Melatonin mitigates cisplatin-induced cognitive impairment in rats and improves hippocampal dendritic spine density.

Cisplatin-induced cognitive impairment (chemobrain) affects a considerable percentage of cancer patients and has no established pharmacological treatment. Chemobrain can be associated with neuroinflammation and oxidative stress. Melatonin, a pineal hormone, is known to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective potential. In this study, we investigated cisplatin-induced cognitive impairment in rats and whether melatonin can improve or reverse this impairment. Behavioral testing involved measuring working memory using the novel location recognition test (NLRT) under conditions of cisplatin or cisplatin + melatonin treatment, followed by the collection of rats' brains. The brains were subsequently stained with Golgi-Cox stain and then the hippocampus area CA3 of each one was examined, and dendritic spine density was calculated. Treatment with cisplatin resulted in deficits in the rats' performance in the NLRT (P < 0.05). These deficits were prevented by the coadministration of melatonin (P < 0.05). Cisplatin also reduced the density of dendritic spines in the hippocampus (P < 0.0001), specifically CA3 area, while the coadministration of melatonin significantly reversed this reduction (P < 0.001). This study showed that melatonin can ameliorate cisplatin-induced spatial memory deficits and dendritic spines density abnormalities in rats. Given that melatonin is a safe and wildly used supplement, it is feasible to explore its use as a palliative intervention in cancer treatment.

Microsurgical Fenestration of Intracranial Arachnoid Cysts: Volumetric Analysis and Clinical Outcome.

INTRODUCTION: There is paucity of data regarding change in arachnoid cyst (AC) volume following surgery. This study aimed at investigating the clinical outcome of ACs and applying 2 volumetric methods for determination of their volume change post microsurgical fenestration. METHODS: Twenty-one ACs in 20 patients that underwent microsurgical fenestration were analyzed using 2 volumetric methods; the modified McDonald equation and the picture archiving and communication (PAC) system-based method. Patients were followed up for 23 ± 40.3 months. RESULTS: The majority of the patients (13 or 65%) were children. Preoperative symptoms in children were mainly seizures and less commonly headache. Of the 20 patients, 12 (60%) had complete resolution of their preoperative symptoms with 8 (40.0%) showing partial improvement. Volumetric studies showed a mean reduction in AC size of 73.7% in children and 64.4% in adults using the PAC system versus 67.9% in children and 70.5% in adults using the modified McDonald equation method. There was no correlation between the percentage decrease in AC volume post surgery and degree of symptom improvement (49.2 ± 34.3% in patients with complete vs. 60.9 ± 40.3% in patients with only partial resolution of symptoms, p = 0.57). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Microsurgical fenestration is an effective approach for ACs with an excellent clinical outcome apparent in the complete or partial improvement of symptoms in all patients. Volumetric estimates of ACs and their change following surgery are feasible using the modified McDonald or PAC system methods. However, there is no correlation between the percentage decrease in AC volume after surgery and degree of clinical improvement.

Epidemiology of Malignant and Non-Malignant Primary Brain Tumors in Jordan.

BACKGROUND: There is lack of knowledge on the epidemiological characteristics of brain tumors in Middle Eastern countries. The objective of this study was to study the epidemiological features of primary brain tumors in Jordan. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study incorporating data from 16 hospitals in Jordan during a 1 year period (May 1, 2011-April 30, 2012). All primary brain tumors diagnosed in Jordan during the study period were identified. The following parameters were retrieved from patients' files: age, gender, histological type, and location. The demographic data of the country was obtained from the National Department of Statistics. RESULTS: A total of 313 primary brain tumors were identified during the study period. The incidence of primary brain tumors in Jordan among the general population was 5.01 per 100,000 person-years (5.38 in females and 4.65 in males). The incidence in pediatric, adult, and elderly patients was 2.09, 7.29, and 14.38 per 100,000 person-years, respectively. The most common histological types were meningioma (26.2%), glioblastoma (18.9%), astrocytoma (14.1%), and pituitary adenoma (9.3%). CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of primary brain tumors in the Jordanian population is relatively low, in part due to the young age of the general population.