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INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: Brown-Séquard syndrome (BSS) is a rare syndrome consequence of interruption in the spinal cord following traumatic or non-traumatic injuries. Although, based on the previous literature, BSS has a good prognosis, some reports do not complete recovery following BSS. CASES PRESENTATION: In this current survey, we present two aggressive BSSs with complete recovery. One case involved a man aged 23 years without any underlying disease with multiple traumas with a knife who was transferred to the level 1 trauma center knife. Case two was a man 36 years with a gun shutting in C6 level. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: C5 total laminectomy and C4 and C6 partial laminectomy were done due to the sharp knife. Three months later, the patient achieved full recovery. After C6 total laminectomy in case 2, the patient was discharged without defect. CONCLUSION: Incomplete spinal cord injuries are challenging to diagnose and treat. Due to esophageal rupture and late debridement, full recovery was not expected. Despite neurological impairments, full recovery was achieved over three months in two cases. Also, many factors can aggravate the initial trauma in gunshot spine injury patients.

Objective Decompressive craniectomy (DC) lowers intracranial pressure and improves outcomes in patients with malignant middle cerebral artery stroke; yet, its usefulness in intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is unclear. The authors sought to assess the preliminary utility of decompressive hemicraniectomy (DHC) without clot evacuation in patients with deep-seated supratentorial ICH. Patients and methods Patients with deep seated spontaneous ICH who were admitted to the Golestan Hospital, of Ahvaz, from November 2014 to February 2016, were prospectively enrolled in this study. A prospective clinical trial where 30 patients diagnosed having large hypertensive ICH was randomly allocated to either group A or B using permuted-block randomization. These patients (n = 30), who all had large deep seated supratentorial ICH with surgery indications, were randomly divided to two groups. ultimately, in one group (n = 13), large DHC was performed without clot evacuation, while in the other (n = 17), craniotomy with clot evacuation was done. Data pertaining to the patients' characteristics and treatment outcomes were prospectively collected. Results There was no statistically significant difference between two treatment groups (P > 0.05). No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of mortality and GOS at 6 months (P > 0.05); nevertheless, the good outcome (Glasgow Outcome Scale = 4–5) for patients with hematoma evacuation was slightly higher (35.3%) as compared to the DHC patients without clot evacuation (30.7%). Conclusion Decompresive craniectomy without clot evacuation in deep seated ICH can be accomplished with identical mortality and outcome in comparison to patient that undergone clot evacuation.

Background: Epidural fibrosis is a major contributing factor to the onset of failed back syndrome. Many studies have attempted to prevent this physiological response. Interestingly, N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC) has been effective in some cases in the treatment of pulmonary fibrosis. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether local NAC is an effective way to prevent epidural fibrosis after laminectomy in rats. Materials and Methods: Twenty Wistar rats were used in this study. Animals were divided into two groups: NAC group and a control group. We performed two-level laminectomy (L4–L5) in these rats. Rats in the control group just had laminectomy, and in the other group, L4 and L5 laminectomy followed by local treatment with NAC. Four weeks later, the rats were killed, and the laminectomy level was subjected to histopathological examination to evaluate epidural fibrosis and fibroblast density. Results: Histopathological examination showed that after 4 weeks of surgery the NAC group had significantly less epidural fibrosis and fibroblasts compared with control group. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that NAC decreased spinal epidural fibrosis after laminectomy in rats.

The ventriculus terminalis (VT) is a small ependyma-lined cavity within the conus medullaris that is in direct continuity with the central canal of the spinal cord. Cystic dilatation of the ventriculus terminalis on its own is an extremely rare pathological event in adults whose pathogenesis is uncertain. VT has been described in children as a normal developmental phenomenon. These lesions are often diagnosed incidentally during imaging and are in most cases asymptomatic, especially in children. Symptomatic dilatation of VT in adults is a rare condition with 61cases being reported to date. Symptomatic dilatation of VT in children has not been reported till now. We present a 5 year-old-boy with a sphincteric and walking disorder. The patient was assessed by clinical, electrophysiological and urodynamic investigations as well as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the lumbar-sacral segment with and without gadolinium enhancement. Lumbar-sacral MRI demonstrated the presence of a cystic lesion containing cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), which did not enhance after gadolinium, compatible with the diagnosis of the ventriculus terminalis dilation.The patient underwent laminectomy and the cyst wall was fenestrated with a midline myelotomy. In 6-month of follow-up, urinary problems and gait disturbance improved.

Background: Lumbar disc hernia recurrence is the most common complication after a primary open-ended discectomy that has a poor prognosis. Objectives: To assess the risk factors for re-operational need in patients with lumbar discs referred to Golestan Hospital, Ahvaz from 2011 to 2015. Methods: In this retrospective and epidemiological study, 35 patients with recurrence (group 1) and 70 patients without recurrence after surgery (group 2) were evaluated to investigate the potential risk factors for recurrence of lumbar disc herniation. They were randomly selected from the patients who underwent lumbar disc (discectomy) from Golestan Hospital between, Ahvaz 2011 to 2015. Clinically, the herniated disk recurrence is a ruptured disc that causes foot pain and has symptoms in radiography (MRI) and is defined by the disk material at the same side and the level of the surgical index that causes impingement, compression, or deviation of the nerve tissue (which is reported by the presence of a radiologist). Results: The results of this study showed that height, gender (male), weight gain, education lower than diploma, heavyweight and jobs could predict lumbar disc herniated recurrence. However, there was no significant difference in terms of age, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, smoking, alcohol consumption, marital status, ethnicity, and family history of both groups. Conclusions: The variables of height, gender (male), weight gain, lower-diploma education, and heavyweight jobs can predict the recurrence of lumbar herniated disc.

Aim To determine the effect of Intravenous Tranexamic Acid (TXA) on traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage. Material and methods A total of 94 cases of TBI with intracerebral hemorrhage, admitted to the emergency department who did not need surgical intervention based on a primary brain spiral computed tomography (CT) scan, were randomly assigned into two groups of 47 patients. In the intervention group, intravenous TXA was administered as one gram of bolus and one gram every 6 hours for 48 hours, and in the control group, the placebo was administered in the same way. After 6, 24, and 48 hours all the cases underwent a brain CT scan. Scans were examined for the size and diameter of hematoma and the midline shift. The information regarding the level of consciousness, hematoma volume, and diameter on CT scan were recorded on arrival and 48 hours later. Results Statistical results depict that while there was no considerable difference in the demographic aspect of the two groups, the volume and diameter of hematoma and the midline shift in the first CT scans and also their level of consciousness, the diameter and volume of hematoma and also the amount of hematoma expansion in follow up are significantly different in the two groups. Conclusion The present study showed that the prescription of TXA would reduce the amount of hematoma expansion in traumatic intracerebral hemorrhage, and that medication can be introduced to reduce morbidity and complications.

Background: The asterion is located at the posterior lateral side of the skull at the junction of the parietal, temporal and occipital bones.Methods: We examined the morphology of the asterion, its...

Background: Extra/pre-marital sexual behaviors (EPSB) are considered as an important problem, especially among the young generation. Objectives: This study was conducted to estimate the prevalence and determinants of EPSB among university students in Kerman, Iran. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 2157 students in 2016. This study used different data collection methods such as direct and network scale-up (NSU). A self-administrated questionnaire was completed by the participants for direct data survey. Then NSU data were gathered through the interview by a trained same-sex interviewer. Results: Total of 1035maleand695female students (n=1730)werestudied with themeanage of 20.5 years (range 18 - 29). In the direct method, 14.9 of the studentshadsex with non-student partners (SNSP) (3.4 femalesand22.6 males). Corresponding percentages in the NSU method were 2.5 and 7.9. Comparing direct method results of two groups, it was determined that males' last year SNSP (22.6 ,) was more prevalent but in females, last year sex with student partner (SSP) (4.7) was more prevalent. Comparisons revealed that in the direct method, 41.7 of the students watched pornography (16.6 females and 58.8 males). There was a significant association between watching pornography and gender (OR male to female = 7.2), as well as between SSP and SNSP without any payment regarding the gender (OR male to female = 5.3 and 7.7). Conclusions: Our findings showed that extra/pre-marital sexual relationships are relatively common among university students, especially males.We found lower percentages in the indirect NSU method, which is mainly because of nature of such behaviors that are invisible in society and we could not provide estimation for visibility. © 2019, Author(s).

