Global Neurotrauma Outcomes Study 1 (GNOS‐1)
Written by Dom Mahoney, MS
Trauma remains the leading cause of death among those under the age of 45, with brain injury playing a significant role in determining mortality. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), therefore, exerts a considerable burden on healthcare systems, with remarkable geographical differences in treatments. The WFNS has collaborated with the NHS National Institute for Health Research to comprehensively investigate the surgical management of TBI. This is the first worldwide study of this nature, and the investigators invite you and your unit to participate.
Please see the site below for details of the protocol and how to enrol: GNOS study website
The sixth Brainbook episode of “The Brain Surgeon’s Vlog” provided by Mr Alamri, represents a quick overview of all the subspecialties which neurosurgery is split into. Starting with spine surgery, which comprises 50% of neurosurgical procedures, Mr Alamri then discusses functional surgery, a field principally concerned with movement disorders (i.e. Parkinson disease) and epilepsy. Vascular, trauma, neuro-oncology and pediatric subspecialties are all described in accessible terms, such that a lay-audience can easily get to grips with the difference between neurosurgeons working in the various areas.
The fifth Brainbook episode of “The Brain Surgeon’s Vlog” focuses on the CT scanner, an essential diagnostic tool which represents the gold standard for almost all the emergencies in neurosurgery.
In this video, Mr Alamri, supported by Ladvic’s amazing illustrations, tells us about x-ray functioning and takes us inside the A&E room of the Royal London Hospital, explaining how CT scanners work.
The fourth Brainbook episode of “The Brain Surgeon’s Vlog” is a guided tour inside the operating theatre.
Mr Alamri shows us the typical arrangement of a neurosurgical theatre: the operating table, the anesthetic machine and the operating microscope. This last item represents an essential tool in brain and spine surgeries, since it allows the view of less than millimeter anatomical structures.
The third episode of “The Brain Surgeon’s Vlog” was filmed on the helipad of the Royal London Hospital in conjunction with London’s Air Ambulance, a charity that delivers an advanced trauma team to people critically injured.
In this interesting interview, led by Mr Alamri, two captains of the London’s Air Ambulance talk about their experience. They share with us the best and the most challenging aspects of their work - not to mention, they talk about the coolest places they have landed…
The second episode of “The Brain Surgeon’s Vlogs” focuses on the Royal London Hospital which is part of the Barts Health NHS Trust, the biggest NHS trust in the UK. The building is located on Whitechapel Road in East London, and is more than 250 years old.
Mr Alamri takes us on a guided tour of the hospital, encompassing theatres, A&E and emergency radiology. Enjoy the video and stay tuned for more great content from Brainbook.
We are delighted to present the first episode of “The Brain Surgeon’s Vlog”, created by our official partner Brainbook, a neurosurgical platform based in London.
In this video, Mr Alex Alamri (Brainbook co-founder and neurosurgery registrar at the Royal London Hospital) introduces this amazing project which embodies one of the main statements of Brainbook: to demystify neurosurgery by showing what happens in a neurosurgical department on a day-to-day basis. The principle goal of this project is to make the public (and especially patients) more comfortable with the neurosurgical world.
Various daily activities of a neurosurgeon are to be covered in subsequent episodes.
Tumours of the spine and spinal cord represent nearly 15% of primary central nervous system tumours. Based on the compartment involved they can be subdivided into extradural and intradural; the latter group further divided into extra- and intramedullary tumours. The most common extramedullary tumours are meningioma and schwannoma, while ependymoma, astrocytoma and haemangioblastoma are the most prevalent intramedullary lesions.
In this video Dr. David W Newell, the founder of the Seattle Neuroscience Institute, exposes the anatomical features and the diagnostic process for these lesions, by focusing on their surgical management.
WFNS Young Neurosurgeons Forum Webinar Series
Written by Dom Mahoney, MS
Gail Rosseau, Chairman of Skull Base Surgery at Northshore University and Chair of the WHO-WFNS Liaison Committee, will be speaking in this webinar on Sunday 26th August at 13:00 GMT. Her talk will be entitled 'Global Neurosurgery: Advancing Progress at the World Health Assembly and the World Health Organisation.
Follow the webinar
Zoom Webinar ID: 490-757-760
The WFNS, Harvard Medical School and NIHR are collaborating to investigate ways in which the provision of neurosurgical services can be improved globally. There are two separate 20-minute surveys they would like your input with. Those who complete the surveys have the opportunity to be listed as collaborators in the appendix of the final manuscript.
Click below to fill in the surveys:
Perspectives Survey
Capacity Assessment Survey
More...
Date: September 19-21, 2018
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Late registration deadline: September 5, 2018
This Annual Meeting marks 20 years of EUROSPINE, the largest Spine Society of Europe. Over the course of three days, thousands of participants will exchange ideas regarding the main spinal topics, focusing on the latest advances in research and clinical findings.
Visit the website
The use of recombinant nAG protein in spinal cord crush injury in a rat model
Written by Edoardo Agosti, MSThe possibility of Central Nervous System regeneration after acute trauma is arguably one of the most interesting fields of neurosurgical research. In this article, authors evaluate the therapeutic role of nAG protein in the healing of an acute spinal injury in a rat model. Motor recovery scores, MRI signals and histopathology evaluations demonstrate a significant improvement in experimental subjects. Since nAG protein reduces gliosis, reduces vacuole and granulation tissue formation and enhances neuro-restoration, it is a promising candidate for assisting the recovery of acute spinal trauma.
Read the article
Decompressive craniectomy following traumatic brain injury: developing the evidence base.
Written by Giorgio Saraceno, MSTraumatic brain injury (TBI) remains a major cause of death and disability in those <40 years old worldwide. There is evidence from large cohort studies that intracranial hypertension is associated with higher mortality. Decompressive craniectomy (DC) leads to a reduction of the ICP, increasing the volume which the intracranial contents can occupy. However, uncertainties still remain regarding the optimal timing, long- and short-term clinical effects of DC and indications of the procedure. Current evidence (thanks to different trials) suggests that for patients with diffuse TBI, early bifrontal DC is not superior to medical therapy. Primary DC for patients with ASDH is evaluated in the RESCUE-ASDH trial, and secondary DC (applied to refractory ICP) is the subject of the RESCUEicp study. The evidence base suggest that, considering also the potential complications with DC, patients with TBI must be carefully selected to undergo DC to optimise outcomes.
Read the article
The role of pharmacotherapy in the management of chronic subdural haematoma
Written by Ismail ZaedIn this study, Kolias et al. Observe the work done by Soleman and colleagues about the pharmacotherapy in cSDH management, highlighting the limited evidence base for its application. At last, the authors hope that the randomised trials that are currently underway will change this situation by providing robust evidence.