Association of radiological type of dural tail sign in contrast MRI with histopathological grading of intracranial meningiomas

Background: In neurosurgical practice meningiomas are one of the commonest intracranial tumors to seek surgical intervention which is classified into 3 histological grades and 15 subtypes according to the 2016 WHO classification of tumors of the CNS. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between radiological type of dural tail sign in contrast MRI with histopathological grading of intracranial meningiomas. Methods: This was a cross sectional interventional study carried out in the Department of Neurosurgery, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Dhaka Medical College Hospital and National Institute of Neuroscience Hospital including 35 patients of intracranial meningiomas who fulfilled the selection criteria were enrolled in this study. Results: This study included 35 cases of intracranial meningiomas. There were 22 individuals (62.9%) in the 28-47 age group. The mean±standard deviation (SD) age of the participants was 45.97±9.56 years. There were 9 male participants (25.7%) and 26 female participants (74.3%) with ratio 1:3. We see that parasagittal location (50%) and sphenoid wing (33.3%) were more prevalent in grade II. We found significant distribution of the types of DTS among the histological grades of meningioma. The nodular cases (6,100%) were all grade II type. Mixed type was the most prevalent type among grade I. Conclusions: There is association of radiological type of dural tail sign in contrast MRI with histopathological grading of intracranial meningiomas and may be used as a good tools for forecasting tumor type and prognosis

Efficacy of per operative use of powdered vancomycin in reduction of early post-operative superficial surgical site infection in single level prolapsed lumber intervertebral disc surgery

Background: Decompression (fenestration and discectomy) of lumber disc herniation is one of the most common surgical procedures done by neurosurgeons. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of per operative use of powdered vancomycin in reduction of early post-operative superficial surgical site infection in single level prolapsed lumber intervertebral disc surgery. Methods: This was a Quasi-experimental type of study carried out in the Department of Neurosurgery, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh from October 2022 to September 2023. Results: In this study, the mean age was 42.2±10.5 years, ranging from 20 to 60 years. The highest incidence of prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc (PLID) was in the vancomycin group among patients aged 41-60, with a male-to-female ratio of 1.7:1. Most PLID cases (59.4%) occurred at the L4/5 level. Out of 32 patients, only four (no vancomycin group) had an ESR above 75 mm/hr. On the 30th postoperative day, significantly increased CRP levels and signs of infection were observed. Among those with purulent discharge, 50% had Staphylococcus aureus, 25% had Staphylococcus epidermidis, and 25% showed no pathogen growth. Conclusions: In this study, we found that there is a significant effect of topical application of powdered vancomycin in addition to systemic antibiotic prophylaxis over the subcutaneous tissue following fenestration and discectomy in single level prolapsed lumber intervertebral disc and reduction in the incidence of superficial surgical site infection

Association between pre-operative high sensitive C-reactive protein and immediate post-operative radicular pain following prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc surgery

Background: Nerve root compression is often inadequately understanding radicular pain due to prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc, a common neurosurgical presentation. Inflammation is proved as an important etio-pathological component of radiculopathy, even after surgery. Methods: This cross-sectional intervention study conducted from March 2022 to September 2023. Data collected from 45 patients with prolapsed lumber intervertebral Disc, who underwent surgical intervention in Department of Neurosurgery, BSMMU. Results: The mean±SD age of the patients was 38.4±11.6 years, most of them 37 (82.2%) aged within 29 to 60 years. Majority 30 (66.7%) of them were male. Patients presented with pain, numbness and weakness was 45 (100%), 33 (73.3%) and 8 (17.8%) respectively.  Among the participants most 36 (80%) had right sided and 9 (20%) had left sided radiation. The mean±SD level of pre-operative high sensitive C-reactive protein was 2.1±1.7. Pre-operative high sensitive C-reactive protein was significantly associated pre-operative, post-operative and mean change in visual analogue score (p<0.001, p<0.001, p= 0.006 respectively). Correlation of high sensitive C-reactive protein and VAS score (both pre and post-operative) were also statistically significant with p =0.017 and p <0.001 respectively. Conclusions: In our study, there is an association between pre-operative serum high sensitive C- reactive protein and post-operative radicular pain following surgical intervention in patients with prolapsed lumbar intervertebral disc

Progressive Cognitive Deficit, Motor Impairment and Striatal Pathology in a Transgenic Huntington Disease Monkey Model from Infancy to Adulthood

