Objective Treatment of middle cerebral artery (MCA) aneurysms has been historically considered as the almost exclusive domain of microsurgical clipping. This retrospective single-center study assesses whether microsurgical clipping or endovascular treatment (i.e. coiling and/or stenting) for MCA aneurysms yielded better occlusion rates and clinical outcome. Methods We identified patients with a minimum clinical follow-up of 12 months who had undergone MCA aneurysm repair either by clipping or by endovascular treatment between 2005 and 2015. Aneurysm occlusion rates were assessed by the Raymond-Roy Occlusion Classification (RROC) and patients’ clinical outcome was measured by the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). All patients had been treated in an interdisciplinary treatment concept at a large neurovascular center; both treatment modalities were available at all times. Results Ninety-two eligible patients with MCA aneurysms, of whom 21.7% patients were treated for subarachnoid hemorrhages, were included; 38 patients underwent endovascular therapy and 54 clipping. The median age at treatment was 53.5 years (range, 25–79 years) and the median clinical follow-up was 98.5 months (range, 18–213 months). Occlusion rates were significantly higher in the clipping cohort (RROC = 1: 96.3% vs 78.9%; p = 0.04), long-term clinical outcome was better in the endovascular treatment cohort (mRS ≤ 1: 100.0% vs 90.8%; p < 0.01). Permanent treatment-associated morbidity was seen more commonly in the clipping cohort (9.3% vs 0.0%). Conclusions Both treatment modalities are associated with excellent clinical and radiological outcome if applied within an interdisciplinary treatment concept. Endovascular aneurysm repair appears to be an attractive treatment alternative compared to clipping with low complication rates for well-selected patients.

We tested the hypothesis that reduced skin innervation in fibromyalgia syndrome is associated with specific CNS changes. This prospective case–control study included 43 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome and 40 healthy controls. We further compared the fibromyalgia subgroups with reduced (n = 21) and normal (n = 22) skin innervation. Brains were analysed for cortical volume, for white matter integrity, and for functional connectivity. Compared to controls, cortical thickness was decreased in regions of the frontal, temporal and parietal cortex in the fibromyalgia group as a whole, and decreased in the bilateral pericalcarine cortices in the fibromyalgia subgroup with reduced skin innervation. Diffusion tensor imaging revealed a significant increase in fractional anisotropy in the corona radiata, the corpus callosum, cingulum and fornix in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy controls and decreased FA in parts of the internal capsule and thalamic radiation in the subgroup with reduced skin innervation. Using resting-state fMRI, the fibromyalgia group as a whole showed functional hypoconnectivity between the right midfrontal gyrus and the posterior cerebellum and the right crus cerebellum, respectively. The subgroup with reduced skin innervation showed hyperconnectivity between the inferior frontal gyrus, the angular gyrus and the posterior parietal gyrus. Our results suggest that the subgroup of fibromyalgia patients with pronounced pathology in the peripheral nervous system shows alterations in morphology, structural and functional connectivity also at the level of the encephalon. We propose considering these subgroups when conducting clinical trials.

We tested the hypothesis that reduced skin innervation in fibromyalgia syndrome is associated with specific CNS changes. This prospective case-control study included 43 women diagnosed with fibromyalgia syndrome and 40 healthy controls. We further compared the fibromyalgia subgroups with reduced (n=21) and normal (n=22) skin innervation. Brains were analysed for cortical thickness, for white matter integrity, and for functional connectivity. Compared to controls, cortical thickness was decreased in the left pars opercularis in the fibromyalgia group as a whole, and decreased in the left superior frontal and left rostral middle frontal cortex in the fibromyalgia subgroup with reduced skin innervation. Diffusion tensor imaging revealed a significant increase in fractional anisotropy in the corona radiata, the corpus callosum, cingulum and fornix in patients with fibromyalgia compared to healthy controls. Using resting-state fMRI, the fibromyalgia group as a whole showed functional hypoconnectivity between the right midfrontal gyrus and the posterior cerebellum and the right crus cerebellum, respectively. The subgroup with reduced skin innervation showed hyperconnectivity between the right cuneal cortex and the anterior parahippocampal gyrus, between the left thalamus and the lateral parietal region in the default mode network and hypoconnectivity between the left frontal lobe and the right cerebellum crus 1. Our results suggest that the subgroup of fibromyalgia patients with pronounced pathology in the peripheral nervous system shows distinctly altered morphology, structural and functional connectivity also at the level of the brain. We propose considering these subgroups when conducting clinical trials.