The role of intravenous immunoglobulin in the treatment of cerebral vasospasm induced by subarachnoid haemorrhage: an experimental study.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) prevents cerebral vasospasm in rabbits with induced subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). The effect of IVIG on apoptosis in the endothelial cells of the basilar artery was also evaluated.

Methods: Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits were allocated randomly into three groups.

Beneficial effects of levosimendan on cerebral vasospasm induced by subarachnoid haemorrhage: an experimental study.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the ability of levosimendan to prevent cerebral vasospasm in a rabbit model of subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH).

Animals And Methods: Eighteen New Zealand white rabbits were allocated into three groups randomly. SAH was induced by injecting autologous blood into the cisterna magna.

Anatomic and radiologic analysis of the atlantal part of the vertebral artery.

The horizontal third segment (V3h) of the vertebral artery (VA) in 7 cadavers (14 sides) was dissected and the anatomical measurements recorded. Measurements from 24 healthy individuals (48 sides) were taken for comparison using multislice CT scanning. The distance between the medial tip of the VA V3h and the line passing through the mid point of the posterior tuberculum of the atlas was marked as length A.

Deoxy-ribonucleic acid repair genes XRCC1 and XPD polymorphisms and brain tumor risk.

Objectives: To evaluate whether polymorphisms in the deoxy-ribonucleic acid (DNA) repair genes XRCC1 and XPD, have efficacy in the development of brain tumors.

Methods: This is a case-population based study, including 135 cases of brain tumors, and 87 population based age- and gender-matched healthy controls. We examined the role of XRCC1 Arg 399Gln gene and XPD Lys751Gln gene polymorphisms, in the context of brain tumor risk for the Turkish population between 2004 and 2007 at Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.

The lumbar roots and pedicles: a morphometric analysis and anatomical features.

The objective of this study was to conduct a morphometric analysis of the lumbar nerve roots and surrounding structures. In this investigation, the lumbar roots were studied in 14 cadavers (70 lumbar vertebrae). Lumbar pedicle heights and widths were measured at every level of the lumbar vertebrae.

Primary lumbar vertebral hydatid cyst.

Spinal hydatid cyst is a serious and rare infectious disease. We report a case of spinal hydatid cyst at the second lumbar vertebra, and we discuss the clinical presentation, diagnosis and surgical treatment of vertebral hydatid cyst.

An unusual association of optic hydrops and Reiter`s syndrome.

The association of optic hydrops and Reiter`s syndrome in the literature has not been mentioned previously. This syndrome characteristically consists of 3 manifestations: arthritis, urethritis, and conjunctivitis. A 42-year-old woman with a history of Reiter`s syndrome presented with progressive vision disturbance in her left eye and with headache.

Primary spinal intradural extramedullary hydatid cyst in a child.

Background/objective: Spinal hydatid cyst is a serious form of hydatid disease affecting less than 1% of the total cases of hydatid disease. We present a case of pathologically confirmed primary intradural spinal cyst hydatid in an otherwise healthy patient who showed no other evidence of systemic hydatid cyst disease.

Case Report: An 8-year-old boy presented with back pain, left leg pain, and difficulty in walking.

Efficacy of Adcon-L gel or Healon-GV in epidural fibrosis after lumbar microdiscectomy.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of anti-adhesion barrier agents following lumbar microdiscectomy.

Methods: Healon GV or Adcon-L was applied to a laminectomy defect overlying the duramater in 60 patients assigned to 3 randomized groups: Group I - Adcon-L (n=21), Group II - Healon GV (n=21), and Group III - control group, no adhesion barrier used (n=18). We conducted this study between 2004 and 2006 at Selcuk University, Konya, Turkey.

A case report of firearm bullet settling into the thoracic spinal canal without causing neurological deficit or vertebral bone destruction.

