Comparison of the therapeutic effects of erythropoietin and acetyl-l-carnitine on sciatic nerve injury in rats.

AIM: We aimed to investigate the effects of erythropoietin, acetyl-l-carnitine, and their combination on nerve regeneration in experimental peripheral nerve injury. METHODS: Rats were randomly divided into five groups - sham-operated (S), sciatic nerve crush injury (C), C + acetyl-l-carnitine (ALCAR), C + erythropoietin (EPO), and C + EPO + ALCAR. ALCAR (50 mg/kg/day) was administered intraperitoneally, and EPO (5000 U/kg) was injected subcutaneously for 10 days. Functional recovery was evaluated using walking track analysis (sciatic functional index [SFI]), somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) assay, and caspase-3 and S100 immunoreactivities. RESULTS: In SFI analyses, delayed functional recovery was observed in the C group, whereas the functional recovery of rats treated with EPO and ALCAR significantly improved. The latencies of the SEP components were significantly prolonged in C group. In the treatment groups (C + EPO, C + ALCAR, and C + EPO + ALCAR), all recorded values of SEP components significantly decreased. TBARS levels in C group were significantly higher than those in the S group. EPO and ALCAR administration significantly decreased TBARS levels. Caspase-3 immunoreactivity was increased in the C group, whereas it was decreased in the treatment groups. S100 immunolabelling was significantly decreased in the C group. EPO and ALCAR administration caused an increase in the amount of S100-positive cells in all treatment groups. CONCLUSION: EPO and ALCAR administration could accelerate sciatic nerve repair by reducing apoptosis and lipid peroxidation and promoting myelinization. Although both EPO and ALCAR had positive effects on nerve healing, their combined efficacy had no statistically significant effect on peripheral nerve regeneration.

The incidence of accessory navicular bone types in Turkish subjects.

Accessory ossicles are the skeletal variations of the ankle and foot that can cause painful syndromes. The accessory navicular bone is one of the most common accessory ossicle of the foot (4-21%) and is also known as os tibiale, os tibiale externum and os naviculare secundarium. This bone can be adjacent to the posteromedial tuberosity of the navicular bone or can be separated and may cause various diseases in the foot and mimic fractures of foot bones. The aim of this study was to document a detailed investigation of incidence and types of accessory navicular bones of Turkish subjects according to sex in both extremities. The accessory navicular bone was detected (11%) via the posterior-anterior radiographs of 650 subjects in the radiological examination. The incidences of accessory navicular bones were identified as 6.1-4.9% in female and male participants. Accessory navicular bones were classified into three groups as Type I, Type II and Type III and the incidences of these bones were determined as 3.3, 3.1, 4.6%, respectively. Each group was also divided into subgroups. The incidences of the subgroups are as Type Ia 0.6%, Type Ib 1.5%, Type Ic 1.2%, Type IIA/a 0.8%, Type IIA/b 0.4%, Type IIA/c 0%, Type IIB/a 1.1%, IIB/b 0.3%, IIB/c 0.5%, Type IIIa 1.5%, Type IIIb 1.4%, Type IIIc 1.7%. Finally, the types of accessory navicular bones were discussed and the imaging modalities for diagnosis were presented.