Nejmi Kiymaz

Intracranial lipomas—a clinical study

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the localization of the lipoma, as well as associated intracranial and extracranial lesions in 14 patients immediately following hospital admission. The pathological findings from the neurological examinations of these patients are also investigated. METHODS Fourteen patients who were admitted to our clinic with a variety of symptoms and diagnosed with intracranial lipoma were included in the study. Problems presented upon admission, neurological findings, and other existing system abnormalities were evaluated. Localization of the lipomas and accompanying pathologies were determined by using computerised tomography and magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS The most frequent reasons for admission of patients with intracranial lipomas were: headache 7 (50%), trauma 3 (21.5%), epilepsy 3 (21.5%) and one with symptoms due to the local mass effect of tumor (7%). Although the pericallosal region is accepted as the region where lipomas commonly occur, this study found the most frequent occurrence in the quadrigeminal cistern. Intracranial lipoma calcification was only evident in 1 of the 14 patients. In addition, contrary to the expectations, intracranial and extracranial lesions accompanying lipomas were rare. All patients received systematic treatment. CONCLUSION This study showed that intracranial lipomas are more frequent in the quadrigeminal region of the brain; most are asymptomatic, generally caught incidentally; and accompanying intracranial and extracranial pathologies are less common than expected.

Activity of mannitol and hypertonic saline therapy on the oxidant and antioxidant system during the acute term after traumatic brain injury in the rats.

In this study, our objective is to investigate the effects of mannitol and 7.5% hypertonic saline (HS) therapy on the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the early stages of experimental head traumas in rats. Rats included in the study were divided into four groups: Group I Control, Group II Trauma, Group III Mannitol, and Group IV 7.5% Hypertonic Saline. Rats in Group II were subject to head trauma only. Mannitol was injected intraperitoneally to rats in Group III after head trauma and 7.5% HS was injected intraperitoneally to rats in Group IV after head trauma. Rats were sacrificed 4 h after administration of mannitol or 7.5% HS, and the levels of MDA catalase and GSH-Px in brain tissues extracted from rats were determined. MDA levels in the trauma group were significantly increased compared with the control group (p<0.01), whereas there was a reduction in catalase and GSH-Px levels, although these differences were not significant. By contrast, in the mannitol group, MDA, catalase and GSH-Px levels were lower than the levels in the trauma group, and these reductions were statistically significant (p<0.05). The MDA, catalase and GSH-Px levels of the 7.5% HS group were lower than those of the trauma group; however, this reduction was not statistically significant. It was concluded that mannitol and 7.5% HS therapies that are used to reduce intracranial pressure and to increase the use of catalase, an antioxidant enzyme, and GSH-Px, are likely to reduce cellular damage by reducing the formation of MDA, the levels of which are known to be indicative of cellular level oxidant damage.

Surgical Treatment Outcome of Subdural Empyema: A Clinical Study

A retrospective study of 28 patients identified with subdural empyema (SE) at the Department of Neurosurgery between the years 1995 and 2005 was carried out. SE occurred in all patients following bacterial meningitis. The six most frequently encountered clinical features included: (1) fever in 22 (79%) patients; (2) disturbed consciousness in 16 (57%) patients; (3) papilledema in 11 (39%) patients; (4) hemiparesis in 4 (14%) patients; (5) meningismus or meningeal signs in 4 (14%) patients, and (6) seizures in 3 (11%) patients. In the majority of cases, the most frequent causative pathogen of SE was Staphylococcus aureus. Surgery was performed on all patients, which included craniotomy in a group of 20 patients and burr hole drainage in a group of 8 patients. In conclusion, we believe that infants and young children should be carefully monitored following meningitis, in case of SE development, and that surgical intervention in patients presenting with meningitis may facilitate the development of SE. Furthermore, from a surgical point of view, our experience has led us to believe that craniotomy in comparison with burr hole surgery is the best surgical modality for management of SE as the recurrence rate of SE associated with burr hole surgery is high.

