UW Neurological Surgery Recent PubMed Publications

Opioid overdose often leads to death, largely due to opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD). Extensive investigations have focused on the effects of opioids on brainstem breathing circuits. Peripheral sensory pathways also play an important role in shaping breathing behavior. This review highlights the effects of selected opioids and enkephalins on peripheral sensory inputs controlling breathing. Morphine and enkephalins activate vagal pulmonary C-fiber afferents, causing apnea in rodent...

The anterior foramen magnum and craniovertebral junction region is surgically demanding because of its complex osseous and neurovascular architecture. Traditional midline posterior and transoral approaches are associated with significant morbidity, prompting the search for safer lateral corridors. The origins of the far lateral approach (FLA) date to 1972, when William Hammon and Ludwig Kempe described a lateral trajectory for accessing posterior circulation vascular lesions. In 1978, Wolfgang...

Deep venous drainage (DVD) is considered a negative prognostic factor in AVM surgery, yet its effect on postoperative functional decline remains incompletely defined. This study evaluates whether DVD predicts worsened functional status after surgical resection of Spetzler-Martin Grade II-III AVMs. This retrospective multicenter study analyzed 129 patients with Spetzler-Martin Grade II-III AVMs across nine centers in North America and Europe who underwent primary surgical resection. We excluded...

ComBat is commonly used to mitigate batch effects in multi-site neuroimaging studies. Although empirical bayes estimation is a key component of ComBat, its impact on resting-state functional connectivity measures, including site effect reductions and preservation of original within-site variability remains underexplored. Empirical bayes estimation was evaluated on functional connectivity in adolescents with mild TBI. Resting-state fMRI data were collected from 144 adolescents across six sites...

Sepsis is a major cause of global neonatal mortality, affecting 1.3 to 1.9 million neonates worldwide. Accurate diagnoses and effective treatment of sepsis during the onset is essential to improve outcomes. Current efforts to develop sensitive molecular biomarkers, however, are limited by the lack of accurate diagnostic tests, particularly the lack of sensitive viral testing or blood culture methods with low blood inoculums from small neonates. Consequently, antibiotic treatments are often...

No abstract

CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients with symptomatic ischemic moyamoya arteriopathy treated nonsurgically had worse outcomes compared with those managed surgically. These findings support pursuing surgical revascularization therapy in North American children and youth with symptomatic ischemic moyamoya arteriopathy.

CONCLUSIONS: Vaccinating adults aged ≥65 years and high-risk individuals 6 months-64 years remains cost-effective compared both to no vaccination and vaccination of the narrower population.

CONCLUSIONS: While highly consistent with previous data and observations, this is the first systematic comparison of these types of data across multiple T2IDs, using a rigorous quantitative assessment of the largest datasets evaluated to date. Many T2IDs are not only highly interrelated and comorbid, but share transcriptomic signatures and genetic predispositions that suggest they all share over-activation of the IL4/IL13 pathway as a key causative driver, consistent with and explaining their...

CONCLUSION: The trans-SAP approach for endoscopic diskectomy allows for safe access in transforaminal surgery. There was only one neuromonitoring event during the initial targeting in the 180 monitored or 3 awake trans-SAP cases included in this study that resolved without intraoperative or postoperative symptoms. These results could obviate the need for intraoperative neuromonitoring in these cases.

No abstract

Spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) poses a significant risk for astronauts, being linked to intracranial pressure (ICP) changes in microgravity. Investigating ICP in space has been challenging. We evaluated a telemetric lumbar ICP monitoring system that shows promise for investigating microgravity-induced intracranial pressure changes in astronauts. Despite limitations in pulse amplitude analysis and pressure underestimation, the system's long-term stability and overall...

CONCLUSION: In our study, higher BPV was associated with worse clinical outcomes in stroke patients treated with RS as bailout therapy after failed reperfusion. No association was shown between mean, maximum, minimum and delta SBP and clinical outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: In this large multicenter dAVF cohort, hemorrhagic presentation was most strongly associated with venous angioarchitecture. Male sex and antithrombotic therapy were also independently associated with hemorrhagic presentation. Angiographic obliteration was common, particularly among surgically treated lesions, and 90-day functional outcome was most strongly associated with baseline functional status.

Enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) applications in rehabilitation medicine has accelerated rapidly, from 22 publications in 2015 to 1449 in 2025. This expansion reflects growing optimism that AI may enhance clinical efficiency, streamline research workflows, and support patient-centered care. Uncritical adoption carries significant risks for rehabilitation practice, research integrity, clinical workforce sustainability, health equity, and environmental impact. This commentary cautions...

CONCLUSION: Transsphenoidal posterior lobe biopsy has a low-risk profile and high diagnostic capacity in patients presenting with a lesion of the pituitary stalk of uncertain etiology.

BACKGROUND: Children born with visual impairment perceive the world differently, which can lead to developmental delays that are often difficult for parents to understand. This uncertainty can leave them unsure of how best to support their child. Virtual Reality (VR) offers simulated experiences and is increasingly being explored as a tool to enhance empathy and understanding - particularly through Point of View (PoV) simulations. PoV VR experiences have the potential to provide personalised...

CONCLUSION: This study provides key insights into the "real-world" resource/cost requirements for implementing and sustaining each A.S.K.-PrEP strategy. Our results and publicly available budget impact tool provide support for potential stakeholders to ensure both feasibility and long-term sustainability for PrEP uptake and adherence for sexual and gender minority individuals with a SUD.

INTRODUCTION: Ebola virus (EBOV) infection triggers intense host transcriptional responses that overlap extensively with those induced by other viral and bacterial pathogens. This overlap complicates the identification of EBOV-specific gene expression signatures and limits diagnostic specificity. Defining transcriptional markers that distinguish EBOV from other infections is essential for improving molecular diagnostics and advancing understanding of EBOV-specific host responses.

CONCLUSION: We identified eight unique patterns of community OUD treatment after jail release. Receipt of in-jail MOUD was associated with belonging to the continuous methadone treatment cluster. These findings suggest that provision of in-jail MOUD could improve methadone uptake in the community.