Lucia Zamorano, MD, PLC

Brain & Spine Surgery

MICHIGAN BRAIN & SPINE

SURGERY CENTER

  • Phone: (248) 723-2477 | Fax: (248) 681-3209
  •   New Patient Forms »  
  •   Leave Feedback »     Review Us »  
Menu
  • Home
  • About
    • About Dr. Zamorano
    • Testimonials
    • Practice Members
    • Published Articles
    • Community Events
    • Press
    • Close
  • Specialties
    • Auto & Workman’s Compensation
    • Brain & Spine Tumors
    • Cervical Spine Surgery
    • Computer Assisted Surgery
    • Endoscopic Spine Surgery
    • Endoscopy Brain
    • Endoscopic Lumbar Fusion
    • Endoscopy Spine
    • Epilepsy Surgery
    • Gamma Knife
    • Intra-Operative MRI
    • Kyphoplasty
    • Laser Surgery
    • Low Grade Gliomas
    • Lumbar Spine Surgery
    • Minimally Invasive Surgery
    • Movement Disorders
    • Neurosurgical Oncology
    • Pain Management
    • Pituitary Tumors
    • Radio Surgery
    • Robotic Surgery
    • Robotics Endoscopic Spine Surgery
    • Skull Base Surgery
    • Spinal Cord Injury
    • Spine Surgery
    • StemWave Therapy
    • Stereotactic Surgery
    • Traumatic Brain Injury
    • Trigeminal Neuralgia
    • Close
  • Forms
    • New Patient Information
    • Medication Protocol
    • Close
  • Patient Education
    • Category Index
    • Educational Articles
    • Hospital Links
    • Health Library
    • Innovative Technologies
    • Close
  • Blog
  • Locations
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
    • VIP Concierge Program
    • Close
    • Close
You are here: Home / Archives for Brain Tumors

Low-intensity electromagnetic waves brings new hope in the treatment of primary malignant brain tumors

Low-intensity electromagnetic waves might help slow a quick-growing and deadly form of brain cancer, researchers report.

Patients with glioblastoma experienced slightly better overall survival and delayed recurrence of their brain cancer if their heads were exposed to a type of electromagnetic field therapy alongside conventional chemotherapy, the Swiss research team found.

This therapy, called tumor-treating fields, already is approved in the United States and could prove useful in tackling other forms of cancer, said lead researcher Dr. Roger Stupp, chairman of the department of oncology and cancer center at the University Hospital Zurich.… [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Brain Tumors

Optune role in the treatment of GBM (Glioblastoma Multiforme)

optuneIn a clinical trial, how long were median overall and progression-free survival extended by adding Optune to TMZ after standard of care in patients newly diagnosed with GBM?

Indications For Use

Optune is intended as a treatment for adult patients (22 years of age or older) with histologically-confirmed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).

Optune with temozolomide is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed, supratentorial glioblastoma following maximal debulking surgery and completion of radiation therapy together with concomitant standard of care chemotherapy.

For the treatment of recurrent GBM, Optune is indicated following histologically-or radiologically-confirmed recurrence in the supratentorial region of the brain after receiving chemotherapy. The device is intended to be used as a monotherapy, and is intended as an alternative to standard medical therapy for GBM after surgical and radiation options have been exhausted.

Important Safety Information

Contraindications

Do not use Optune in patients with an active implanted medical device, a skull defect (such as, missing bone with no replacement), or bullet fragments. Use of Optune together with implanted electronic devices has not been tested and may theoretically lead to malfunctioning of the implanted device. Use of Optune together with skull defects or bullet fragments has not been tested and may possibly lead to tissue damage or render Optune ineffective.

Do not use Optune in patients that are known to be sensitive to conductive hydrogels. In this case, skin contact with the gel used with Optune may commonly cause increased redness and itching, and rarely may even lead to severe allergic reactions such as shock and respiratory failure.

Warnings and Precautions
Optune can only be prescribed by a healthcare provider that has completed the required certification training provided by Novocure (the device manufacturer).

Do not prescribe Optune for patients that are pregnant, you think might be pregnant or are trying to get pregnant, as the safety and effectiveness of Optune in these populations have not been established.

The most common (≥10%) adverse events involving Optune in combination with temozolomide were thrombocytopenia, nausea, constipation, vomiting, fatigue, medical device site reaction, headache, convulsions, and depression.

Use of Optune in patients with an inactive implanted medical device in the brain has not been studied for safety and effectiveness, and use of Optune in these patients could lead to tissue damage or lower the chance of Optune being effective.

If the patient has an underlying serious skin condition on the scalp, evaluate whether this may prevent or temporarily interfere with Optune treatment.

