[Surgery for sciatic nerve injuries]. / Operacní lécba poranení ner vus ischiadicus.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: Injury to the sciatic nerve is a rare event. Apart from war time surgery, it usually presents as a closed lesion caused by traction. The aim of the study was to evaluate a group of patients treated for sciatic nerve injury, with an analysis of the cause for and the outcome of surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this prospective study, the results in ten patients treated surgically were evaluated. Five patients underwent exoneurolysis, two were treated by end-to-end suture of the nerve and three by suture and sural nerve grafting. One patient was lost to follow-up and nine were followed up for minimally 24 months after surgery. RESULTS: In the patients treated by exoneurolysis, sciatic nerve function recovered in the peroneal division in 60%, and in the tibial portion in 100% of them. The result depended mainly on the inter val between injury and surgery. Of four patients with direct suture of the nerve or with sural nerve grafting, function of the tibial portion recovered in three (75%) and that of the peroneal portion in one (25%). CONCLUSIONS: Although the course of the sciatic ner ve is ver y long, its surgical treatment is fully justified because it shows good results even in buttock-level and thigh-level nerve injuries.

[The results of ulnar nerve decompression in Guyon's canal syndrome]. / Výsledky dekomprese nervus ulnaris u syndromu Guyonova tunelu.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to evaluate a group of patients treated for Guyon's canal syndrome with analysis of the cause for and outcome of surgery. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The group comprised 13 patients operated on for compressive neuropathies of the ulnar nerve in the canal of Guyon in the period from 2007 to 2010. The clinical parameters evaluated were the adduction strength of the fifth digit, degree of interosseous primus muscle hypotrophy and degree of hypoesthesia in the area innervated by the ulnar nerve. EMG parameters included motor and sensory nerve conduction through Guyon's canal. Patients' subjective evaluations of the treatment outcomes were also recorded. The results were not compared with a control group. RESULTS: Post-operative improvements in all clinical and EMG parameters were significant (p=0.02-0.003). All but one patient (90%) reported an improved subjective condition after surgery; on the other hand, pre-operative severe impairment of motor nerve conduction highly affected the post-operative motor function. Guyon's canal syndrome accounted for 0.8% of all compressive neuropathies of the upper extremity in our patients. DISCUSSION: Ulnar nerve compression at the wrist is a relatively rare condition amongst the compressive neuropathies of the upper extremity, and literature data concerning this disease are very few. Although many causes of ulnar nerve compression at the wrist have been reported, only one of our patients had ganglion. We conclude that the majority of cases can be diagnosed as a "neuritis" due to chronic microtrauma produced by pressure of a hypertrophic palmar ligament. CONCLUSIONS: Syndrome of Guyon's canal can easily be treated by surgery. As in other compression syndromes, the sooner a surgical decompression is performed, the better outcomes are achieved.

Correlation of ultrastructural changes of endothelial cells and astrocytes occurring during blood brain barrier damage after traumatic brain injury with biochemical markers of BBB leakage and inflammatory response.

Focal cerebral contusion can be dynamic and expansive. It has been proved that subsequent expansive contusion is caused by brain parenchyma damage, especially BBB damage. We investigated a group of patients with traumatic brain injury. The patients (n=18) were divided into group I (n=7) of patients submitted to neurosurgery due to expansive contusion, and group II (n=11) of patients without surgery. Serum concentrations of NSE and S-100B protein were measured by electrochemiluminescence immunoassay, interleukin-6 (IL-6) was measured by chemiluminescent sequential immunometric assay and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-9, MMP-2) were measured by immunoassays. Cortical biopsy specimens of brain were investigated by electron microscopy in patients with trauma brain injury submitted to neurosurgery. Biochemical investigation from first day up to third day after traumatic brain injury proved increased values of IL-6 (302.2+/-119.9 vs. 59.6+/-11.9 ng/l, p<0.02) and S-100B protein (3.064+/-1.064 vs. 0.649+/-0.182 microg/l, p<0.05) in patients with expansive lesion compared to patients without expansive contusion. Significantly higher levels of MMP-9 (150.4+/-28.46 vs. 74.11+/-13.16 ng/l, p<0.05) and of MMP-2 (814.5+/-126.3 vs. 523.1+/-25.28 ng/l, p<0.05) were found during first 3 days after admission in group I compared to group II. MMP-9 has also elevated in group II from lower values after admission (74.11+/-13.16 ng/l) up to high levels on the 10th day of hospitalization (225.1+/-49.35 ng/l). Ultrastructural investigation of endothelial cells and surrounded tissue revealed perivascular hemorrhage, increased pinocytic activity of endothelial cells, and cytotoxic edema of astroglial cells. Multivesical bodies were disclosed inside the endothelial cells. Higher levels of serum protein S-100B and IL-6 correlated with ultrastructural changes of endothelial cells, and with inflammatory response following TBI, respectively.

The relevance of the corticographic median nerve somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) phase reversal in the surgical treatment of brain tumors in central cortex.

