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The mortality in patients who developed meningitis was high. The high percentage of concurrent nosocomial infections was associated with a high mortality rate which was a serious problem.

The neuroprotective effect of alpha lipoic acid (ALA; 100 mg/kg, po), a dithiol antioxidant, on experimentally induced subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) was assessed in Wistar albino rats. Neurological examination scores recorded at the 48th h of SAH induction were increased in SAH groups, which were accompanied with significant increases in the formation of reactive oxygen species, DNA fragmentation ratios, malondialdehyde levels and myeloperoxidase activity, while significant decreases in the brain glutathione content and Na(+), K(+)-ATPase activity were observed. On the other hand, ALA treatment reversed all these biochemical indices as well as SAH-induced histopathological alterations. Increased brain edema, impaired blood-brain-barrier permeability and neurological scores were also improved by ALA treatment. The results demonstrate that ALA exerts neuroprotective effects via the enhancement of endogenous antioxidant enzyme activity, the inhibition of neutrophil accumulation and free radical generation, suggesting a therapeutic potential in reducing secondary injury after SAH in patients.

AIM:The surgical results for foramen magnum decompression (FMD) with and without duraplasty in Chiari Malformation type 1 (CM-1) were compared retrospectively. MATErIAL and METHods:Thirty-nine cases of CM-1 with and without syringomyelia (SM) were included. There were 18 patients in the nonduraplasty and 21 in the duraplasty group. Syringomyelia, tonsillar herniation (TH), preoperative symptom duration, and postoperative SM size were compared. rEsuLTs: No significant difference was found between improvement in the duraplasty group (81%) and the non-duraplasty group (61.1%). In cases whose symptom duration was 0-36 months, improvement in the duraplasty group (93%) was significantly better than in the nonduraplasty group (50%) (p<0.01). The rate of syrinx regression was 92.3% in the duraplasty group and 12.5% in the non-duraplasty group (p<0.05). In cases with SM, the improvement was 21.4% in the non-duraplasty group compared to 78.6% in the duraplasty group (p=0.056). In cases with TH greater than 10 mm, the improvement was 66.7% in the non-duraplasty group, whereas all six cases (100%) in the duraplasty group had improved. CoNCLusIoN:In SM associated cases, cases with TH greater than 10 mm, and whose symptom duration is less than 36 months, duraplasty is a more reliable choice despite a slightly higher rate of complications. BuLGuLAr: Duraplastili (%81) ve duraplastisiz grubun (%61,1) iyileşme oranları arasında anlamlı fark bulunmadı. Preoperatif semptom süresi 0-36 ay arasında olan olgularda; duraplastili grubun iyileşme oranı (%93) duraplastisiz gruba göre (%50) anlamlı oranda yüksekti (p<0.05). Sirenks boyutunda küçülme oranı duraplastili grupta % 92,3 iken duraplastisiz grupta % 12.5 idi (p<0.05). SM bulunan olgularda; duraplastili grubun iyileşme oranı % 78,6, duraplastisiz grubun iyileşme oranı ise % 21,4 idi (p=0.056). TH'un 10 mm'den fazla olduğu olgularda; duraplastisiz grubun iyileşme oranı % 66,7 iken, duraplastili 6 olgunun tamamı iyileşmişti (%100).soNuÇ: SM'li olgularda, TH'un 10 mm'den fazla olduğu olgularda ve semptom süresi 36 aydan kısa olan olgularda duraplasti hafif yüksek komplikasyon oranı olmakla birlikte daha iyi bir seçenek olarak düşünülmüştür.

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