Establishment of the Military Neurosurgeons Committee within the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies.

In 2009, during the World Congress of Neurological Surgery in Boston, Massachusetts, the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) Executive Committee decided to establish a Military Neurosurgeons Committee. A separate scientific session on military neurosurgery was held at the next WFNS Interim Meeting in September 2011 in Brazil. A further separate session on military neurosurgery will take place at the next WFNS Meeting in Seoul, South Korea.

Saudi normative data for the Wisconsin Card Sorting test, Stroop test, Test of Non-verbal Intelligence-3, Picture Completion and Vocabulary (subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised).

Objective: There are 2 aims for this study: first, to collect normative data for the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Stroop test, Test of Non-verbal Intelligence (TONI-3), Picture Completion (PC) and Vocabulary (VOC) sub-test of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised for use in a Saudi Arabian culture, and second, to use the normative data provided to generate the regression equations.

Methods: To collect the normative data and generate the regression equations, 198 healthy individuals were selected to provide a representative distribution for age, gender, years of education, and socioeconomic class. The WCST, Stroop test, TONI-3, PC, and VOC were administrated to the healthy individuals.

Trolox ameliorates 3-nitropropionic acid-induced neurotoxicity in rats.

3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) is a naturally occurring neurotoxin produced by legumes of the genus Astragalus and Arthrium fungi. Acute exposure to 3-NPA results in striatal astrocytic death and variety of behavior dysfunction in rats. Oxidative stress has been reported to play an important role in 3-NPA-induced neurotoxicity.

Pentoxifylline attenuates iminodipropionitrile-induced behavioral abnormalities in rats.

This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of pentoxifylline (PTX) on iminodipropionitrile (IDPN)-induced behavioral abnormalities [excitation with choreiform and circling movements (ECC) syndrome] in rats. The animals were intraperitoneally injected with IDPN (100 mg/kg) daily for 7 days. PTX was administered daily 30 min before IDPN in the doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg for 9 days.

Pentoxifylline ameliorates lithium-pilocarpine induced status epilepticus in young rats.

The neuroprotective effects of pentoxifylline (PTX) against lithium-pilocarpine (Li-Pc)-induced status epilepticus (SE) in young rats are described. Animals treated with PTX (0, 20, 40, and 60 mg/kg) before induction of SE were examined for latency to and frequency of SE, behavioral changes, oxidative stress, neurochemical alterations in the hippocampus and striatum, and histological abnormalities in the hippocampus. Treatment with PTX significantly ameliorated the frequency and severity of epileptic seizures in a dose-dependent manner.

Protective effect of hydrocortisone on iminodipropionitrile-induced neurotoxicity in rats.

Occupational and environmental exposure of synthetic nitriles is of potential relevance to human health. Iminodipropionitrile (IDPN), a prototype nitrile toxin, has been shown to produce dyskinetic syndrome in rodents. This study reports the effect of concomitant exposure of rats to hydrocortisone and IDPN on behavioural abnormalities namely excitation, circling and chorea (ECC) syndrome.

Time-course of lipid peroxidation in different organs of mice treated with Echis pyramidum snake venom.

This study examined the effect of Echis pyramidum (EP) venom on time-course of lipid peroxidation in different vital organs of mice. Adult male Swiss albino mice were injected with EP venom (2 mg/kg, i.p.

Neuroprotective effect of nicotine against 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP)-induced experimental Huntington's disease in rats.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are regarded as potential therapeutic targets to control various neurodegenerative diseases. Owing to the relevance of cholinergic neurotransmission in the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease (HD) this investigation was aimed to study the effect of nicotine, a nAChR agonist, on 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP)-induced neurodegeneration in female Wistar rats. Systemic administration of 3-NP in rats serves as an important model of HD.

Exacerbation of harmaline-induced tremor by imipramine.

Imipramine is a well-established tricyclic antidepressant which was first approved for the treatment of depression in the late fifties. Antidepressant effect of imipramine is attributed to inhibition of serotonin (5HT) and noradrenaline (NA) reuptake in brain. These monoamines have been implicated in a variety of neurological disorders including tremor.

Quality of life in males with spinal cord injury in Saudi Arabia.

