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Background The molecular mechanisms underlying cerebral vasospasm and delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH) are incompletely understood. We hypothesized that circulating antiangiogenic factors, such as soluble Fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) and soluble transforming growth factor β coreceptor, soluble endoglin (sEng), are important markers of their pathophysiology. Methods We performed a prospective study in patients with aSAH and measured cerebrospinal fluid and serum levels of sFlt-1 and sEng on postbleed day 1 and 6 and correlated levels with incidence and severity of cerebral vasospasm and DCI. Results Twenty-seven patients with aSAH were enrolled in the study. Severe angiographic vasospasm was present in 14.8% of patients and DCI occurred in 33.3%. Serum sFlt1 levels were increased on postbleed day 6 in patients who developed vasospasm. However, on postbleed day 1, there were no differences in patients who developed vasospasm. Increased serum sFlt-1 levels on postbleed day 1 were found to predict the development of severe angiographic vasospasm with an area under the curve of 0.818 with an optimal cutoff value of 95 pg/mL. Alterations in sFlt1 were not associated with DCI. Serum and cerebrospinal fluid sEng levels did not correlate with vasospasm or DCI. Conclusions Serum levels of sFlt-1 are increased in patients with aSAH who are at risk for severe vasospasm. Further studies with larger sample sizes are needed to evaluate whether sFlt-1 levels may predict onset of severe vasospasm and DCI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations of the anterior cerebral artery-anterior communicating artery complex are commonly identified in aneurysm surgery. An infraoptic course of the anterior cerebral artery is exceedingly rare. Robison first described this anomaly from an anatomic dissection in 1959. A unilateral anomalous infraoptic anterior cerebral artery is more common than anomalies of bilateral infraoptic anterior cerebral arteries. We present the case of an unruptured aneurysm at the anterior communicating artery in a patient with bilateral infraoptic anterior cerebral arteries, identified by computed tomography angiography and verified during surgery. Implications for aneurysm formation and surgical treatment are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Stent-assisted coil embolization and flow diversion with the Pipeline embolization device (PED) are both effective endovascular treatment options for ophthalmic segment aneurysms (OSAs) of the internal carotid artery. Here we present a large comparative cohort study. Methods A multicenter, retrospective cohort comparison study of consecutively treated OSAs was conducted at 2 academic institutions in the United States comparing stent-coiling (between 2007 and 2015) and PED (between 2011 and 2016). Results A total of 62 of OSAs were treated with stent-coiling and 106 were treated with the PED. The stent-coiling–treated aneurysms were larger, although the maximum diameter was not significantly different between the 2 groups ( P = 0.05). The median duration of follow-up was 22.5 months for the stent-coiling group and 8.7 months for the PED group ( P = 0.0002). Complete occlusion at last follow-up was achieved in 75.9% of aneurysms in the stent-coiling group and in 81.1% of aneurysms in the PED group ( P = 0.516). The retreatment rate was higher with stent-coiling, but the difference did not reach statistical significance ( P = 0.062). A good functional outcome was achieved in 96.6% of patients in the stent-coiling group and in 94.7% of those in the PED group ( P = 0.707). The rate of neurologic complications was 4.8% in the stent-coiling group and 9.4% in the PED group ( P = 0.376). Conclusion Stent-coiling and the PED were equally effective for treating OSAs. There were no significant differences in terms of procedural complications, angiographic, functional, and visual outcomes. PED may be more favorable for multiple adjacent OSAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In an era of continued advancements in endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms, novel developments concerning microsurgical clipping are sparse. The Lazic aneurysm clip system represents such an advancement. The applier has a malleable shaft and is designed to minimally obstruct the view of the surgical field. The purpose of this study was to illustrate the transition to this new aneurysm clip system in an established cerebrovascular practice. Methods We retrospectively reviewed all aneurysms treated with microsurgical clipping using the Lazic aneurysm clip system in 1 cerebrovascular practice in the United States from January 2009 to June 2016. Results Between 2009 and 2016, a total of 973 aneurysms underwent surgical clipping. The Lazic clip system was used in 191 (19.6%) aneurysms (maximum diameter, 5.6 ± 3.8 mm) in 181 patients. The middle cerebral artery was the most frequent location (25.7%) followed by posterior communicating artery (20.9%). There was a continuous increase in the percentage of aneurysms treated with the Lazic clip system from 6% in 2009 to 98% in 2016. The proportion of posterior circulation aneurysms treated with Lazic clips decreased, whereas the middle cerebral artery location increased. There were a total of 11 complications (5.8%), but no instances of clip malfunction. Conclusions In the largest series to date, the Lazic clip system proved to be safe and efficacious and presents an interesting alternative to established aneurysm clip systems. This study illustrates the transition of an established cerebrovascular practice to the Lazic clip system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]