Clinical decision instruments for CT scan in minor head trauma.

Previous studies have presented conflicting results regarding the predictive value of various clinical symptoms and signs for performing computed tomography (CT) scan in minor head injury. Moreover, despite the presence in the literature of several similar publications regarding whether or not CT should be employed at the time of presentation of minor head injured patients, data regarding delayed CT are limited. The objective of this study was to determine whether high-risk criteria represent a significant indication for initial CT scan in patients with minor head trauma, and whether or not analysis using delayed CT scan is necessary in patients with high-risk criteria before being discharged.

[Identification of atypical mycobacteria isolated from clinical specimens by line probe assay (LIPA)].

The aim of this study was the identification of atypical mycobacteria isolated from various samples of patients prediagnosed as tuberculosis between November 2004 and June 2006 by a commercial polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based reverse hybridization kit (INNO-LiPA Mycobacteria v2, Innogenetics NV, Belgium). A total of 21,060 samples obtained from 9660 patients were included to the study. After decontamination and homogenization processes, the samples were cultivated in automated MGIT Bactec 960 system and the diagnosis of atypical mycobacteria was performed in 4532 (21.

Spontaneous intracranial hypotension after labor without spinal intervention.

We present a 29-year-old woman admitted with severe postural headache after spontaneous term labor. Lactation ceased for the duration of headache. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed dural thickening that is suggestive of spontaneous intracranial hypotension.

Analysis of the correlation between local field potentials and neuronal firing rate in the motor cortex.

Neuronal firing rate has been the signal of choice for invasive motor brain machine interfaces (BMI). The use of local field potentials (LFP) in BMI experiments may provide additional dendritic information about movement intent and may improve performance. Here we study the time-varying amplitude modulated relationship between local field potentials (LFP) and single unit activity (SUA) in the motor cortex.

An unusual case of vascular loop syndrome.

Coexistence of hemifacial spasm (HFS) and trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a rare entity known as painful tic convulsif (PTC). Here, we present a case of right-sided HFS after which left TN developed, which is an unusual form of PTC. Both disorders were caused by bilateral vascular compression of the cranial nerves and successfully treated with botulinum toxin and carbamazepine.

Value of ischemia-modified albumin in the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

Background: Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common condition, but the diagnostic strategy for the evaluation of suspected PE is somewhat controversial. Despite the use of various biochemical markers (such as D-dimer and C-reactive protein) and various probability calculation algorithms based on clinical findings for that purpose, there is still a need for more specific and practical markers in PE diagnosis. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic value of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels in the diagnosis of PE.

Mad honey poisoning-related asystole.

Mad honey poisoning is well known in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The cause of the poisoning is the toxin grayanotoxin, found in honey obtained from the nectar of Rhododendron species on the mountains in the region. A 60-year-old man was brought to the emergency department with dizziness and syncope after eating a few spoonfuls of honey.

Characterization of rpoB mutations by line probe assay in rifampicin-resistant mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates from the aegean region in Turkey.

The nature and frequency of mutations in the rpoB gene of rifampicin (RIF)-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis clinical isolates vary considerably according to the geographical location, and very little information is available regarding specific mutational patterns in our country. The main objective of this study was to determine the frequency of mutations in the hypervariable region of the rpoB gene in RIF-resistant M.tuberculosis isolates recovered from tuberculosis patients in our region by using the INNO-LiPA Rif.

Wild boar attacks.

Attacks on humans by wild boar (Sus scrofa) are occasionally reported in rural areas of Turkey. While fatalities are rare, individuals may sustain significant soft tissue trauma. Lower extremity lacerations of up to 10 cm in length and 4 cm deep were seen in the 3 cases reviewed.

Extraction and localization of mesoscopic motor control signals for human ECoG neuroprosthetics.

Electrocorticogram (ECoG) recordings for neuroprosthetics provide a mesoscopic level of abstraction of brain function between microwire single neuron recordings and the electroencephalogram (EEG). Single-trial ECoG neural interfaces require appropriate feature extraction and signal processing methods to identify and model in real-time signatures of motor events in spontaneous brain activity. Here, we develop the clinical experimental paradigm and analysis tools to record broadband (1Hz to 6kHz) ECoG from patients participating in a reaching and pointing task.

Intrathecal gadolinium-enhanced MR-cisternography in spontaneous intracranial hypotension associated with Behcet's syndrome.

We report a 32-year-old woman diagnosed with spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH) and Behcet's Syndrome. Suspicion of SIH was based on cervical MRI findings, and magnetic resonance (MR)-cisternography revealed dural leaks bilaterally at lumbar region. MR-cisternography is a recently performed technique and gaining importance in demonstration of CSF fistula.

Peripheral neuropathy in patients with diabetic foot ulcers: clinical and nerve conduction study.

Objectives: Diabetic foot lesions develop predominantly in male patients and sensory neuropathy is the most frequent type of neuropathy associated with these lesions. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and electrophysiological features in a cohort of patients with diabetic foot.

Research Design And Methods: The recordings of 318 consecutive diabetic patients (127 women and 191 men) with an ongoing or healed foot ulcer who had been referred for electrophysiological consultation were evaluated retrospectively.

On-line Detection of Perceptual Signatures in Multichannel ECoG.

Neocortical ECoG studies have unveiled the presence of active states - spatial patterns of amplitude modulation- in the beta- gamma ranges in the presence of conditioned stimuli that resemble cinematographic frames. These sequences of active frames emerge with abrupt phase resettings, followed by resynchronization and stabilization over channels, and magnified intensity. An online pattern recognizer that captures the spatial and spectral characteristics of the active frames is presented.

Cerebral venous thrombosis and hepatic venous thrombosis during pregnancy.

Cerebral venous thrombosis (CVT) and Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) are rarely encountered thrombotic diseases of two different vascular systems. A 20-year-old woman in the 14th week of pregnancy was brought to the emergency department with complaints of sudden headache and loss of vision. Thrombosis in the left transverse and sigmoid sinus was demonstrated at MR angiography.

Mad honey poisoning.

Grayanotoxin intoxication, which is mostly seen in the eastern Black Sea region of Turkey, stems from the "mad honey" made by bees from the rhododendron plant flowers. In low doses, this causes dizziness, hypotension, and bradycardia, and in high doses, impaired consciousness, seizures, and atrioventricular block (AVB). This case study was designed as a series of cases of patients (6 women, 2 men) aged between 35 and 75 years.

EEG correlates of startle reflex with reactivity to eye opening in psychiatric disorders: preliminary results.

Previous studies have shown alterations of eyeblink reflex in patients with various psychiatric disorders. It has previously been demonstrated by our group that EEG measures of the reactivity to eye opening could effectively predict patient-reported startle response in patients with acute stress reaction. In our present study, EEG spectral power analysis and eyeblink electrical startle responses were acquired from a total of 39 patients diagnosed with various psychiatric disorders: 7 patients with schizophrenia, 10 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), 10 patients with panic disorder, 5 patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and 7 patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Humoral immune response against 38-kDa and 16-kDa mycobacterial antigens in tuberculosis.

Several ELISA tests based on mycobacterial antigens have been used for the rapid diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB), although demonstration of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a smear or culture is the most reliable method. In the present study, the diagnostic value of 16-kDa and 38-kDa mycobacterial antigens was investigated in patients who were diagnosed with tuberculosis by clinical and/or bacteriological findings in Turkey. The PATHOZYME-TB Complex Plus commercial ELISA kit was used for measuring immunoglobulin G against 38-kDa and 16-kDa recombinant antigens.