Objective: To assess the interests and post-hospitalization of quality of life (QOL) and career of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Methods: This study took a period that extended for 20 years (1982-2003). Fifty-seven male patients in the Riyadh, Armed Forces Hospital and Al-Kharj Hospital Program (RKH), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) with SCI responded to a questionnaire, which was distributed manually to 120 contributors.

Metoclopramide attenuates iminodipropionitrile-induced oxidative stress and neurobehavioral toxicity in rats.

Metoclopramide (MET) has long been used as a neuroleptic and antiemetic drug in clinical practice. Motor impairment and dyskinesia have been reported in some patients following chronic treatment with MET. Occasionally, the adverse symptoms may appear even after acute exposure to MET in more susceptible population (such as elderly individual) or due to concomitant exposure to MET and certain neurotoxins.

Citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor augments harmaline-induced tremor in rats.

Citalopram, a serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) is one of the widely used antidepressants. Apart from its antidepressant activity citalopram is also used for anxiety, panic disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and behavioral disturbances of dementia. Tremor is the second most common neurological adverse effect in patients receiving treatment with SSRIs.

Influence of age on iminodipropionitrile-induced vestibular and neurobehavioral toxicities in rats.

A direct association between aging and drug-induced dyskinesia has been reported by several investigators. Iminiodipropionitrile (IDPN), a prototype nitrile compound produces a motor syndrome in rodents, which resembles neuroleptic drug induced dyskinesia. In this investigation attempt has been made to study the effect of age on IDPN induced vestibular hair cell degeneration and resulting dyskinetic syndrome.

Caffeine impairs short-term neurological outcome after concussive head injury in rats.

Objective: Adenosine is an endogenous neuroprotective agent that is released during ischemia, hypoxia, epilepsy, and ischemic brain injury. Caffeine is a receptor antagonist for adenosine that might interfere with the neuroprotective effect of adenosine in ischemic-hypoxic conditions. An investigation was undertaken to study the effect of caffeine on neurological function, edema formation, and blood-brain barrier permeability after experimental head injury in rats.

Attenuation of iminodipropionitrile induced behavioral syndrome by sodium salicylate in rats.

Iminodipropionitrile (IDPN) produces irreversible behavioral abnormalities characterized by excitation with choreiform and circling movements (ECC) syndrome in rodents. Concomitant exposure to drugs or environmental chemicals has been shown to alter IDPN-induced neurobehavioral toxicity. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of sodium salicylate (SS) on IDPN-induced behavioral abnormalities in rats.

2-deoxy-D-glucose attenuates harmaline induced tremors in rats.

Neuronal hyperactivity in essential tremor is accompanied by high energy demand in cerebellum, medulla and the thalamus. It has been suggested that brain regions that have increased metabolic demands are highly vulnerable to interruptions in glucose metabolism. In the present investigation attempt was made to study the effect of 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) a glycolytic pathway inhibitor on harmaline induced tremor in rats.

Treatment of thoracolumbar fractures.

Objective: To study the outcome of patients with thoracolumbar fracture treated surgically or conservatively at the Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between the year 1989 through to 1999.

Methods: The medical and surgical record of all patients diagnosed as having thoracolumbar fracture (thoracic 10-lumbar 12) between the years 1989 to 1999 were reviewed. The parameter studies included the personal patient data, type of fracture, mechanism and cause of injury and neurological affection.

Effect of acute caffeine on severity of harmaline induced tremor in rats.

Recent studies suggest an association between caffeine consumption and tremor. However, the available literature is scanty and inconclusive. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of acute caffeine treatment on harmaline induced tremors in the rat.

Diethyldithiocarbamate (DEDC) impairs neuronal recovery following sciatic nerve injury in rats.

Purpose: Diethyldithiocarbamate (DEDC) is a substituted dithiocarbamate that is metabolically interconvertible with disulfiram (Ant-abuse). In recent years DEDC has received considerable attention because of its clinical applications and potential role in mediating both the toxic and therapeutic actions of disulfiram which is frequently used for alcohol aversion therapy. DEDC is known for its multiplicity of action that exerts both pro- and antioxidant effects.