Please click here to see the Optune Instructions For Use (IFU) for complete information regarding the device’s indication, contraindications, warnings, and precautions.

Read more

Filed Under: Brain Tumors Tagged With: GBM, Glioblastoma Multiforme, Optune

Long term cell use linked to Brain Tumor Risk

cell-phone-useLong-term use of both mobile and cordless phones is associated with an increased risk for glioma, the most common type of brain tumor, the latest research on the subject concludes.

The new study shows that the risk for glioma was tripled among those using a wireless phone for more than 25 years and that the risk was also greater for those who had started using mobile or cordless phones before age 20 years.

“Doctors should be very concerned by this and discuss precautions with their patients,” study author Lennart Hardell, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Oncology, University Hospital, Örebro, Sweden, told Medscape Medical News.

… [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Brain Tumors Tagged With: Brain Tumor

New Hope to Improve Resection of Malignant Brain Tumors: Raman Technology

brain-tumorsAn optical technology for discriminating brain tumors from normal brain may eventually help surgeons in the operating room. Also this week: keeping neuronal growth on the straight and narrow.

New Light on Brain Tumors

When patients with brain tumors undergo surgery, it’s hard for surgeons to tell where tumor ends and normal brain starts, which often means cancerous tissue is left behind. But generous margins may compromise brain function.

Now, a technique known as stimulated Raman scattering microscopy has shown better discrimination in preclinical studies, said investigators led by Sunney Xie, PhD, of Harvard University, who hope to develop the technology into a handheld probe to be used in the operating room.

… [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Brain Tumors Tagged With: Brain Tumor

Treatment of spine and intracranial tumors with dural involvement

Intraoperative 32P High Dose Rate Brachytherapy of the Dura for Recurrent PRIMARY and Metastatic Intracranial and Spine Tumors

Folkert, Michael R. M.D., Ph.D.; Bilsky, Mark H. M.D.; Cohen, Gil’ad N. M.S.; Zaider, Marco Ph.D.; Dauer, Lawrence T. Ph.D.; Cox, Brett W. M.D.; Boland, Patrick J. M.D.; Laufer, Ilya M.D.; Yamada, Yoshiya M.D.

Treatment of spine and intracranial tumors with dural involvement is complicated by radiation tolerance of sensitive structures, especially in the setting of prior treatment.… [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Brain Tumors

CIC and FUBP1 Mutations in Oligodendroglioma

Komotar, Ricardo J.; Starke, Robert M.; Sisti, Michael B.; Connolly, E.

Neurosurgery . 70(6):N22–N23, June 2012.

doi: 10.1227/01.neu.0000414948.56225.36

Oligodendrogliomas comprise approximately 20% of brain tumors in adults, representing the second most common adult brain tumor. These tumors can progress to an anaplastic form, thereby conferring a significantly worse prognosis and poor treatment response. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosomes 1p and 19q in oligodendrogliomas provides the best measure of prognosis and response to treatment. The translocation of chromosomes produces marker chromosome (1;19) (q10;p10), and the breakpoints are in gene-poor centromeric areas suggesting a likely unmasking of a tumor suppressor genes.… [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Brain Tumors

Neuroanatomy and Cortical Landmarks

Focusing on the clinical applications of fMRI, this chapter will present methods to identify characteristic anatomical landmarks, and describe the course and shape of some gyri
and sulci and how they can be recognized on MR imaging.

Some redundancy is desired in order to course over cortical landmarks. If fMRI is not performed during clinical routine imaging, usually a 3D data set is acquired to overlay the results. Nowadays, fMRI is performed using echo planar imaging (EPI) with anisotropic distortion, whereas 3D T1-weighted data sets, such as MPRage (magnetization prepared rapid acquisition gradient echo) or SPGR (spoiled gradient recalled acquisition in steady state) sequences, are usually isotropic.… [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Brain Tumors

Molecular Cytogenetic Analysis in the Study of Brain Tumors

Jane Bayani, M.H.Sc.; Ajay Pandita, D.V.M., Ph.D.; Jeremy A. Squire, Ph.D.

