Surgically induced brain injury (SBI) is a common concern after a neurosurgical procedure. Current treatments aimed at reducing the postoperative sequela are limited. Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), a hematopoietic growth factor involved in the inflammatory process, has been shown in various animal models to be neuroprotective. Consequently, in this study, we investigated the use of G-CSF as a treatment modality to reduce cell death and brain edema, while improving neurobehavioral deficits following an SBI in mice. Eleven-week-old C57 black mice (n = 76) were randomly placed into four groups: sham (n = 19), SBI (n = 21), SBI with G-CSF pre-treatment (n = 15) and SBI with G-CSF pre/post-treatment (n = 21). Treated groups received a single dose of G-CSF intraperitoneally at 24, 12 and 1 h pre-surgery and/or 6 and 12 h post-surgery. Postoperative assessment occurred at 24 h and included neurobehavioral testing and measurement for both cell death and brain edema. Results indicated that pre-treatment with G-CSF reduced both cell death and brain edema, while post-treatment reduced neurobehavioral deficits. This study implies that the morphological changes in the brain are effected by pre-treatment; however, in order to activate and/ or amplify targets involved in the recovery process, more dosing regimens may be needed.
Solitary osteochondromas rarely occur in the axial skeleton. Those tumors mostly arise on the posterior elements of the cervical column causing various symptoms especially when developing within the spinal canal. Exophytic lumbar variety is uncommon presenting with palpable mass or spinal deformity. We report a 20-year-old man presenting with a solid painless mass at the lower lumbar region. Radiological examinations revealed an exophytic lesion arising in the third lumbar spinous process appearing to be a solitary osteochondroma. The lesion was treated by en-bloc resection; histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of osteochondroma with no evidence of recurrence at the end of 2-year follow up.
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