Comparison of posterior cranial fossa morphometric measurements in Chiari type I patients with and without syrinx cavity on magnetic resonance imaging

Purpose: To compare the posterior fossa measurements of Chiari type I malformation (CHM1) patients with and without syrinx and with a control group. Material and methods: The patients with syrinx were divided into 2 groupd according to syrinx width/cord width (S/C) ratios: group 1 – S/C ratio 50%. The length of the clivus, the AP length of the foramen magnum, the AP length of the posterior fossa, the perpendicular distance between the McRae line and (a) the splenium of corpus callosum, (b) the pons, and (c) the fastigium of the 160 patients and of the 160 control patients were statistically compared. In addition, the measurements of the patients with and without syrinx, according to the S/C ratio, were statistically compared. Results: Syrinx was present in 59 (36.8 %) of the 160 patients. The S/C ratio was 50% in 29 (49.1%) of them. All the measurements in the patient group, except of the AP length of the foramen magnum, were statistically significantly lower than in the control group (p = 0.001). There was no signif icant difference in the measurements of the patients with syrinx group 1 and the patients without syrinx, but the AP length of posterior fossa was statistically significantly lower in the patients with syrinx group 2 than the patients without syrinx (p = 0.03). Conclusion: The S/C ratio can be a guide to the underlying aetiology

The Effect of Apocynin on Motor and Cognitive Functions in Experimental Alzheimer’s disease.

Scope: We investigated the potential beneficial effect of Apocynin (APO) on motor and cognitive functions in experimental Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Materials and Methods: Experimental AD was induced in rats by intraventricular streptozotocin (STZ) injection. Sham group received artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Both groups were randomly divided into two subgroups. One of the subgroups received intraperitoneal APO for while the other had normal saline (NS). The animals were evaluated with rotarod, accelerod and Water-Maze tests before and after the treatment. Additionally, biochemical markers of oxidative stress such as malondialdehyde (MDA) and reduced glutathione (GSH) were analyzed from brain specimens. Standard histological evaluation and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to evaluate the neural damage. Results: The difference between STZ+NS in comparison with CSF+NS, CSF+APO and STZ+APO were statistically significant on 30 and 40 rpm on rotarod test. GSH levels, accelerod and Water-Maze test results were not statistically significant between subgroups. However, MDA differences between STZ+NS in comparison with CSF+NS, CSF+APO and STZ+APO were statistically significant. Hemotoxilene eozine staining and TEM results showed apocynins protective effect. Conclusion: These results indicate that APO can provide neuro-protective effect for motor but not for cognitive performance in experimental AD.   Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease, Streptozotocin, Apocynin, Rotarod test, Accelerod test, Water-Maze test</p

Epidemiology of Pediatric Brain Tumors

Malignant brain tumors are one of the most important causes of death in pediatric age group. Even though there are some hints, evidenced data about the etiology is stil scarce. Ionizing radiation, N-nitroso compounds, pesticides, tobacco smoke, electromagnetic frequencies, infectious agents, parental occupational exposures, and medications can be listed as probable risk factors. The advances in technology, mainly in molecular biology and genetics, progressively contribute to the understanding of this unsolved problem. There is consensus about the cancerogenic effect of N-nitroso compounds and preventive role of vitamins. [Med-Science 2012; 1(1.000): 65-76

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor coexistent with anaplastic ganglioglioma

Primitive neuroectodermal tumors are among the most common tumors of childhood and the most frequent location of them is cerebellum. Supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumors are uncommon. These tumors, regardless of site of origin, may show differentiations towards different cell lines such as glial, neuronal, and mesenchymal. To our knowledge, there is only one case in the literature describing ganglioglial differentiation in a cerebellar medulloblastoma. The presented report discloses a supratentorial primitive neuroectodermal tumor coexistent with anaplastic ganglioglioma in a 46-year-old man. Both components of the tumor disappeared after radiotherapy, with a proceedent glioblastomatous differentiation in the follow-up period. [Med-Science 2012; 1(1.000): 47-54

Botulinum Toxin-A for the Treatment of Voiding Dysfunction: Our Initial Experience

International audienc

Does previous open nephrolithotomy affect the outcomes and complications of percutaneous nephrolithotomy in children?

Objective: To analyze the success and complication rates of percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL) performed in pediatric patients and to compare outcomes of the patients undergoing primary PCNL with those of patients who had undergone previous open nephrolithotomy