Prognostic Factors in Patients with Occipital Encephalocele

Background: An encephalocele is a herniation of the brain and the meninges through a skull defect protruding towards the exterior. The condition is not rare when compared to spinal dysraphisms, but the worldwide incidence is not precisely known. The cases involving occipital encephaloceles which we have diagnosed in our clinic and the surgical approaches for this rare condition are presented herein. Methods: Thirty patients who were diagnosed with occipital encephaloceles and referred to our Neurosurgery Clinic at the Yuzuncu Yil University, Faculty of Medicine Research Hospital between 2000 and 2009 were enrolled in this study. The age of the patient, size of the sac, pathologies that accompanied the condition, and treatments applied were assessed. Results: In the present study, 30 patients (22 girls and 8 boys), whose ages varied between newborn and 14 months, were evaluated. The encephalocele sac was located in the occipital region in 27 patients (90%) and in the occipitocervical region in 3 patients (3%). Nine (30%) of the 30 patients died; 2 in the preoperative period, 2 in the postoperative early period (0–7 days) and 5 in the late postoperative period (first week to 3 months). With the exception of the 2 patients who died preoperatively, surgery was performed on all of the patients. The mortality rate in our study was 29%. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that factors which determine the prognosis of patients diagnosed with occipital encephaloceles include the size of the sac, the contents of the neural tissue, hydrocephaly, infections, and pathologies that accompany the condition. An occipital encephalocele is a congenital neurologic condition with an extremely high morbidity and mortality in spite of the treatments rendered pre- and postoperatively.

Skin perforators of back region: anatomical study and clinical applications.

Background:Despite widespread studies that have been commonly performed recently on skin perforators and perforator flaps of various regions of the body, investigations on the back region of the body are still insufficient. This study investigates the anatomical characteristics and clinical applications of perforating vessels in the back region. Materials and Methods:The skin on the back region between the right and left, 7th to 11th thoracic vertebrae of 10 fresh cadavers were raised as flaps. Perforating vessels perfusing the skin with pedicle diameters of over 1 mm were included in the study. The anatomical localization, diameter, pedicle size, and the supplying vessels of these pedicles were determined. Utilizing this information, the defects of 8 patients with large meningomyeloceles included in the study were closed with prepared intercostal artery perforating flap. Results:Perforators of the back region were seen to originate from the posterior intercostal vessels. There were a higher number of perforators on the right side of the body. The most commonly observed perforators were the 7th and 9th posterior intercostal perforators, and their diameters were larger. All flaps were viable following perforator flap closure for defects in 8 patients with large meningomyelocele included in the clinical study. No problems were encountered in the postoperative 3-month follow-up of cases. Conclusion:Owing to the low donor area morbidity and wide motion capabilities, the perforator flap is a new choice of flap for the back region. Perforator pedicle flaps supplied by the posterior intercostal vessels may be safely used in congenital tissue defects, such as meningomyelocele, tumors, and traumatic defects.

Protective Effect of Sildenafil (Viagra) in Transient Spinal Cord Ischemia

Prospective study of the neuroprotective activity of sildenafil in a rat spinal ischemia model. The present study involved 21 male Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were divided into 3 groups. Physiological serum was administered intraperitoneally to the 8 rats in the control group at the beginning of reperfusion for a period of 20 min after abdominal aortal occlusion. Sildenafil (Viagra®) was administered as a single 10-mg/kg/day intraperitoneal dose to the 8 rats in the sildenafil group at the beginning of reperfusion after 20 min of abdominal aortal occlusion. No occlusion was performed and no agent was administered to the 5 rats in the sham group, but the abdominal aorta was reached by means of surgical intervention. Before the animals were sacrificed, several physiological and biochemical parameters were investigated, preoperative and postoperative motor functions were also assessed, and somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) monitoring and histopathological examinations were carried out. No differences were found between the physiological and biochemical parameters in each of the 3 groups. Neurological scoring performed after reperfusion demonstrated a significant improvement in the neurological results relative to those of the control group over 48 h in subjects that received sildenafil. These animals also showed better 24-hour SEP results, measured in terms of extended latency and decreased amplitude, than the control animals. A histopathological study showed reduced ischemic symptoms in rats that received sildenafil compared with those in the control group. However, no anomalies were observed in the sham group with respect to the histopathological and neurological findings. These results indicate that neurological damage due to spinal-cord ischemia-reperfusion injury can be reduced by sildenafil.

