Bioinformatics in neurosurgery

Discovering neurosurgery: new frontiers

Over the centuries, discoveries of lands unknown, treasures lost and buried, and formulas to delineate physicochemical processes have led to advancements in our understanding of how the world is structured and governed. In science and medicine, discoveries are frequently made following deliberate periods of observation and experimentation to test hypotheses. However, in some instances, discoveries may arise either following a "eureka moment" that transcends rigorous scientific experimentation or following a serendipitous observation. In many instances, scientific discoveries will lead to new inventions that are aimed at improving the manner in which tasks or operations are performed. In this address, some of the key discoveries in science and medicine that have impacted significantly on the field of neurosurgery are described. Some of these include discoveries in neuroanatomy, anesthesiology, infectious diseases, antisepsis, and radiology. Discoveries in the field of molecular science, from the discovery of DNA to next-generation DNA sequencing, which have helped improve the diagnosis and prognosis of neurosurgical patients with conditions such as brain tumors, are also described. In the end, these discoveries have led us to new frontiers in the subspecialty practice of neurosurgery. Navigating our way through these new frontiers will undoubtedly lead to additional discoveries that are unimaginable at present but bound to improve the future care of neurosurgical patients.

Current concepts in the molecular genetics of pediatric brain tumors: implications for emerging therapies

BACKGROUND

The revolution in molecular biology that has taken place over the past 2 decades has provided researchers with new and powerful tools for detailed study of the molecular mechanisms giving rise to the spectrum of pediatric brain tumors. Application of these tools has greatly advanced our understanding of the molecular pathogenesis of these lesions.

REVIEW

After familiarizing readers with some promising new techniques in the field of oncogenomics, this review will present the current state of knowledge as it pertains to the molecular biology of pediatric brain neoplasms. Along the way, we hope to highlight specific instances where the detailed mechanistic knowledge acquired thus far may be exploited for therapeutic advantage.

Sequence analysis and bioinformatics analysis of chromosome 17q25 in familial moyamoya disease

OBJECTS

The pathogenesis of moyamoya disease is still unknown. The present study aimed to find out the responsible genes that are located in the 17q25 locus.

METHODS

Considering the function, we selected nine genes as candidates from a total of 65 genes identified in the 9-cM region of D17S785-D17S836 in chromosome 17q25, and performed sequence analysis on the DNA samples obtained from a pedigree of familial moyamoya disease, which showed a complete linkage to the region by a haplotype analysis. Also, we attempted to identify candidate genes that have not been known but might be functionally relevant to the disease among a total of 2,100 expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences using bioinformatics techniques.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

The sequence analysis could detect no mutation in the nine genes. Nor could we identify a novel candidate gene by the EST analysis. Further studies using alternative approaches are warranted to clarify the pathogenesis of moyamoya disease.