The Gigant primary cerebral hydatid cyst with no marked manifestation: a case report and review of literature.

Hydatid cyst is a parasitic infestation that rarely affects the brain. A 14 year-old child with a large mass of intracranial hydatid cysts (122 x 110 x 98 mm), but no symptoms except for an intermittent headache for 2 months is presented. Triple cysts were removed after suitable craniotomy. The literature was reviewed and the case was compared with the published reports.

Neuroprotective effects of carvacrol and pomegranate against methotrexate-induced toxicity in rats.

BACKGROUND: Studies related to the use of various antioxidant and anti-inflammatory drugs to decrease the toxic side effects related to MTX have been carried out. However, since no medicine providing full protection against the side effects of MTX has been discovered, the discovery of new agents is required. AIM: The aim of this study was to determine whether methotrexate (MTX) causes oxidative stress and an inflammatory response in sciatic nerve, as well as whether carvacrol (CAR) and pomegranate (POM) have protective effects against the resulting oxidative stress and inflammatory response. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 32 adult male Wistar albino rats were used in the study. The animals were divided into 4 groups: Group C: the rats were not given any medication; Group MTX: On study day 2, the rats were given a single dose of 20 mg/kg MTX, administered intraperitoneally; Group MTX+CAR: On study day one, the rats were administered a single dose of 73 mg/kg CAR intraperitoneally. On study day two, a single dose of 20 mg/kg MTX was administered intraperitoneally; Group MTX+POM: For seven days starting from the study day one, rats were given 225 mg/kg POM extract once a day through orogastric gavage. On study day two, a single dose of 20 mg/kg MTX was administered intraperitoneally. All animals were sacrificed on the day eight. TOS, TAS, MDA, TNF-α and IL-1ß levels were evaluated in the sciatic nerve tissue. RESULTS: In comparison to the control group, a decrease in TAS levels and an increase in TOS, MDA, IL-1ß and TNF-α levels were detected in the MTX group. Compared to the MTX group, the MTX+CAR group had a significant increase in TAS level and significant decreases in TOS, MDA, IL-1ß and TNF-α levels. In comparison to the MTX group, the MTX+POM group had a significant decrease in MDA, IL-1ß and TNF-α levels. When the MTX+CAR and MTX+POM groups were compared, the TNF-α level measured was lower in the MTX+CAR group. CONCLUSIONS: In this work, we have shown that MTX causes a significant oxidative stress and inflammatory response in rats' sciatic nerve tissue and that CAR had an antioxidant effect in this system. Furthermore, we have proven, for the first time, that both CAR and POM decreased the pro-inflammatory response.

Effects of estrogen, estrogen/progesteron combination and genistein treatments on oxidant/antioxidant status in the brain of ovariectomized rats.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to investigate the antioxidative effects of estradiol (E), E plus progesteron (P) combination (E/P) and genistein (G) treatment in the brain of ovariectomized (OVX) rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into five groups, with each group including ten rats. Rats were anesthetized and bilateral ovariectomy was performed under general anaesthesia in all groups except for the sham operation group. Groups included: Sham-operated, control (OVX), estrogen treated group (OVX+ E), E/P combination group (OVX+E/P) and G treated group (OVX+G). Treatments were applied for 8 weeks. The total anti-oxidant status (TAS), total oxidant status (TOS), nitric oxide level (NO), glutathione peroxidase activity (GSH-Px) and oxidative stress index (OSI) were analysed in the brain tissue of rats from each treatment category. RESULTS: Ovariectomy lead to an increase in brain TOS and OSI levels compared to the sham group (p < 0.05). Also, ovariectomy resulted in a decrease in brain TAS levels compared to the sham group that approached statistical significance (p = 0.078). Significant decreases in TOS, OSI, GSH-Px and a significant increases in TAS and NO levels were observed in the E-treatment group compared to the control group (p < 0.001). The E/P combination group exhibited a significantly decreased TOS and OSI and significantly increased TAS and NO levels relative to the control group (p < 0.05). Genistein treatment resulted in a significant decrease in TOS and OSI compared to the control group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Oxidative stress markers increase in the brain tissue of OVX rats. Conversely, estradiol, E/P and G supplementation decreases oxidative stress markers and increases antioxidant activity. Using G may prevent neural pathologies result in menopause-related oxidative stress.

Complications of chronic suppurative otitis media: a retrospective review.

The purpose of this study was to review our patients with complications of chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM) and compare with literature. This retrospective study was performed over 10 years in our tertiary referral university hospital. During this period 4,630 patients with CSOM were admitted to the department and 906 patients underwent a surgery. From the records of the 4,630 patients, 121 patients (2.6%) with complications were identified. Of the 906 CSOM patients that underwent a surgery, 511 had cholesteatoma, and 395 had granulation and/or polyp tissue. Ninety-four of 511 (18.4%) patients with cholesteatoma and 27 of 395 (6.8%) patients with granulation and/or polyp tissue had a complication. Of the 121 complicated CSOM patients, 57 extracranial (47.1%) and 37 intracranial (30.6%). Multiple combined complications were occurred in 27 (22.3%) patients. The mastoid abscess was the commonest extracranial complication (28.3%); it was followed by labyrinthitis (9%), facial nerve paralysis (8.4%), and Bezold's abscess (1.3%). The most common intracranial complication was lateral sinus thrombophlebitis (19.5%), followed by perisigmoid sinus abscess (13.5%), meningitis (9%), brain abscess (6.5%), and extradural abscess (4.5%). Most frequent intraoperative finding of complicated CSOM patients was cholesteatoma, with the exception of patients with facial nerve paralysis. There was no mortality in any of our patients. The additional morbidities were recorded in 25 patients (20.6%). In this study, we emphasize the importance of an accurate and early diagnosis, followed by adequate surgical therapy and a multidisciplinary approach.

Anterior cervical foraminotomy for unilateral spondylotic radiculopathy.

Anterior cervical foraminotomy (ACF) was developed under the concept of functional spine surgery, which directly eliminates compressive pathological factors while preserving functional anatomic features. The authors reviewed their results to determine the efficacy of the approach for unilateral cervical spondylotic radiculopathy (CSR). Nineteen patients were treated with the ACF with a follow-up from 12 to 36 months. There were 10 men and 9 women (mean age 49.8). Fourteen patients had a single ACF, and 5 had procedures at adjacent levels. The procedure involves microsurgical removal of the lateral portion of the uncinate process to identify the nerve root. Seventeen patients (89.5 %) were symptom-free or clearly improved, one (5.3 %) was unchanged and one patient (5.3 %) was worse in the visual analogue scale (VAS) score for radicular pain. One patient had developed contralateral foraminal stenosis at the level of the surgery and had undergone anterior discectomy and fusion. ACF provided good or excellent outcomes, with minimal morbidities, for patients with CSR. The advantages of ACF include direct decompression of the nerve root, and the preservation of the intervertebral disc and the motion segment. Thus, fusion-related sequelae, including graft-related complications, graft site complications and the adjacent level disease are avoided. The ACF procedure appears to be a good alternative for carefully selected patients with unilateral CSR.