Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) appearances of 43 intracranial meningiomas were reviewed and correlated with their histology and consistency at surgery and on pathological examination. There was a statistically significant prevalence of hard tumours within the fibroblastic subtypes. No statistically significant correlation between signal intensity and histology or consistency was found. A meningioma hyperintense on T2-weighted images is, however, unlikely to be fibroblastic or hard.

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In this open prospective trial, 53 patients with acute pain from osteoporotic vertebral fracture related to osteoporosis or malignancy underwent vertebral augmentation with a new bisphenol-a-glycidyl dimethacrylate (bis-GMA) resin (Cortoss, Orthovita, Malvern, Pa, USA). Treatment consisted of up to 8 ml of Cortoss injected into a given vertebra. The procedure encompassed single and multiple injections (including the contralateral hemivertebra, to a maximum of 3 vertebral levels). Follow-up was at 4 and 8 days and at 1, 3, and 6 months. The primary efficacy end point was patient-rated pain using a 100-point visual analog scale (VAS, with 100 as severest pain) on day 4 following treatment; secondary end points were analgesic use and quality-of-life and disability scores from the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and a short-form 12-item questionnaire (SF-12). The present report contains interim results collected up to the 1-month post-treatment time point. At baseline, the group's mean VAS score was 69, indicating moderate to severe pain; at day 4, 32 of 53 patients (60.4%) reported a 30% or greater reduction in baseline pain accompanied by a VAS pain score less than 50 (mean 38.1). Pain reduction was maintained at 1 month (mean VAS 31.3). The average ODI score at baseline was 55, suggesting significant disability among participants prior to Cortoss treatment. Following treatment, the ODI scores were significantly reduced from these baseline levels (day 8, 47.4; 1 month, 33.6). Further, SF-12 physical and mental component scores at 1 month after treatment increased from baseline by 26% and 11%, respectively; while analgesic use decreased concomitantly, primarily among patients with underlying osteoporosis. A total of 20 adverse events were deemed to be device-related. The most frequent clinically significant adverse events attributed to Cortoss were leakage of Cortoss from within the vertebral body at placement (12%), back pain (7%), and unspecified pain (7%). These results indicate that vertebral augmentation with Cortoss rapidly reduces pain, decreases disability, and improves physical functioning in patients with painful vertebral compression fractures.

The median OS following standard temozolomide treatment concurrent with and adjuvant to radiotherapy given to (72.8% of) patients aged ≤70 years is consistent with findings reported from randomized phase III trials. The volume and expertise of the treatment center should be further investigated as a prognostic factor.

Summary Acquired stuttering in adults was studied in sixteen cases. All were males, except one. In all cases, stuttering occurred following cerebral traumatic or vascular lesions which involved the left hemisphere, bilateral involvement being presumed in traumatic cases. In the majority of cases, stuttering was associated with aphasia, but in some cases it appeared clinically isolated. No significant association with speech apraxia, anomia or with signs of incomplete right handedness, was found. In some cases, acquired stuttering appeared as a severe worsening of pre‐existent developmental stuttering. These findings are compared with previous reports, and controversial points as well as the need for further investigation, are emphasized.