Objective: The main objective of this study was to present a case of gunshot injury in which a bullet particle settled into the inferior-thoracic epidural canal, which was neurologically intact, without causing any vertebral bone destruction. There has been no previous report in the literature regarding a foreign body settling into the vertebral canal following gunshot injury without causing any bony destruction.

Case Report: A 40-year-old male patient was hospitalized in emergency service with the complaints of severe pain in his back and both legs secondary to a gunshot wound.

Congenital cranial and spinal dermal sinuses: a report of 3 cases.

Three cases of congenital dermal sinus are presented--2 female and 1 male. Frontal, thoracic, and lumbosacral congenital dermal sinuses were explored. All patients presented with skin findings, but no neurologic deficits.

Composite type of split cord malformation: two different types at three different levels: case report.

The authors report on a child with a composite type of split cord malformation (SCM). The patient presented with symptoms of a common cold. The diagnosis of SCM was made based on computerized tomography and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of whole spinal axis.

Surgical outcomes of cerebellar tumors in children.

Cerebellar tumors in childhood are generally associated with a favorable outcome if they are managed appropriately. 27 cases of pediatric cerebellar tumors, operated over a 7-year period, are presented. Histopathological diagnoses were as follows: pilocytic astrocytoma (48.

The clinical and surgical aspects of spinal tumors in children.

A series of 20 pediatric patients underwent surgery for spinal tumor at the Department of Neurosurgery, Gulhane Military Medical Academy between 1995 and 2003. Motor weakness and reflex changes were the main initial signs in these patients. Epidural tumors and intradural-extramedullary tumors were in equal number, and total tumor removal was achieved in most of the patients without adjuvant treatment.

Surgical outcomes of ulnar nerve lesions in children. A retrospective clinical study.

The ulnar nerve provides the major motor innervation of the interosseous muscles of the hand and the flexor muscles of the wrist and the fourth and fifth digits. Injury is most common at the wrist, forearm or elbow, secondary to trauma or entrapment. Pediatric ulnar nerve lesions differ from adult lesions by their quicker axonal regeneration.

Pediatric cerebellar cystic oligodendroglioma: case report and literature review.

Oligodendrogliomas rarely occur in the posterior fossa of childhood and constitute approximately 1% of pediatric brain tumors. Only six pediatric posterior fossa oligodendroglioma cases have been reported to date and none of them were cystic. The authors present a seven-year-old girl with cystic, cerebellar midline localized tumor.

Split cord malformation in adults.

Although split cord malformations have been well documented in children, there is no consensus about their surgical indications and clinical course in adults because of their rarity. Medical records of nine young adult patients with split cord malformations were reviewed retrospectively. The most common complaint was radicular low back pain persisting more than 1 year, and the most common finding was hypertrichosis.

Fracture and lateral dislocation of the T12-L1 vertebrae without neurological deficit--case report.

A 21-year-old man suffered T12-L1 vertebrae fracture and lateral dislocation without neurological deficit. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the fracture and lateral dislocation of the thoracolumbar spine. The injured spine was realigned with rods and screws, and bony fusion of the affected vertebrae was performed.

[Traumatic dissection of bilateral vertebral arteries].

58-year-old male comatose patient following a motor vehicle accident with a history of coronary bypass surgery 5 years ago has been presented. The patient was awake after the accident and he became comatose 30 minutes after the accident. The early diagnostic investigations showed no responsible cranial or spinal lesion.

Congenital absence of internal carotid artery associated with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism--a case report.

Congenital absence of internal carotid artery is a relatively rare disorder. It may be an isolated entity or combined with other organ or system anomalies. Investigations of a 19-year-old male patient with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism and hypothyroidism suffering from intracerebral and subarachnoid hemorrhages showed absence of the left internal carotid artery.

Dorsal bony septum: a split cord malformation variant.

Split cord malformations (SCMs) are rare spinal anomalies and their classification is still a matter of debate. There is no widespread consensus on the embryological basis of this entity. The unified theory, proposed by Pang et al.