The disruption and dysfunction of miRNAs may perturb the immune response and stimulate the release of inflammatory cytokines altering the cellular response to viral infection. Previous studies demonstrate that miRNAs have the potential to be used as diagnostic and therapeutic biomarkers. Therefore, its discovery and validation are essential for improving the diagnosis of infection and clinical monitoring in COVID-19.Autophagy pathway genes variants that play crucial roles in immune responses are involved in many diseases but their role in viral diseases is ill-defined. ATG16L1 gene plays a crucial role in the autophagy process. In this study, we have investigated the role of ATG16L1 variant T300A in the risk of HBV infection. rs2241880 (T300A) variant in 551 HBV infected patients (at various stages of infection) and 247 healthy controls were genotyped applying PCR-RFLP. Data analysis revealed that mutant allele G contributes to the risk of hepatitis B infection. Mutant alleles were significantly associated the HBV risk in allelic (OR = 1.31; 95%CI = 1.06-1.63, p = .01) and homozygous (OR = 1.87; 95%CI = 1.17-2.99, p = .009) models. On stratifying HBV infected individuals according to the stage of infection, a significant association was observed in asymptomatic (allelic; OR = 1.52; 95%CI = 1.10-2.09, p = .01 and homozygous; OR = 2.30; 95%CI = 1.22-4.36, p = .01) and chronic (allelic; OR = 1.36; 95%CI = 1.07-1.73, p = .01 and homozygous; OR = 2.07; 95%CI = 1.22-3.53, p = .008) stages of infection. High HBV DNA levels were associated with mutant genotype GG in asymptomatic and chronic carriers. Significantly higher ALT levels were observed in the liver cirrhosis patients with mutant genotypes. In conclusion, our data suggest that rs2241880 mutant allele carriers (allelic and homozygous models) were associated with increased risk of hepatitis B virus infection in North Indian population.Background There is a scarcity of literature on tandem thoracic-lumbar stenosis that may be related to either the rarity or under-diagnosis of the condition. We present a systematic review of the clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment patterns for patients with symptomatic tandem thoracic and lumbar stenosis. Methods A Pubmed/MEDLINE search was performed for reports of patients with symptomatic tandem thoracic and lumbar stenosis. Results The review identified 10 studies reporting on a total of 48 patients with tandem thoracic and lumbar stenosis. The majority (85%, n = 41 of 48) of patients had tandem stenosis diagnosed on initial investigation, with 71% citing ossification of the ligamentum flavum as a contributing etiology. A minority (15%, n = 7 of 48) of patients had thoracic lesions diagnosed after neurological deterioration following lumbar surgery for previously suspected isolated lumbar stenosis. Surgical management varied from isolated thoracic decompression, staged decompression, and simultaneous decompression. The majority (87%, n= 41 of 47) of patients showed improved neurologic status following surgery. Conclusion Ossification of the ligamentum flavum, may play a key role in the pathogenesis of the condition. The majority of patients with tandem thoracic and lumbar stenosis show improvement following surgical decompression. While limited evidence does raise concerns regarding neurologic deterioration after initial lumbar decompression in patients with coexisting thoracic stenosis, there is insufficient data to definitively determine an optimal surgical strategy. Further research is needed to identify optimal diagnostic and management criteria for patients with symptomatic tandem thoracic and lumbar stenosis.Background When Belgium’s COVID-19 outbreak began in March of 2020, our neurosurgical department followed the protocol of most surgical departments in the world and postponed elective surgery. However, patients with tumor-like brain lesions requiring urgent surgery still received treatment as usual, in order to ensure ongoing neuro-oncological care. From a series of 31 patients admitted for brain surgery, three were confirmed as infected by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Case description We present the clinical outcomes of these three COVID-19 patients, who underwent an intra-cerebral biopsy in our department during April of 2020. All suffered from a diffuse intra-parenchymal hemorrhage post-operatively. Unfortunately, we were not able to identify a clear etiology of these post-operative complications. It could be hypothesized that an active COVID-19 infection status may be related to a higher bleeding risk. The remaining 28 neuro-oncological non-COVID patients underwent uneventful surgery during the same period. Conclusions This case series reports the previously unreported and unexpected outcomes of COVID-19 patients suffering from acute hemorrhage after intra-cerebral biopsy procedures. find more Although no direct relation can yet be established, we recommend the neurosurgical community be cautious in such cases.We report the outcome of three female patients who were operated for symptoms of progressive quadriparesis. Investigations revealed ‘ossified’ meningioma located anterior to the brainstem. One or both vertebral arteries were encased within the confines of the tumor. Large size, ‘bone-hard’ consistency, location anterior to the brainstem and intimate vascular relationship made the surgery a formidable surgical problem. Midline posterior suboccipital approach was used to resect these tumors. Radical tumor resection was achieved in all cases successfully. Histological examination in all three cases revealed psammomatous meningioma. During the follow-up period that ranged from 2 to 12 years, all the three patients are leading normal life and there has been no documented recurrence in any case.Background and Importance Early and late images of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) using 123I-iomazenil (123I-IMZ) can demonstrate cerebral blood flow and cortical neuronal viability, respectively. Hyperperfusion syndrome is one of the serious complications after revascularization surgery for moyamoya disease; therefore, the real-time observation of the hemodynamics and neuronal viability is important for the treatment after the revascularization. Here we report, a case of moyamoya disease in whom 123I-IMZ SPECT had a significant efficacy to delineate the hemodynamics and transient neuronal dysfunction in hyperperfusion state after revascularization. Clinical presentation A 47-year-old female presented with motor aphasia 3 days after superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery anastomosis with indirect revascularization. MR imaging on the same day showed no new ischemic changes but high intensities along the left frontal sulci observed on fluid-attenuated inversion recovery images, and 123I-IMZ SPECT demonstrated the increased uptake on the early images and the decreased uptake on the late images around the anastomosis site.