Acta Neurochirurgica

This supplement of Acta Neurochirurgica contains the proceedings of the Ninth Convention of the Academia Eurasiana Neurochirurgica held in Chateau St. Gerlach, Houthem, The Netherlands, 29 July - 1 August 1998. During this convention a three-day symposium on Neurosurgery and Medical Ethics was held. In this time of tremendous technical advancement in medicine in general and neurosurgery in particular, we are liable to lose sight of the sick patient as a human being, and the odds are that he will be the object rather than the subject of our action in the near future. It is a purpose and a task of the Academia Eurasiana Neurochirurgica to recognize this thread and to pay attention to tradition, morality and ethics in neurological surgery. The theme of this convention and the subject of the symposium met this purpose as no other. In the scientific sessions during the first day, the moral backgrounds of medical ethics in the most important cultures and religions in east and west were elucidated by invited experts in this field. A mutual respectful understanding of each other's conception of and belief in ethical principles is a growing necessity in our multicultural societies in both continents. On the second day, the ethical aspects of different fields of neurological surgery were discussed by members of the Academia. In this context, also the internationally much-discussed and much-criticized regulations on euthanasia in The Netherlands were explained.

Endoscopic neurosurgical interventions gain in importance. This book gives adetailed description of the recent indi- cations of endoscopic procedures inmodern neurosurgery. They include endoscopic stereotaxy, endoscopic evacuations of intracerebral hematomas, cysts and abscesses as well as endoscopic interventions on brain tumors. An extended over- view about the usable endoscopes and the operative equipment is pointed out.

Neurorehabilitation together with functional neurosurgery are steadily growing fields. In order to encapsulate such concepts, the fourth official scientific meeting of the Neurorehabilitation and Reconstructive Neurosurgery Committee of the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) was held in Seoul. This volume is the fourth in a new series of proceedings covering the most important advancements in this field.

"Research” and "Publishing” are phrases familiar to all neurosurgeons and neuroscientists. Many young neurosurgeons struggle with them on a trial-and-error basis at first, and there are not structured education programs providing information on standard methods. The European Association of Neurosurgical Societies Research Committee has developed a course on research and publication methods for residents in neurosurgery who have not yet completed training. This supplement includes selected contributions from this course and will serve as an essential handbook providing basic tools to guide research and publication work, presenting time-saving advice, and resulting in the most beneficial contributions in experimental and clinical research.

This Acta Neurochirurica supplement distills the accomplishments of the Joint Convention of the Academia Eurasania Nuerochirurgica and the German Academy of Neurosurgery held in Bamberg, Germany from Sept. 1-3 2005. The main focus is "Medical Technologies for Neurosurgery," including: imaging, image processing, robotics, workflow analysis and ethics. Coverage extends from an overview of medical technologies, to robotic-assisted systems in neurosurgical operating rooms, to intraoperative MRI.

Radiologists, orthopedic and neurological surgeons present the different minimally invasive methods. Peripheral nerve problems and problems concerning differential diagnosis in special situations such as between radicular and peripheral nerve trunk lesions are discussed, pinpointing the significance of different diagnostic tools. Minimally invasive techniques, utilized nowadays to minimize bone demolition, scarring and risk of recurrence are analyzed. Microdiscectomy is compared with the results of intradiscal techniques, and new methods are discussed facing problems such as epidural fibrotisation, microinstability, osteoporotic or neoplastic or posttraumatic vertebral lesions.

International experts present in this volume advances in reconstructive neurosurgery focusing on the fields of neurotrauma and neurodegenerative disorders. The highlights include building an international strategy for risk reduction, documentating an multidisciplinary approach towards restoration of function in paraplegic spinal cord-injured patients, describing a new approach for statistical analysis in traumatic brain injury trials, describing blood flow changes in diffuse brain injury, discussing rehabilitation programs in Germany following acute brain injury, describing research data form Taiwan on neurotrauma, showing the neuropsychiatric effects from deep brain stimuation fro ovement disorders, difining the role played by imanging for deep brain stimulation targeting in mental illness, using radiosurgery in decompresssion in the treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, describing the development of radiosurgery from brain to the spine, listing new transgenic animal models of Parkinson's disease, discussing gene therapy for neuropathic pain and Parkinson's disease, and finally, discussing constrained-induced movement therapy fro stroke patients, and endovascular therapy for cerebrovenous disorders.

In 1992 the Editors published the first volume of Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery (MIN I) which described the current state of the art in this rapidly developing field of neurosurgery and reported first clinical experiences with these new technologies. The subject of MIN II is limited to endoscopic anatomy, technical devices and surgical management of disorders suitable for endoscopic procedures. The indications and approaches in different diseases are still highly preliminary and longterm results are not yet available. The clinical value and the benefit to the patients treated with these new techniques must still be proven against the well established standards of microsurgery. This volume presents a critical update of neuroendoscopy.