Remote Cerebellar Hemorrhage Presenting with Cerebellar Mutism after Spinal Surgery: An Unusual Case Report

Dural injury during spinal surgery can subsequently give rise to a remote cerebellar hemorrhage (RCH). Although the incidence of such injury is low, the resulting hemorrhage can be life threatening. The mechanism underlying the formation of the hemorrhage is not known, but it is mostly thought to develop after venous infarction. Cerebellar mutism (CM) is a frequent complication of posterior fossa operations in children, but it is rarely seen in adults. The development of CM after an RCH has not been described. We describe the case of a 65-year old female who lost cerebrospinal fluid after inadvertent opening of the dura during surgery. Computerized tomography performed when the patient became unable to speak revealed a bilateral cerebellar hemorrhage.

The Neuroprotective Effect of Kefir on Spinal Cord Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Rats

OBJECTIVE: The main causes of spinal cord ischemia are a variety of vascular pathologies causing acute arterial occlusions. We investigated neuroprotective effects of kefir on spinal cord ischemia injury in rats. METHODS: Rats were divided into three groups : 1) sham operated control rats; 2) spinal cord ischemia group fed on a standard diet without kefir pretreatment; and 3) spinal cord ischemia group fed on a standard diet plus kefir. Spinal cord ischemia was performed by the infrarenal aorta cross-clamping model. The spinal cord was removed after the procedure. The biochemical and histopathological changes were observed within the samples. Functional assessment was performed for neurological deficit scores. RESULTS: The kefir group was compared with the ischemia group, a significant decrease in malondialdehyde levels was observed (p<0.05). Catalase and superoxide dismutase levels of the kefir group were significantly higher than ischemia group (p<0.05). In histopathological samples, the kefir group is compared with ischemia group, there was a significant decrease in numbers of dead and degenerated neurons (p<0.05). In immunohistochemical staining, hipoxia-inducible factor-1alpha and caspase 3 immunopositive neurons were significantly decreased in kefir group compared with ischemia group (p<0.05). The neurological deficit scores of kefir group were significantly higher than ischemia group at 24 h (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that kefir pretreatment in spinal cord ischemia/reperfusion reduced oxidative stress and neuronal degeneration as a neuroprotective agent. Ultrastructural studies are required in order for kefir to be developed as a promising therapeutic agent to be utilized for human spinal cord ischemia in the future.