant in the multivariate analysis (p = 0.015). Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that ACCI may serve as an independent prognostic factor in patients with newly diagnosed GBM.

This study provides a systematic synthesis of current evidence on targeted therapies for optic pathway gliomas (OPGs), emphasizing their molecular rationale, clinical effectiveness, safety profiles, relevance in both Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) -associated and sporadic cases. A systematic literature review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines using PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases up to April 2025. Eligible studies focused on systemic targeted therapies for OPGs, evaluating efficacy, molecular targets, and adverse events. Both preclinical and clinical data were included, with study quality assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Of 414 records screened, 13 studies (11 clinical and 2 preclinical) met inclusion criteria. Targeted agents included MEK inhibitors, mTOR inhibitors, anti-VEGF agents, and BRAF inhibitors. MEK inhibitors showed promising progression-free survival outcomes, particularly in NF1-associated OPGs, while anti-VEGF therapies rapidly improved visual symptoms in select cases. MEK inhibitors showed the most consistent progression-free survival benefits, particularly in NF1-associated OPGs, with selumetinib emerging as the leading agent with favorable efficacy and safety profiles. These findings support the growing role of biomarker-driven targeted strategies while underscoring unresolved challenges related to long-term safety and optimal treatment duration. Targeted therapies constitute a potentially paradigm-shifting development in the management of OPGs, enhancing disease control while improving the prospects for long-term visual preservation. This review underscores the need for individualized, biomarker-driven approaches and highlights challenges including resistance, long-term safety, and therapy duration.

Incidental low-grade gliomas (iLGG) are frequent in non-eloquent brain regions. We systematically review the literature on iLGG to evaluate the lesion distribution and we further investigated the maximum lesion overlay. A secondary aim was testing the association between histomolecular subtypes and iLGG lesion localization. A search was performed in PubMed, Ovid Embase and Scopus for articles published between January 2000 and March 2025 using terms such as glioma, astrocytoma, oligodendroglioma, incidental, asymptomatic, natural history. Study selection / data extraction were independently performed by two reviewers. A lesion mask subtraction analysis (iLGG vs. symptomatic (sLGG) gliomas) was performed using anatomical regions of interest derived from the patients' lesion sites. Of the 95 articles screened on full-text 22 were included. 1093 gliomas (mean volume 26.0 ± 11.5 cm³) were analyzed. A within-(iLGG) group analysis on the number of lesions per area showed a significant predominance of frontal lobe lesions (p < 0.001), and an equal involvement of the left and right hemisphere (p = 0.470). The most frequent reason for MRI was headache. A between-(iLGG vs. sLGG) group analysis showed an increased proportion of frontal lesions in the iLGGs vs. sLGGs (Z = -2.693, p = 0.006). The MRI subtraction analyses (iLGG vs. sLGG) confirmed a more prevalent frontal location in iLGG vs. sLGG. The number of oligodendroglioma were highly correlated with the number of frontal (p < 0.001) lesions. In the present exploratory study many patients with iLGG have frontal lesions to a greater extent than in sLGG. We discuss the clinical implications of this neuroanatomical pattern.

Intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) is widely used during brainstem surgery to reduce the risk of neurological injury, although its prognostic value in adult brainstem glioma (BSG) surgery remains unclear. We retrospectively analyzed 22 consecutive adults who underwent surgery for BSGs with multimodal IONM between 2010 and 2023. Monitoring included somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs), motor evoked potentials (MEPs), brainstem auditory evoked potentials (BAEPs), corticobulbar MEPs (CoMEPs), and cranial nerves electromyography. The primary endpoint was the association between intraoperative neurophysiological changes and postoperative neurological functional status at hospital discharge, assessed with the modified McCormick Scale (mMCS). Secondary endpoints included postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. SSEP warning criteria were met in 10 patients (45.5%), while 10 patients (45.5%) experienced a ≥50% reduction in MEP amplitude in at least one monitored muscle. Despite these findings, neither SSEP nor MEP amplitude changes were significantly associated with postoperative neurological status. Transcranial MEP stimulation thresholds increased significantly during surgery (p = 0.007), and threshold elevation was associated with postoperative complications (Kendall’s τ = 0.498, p = 0.007). BAEP recordings remained stable throughout all procedures. Conventional amplitude-based IONM changes were not associated with early neurological outcome after adult BSG resection. In contrast, increases in MEP stimulation threshold may represent a sensitive indicator of postoperative complications. Further prospective studies are warranted.