UW Neurological Surgery Recent PubMed Publications

CONCLUSIONS: Bacterial pathogen detection on supplies, a necessary step in transmission, was extremely low. Viral NAAT detection on supplies was low and likely exaggerated the risk of fomite transmission, as whether there was viable virus at sufficient concentration to transmit infection is unknown.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are the gold standard for clinical care. Acute conditions such as traumatic brain injury, intracerebral hemorrhage, aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, and spinal cord injury are associated with high morbidity and mortality, yet guidelines are based on limited Class I evidence. This study aimed to examine the design, funding, outcomes, and reporting quality of phase III RCTs in neurosurgical critical care published since 1990. MEDLINE and Cochrane Central were...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: In low-resource settings, invasive intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring is often not available due to its high costs. Therefore, some therapeutic strategies require a different approach than those recommended in the presence of invasive monitoring. In this review, we propose a concise overview on ICP monitoring in low-resource settings, mainly focusing on traumatic brain injury patients.

Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) accounts for 80-90% of all traumatic brain injuries, yet its economic burden remains poorly characterized. We synthesized direct healthcare charges and costs associated with mTBI in the United States (U.S.). A PubMed search through October 14, 2025 identified primary studies reporting direct healthcare-related charges or costs among adults with mTBI. All estimates were standardized to 2025 U.S. dollars. Twenty-one studies (1996-2023) out of 3300 screened...

CONCLUSIONS: Early MMAE (≤1 day from diagnosis) was overall associated with better outcomes compared with delayed intervention, particularly among patients receiving antithrombotic therapy. Prospective confirmation is warranted.

Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common inherited form of intellectual disability. It is caused by a trinucleotide expansion in the 5' UTR of the Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein 1 (FMR1) gene leading to loss of expression of Fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein (FMRP). There is currently no cure for FXS. We developed an FMR1 gene therapy based on an adeno-associated viral vector designed with strong translational potential for future clinical testing. The viral vector was tested in...

CONCLUSIONS: Emergency/damage-control extracranial surgery operationally classified as LS identified a phenotype of patients with greater extracranial injury burden and physiological instability, associated with worse long-term neurological outcome. This association should be interpreted as reflecting injury severity and treatment indication rather than a direct detrimental effect of surgery itself. NLS procedures were not independently associated with unfavourable recovery.

The preBötzinger Complex is among the few neural circuits where selective elimination of defined neuronal subpopulation is sufficient to destabilize a core autonomic function and can fatally impair breathing. Within this circuitry, neurons expressing the neurokinin-1 receptor (Tacr1/NK1R) and somatostatin (Sst) are critical subpopulations; Tacr1 ^(+) neurons respond to the neuropeptide substance P and are necessary for maintaining inspiratory rhythms, and ablation of Sst ^(+) neurons results in...

CONCLUSIONS: The global diffusion of ESS is hindered less by clinical limitations than by systemic inertia and fragmented policy frameworks. Countries with flexible, market-responsive systems (eg, China and India) are emerging as innovation leaders, while historically dominant regions (eg, United States and Europe) risk stagnation without structural reform. ESS serves as a diagnostic lens for broader health system adaptability, highlighting the urgent need for investment in training,...

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CONCLUSION: This study indicates that protective CIS43LS levels can be maintained over the course of a single malaria season and provides guidance for PK/PD analyses of anti-malaria mAbs in malaria-endemic populations.

CONCLUSIONS: ACA anatomical variants do not adversely affect the safety or efficacy of endovascular treatment for DACA. With appropriate anatomical assessment and treatment selection, endovascular therapy remains effective even in the presence of complex ACA configurations.

CONCLUSION: Hypertension, particularly poorly controlled hypertension, is associated with higher AWE prevalence in patients with UIAs, suggesting a potential link between BP status and aneurysm wall imaging characteristics, which warrants further longitudinal follow-up studies to clarify its clinical significance.

Halide perovskites exhibit exceptional optoelectronic properties, yet their intrinsic chemical fragility and ionic nature pose fundamental challenges for high-resolution patterning and nanoscale integration. Here we report a reversible, all-optical structural modulation strategy that enables chemistry-free, sub-diffraction patterning of halide perovskite thin films through light-driven crystallization-decomposition dynamics. Localized femtosecond laser excitation induces controlled...

Much of biology focuses on how genetic changes mediate new functions, but less attention is given to adaptations in other steps of the central dogma. Octopuses exhibit complex nervous systems and sophisticated behaviors that rival vertebrates, but via an entirely divergent evolutionary history. Here, we serendipitously discovered that octopus ribosomes contain a structural break in the core ribosomal RNA that is unique among all animals. This break site enhances translation fidelity to reduce...

Highly heritable, polygenic, and easily measured, adult height has long been the model trait in human genetics ^(1,2) . While the landscape of height-associated common genetic variation has been studied extensively ² , rare variation remains relatively unexplored ¹ . Using rare protein-altering variants in a discovery set of 826,066 exomes, we identify 207 height-associated genes - 98% of which replicate in an additional 624,567 individuals. The rarest and most deleterious class of variation,...

Tumor-infiltrating nerves play critical roles in promoting tumor growth and progression; however, the mechanisms that drive tumor innervation remain unclear. Upon transformation, tumors recruit surrounding peripheral nerves into the tumor microenvironment (TME) to obtain their own innervation, a process called axonogenesis. While in vitro studies suggest tumor cell-derived neurotrophins, such as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), drive axonogenesis, this has yet to be demonstrated in...

Pineal region tumors represent a diverse group of neoplasms arising from the pineal gland and its surrounding structures, posing unique diagnostic and surgical challenges due to their deep midline location and proximity to critical venous and neural anatomy. Advances in neuroimaging, microsurgical technique, and endoscopic technology have transformed their management, substantially improving outcomes compared to historical experiences of high morbidity and mortality. This chapter reviews the...

CONCLUSIONS: This trial builds upon formative work to evaluate the effectiveness, implementation, and cost of a peer-delivered, stepped care intervention integrated into primary care. A stepped-care design to maximize optimal use of resources and integration into primary care is a necessary step to increase accessible intervention programs for people with HIV with comorbid SUD globally.

INTRODUCTION: Neuropathic pain is one of the most common and debilitating complications following spinal cord injury (SCI), frequently surpassing motor and sensory deficits as the symptom patients most want treated. Despite advances in understanding the molecular and physiological mechanisms underlying central neuropathic pain, effective treatments remain lacking and show wide variability in efficacy. Previous reports have indicated that early intervention represents the most effective pain...