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A Model for Encephalomyosynangiosis Treatment after Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion-Induced Stroke in Mice

There is no effective treatment available for most patients suffering with ischemic stroke, making development of novel therapeutics imperative. The ...

UConn School of Medicine

While there are numerous published cases of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) developing in the setting of malignancy, it is extremely rare to find them concurrently associated in the brain.

Synchronous cerebral arteriovenous malformation and lung adenocarcinoma carcinoma brain metastases: A case study and literature review.

Commentary: Air Bubbles in Infusion: An Easily Avoidable Potential Complication.

Spinal arteriovenous fistula (AVF) represents the most common type of spinal vascular lesions and is often associated with progressive neurological dysfunction.

Cervical spinal arteriovenous fistula with ventral perimedullary venous drainage.

Sarcoidosis is a granulomatous disease most often affecting the lungs, but extrapulmonary manifestations are also common. While virtually any organ system can be involved, skeletal manifestations are present in 1%-13% of cases. Skull lesions are even more rare. We found 14 case reports describing symptomatic skull lesions in patients with no prior history of sarcoid to better understand the symptomology and disease progression.

Sarcoid Infiltration of the Skull with Epidural Extension: Case Report and Literature Review.

The presence of gaseous air emboli in the vasculature has the potential to cause significant morbidity and mortality. Once viewed as a rare complication of high-risk surgeries, air embolism is now also being associated with even minor and routine procedures such as peripheral venous catheterization. With increasing recognition, various preventive measures have emerged, the most important of which is the use of air-eliminating filters. However, studies on these devices are currently lacking. Therefore, in this present study, we aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two commercially available filters in removing air within intravenous (IV) lines. An IV infusion system was created, designed to resemble standard conditions used in real clinical practice. Testing was completed using a .9% NaCl solution at room temperature with a flow rate set at 75 mL/h and involving three different filter orientations. The test bed was configured to inject air every 2 minutes with volumes ranging between 5 and 600 μL. The two filter models tested were GVS .2-μM and Braun SUPOR membrane air-eliminating filters. Data was collected at pre-filter and post-filter sites. The Braun SUPOR membrane filter (B Braun, Bethlehem, PA) reduced air micro-emboli by 100.0% ( < .0001) both by volume and count compared with -.6 ± 3.5% by volume and -.8 ± 1.5% by count for the control. The reduction seen with the GVS .2-μM filter was 99.8 ± .2% ( < .0001) by volume and 86.2 ± 21.1% ( < .0001) by count compared with the control. There was no statistically significant difference in the removal efficacy between the two filter models. As the use of air-eliminating filters becomes a common standard of care, establishing the validity of the commercially available filter models is important to minimize the risk of vascular air embolism.

Assessing the Efficacy of Commercially Available Filters in Removing Air Micro-Emboli in Intravenous Infusion Systems.

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is frequently associated with central nervous system metastases resulting in poor outcomes. As newer targeted therapies become available determining which patients can benefit from these therapies has remained challenging, and current molecular testing options rely on a panel of only a handful of known oncogenic drivers. Here, we demonstrate a targeted approach at uncovering clinically relevant variants in cancer-associated genes using genomic sequencing. Our patient underwent targeted sequencing of 212 cancer-associated genes, revealing mutations in six; two of which were in EGFR, an important target for therapy in NSCLC. A multidisciplinary approach involving surgical resection, radiation, and targeted therapy based on the genomic profile and tumor pathology ultimately lead to positive therapeutic response and stable disease. Our report provides a proof of principle for incorporating higher throughput genomic sequencing techniques directly into patient care. We also report an atypical response of an EGFR mutation positive metastatic tumor to immune checkpoint therapy, despite recent reports suggesting that these patients do not benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors. A brief review of current literature is discussed here to explore links between EGFR mutations and PD-L1 expression, as well as response to targeted therapies.

Ketan R. Bulsara

Division of Neurosurgery

UConn School of Medicine

A Model for Encephalomyosynangiosis Treatment after Middle Cerebral Artery Occlusion-Induced Stroke in Mice