Paraplegia como manifestação inicial de medula presa: relato de caso Paraplegia as initial manifestation of tethered spinal cord: case report

A medula presa (MP) é entidade pouco frequente que ocorre quando há restrição da migração normal do cone medular por cistos, lipomas ou disrafismos espinhais. Esta patologia pode levar a paraplegia, distúrbios sensoriais e esficterianos. Relatamos o caso de uma menina de 22 meses que consultou com quadro de paraplegia. O diagnóstico de medula presa foi confirmado pela mielotomografia e a paciente foi submetida à cirurgia para liberação do filo terminal.<br>Tethered spinal cord (TSC) is a rare disorder; it occurs when the conus medularis is anchored to the base of the vertebral canal by thickened filum terminale cysts, lipoma and spinal dysraphia. This disorder may cause paraplegia, sensory and sphincter disturbance. We report a twenty-two months-old girl presenting with paraplegia. TSC diagnostic was confirmed by myelotomography. The patient was submitted to surgical relief of tethered filum terminale

Preventing peridural fibrosis with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

Peridural fibrosis is one of the more frequent complications of lumbar surgery. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit the inflammatory and fibroblastic response. We performed lumbar laminectomies in 24 rabbits, divided into two groups. The experimental group received 5 mg/kg/day of aceclofenac for 7 days and the control group received 1 cm3 of physiological saline. The samples were stained using immunohistochemical methods. The cellular populations in the inflammatory reaction and the thickness of the fibrous membrane were quantified. The mean of the fibrous area was always less in the rabbits of the experimental group compared to controls (47% less at 2 weeks and 41% less at 4 weeks). We observed an 8% decrease in the number of fibroblasts with antivimentin monoclonal antibodies in the experimental group. In this model, aceclofenac inhibits the presence of inflammatory cells in the fibrous scar in the early stages and reduces the extension of adhesions without adverse reactions