Bilobed fasciocutaneous flap closure of large meningomyeloceles

Background: Closure of large meningomyelocele defects presents a challenging problem. In this paper, the procedure and outcome of bilobed fasciocutaneous flap closure of large meningomyeloceles have been discussed. Materials and Methods: Bilobed fasciocutaneous flap was used in 20 patients with large meningomyelocele defects, the largest of which was 77 cm2. A fasciocutaneous dissection was performed and the defect area was covered by tension-free closure. Results: In the follow-up period of 6 weeks, partial flap loss in a patient and cerebrospinal fluid leak inferior to the flap in another 2 were observed. These patients recovered by dressing without flap loss. Conclusions: Utilization of bilobed flaps for closure of large meningomyelocele defects seems to be an effective and reliable procedure, with advantages of decreased operative time, minimal bleeding, the suture lines for dura and flap not superimposed, and low morbidity.

Is external ventricular drainage useful in primary intraventricular hemorrhages

Nontraumatic primary intraventricular hemorrhage (PIVH) is characterized by direct bleeding into the neuroventricular system. A very rare condition, PIVH accounts for 3% of all spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhages. Hypertension is a major cause of PIVH. Reports about PIVH in the literature are infrequent and it appears to be a relatively benign condition. Between 1998 and 2001, 15 patients with PIVH were evaluated in the Departments of Neurosurgery of Yüzüncü Yil and Pamukkale Universities; their prognosis and results of treatment with external ventricular drainage (EVD) were recorded. The diagnosis was established easily and rapidly with computed tomography. Prognoses of the patients were made by the Glasgow Coma Score (GCS). Hypertension was the most common etiology (n=9, 60%); the prognosis for survivors (73.3%) was good (mortality, 26.6%). Elderly patients, who scored low on the GCS, and patients with coagulopathy had poor prognoses. All patients with PIVH underwent surgery with EVD within 24 hours of their hospital admission. Applying EVD had positive results and influenced the prognosis and early and late complications of PIVH accordingly.

The effects of endothelin antagonist BQ-610 on cerebral vascular wall following experimental subarachnoid hemorrhage and cerebral vasospasm.

Abstract.Endothelin, a potent vasoconstrictor, has been found to increase in the cerebrospinal fluid and serum of patients following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) and to play a major role in the development of cerebral vasospasm. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of endothelin-A antagonist BQ-610 in the experimentally performed cerebral vasospasm following SAH. Thirty New Zealand rabbits were divided into three groups (each n = 10): group A, control group; Group B, SAH group; Group C, treatment (endothelin antagonist BQ-610 treated) group. In the study, the rabbits developed vasospasm after injection of intracisternal autolog blood into the cisterna magna. After cerebral vasospasm development, in group C, endothelin antagonist BQ-610 was injected intracisternally. Morphometrically, basilar artery lumen was constricted 25% and 62% compared to the control group (group A) in the endothelin treated group (group C) and the endothelin untreated group (group B), respectively. Histopathological findings of the basilar artery wall confirmed the therapeutic effect of endothelin antagonist in vasospasm development. Endothelin-A receptor antagonist BQ-610 has a therapeutic effect in the cerebral vasospasm following experimentally performed subarachnoid hemorrhage when used intracisternally.

Lipid peroxidation in patients with brain tumor.

Molecular and genetic signatures may predict brain tumor behavior and may soon guide tumor classification, diagnosis, and tumor-specific treatment strategies. Free oxygen radicals (FOR) are thought to take part in oncogenesis and cellular differentiation. This article explored the state of FORs and antioxidant system in patients with cerebral tumor. The serum concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), catalase, and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) enzyme activities were measured in the serum of 35 patients with cerebral tumors (21 glioma, 14 meningioma) and 11 controls. MDA measurement was done with fluorometric method and catalase and GSH-Px enzyme activities were done with photometric method. Mean serum MDA levels, catalase, and GSH-Px enzyme activities were significantly higher for both glial and meningiomal tumor cases when compared to controls (p < .05). There is no significant difference between glioma and meningioma groups in terms of the aforementioned parameters (p > .05). In conclusion, lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes as assessed by MDA, catalase, and GSH-Px were increased in patients with brain tumors, for this respect there is no difference between gliomas and meningiomas.