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Taelar Sandoval

Article Summary

Biology 1615

The clinical outcomes after complete surgical


resection
Of intramedullary cavernous angiomas: changes in
motor
And sensory symptoms

Introduction: Cavernous angiomas (CAs) are a cluster of blood vesicles


which migrate together forming a cluster of thin walled veins that have
reduced blood flow due to the formation in which they present. They come
together to form a benign tumor. Intramedullary CAs refer to these lesions
being present in the spinal cord. Intramedullary Cavernous Angiomas make
up around 5-15% of all spinal cord anomalies. When CAs are present in a
patients spinal cord, they may cause a range of symptoms such as sensory
and motor deficits.
Materials & Methods: In order for scientists to study the subject, they had
to gather information on specific cases of patients. They chose their
demographic to be patients that underwent surgical removal of the lesions
between the time period of 1995-2006. Researchers got together to test
outcomes of patients between this time period in three different settings: a
pre-operative period, a post-operative period, and a final follow up period.
The methods they used in these visits were constructed through the
American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) and the Japanese Orthopedic

Taelar Sandoval
Article Summary

Biology 1615

Association (JOA). Researchers used the pre-constructed scoring systems to


test on a few different things. ASIAtesting of an isolated muscle was used
on a six-point scale ranging from 0complete paralysis to 5normal, active
movement. JOAtesting of any functional disturbance consisted of the
following:
1) Motor function of upper and lower extremities
2) Sensory function of upper extremities, lower extremities, and trunk
3) Bladder function
The highest possible score of 17 indicated that the patient did not exhibit
any myelopathy (functional disturbance or pathological change in the spinal
cord), and the lowest possible score of 0 indicated that the patient exhibited
a complete cord injury (permanent spinal injury with complete loss of
sensory and motor function below the site of injury)
Results: Out of all of the total of 14 patients tested over the 11 year time
period, around 29% of patients showed minor neurological decline with
varying degrees of recovery between intermittent attacks. About 50%
showed a slow progression back from neurological decline. 21% of patients
showed a sudden onset of symptoms with rapid decline, and/or gradual
worsening. The long term outcomes which were gathered at the final follow
up visits for all of the patients suggested that a total of 78.6% of patients
either increasing or staying the same.

Taelar Sandoval
Article Summary

Biology 1615

Discussion: Most of the patients who exhibited sensory deficits had carried
them on until the final follow up visits. To conclude, surgical resection of
intramedullary CAs can be used effectively to reduce neurological symptoms
that patients may present with, but the sensory symptoms persisted among
the large majority of patients even after complete surgical resection of the
cavernous angiomas. These results are both good and bad. It showed
researchers that there is a good reason for patients to undergo surgery even
though there are risks involved, but it didnt get rid of all symptoms. We are
hoping to find some way to mitigate all symptoms that a patient may present
with.

Taelar Sandoval
Article Summary

Biology 1615
Bibliography:

Park, S. B., T-A Jahng, and C. K. Chung. "The Clinical Outcomes after Complete
Surgical Resection of Intramedullary Cavernous Angiomas: Changes in Motor and
Sensory Symptoms." Spinal Cord47.2 (2008): 128-33. Web.

"Cavernous Malformations." - Mayo Clinic. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.

"Cavernous Malformation." WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2016.

Fox, Benjamin D., M.D. Hospital discharge papers. 06 Jan. 2015. Raw data. Primary
Children's Hospital, Salt Lake City.

"Complete vs. Incomplete." Complete vs. Incomplete. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Mar. 2016.

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