Harry Vinters | PubMed Health

PubMed2006

Histological findings in cerebellar tonsils of patients with Chiari type I malformation.

OBJECTIVES: Cerebellar tonsillectomy is often performed for relief of symptoms associated with Chiari type I malformation (CMI). Nonetheless, the idea of removing supposedly healthy central nervous tissue has been a source of concern for neurosurgeons. The aim of this paper is to determine the histological changes in the cerebellar tonsils of patients with a wide range of symptoms and conditions related to CMI. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The cerebellar tonsils of 43 pediatric patients with CMI were sent to pathology for histological examination. CONCLUSION: The cerebellar tonsils in a great majority of CMI patients can be abnormal. We suggest that the reported histological findings are secondary to injury and ischemia.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Developmental outcome with and without successful intervention.

A review of the literature on the developmental outcome of medically and surgically treated symptomatic infantile spasms (IS) indicates that poor seizure control, severe mental retardation, and marked behavioral disorders are found at long-term outcome of symptomatic IS. The 2-year outcome findings of the UCLA Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Research Group in children with symptomatic infantile spasms and in children with early onset intractable symptomatic epilepsy other than IS (non-IS) demonstrate impaired development of cognition, language, and social communication despite improved seizure control. The social communication deficits of these children are similar to those found in autistic children. Finally, the underlying pathology of the resected brain, rather than ongoing seizures and seizure type, plays an important role in development of the remaining brain tissue and the outcome of early onset symptomatic IS and non-IS.

Child Behavior↗