Total sialic acid levels decrease in the periventricular area of infantile rats with hydrocephalus

Object. Besides mechanical damage done by the enlarging ventricles, biochemical impairment in the periventricular tissue represents an important factor resulting from or contributing to the pathogenesis of hydrocephalus. In this study the changes in periventricular region total sialic acid levels in the early stage of experimentally induced hydrocephalus were evaluated. Methods. Hydrocephalus was induced in 3-week-old rat pups by kaolin injection into the cisterna magna. Ten days after hydrocephalus induction rats were sacrificed and total sialic acid levels in the periventricular area were determined by the thiobarbituric acid method. Conclusion. Sialic acid, a vital component of brain gangliosides, which play an essential role in the transmission and storage of information in the brain, was found to be significantly decreased in the periventricular area of hydrocephalic infantile rats

Green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin gallate prevents oxidative damage on periventricular white matter of infantile rats with hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus causes damage to periventricular white matter at least in part through chronic ischemia. Emphasizing the periventricular ischemia/hypoxia in hydrocephalus, various authors indicated the secondary biochemical impairment and oxidative damage in experimentally induced and congenital hydrocephalic rat brain. (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the main constituent of green tea polyphenols, has been shown to be of some protective value in various models of neurological injury as a free oxygen radical scavenger. In the present study the effects of EGCG were examined on the periventricular oxidative damage in experimental childhood-onset hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus was induced in 3 weeks-old rat pups by kaolin injection into the cisterna magna. A single daily dose of 50 mg/kg of EGCG injected into the peritoneum of the rats for 15 days significantly reduced periventricular white matter malondialdehyde levels when compared to non-treated hydrocephalic animals. Our results indicate that EGCG may have a protective effect against periventricular white matter oxidative damage in hydrocephalus induced infantile rats. (C) 2003 Tohoku University Medical Press

Two different surgical techniques for reduction cranioplasty

Reduction cranioplasty is required in selected patients when macrocephaly interferes with head control, seating, locomotion, and social acceptance. Two different surgical techniques for reduction cranioplasty in two cases of older hydrocephalic patients are described. Emphasis is placed on the basic stages of the procedure

The effect of epidural cooling on lipid peroxidation after experimental spinal cord injury

Study Design: The effect of epidural space perfusion with chilled saline solution (% 0.9 NaCl) on lipid peroxidation after experimental spinal cord injury in rats was evaluated