Prospects of Vitamin C as an Additive in Plasma of Stored Blood.

There is a dire necessity to improve blood storage and prolong shelf-life of blood. Very few studies have focused on oxidative stress (OS) in blood and its influence on plasma with storage. This study attempts to (i) elucidate the continuous changes occurring in plasma during storage through oxidant levels and antioxidant status and (ii) evaluate the influence of vitamin C (VC) as an additive during blood storage.

Ectopic fascioliasis in the dorsal spine: case report.

Objective: Parasitic myelopathy is rare. We report ectopic infestation of the spine by Fasciola hepatica.

Clinical Presentation: A young woman presented with gradual onset paraplegia with bladder and bowel involvement.

Neuroendoscopic Transnasal Repair of Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea is a common condition managed by most otolaryngologists with the help of nasal endoscopy (sinoscopy). In the last 2 years, we have used a neuroendoscope with a working sheath to treat nine patients with CSF rhinorrhea. One patient developed a recurrence 1 month after treatment but then responded to conservative treatment.

Transcranial Doppler sonography evaluation in patients with vasospasm following subarachnoid haemorrhage.

Transcranial Doppler (TCD) sonography is emerging as a new ultrasonography technology to look at the interaction between the brain parenchyma and perfusion during cerebrovascular accident. Before TCD sonography the vasospasm following subarachnoid haemorrhage could only be diagnosed either clinically or by invasive method ie, angiography. TCD has been proved as a wonderful non-invasive, repeatable, beat-by-beat, non-expensive technique for detection and follow-up of vasospasm after subarachnoid haemorrhage.

A retrospective study of multiple interbody grafting and long segment strut grafting following multilevel anterior cervical decompression.

A retrospective study of 201 patients who underwent multilevel anterior cervical decompression and fusion by multiple interbody grafting and long segment strut grafting without plate fixation was conducted from January 1991 to December 2001. Previous studies have reported lower fusion rates for anterior cervical decompressions reconstructed with multiple interbody grafts as opposed to a single long strut graft. Our aim was a retrospective study of two fusion techniques with reference to radiological and clinical outcomes in patients operated by the senior author.

Percutaneous vertebroplasty: an experience of 31 procedures.

A prospective study of 31 percutaneous vertebroplasty procedures (PVP) in 22 patients treated during January 2000 to December 2001 is presented. PVP was performed using polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) to treat vertebral collapse due to osteoporosis and vertebral metastasis, to obtain analgesia and spinal stabilization. We analyze the efficacy and complications related to the procedure.

Square cervical laminoplasty incorporating spinous process: surgical technique.

Background: We have used a laminoplasty technique in multilevel cervical canal stenosis that incorporates spinous process in the neural arch and does not require free graft or foreign material.

Methods: In this technique, laminae and spinous processes were used to enlarge stenotic cervical spinal canal. Three patients (mean age 34.

Neuro-endoscopic surgery--experience and outcome analysis of 102 consecutive procedures in a busy neurosurgical centre of India.

Background: Neuro-endoscopic surgery is finding increasing application for various clinical conditions. We present our experience of 100 cases of diverse intracranial lesions, including infections, managed by neuro-endoscopy in a busy neurosurgical department in the developing world.

Material And Methods: One hundred patients treated from March 1996 to February 2002 formed the study group.

MR demonstration of brain abscess rupture into the subarachnoid space and its possible implication in management.

Background: Rupture of brain abscess into the subarachnoid space as a cause of meningitis is rare. Early diagnosis improves the outcome. There is no previous report of MR demonstration of rupture of brain abscess into the subarachnoid space.

Magnetization transfer MR imaging in patients with posttraumatic epilepsy.

Background And Purpose: Intractable epilepsy is a well-recognized complication following head trauma, and many factors have been implicated in its pathogenesis. This study was performed to determine the severity of tissue damage after severe head injury as assessed with magnetization transfer (MT) MR imaging and the relationship of this damage with seizure intractability.

Methods: Forty-four patients, 13 without seizures (disease controls) and 31 with seizures, underwent T1-weighted MT MR imaging 1-10 years after head trauma.

Comparative evaluation of magnetization transfer MR imaging and in-vivo proton MR spectroscopy in brain tuberculomas.

We have compared and analyzed the value of in vivo proton MR spectroscopy (PMRS) and T1 weighted magnetization transfer (MT) MR imaging in tissue characterization of brain tuberculomas. We studied 33 cases of proven intracranial tuberculomas with in vivo PMRS and T1 weighted MT MR imaging. MT ratios from the rim and core of the tuberculomas were calculated and compared with metabolites seen on PMRS.

Cerebellar hemangioblastoma simulating arachnoid cyst on imaging and surgery.

A case of posterior fossa hemangioblastoma simulating arachnoid cyst on imaging and peroperatively is presented. In vivo proton MR spectroscopy showed evidence of large lactate and resonance at 2.37 ppm not observed earlier in the cystic lesions, including arachnoid cyst.

MRI demonstration of unsuspected intraventricular rupture of pyogenic cerebral abscesses in patients being treated for meningitis.

We report three patients with pyogenic meningitis who showed a partial response to medical treatment. MRI demonstrated an unsuspected brain abscess with intraventricular rupture, a possible cause of the partial response to treatment.

Differentiation of tuberculous from pyogenic brain abscesses with in vivo proton MR spectroscopy and magnetization transfer MR imaging.

Background And Purpose: MR imaging features are nonspecific with respect to the causative organism for patients with brain abscesses. On the basis of the hypothesis that the biochemical environment depends on the infecting organism and might be different in tuberculous compared with pyogenic brain abscesses, this study attempted to determine whether pyogenic brain abscesses can be differentiated from tuberculous brain abscesses by use of magnetization transfer (MT) MR imaging and in vivo proton MR spectroscopy.

Methods: Twenty-seven patients with a total of 33 pyogenic brain abscesses and three patients with a total of 12 tuberculous abscesses were evaluated with in vivo MR spectroscopy and MT MR imaging.

Primary fibrosarcoma of brain.

This is a case presentation of a young patient with an intracranial space-occupying lesion following multiple episodes of generalised tonic clonic seizures for the last 20 years. Such a long latency period between the onset of fits and the discovery of an intracranial lesion is highly unusual in malignant brain tumours. This lesion was excised completely and proved to be a primary lesion of the brain - fibrosarcoma.

Posterior fossa arachnoid cyst presenting as high cervical cord compression.

We report a 16-year-old boy who presented with high cervical cord compression caused by a midline posterior fossa arachnoid cyst lying below the vermis. Cystoperitoneal shunting resulted in a dramatic improvement of neurological signs.