title: Brain biopsy in benign neurological disease.
abstract: Brain biopsy is well established in clinical practice when there is suspicion of CNS malignancy. However, there is little consensus regarding the indications for brain biopsy in non-malignant neurological disease. This is due in no small part to limitations in the available literature pertaining to diagnostic brain biopsies. The published evidence largely comprises small, retrospective, single-centre analyses performed over long time periods, including non-homogeneous patient groups with considerable variation in reported outcomes. Here we present pragmatic guidance for those clinicians considering diagnostic brain biopsy in a patient with non-neoplastic neurological disease and highlight practice points with the aim of maximising the probability of gaining clinically useful information from the procedure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Walton Centre for Neurosciences, Liverpool, UK.
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Gilkes
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Love
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Hardie
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: N J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Scolding
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Rice
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D001706:Biopsy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors