ObjectiveThe aim of this prospective study was to demonstrate the influence of some factors on the prognosis of microvascular decompression in 37 patients with trigeminal neuralgia.MethodsThe results of microvascular decompression (MVD) in 37 patients with trigeminal neuralgia were evaluated at 6 months after surgery and were compared with clinical and operative findings.ResultsThe sex of the patient, the patient's age at surgery, the side of the pain, and the duration of symptoms before surgery did not play any significant roles in prognosis. Also, the visual analogue scale (VAS) of the patient, the duration of each pain attack, and the frequency of pain over 24 hours did not play any significant roles in prognosis. In addition, intraoperative detection of the type of conflicting vessel, the degree of severity of conflict, and the location of the conflict around the circumference of the root did not play any roles in prognosis. The only factors affecting the prognosis in MVD surgery were intraoperative detection of the site of the conflict along the root and neuroradiological compression signs on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)/magnetic resonance angiography (MRA).ConclusionThese findings demonstrated that if neurovascular compression is seen on preoperative MRI/MRA and/or compression is found intraoperative at the root entry zone, then the patient will most likely benefit from MVD surgery.

ABSTRACToxygen species (ROS) and free radicals are generated during ethanol metabolism, causing oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation in the liver, brain, heart and skeletal muscles (1,6,18,21).Mitochondria are major targets for ethanol toxicity in the liver, brain, heart, skeletal muscles, and exocrine pancreas (4). Ramachandran et al (23) showed in their study that utilized cultured fetal rat cortical neurons that ethanol elicits a rapid onset of oxidative stress, which culminates in mitochondrial mediated apoptotic cell death. Animal studies have found that long-term ethanol intoxication is not necessary to cause brain █ INTRODUCTION E thanol, is a colorless liquid with the structural formula CH 3 CH 2 OH, often abbreviated as C 2 H 5 OH or C 2 H 6 O. It is also used as a psychoactive drug and is one of the oldest recreational drugs still used by humans. Ethanol can cause alcohol intoxication when consumed.Alcoholic patients can develop not only liver lesions but also pancreatitis, brain damage, peripheral neuropathy, cardiomyopathy, and skeletal muscle myopathy (18,23). Reactive AIm: Ethanol causes oxidative degradation of the mitochondrial genome in the brain. This effect could contribute to the development of brain injury in some alcoholic patients. We investigated the protective effect of caffeic acid phenyl esther (CAPE) and intralipid (IL) on oxidative stress and neurotoxicity induced by ethanol intake. mATERIAl and mEThODS:The forty-eight rats were randomly divided into seven groups. Ethanol was administered for acute toxicity. IL and CAPE were administered immediately after ethanol intake. Total oxidant status (TOS), total antioxidant status (TAS), and oxidative status index (OSi) were evaluated and histologic examination of cerebellum and brain tissue with Hematoxylin-Eosin and immuno-histochemical dyes was performed. RESUlTS:In the ethanol group, TAS levels were significantly lower than the other groups and this finding indicates that the toxic effect of ethanol reduces antioxidant levels. In the ethanol group, TOS levels were significantly higher than the other groups. These results showed that ethanol induced oxidative stress. IL treatment increased TAS levels, and CAPE decreased TOS levels against ethanol toxicity. There was correlation between TAS and TOS levels. Also, histopathologic results confirmed these biochemical results.CONClUSION: CAPE and IL treatment could be effective course of therapy to enhance therapeutic efficacy and may provide a promising approach for the treatment of neurotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by ethanol in clinic.

A novel azo derivative, 2,3,4,6 -tetrahydroxy-3 -sulfoazobenzene (THSA), was synthesized by using pyrogallol. The acid dissociation constants, or K a values, of THSA were determined by the UV-visible spectroscopic technique. The protonation and deprotonation behaviors of the title molecule were studied from the super basic to the super acid region (i.e. 10 N NaOH to 98% H 2 SO 4) , including the pH region. A selective and sensitive UV-visible spectrophotometric method was devised for determination of aluminum by using this ligand. The developed method was successfully applied to an alunite mineral and to pharmaceutical preparations for the determination of aluminum.

BACKGROUND:The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effects of erythropoietin, dextran/saline and erythropoietin in combination with dextran/saline on brain edema and lipid peroxidation following traumatic brain injury in rats.

Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is defined as the signs and symptoms caused by compression of brachial plexus and subclavian vessels in the cervicoaxillary region. Cervical ribs are very rare causes of TOS. Most of them are asymptomatic and incidentally diagnosed during routine chest x-ray. We presented here 4 cases of unusual cervical ribs articulating with hypertrophied scalene tubercle with different clinical presentations including: TOS, palpable mass at the supraclavicular region, and asymptomatic. TOS was treated surgically with good results. In conclusion, complete cervical costa, articulating with hypertrophied scalene tubercle is a very rare cause of TOS. Scalenotomy and complete resection of the cervical rib is a good choice for treatment. In addition, the cervical ribs should be considered in the differential diagnosis of the palpable masses seen at the supraclavicular regions. Plain radiographs are enough for diagnosis; however, 3-dimensional computerized tomography provides many advantages in preoperative surgical planning and demonstrating the articulating structure of the cervical ribs in a detailed manner.