Alkaptonuric patient presenting with "black" disc: a case report.

Although intervertebral disc degeneration usually occurs in the natural course of alkaptonuria, detection of the disease by black disc material in a patient without any other sign of alkaptonuria is an extremely rare condition. The authors report a 45-year-old previously healthy female patient who was operated on for prolapsed lumbar disc herniation, and in whom the nucleus pulposus was discovered to be black intraoperatively. The alkaptonuria was diagnosed after histopathological examination of the black disc material.

Lumbar solitary osteochondroma presenting with cauda equina syndrome: a case report.

Although spinal osteochondromas can cause various clinical signs, the spinal cord or nerve root compression by solitary lumbar osteochondromas are rare clinical entities. We present a 62-year-old female patient with lower-back pain, progressive left leg paresis, numbness on the both lower extremities and urinary incontinence. The patient's clinical picture made us suspect the possibility of cauda equina syndrome.

Solitary lumbar osteochondroma presenting with foot-drop: a case report.

Although osteochondroma is the most common benign bone tumor, the lumbar spine is anuncommon localization for solitary osteochondroma. Solitary lumbar osteochondromas rarely affect the neurological structures, because most of the lesions grow out of the spinal canal. We report a 48-year-old patient suffering from right foot-drop due to acute compression of right L4 nerve root by a lesion expanding into the spinal canal, originating from the right inferior articular facet of the third lumbar vertebrae.

[Delayed pseudomeningocele as a result of penetrating injury: case report].

Pseudomeningocele is cerebrospinal fluid collection in an extradural area after meningeal tear. The size of the defect in the dura-arachnoid, the pressure of spinal fluid, and the resistance of the soft tissue presumably determine the size of the pseudocyst. The main symptoms are often: headache, neck pain and myelopathic and radicular signs.

Comparison of unilateral hemilaminotomy and bilateral hemilaminotomy according to dural sac area in lumbar spinal stenosis.

Introduction: Unilateral hemilaminotomy (ULH) and/or bilateral hemilaminotomy (BLH) with limited facetectomy are defined approaches to decompress the thecal sac and exiting lumbar nerve roots without increasing the risk of subsequent spinal instability.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 18 cases with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) with BLH or ULH that was performed in 11 and 7 cases, respectively. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed at the follow-up examination and dural sac area (DSA) was calculated on T(2)-weighted MRI images and then compared statistically.

Beta-estradiol reduces lipid peroxidation and depth of injury in cold-induced brain injury model.

Estrogen has neuroprotective effects in neurodegenerative disorders and models of neuronal damage. The effectiveness of estradiol (EST) (1 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg doses) in cold-induced brain injury (CIB) model was evaluated and compared with standard dexamethasone treatment. Forty-eight male Wistar rats (250-300 g) were randomly divided into 6 groups: sham operated, CIB + no treatment, CIB + 1 mg/kg dexamethasone, CIB + 1 mg/kg EST, CIB + 10 mg/kg EST, CIB + vehicle (ethanol).

Electrophysiological and clinical assessment of response to surgery in carpal tunnel.

The objective of this study was to assess the clinical and electrophysiological changes before and after surgery in 44 patients who underwent surgical intervention due to the diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS). Patients who were diagnosed with a slight, moderate, and severe idiopathic CTS were assessed clinically and by electrophysiological tests before (mean 2-4 weeks) and after surgery (at sixth month). Improvement in clinical parameters was achieved more significantly than electrophysiological recovery.

An effective and less invasive treatment of post-traumatic cerebrospinal fluid fistula: closed lumbar drainage system.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage may develop when a defect is formed in dural layers by traumatic or iatrogenic processes. Traumatic CSF leakage was encountered in 2% of head injuries. CSF leakage is an associated feature of 12-30% of skull base fractures.

Transorbital brain injury by a metallic fragment: a case report.

Because of anatomical configuration of the orbit, the brain can be damaged by penetrating transorbital injuries. At first sight, this type of trauma can be thought of as a solitary eye trauma. In this paper, we report a case who suffered from brain injury by a metallic foreign body which passed into the brain through the orbit.

Hydatid cysts of the internal acoustic canal and jugular foramen.

Brain involvement with hydatid disease occurs in 1-2% of all Echinococcus granulosus infections. Cerebral hydatid cysts are usually supratentorial, whereas infratentorial lesions are quite rare. Here we report a 19-year-old man with hydatid cysts in the right cerebellopontine cistern with the involvement of internal acoustic canal and jugular foramen.

Therapeutic efficacy of intraventricular cyclosporine A and methylprednisolone on a global cerebral ischemia model in rats.

Objective: Cyclosporine A (CsA) with its immunosuppressive actions and methylprednisolone (MP) as a free radical scavenger were suggested together to alleviate neural tissue damage after an ischemic insult. The aim of this study was to investigate neuroprotective properties of CsA and MP in a global cerebral ischemia model.

Methods: Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided randomly into four separate groups: CsA, MP, sham and control.

Dermoid lesion of the cavernous sinus: case report and review of the literature.

Intracranial dermoids are rare congenital tumors. Supratentorial dermoid cysts were more frequently reported in the last decade, and they are known to have a predilection for the cavernous sinus. Interdurally localized dermoids presenting with ophthalmoplegia is uncommon.

Median neuralgia caused by brachial pseudoaneurysm.

A rare neurovascular complication of a antebrachial arteriovenous fistula in a chronic hemodialysis patient is reported. A large brachial venous pseudoaneurysm caused median neuralgia by direct compression of the nerve. Surgical resection of the pseudoaneurysm resulted in complete relief of neuralgia.

Intraradicular herniation of a lumbar disc: a case report.

The authors report an unusual case of intraradicular lumbar disc herniation. A large fragment of lumbar disc was found within the sheath of the right S1 nerve root. Surgical treatment results in a satisfactory clinical outcome.