Clinical features, electrophysiological findings and naked eye appearance of the median nerve in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome

To study the morphological changes of the median nerve during release of the carpal tunnel and to compare it with electrophysiological and clinical parameters. Patients were subjected to full clinical examination, confirmatory tests [Phalen test and Tinel test], routine laboratory investigations, electrophysiological tests [motor and sensory nerve conduction studies of the median nerve] and median nerve decompression surgery. There were no significant differences between the presence or absence of the different clinical features and the surgical grading and vice versa; there were no significant differences between the presence or absence of different surgical features and the clinical grading. There was no significant relation between the clinical grading and the surgical grading. Some electrodiagnostic findings have a reliable relation with surgical findings rather than with clinical findings in patients with CTS. CMAP, compound muscle action potential; CTS; carpal tunnel syndrome; EMG, electromyography; NCS, nerve conduction study

Treatment outcome of supratentorial high grade astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiform

The study was initiated to obtain epidemiologic data and information on anatomic distribution, clinical features and treatment results in patients with primary supratentorial anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma multiform. Between January 2000 and January 2006, 113 primary high grade astrocytoma patients were eligible to evaluate clinical features. Radiotherapy was received by all patients whether gross total tumor excision had been carried out or not. External beam radiation therapy was delivered at 2Gy once daily to the intracranial lesion and surrounding oedema with 2-3cm safety margin all around with a dose of 4000cGy/20 fraction in4 weeks, followed immediately by a booster localized field to intracranial bed proper to a dose of 2000cGy/10 fraction in 2 weeks using [60]Co photons. A total of 58.4 patients had anaplastic astrocytoma and 41.6 of the cases, had glioblasloma multiform. The most common site of origin was the temproparietal region [31.8%]. Large tumors [>/= 5cm] accounted for the majority [75.2%]. Seventy one percent of primary high grade astrocytoma patients had a duration of symptoms of

Oxidative stress and some antioxidant parameters in postmenopausal osteoporotic women with fractures a case control study

Osteoporosis is a major metabolic bone disease that occurs primarily in women over the age of 50 year because of the loss of estrogen during menopause. Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis [PMO]. Antioxidants, by virtue of their ability to mitigate the damaging effects of reactive oxygen species [ROS], have generated interest in their use as chemopreventive agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the plasma levels of two selected antioxidant defenses [vit C and superoxide dismutase SOD] in addition to Malondialdehyde [MDA] levels, the byproduct of lipid peroxidation as an indicator of oxidative stress in postmenopausal osteoporotic women in comparison with non osteoporotic. Postmenopausal osteoporotic [n=40] and non osteoporotic [n=20] women as a control group aged from 45 years and above were included. All studied women were subjected to full history taking, clinical examination, and bone mineral density [BMD] measurements of the proximal femur using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry [DXA] scan and plasma levels of vit C, SOD and MDA were measured in all studied subjects. The study showed that women with PMO had significantly lower levels of plasma vit C and SOD and higher MDA levels in comparison to non osteoporotic control group [p < 0.05]. A significant positive correlation [p < 0.01] was found between plasma levels of vitamin C [r = 0.91], SOD [r =0.65] and Femoral neck BMD while a significant but negative correlation was found [r = -0.85, p <0.01] between MDA and femoral neck BMD among the studied subjects. It could be concluded that oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant defenses have an important role in the pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis and MDA, the oxidative stress marker may be an important indicator for bone loss in postmenopausal women. Further studies need to be carried out to investigate the exact rote of antioxidants in osteoporosis and their promising use as chemopreventive agents

Reporte de la resistencia a las drogas en cepas de Mycobacterium tuberculosis aisladas de pacientes en Iran / Report of resistance to drugs in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from patients in Iran

Se estudiaron 6 472 muestras clinicas de pacientes con sospecha de tuberculosis entre marzo de 1993 a marzo de 1994. Se obtuvieron resultados positivos en 443 pacientes; 238 correspondieron al sexo femenino (53,7 por ciento) y 205 (46,3 por ciento) al masculino, predomino el grupo de edad entre 30 y 39 anos (31,5 por ciento). La prueba cutanea de sensibilidad al derivado proteico purificado (PPD) fue positiva en 178 pacientes con un rango de 10-14 mm. Se encontraron imagenes radiologicas anormales en 222 pacientes (50,1 por ciento). Se detecto mayor frecuencia de resistencia en las cepas de Mycobacterium tuberculosis en casos con tuberculosis pulmonar. Cuarenta y dos cepas (9,5 por ciento) fueron resistentes a la isoniacida y 31 (7,0 por ciento) a la estreptomicina. Se registro resistencia a 1 droga en 25 aislamientos (5,4 por ciento). Pocas cepas (1,3 por ciento) resultaron resistentes a 3 drogas y 1 de ellas a 5 drogas. Los datos clinicos y epidemiologicos sugieren que la resistencia a las drogas en la tuberculosis comienza a ser un problema importante en la region. El diagnostico rapido de esta infeccion y el uso de antibioticos con un espectro reducido puede facilitar el control de esta forma de tuberculosis