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Population-based studies report that children with epilepsy have relatively better prognosis than those with an onset at infancy, though studies about this period are limited. We aimed to evaluate the etiology in infant epilepsy less than 2 years of age and foreseeable risk factors for anti-epileptic drug resistance. We evaluated the patients who were presented to the division of pediatric neurology in our university hospital with seizures when they were between 1 and 24 months of age and diagnosed as epilepsy. Two hundred and twenty-nine patients (110 male and 119 female) who were diagnosed between the ages of 1-24 months were included in the study. The etiologies were structural (n = 55;24%), genetic (n = 29;12.7%), metabolic (n = 27;11.7%), and infectious (n = 8;3.5%), and it was unknown in 110 patients (48%). One-hundred and forty (61%) patients met the criteria for drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that developmental delay at onset (OR 3.9, 95% CI 1.22, 12.47, p = 0.021), multifocal epileptiform discharges (OR 2.8, 95% CI 1.1, 7.44, p = 0.031), and history of status epilepticus (OR 32.9, 95% CI 3.8, 285.35, p = 0.001) were strong predictive factors for DRE. The epilepsy in children under 2 years of age is highly resistant to the anti-epileptic drugs, which could be related to the history of status epilepticus, developmental delay at onset, and multifocal epileptiform discharges.

The aim of this study was to demonstrate demographics of 39 consecutive Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) type 1 patients diagnosed genetically in a tertiary center between June 2006 and June 2009. There was history of consanguineous marriage in 27 (69%) patients. The average patient lifespan was 251 days (30–726 days). The average patient age at diagnosis was 129 days (33–297 days). A statistically significant correlation was found between the age at diagnosis and the lifespan (p = 0.00). No significant correlation was found between the time spent in intensive care and the lifespan (p = 0.43). Routine physical therapy was found to have no significant impact on the lifespan average (p = 0.17). The cause of death in all of our patients was respiratory issues. Genetic counseling was given to 35 families. A second child with SMA was born in three out of the 14 families who declined prenatal diagnosis. Conclusion: A national program is needed in Turkey for SMA prevention and creation of expert teams for the management of these patients.

We present a case of a 44-year-old woman with an unusual location of a brown tumor in the sacral vertebrae due to parathyroid adenoma. She was admitted to our clinic with the complaint of low-back pain and was later diagnosed to have a brown tumor. The patient underwent surgery and partial sacrectomy and iliac wing resection was performed in Orthopedic Surgery Department. Subsequently the patient underwent parathyroid adenoma excision in General Surgery Department. On her control examination at postoperative 3 months, she had no pain and was able to perform daily activities without any problem. We believe it is an interesting clinical case both because it shows a very rare localization of brown tumor and points out the importance of employing a wide clinical scope in the differential diagnosis of back pain.

To compare simultaneous with sequential one-stage (same anaesthesia) combined anterior and posterior spinal surgery in the treatment of spinal infections in terms of the operation time, blood loss and complication rate. Fifty-six patients who underwent one-stage (same anaesthesia) simultaneous or sequential anterior decompression and posterior stabilisation of the involved vertebrae for spinal infection from January 1994 to December 2002 were reviewed. In group I (n=29), sequential anterior and posterior surgery was performed. In group II (n=27), simultaneous anterior and posterior spinal surgery was performed. With regard to age and gender, there was no statistical difference between both groups (P=0.05). The analysed and compared data between the two groups included the age, gender, blood loss, operation time and postoperative complications. There was a statistically significant difference between the two groups in terms of the duration of surgery, amount of blood transfusion needed and occurrence of major postoperative complications (P < 0.05). The mean correction of the kyphotic deformity was similar in both groups (P > 0.05) without a subsequent loss of correction on follow-up radiographic films at a mean follow-up of 6.5 years (range, 3 to 11 years). Simultaneous anterior and posterior surgery is a good alternative procedure. It provides the ability to manipulate both anterior and posterior aspects of the spine at the same time and appears to result in less blood loss, a shorter operative time and fewer complications. However, gaining experience and the availability of two surgical teams are important factors in the success of the procedure.

Nominally undoped p-GaS layered single crystals were grown using the Bridgman technique. Thermally stimulated current measurements in the temperature range 10-300 K were performed at a heating rate of 0.10 K/s. The analysis of the data revealed six trap levels at 0.05, 0.06, 0.12, 0.63, 0.71, and 0.75 eV. The calculations for these traps yielded 1.2 × 10-21, 2.9 × 10-23, 2.4 × 10-21, 8.0 × 10-9, 1.9 × 10-9 and 4.3 × 10-10 cm2 for the capture cross sections and 1.6 × 1013, 5.0 × 1012, 7.3 × 1012, 1.2 × 1014, 8.9 × 1013 and 2.6 × 1013 cm-3 for the concentrations, respectively.

We investigated photoluminescence (PL) from one-dimensional photonic band gap structures. The photonic crystals, a Fabry-Perot (FP) resonator and a coupled-microcavity (CMC) structure, were fabricated by using alternating hydrogenated amorphous-silicon-nitride and hydrogenated amorphous-silicon-oxide layers. It was observed that these structures strongly modify the PL spectra from optically active amorphous-silicon-nitride thin films. Narrow-band and wide-band PL spectra were achieved in the FP microcavity and the CMC structure, respectively. The angle dependence of PL peak of the FP resonator was also investigated. We also observed that the spontaneous emission increased drastically at the coupled-cavity band edge of the CMC structure due to extremely low group velocity and long photon lifetime. The measurements agree well with the transfer-matrix method results and the prediction of the tight-binding approximation.