Tumors of the central brain cortex change the original anatomy of this important area and so an intraoperative localization of the perirolandic structures is crucial in decision concerning the way and the extent of tumor resection. The phase reversal of median nerve SEPs is an essential tool for neurosurgical procedures in and around the perirolandic gyri. This study examines the relevance of the method in a group of 62 patients having surgery of tumors in and around the central region. A success rate in obtaining the SEP phase reversal was 94%. In all groups of patients the complete resection of tumor was achieved in 58% , subtotal resection in 19% and partial or biopsy only in 23%. The long term impairment of neurological status was observed in 6% of patients. Compared to the recently published studies our results are acceptable both in completeness of tumor resection and relatively low ratio of impaired postoperative neurological deficit despite the fact, that in the majority of patients the phase reversal mapping was the only method guiding the surgical procedure. Our study supports the crucial role of the central cortex mapping using the SEP phase reversal method in the surgery for the tumors of the primary sensorimotor cortex.

Reinnervation of the rat musculocutaneous nerve stump after its direct reconnection with the C5 spinal cord segment by the nerve graft following avulsion of the ventral spinal roots: a comparison of intrathecal administration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and Cerebrolysin.

Experimental model based on the C5 ventral root avulsion was used to evaluate the efficacy of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and Cerebrolysin treatment on motor neuron maintenance and survival resulted in the functional reinnervation of the nerve stump. In contrast to vehicle, BDNF treatment reduced the loss and atrophy of motor neurons and enhanced the regrowth axon sprouts into the distal stump of musculocutaneous nerve. However, the axon diameter of the myelinated fibers was smaller than those of control rats. The morphometric results were related to a low score in behavioral test similar to vehicle-treated rats. Cerebrolysin treatment greatly protected the motor neurons against cell death. Moreover, morphometric features of myelinated axons were better than those of rats treated with vehicle or BDNF. The mean score of grooming test suggested better results of the functional motor reinnervation than after BDNF administration. The majority of rescued motor neurons regenerating their axons through nerve graft in both BDNF- and Cerebrolysin-treated rats expressed choline acetyltransferase immunostaining. The results demonstrate that BDNF has more modest effects in preventing the death of motor neurons and functional recovery of injured motor nerve after root avulsion than Cerebrolysin.

An alternative preparation of the acellular muscle graft for reconstruction of the injured nerve--morphological and morphometric analysis.

The application of cutaneous nerve grafts is accompanied by some disadvantages, including insufficient graft material for the reconstruction of a large mixed nerve. Recently, evacuated muscle autografts have been suggested as possible alternatives to cutaneous nerve grafts. In the present paper we have demonstrated a possible preparation of the evacuated muscle graft using an infiltration of Marcaine. The reinnervation of the distal stump of the rat median nerve was evaluated by morphological and morphometric analysis after application of the muscle acellular grafts prepared by three methods: an ordinary freeze-thawed muscle graft, a Marcaine evacuated muscle graft and a Marcaine treated graft with subsequent freezing and thawing. A comparison of the numbers and diameters of the myelinated axons in the distal nerve stumps revealed very similar conditions for axon regrowth and maturation in Marcaine evacuated and freeze-thawed muscle grafts. The best results with myelinated axon numbers and spectrum of their calibres were obtained when the Marcaine treated graft was repeatedly frozen and thawed. The pre-treatment of the muscle graft by Marcaine prevents it from shrinking and fragmenting, the main disadvantage during freeze-thawing of fresh muscle. The present results demonstrate that infiltration of striated muscles with a myotoxic compound, e.g. Marcaine, with subsequent freezing-thawing is the method of choice for the preparation of an acellular muscle graft used in peripheral nerve reconnection in the experimental model.

Immunohistochemical localization of laminin-1 in the acellular nerve grafts is associated with migrating Schwann cells which display corresponding integrin receptors.

The presence of laminin-1, collagen-IV, alpha6 and beta1 integrin chains was detected by indirect immunohistochemistry using biotin/streptavidin/HRP or gold-conjugated secondary antibody at the light and electron microscope level, respectively. Cryo-treated segment of the peripheral stump without living Schwann cells (S-100-) did not display immunoreactivity for laminin-1 and integrin's chains, while the migrating Schwann cells in the marginal regions were immunostained for the antigens. Isolated acellular nerve segments protected from migration of Schwann cells (S-100-) exhibited laminin-1-, beta1-, and alpha6- integrin chains immunoreactivities. Position of the basal lamina was verified by collagen-IV+ immunoreactivity. Results indicate that presence of the laminin in the peripheral nerve is related with living Schwann cells.

Shotgun pellet embolus of the middle cerebral artery treated by emergency embolectomy.

We report a case of traumatic embolization of a shotgun pellet in the middle cerebral artery. The patient was successfully treated by emergency embolectomy performed 12 h after the accident. The literature seems to support the protective role of surgical treatment against cerebral ischaemia and subsequent infarction in such cases.