One of the roadblocks to developing effective therapeutics for Huntington disease (HD) is the lack of animal models that develop progressive clinical traits comparable to those seen in patients. Here we report a longitudinal study that encompasses cognitive and motor assessment, and neuroimaging of a group of transgenic HD and control monkeys from infancy to adulthood. Along with progressive cognitive and motor impairment, neuroimaging revealed a progressive reduction in striatal volume. Magnetic resonance spectroscopy at 48 months of age revealed a decrease of N-acetylaspartate (NAA), further suggesting neuronal damage/loss in the striatum. Postmortem neuropathological analyses revealed significant neuronal loss in the striatum. Our results indicate that HD monkeys share similar disease patterns with HD patients, making them potentially suitable as a preclinical HD animal model

A two years longitudinal study of a transgenic Huntington disease monkey

BACKGROUND: A two-year longitudinal study composed of morphometric MRI measures and cognitive behavioral evaluation was performed on a transgenic Huntington’s disease (HD) monkey. rHD1, a transgenic HD monkey expressing exon 1 of the human gene encoding huntingtin (HTT) with 29 CAG repeats regulated by a human polyubiquitin C promoter was used together with four age-matched wild-type control monkeys. This is the first study on a primate model of human HD based on longitudinal clinical measurements. RESULTS: Changes in striatal and hippocampal volumes in rHD1 were observed with progressive impairment in motor functions and cognitive decline, including deficits in learning stimulus-reward associations, recognition memory and spatial memory. The results demonstrate a progressive cognitive decline and morphometric changes in the striatum and hippocampus in a transgenic HD monkey. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study on a primate model of human HD based on longitudinal clinical measurements. While this study is based a single HD monkey, an ongoing longitudinal study with additional HD monkeys will be important for the confirmation of our findings. A nonhuman primate model of HD could complement other animal models of HD to better understand the pathogenesis of HD and future development of diagnostics and therapeutics through longitudinal assessment

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Space Pattern Changes in Buildings

A COVID-19-pandemic has been spreading since early 2020 throughout the world. It has a serious impact on all aspects of human life and has an influence on changes in the pattern of human activitiesin buildings. This study aims to evaluate the impact of COVID-19 on the changes of occupant behavior and space pattern in buildings through a literature study, online information from the COVID-19 response team,and government and non-governmental organizations. The study results show that activities in buildings are closely related to the risk of spreading the virus, so a design strategy that responds to a pandemic is needed to reduce the risk of infection. It is necessary to develop an air ventilation system that can inhibit virus transmission, changes in spatial and circulation patterns to reduce the risk of transmission, and the selection of building materials that can inhibit the transmission process. Therefore, the role of architects and building designers is very important in realizing buildings that are responsive to pandemics. The results of this study can serve as inspiration for sustainable building design and response to pandemics in the future

Morphological and Physico-Chemical Characteristics of Soils in the Tasik Chini Catchment in Pahang, Malaysia

The morphological and physico-chemical properties of 11 soil series representing the major soil types in the Tasik Chini catchment in Pahang, Malaysia were studied. Soil types of the study area showed wide variations in their morphological and physico-chemical properties as a result of mean annual precipitation, soil parent material, vegetation and topography. Analyses showed that low values of silt were recorded in the horizon and the content of clay increased with soil depth. All the soil series contained low amounts of organic matter. Physical properties showed higher values for bulk density in the disturbed soils compared to the undisturbed forest soils. Regarding the chemical properties, these soils were strongly acidic. Electrical conductivity was also very low. Due to low pH, the contents of exchangeable base in all the soil types were very low. The cation exchange capacity of all the soil series were low with values less than 13.34 meq/100g soil

Reduced striatal neurons in the caudate nucleus and putamen of HD monkeys.

<p>Immunostaining with the neuronal-specific marker NeuN in the striatum in 5-year-old control (a), rHD7 (b), and rHD1 (c) monkeys (scale bar = 1mm). The close-up view at the right side shows a closer view of the caudate nucleus and putamen (scale bar = 100μm). The number of NeuN-positive neurons in the caudate nucleus (a’, b’, c’) and putamen (a”, b”, c”) of the HD monkeys is dramatically reduced compared with the control animal (scale bar = 10 μm). By counting from the Nissl staining, the number of neurons in the caudate nucleus and putamen is reduced in both HD monkeys when compared to control monkeys (d, e, respectively).</p