Varicocele is among the leading causes of male infertility. Despite decades of research, its pathogenesis is still unclear. S100A12 is a member of the S100 family of calcium-binding proteins with principal extracellular activities. It is secreted by activated neutrophils and interacts with the multiligand receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE). Many studies have delineated the patterns of S100A12 expression in a variety of pathologic conditions. These data show that S100A12 could be a potentially useful inflammatory marker. To explore the relationship between S100A12 and infertility, we examined the amount of S100A12 in semen of infertile men who suffered from varicocele. S100A12 levels in seminal plasma of 68 infertile men with varicocele (age range 30–45 years) and 68 healthy fertile controls were measured using ELISA. Statistical analysis was performed using both parametric and nonparametric tests. Results of this study showed that the seminal levels of S100A12 were significantly increased in infertile men with varicocele when compared to fertile controls (P

Galectins constitute an evolutionary conserved family that binds to β-galactosides. There is growing evidence that galectins are implicated in essential biological processes such as cellular communication, inflammation, differentiation and apoptosis. Galectin-3 is one of the best-known galectins, which is found in vertebrates. Galectin-3 has been shown to be expressed in some cell lines and plays important roles in several physiological and pathological processes, including cell adhesion, cell activation and chemoattraction, cell cycle, apoptosis, cell growth, and differentiation. Moreover, this galectin is of interest due to its involvement in regulation of cancer. Changes in galectin-3 expression are commonly seen in cancerous and pre-cancerous conditions and galectin-3 may be involved in the regulation of cancer cell activities that contribute to tumourigenesis, cancer progression and metastasis. Finally, galectin-3 seems to be involved in cell events in tumor microenvironment, and therefore it could be considered as a target in transitional cell carcinoma therapies. This review aims to describe recent progress in understanding the role of galectin-3 in cancer biology, with emphasis on bladder tumor progression and metastasis.

The etiology of several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis (MS) is still not clarified. MS is defined as an autoimmune disease with clinical features of a chronic, inflammatory, and demyelinating autoimmune disorder, which affects the central nervous system. Phases of remission and relapse are the major course of the disease, which could be exacerbated in terms of both severity and duration. As a subfamily of the cytokines, chemokines act as chemoattractants for a wide variety of cells, including immune cells. CXCL12, which is an important member of the CXC subfamily, has been widely explored in the hematopoietic system. In the peripheral immune system, CXCL12/CXCR4 performs pleiotropic functions. CXCL12 is a highly effective chemoattractant for lymphocytes and monocytes but not neutrophils. CXCL12 is present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of patients with MS and other inflammatory neurological disorders. The aim of this study is to summarize recent findings regarding the relationship between CXCL12 and MS.

BACKGROUND: Transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) and prostate cancer are the most frequent cancers in the male genitourinary tract. Measurement of biological biomarkers may facilitate clinical monitoring and aid early diagnosis of TCC. The aim of the present investigation was to detect the mRNA levels of S100A12 and RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) in patients suffering from bladder TCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To explore the involvement of S100A12 and RAGE genes, total RNA was harvested from cancer tissues and samples obtained from normal non-tumorized urothelium of the same patients. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) was subsequently employed to determine the mRNA levels of S100A12 and RAGE. RESULTS: The results showed that mRNA expression of S100A12 and RAGE was significantly up-regulated in the cancer tissue. CONCLUSIONS: According to the results presented in the current study, mRNA expression of S100A12 and RAGE might be as a useful biomarker for TCC. Therefore, this ligand-receptor axis possibly plays important roles in the development of TCC and may serve either as an early diagnostic marker or as a key factor in monitoring of response to treatment. More research is required concerning inhibition of the S100A12-RAGE axis in different cancer models.