Classic cytogenetics has evolved from black and white to technicolor images of chromosomes as a result of advances in fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques, and is now called molecular cytogenetics. Improvements in the quality and diversity of probes suitable for FISH, coupled with advances in computerized image analysis, now permit the genome or tissue of interest to be analyzed in detail on a glass slide. It is evident that the growing list of options for cytogenetic analysis has improved the understanding of chromosomal changes in disease initiation, progression, and response to treatment. The contributions of classic and molecular cytogenetics to the study of brain tumors have provided scientists and clinicians alike with new avenues for investigation. In this review the authors summarize the contributions of molecular cytogenetics to the study of brain tumors, encompassing the findings of classic cytogenetics, interphase- and metaphase-based FISH studies, spectral karyotyping, and metaphase- and array-based comparative genomic hybridization. In addition, this review also details the role of molecular cytogenetic techniques in other aspects of understanding the pathogenesis of brain tumors, including xenograft, cancer stem cell, and telomere length studies.… [Continue Reading]

Filed Under: Brain Tumors

Popular Topics

Alzheimer Alzheimer's Disease Alzheimer disease alzheimers atrial fibrillation Bapineuzumab Brain Cancer brain disorder Brain Tumor breast cancer Cancer cell phones coffee Community Support Concussion CPAP DBS Dementia depression ECT epilepsy Epilepsy Surgery Glioblastoma Glioblastoma Multiforme headache Headache Disorders Medical Marijuana memory sleep Metastasis migraine Minimally Invasive Surgery opioid Pain Pain Management Parkinson’s Disease Preoperative MRI sleep apnea sleep disorders stroke TBI TDCS TIA TMS Traumatic Brain Injury VNS

Topic Articles

  • ACE Inhibitors
  • Alzheimer
  • Alzheimer Disease
  • Amnesia and Memory
  • Aneurysm
  • Aneurysms
  • ARB's
  • Arrythmia
  • Artificial Disc Replacement
  • Botox
  • Brain
  • Brain Cancer
  • Brain Hemorrhage
  • Brain Metastasis
  • Brain Stimulation
  • Brain Surgery
  • Brain Tumors
  • Cancer
  • Cervical Stenosis
  • Cognition
  • Community Events
  • Concussion
  • CPAP
  • Dementia
  • Depression
  • Disc Replacement
  • Dizziness
  • Drug Overdose
  • Endoscopic Spine Surgery
  • Epidural
  • Epilepsy
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Glioblastoma Multiforme
  • Gliomas
  • Guidelines
  • Hand Tremors
  • Headache
  • Low Grade Gliomas
  • Lumbar Disc
  • Malignant Astrocytoma
  • Malignant Gliomas
  • Medical Marijuana
  • Memory
  • Migraine
  • Mild Cognitive Impairment
  • Neuromodulation
  • Neurostimulation
  • News
  • Osteoporosis
  • Pain
  • Pain Management
  • PTSD
  • Robotics
  • SI-BONE
  • Sleep Apnea
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Spine Robotics
  • Spine Surgery
  • Stem Cells
  • Stroke
  • Tinnitus
  • Traumatic Brain Injury

Visit Our

Health Library

Clinical Expertise

  • Auto & Workman’s Compensation
  • Brain & Spine Tumors
  • Cervical Spine Surgery
  • Computer Assisted Surgery
  • Endoscopic Lumbar Fusion
  • Endoscopic Spine Surgery
  • Endoscopy Brain
  • Endoscopy Spine
  • Epilepsy Surgery
  • Gamma Knife
  • Intra-Operative MRI
  • Kyphoplasty
  • Laser Surgery
  • Low Grade Gliomas
  • Lumbar Spine Surgery
  • Minimally Invasive Surgery
  • Movement Disorders
  • Neurosurgical Oncology
  • Pain Management
  • Pituitary Tumors
  • Radio Surgery
  • Robotic Surgery
  • Robotics Endoscopic Spine Surgery
  • Skull Base Surgery
  • Spinal Cord Injury
  • Spine Surgery
  • StemWave Non-Invasive Acoustic Wave Therapy Machine
  • Stereotactic Surgery
  • Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Trigeminal Neuralgia

VIP/Concierge Program

We offer immediate patient scheduling 24/7. Our VIP/Concierge Services Program offers a full array of services for the discerning patients and families as well as out of town or international patients and families. Learn more.

Languages Spoken

Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Chaldean, Arabic and English.

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Locations

Troy
5107 Rochester Rd., Troy, MI 48085
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Birmingham
2004 Hazel St., Birmingham, MI 48009
Hours: Mon-Fri: 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Physical Therapy & Rehabilitation
5107 Rochester Rd., Troy, MI 48085
Hours: Mon - Fri: 8:00am-5:00pm

Contact Information

Phone: (248) 723-2477
Fax: (248) 681-3209 or (248) 481-3913
eFax: (248) 671-0621
  • View Our Locations
  • Michigan Brain & Spine Surgery Center
  • Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
  • LinkedIn Page

Copyright © 2025 Michigan Brain & Spine Surgery Center. Lucia Zamorano, MD. PLC.
All Rights Reserved · Disclaimer · Privacy Policy