The aim of this study was to compare the effects of pregabalin, betamethasone, and ibuprofen on post-operative pain management in patients with single-level lumbar disc herniation surgery. The present study was a randomized prospective study conducted at a tertiary university hospital. Sixty patients were equally divided into three groups based on whether they were treated with pregabalin (Group 1), ibuprofen (Group 2), and betamethasone (Group 3). Patients whose pre-operative back and leg pain was evaluated using a visual analog scale (VAS) and the Oswestry scale were administered 100 mg tramadol hydrochloride during surgery. The treatment efficiency was compared by assessing post-operative VAS scores at 24 h, 1 week, and 1 month after and Oswestry scale at 1 month after surgery. The VAS scores for pre-operative and post-operative back pain did not show significant differences between the results at 1 week and 1 month in any group. There was no significant drug efficacy between post-operative week 1 and post-operative month 1, except for pregabalin; an early effect was less frequently observed in the pregabalin group than in the ibuprofen and betamethasone groups. Although the three groups treated for single-level lumbar disc herniation received similar post-operative analgesia at the end of post-operative month 1, the decrease in VAS scores for back and leg pain was significant in the betamethasone group in the 1st post-operative 24 h and post-operative month 1.

INTRODUCTION: we aimed to discuss surgical approaches and results that we applied foramen magnum meningiomas. METHODS: we retrospectively investigated 11 foramen magnum meningioma cases, who had been operated between the dates of February 2012 and March 2017. RESULTS: eight of the patients were females and 3 of the patients were males, the age range was 32-75 and the age average was 60.8. 5 of the tumors were anatomically localized as posterolateral, 2 of them were localized as anterolateral, 2 of them were localized as lateral and 2 of them were localized as anterior according to the brain stem or spinal cord. Posterior far lateral (4 patients) approach including C1 laminoplasty (7 patients) and 1/3 condyle resection was surgically applied to the patients with median suboccipital craniotomy. Gross total excision was applied to 82% of the patients (9 patients) and subtotal mass excision was applied to 18% (2 patients) of the patients. The most frequent post-operative complications were temporary lower cranial nerve (CN IX and X ) palsy in our 2 anterior localized cases (18%) and also cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula in our 1 anterior localized case with difficulty in swallowing (dysphagia). Karnofsky scores of the patients, who were followed for 18 months in post-operative 12 and 48 months of average, in the last follow-up were 80 and no post-operative mortality occurred. CONCLUSION: posterior midline suboccipital and far lateral approaches that we apply in our own series were appropriate approaches for foramen magnum meningiomas.

Fungal infections of the central nervous system and pediatric brain abscess are rare but serious conditions in terms of morbidity and mortality that need immediate diagnosis and treatment. It can be seen in congenital or acquired immunosuppressed patients as opportunistic infections as well as in low-birth-weight, premature infants with ventriculoperitoneal shunt, external ventricular drainage, or with a history of craniotomy. Our aim is to emphasize the giant cerebral Candida abscess of a 13-month-old female infant who previously had eight ventriculoperitoneal shunt operations due to hydrocephalus. The patient was taken to pediatric emergency care with complaints of feeding difficulty and discomfort and was hospitalized due to the detection of an intracranial mass by contrast-enhanced brain tomography. After total excision of the mass with its capsule, the patient was pathologically diagnosed with Candida abscess, and the treatment was started. The patient was discharged by the end of the 6th week.

AIM: An increasing number of biomarkers of primary glioblastoma (GBM) have recently been described. We aimed to investigate the biological and clinical factors that affect survival in Turkish patients with primary GBM. MATERIAL and METHODS: The clinical and demographic data of all patients with primary GBM diagnosed between 2007 and 2016 were evaluated. In all the patients' pathological specimens, O6 methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) methylation and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) 1 mutation were detected retrospectively by immunohistochemistry. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, log-rank test, and multivariate analyses of the Cox hazard proportional model for all the variables were performed using the SPSS statistical package. The treatment details and other patient-related factors were identified, and their correlations were analyzed. RESULTS: We enrolled 137 primary GBM patients to the study. Median progression free survival (PFS) was 8.57 months (95% CI:6.8-9.5) and median overall survival (OS) was 12 months (95% CI:10.8-13.3). IDH-1 mutations were detected in 21 primary GBMs (15.3%). PFS was 15.43 +/- 1.95 months. Survival rates were higher, but no statistically significant difference (p=0.074). MGMT methylation was detected in 40 primary GBMs (29.2%). OS and PFS of MGMT (+) cases were higher than MGMT(-) cases (p=0.001; p=0.001 respectively). Ki67 (%) measurement (10%-90%) average is 32.64 +/- 16.56. No statistically significant between higher and lower ki67 levels (p=0.510, p=0.505 respectively). KPS (%) more than 70 at the time of diagnosis statistically significant longer median OS and PFS (p=0.001). PFS and OS were higher in all treatment modalities. CONCLUSION: The most important factors that affected survival were performance score, MGMT methylation status, systemic oncologic therapy, and IDH mutation in the Turkish population with primary GBM. We demonstrated that MGMT methylation and higher KPS levels were associated with significiantly longer OS and PFS.

AIM: To identify the effects of different immunohistochemical features of glioblastomas with spinal metastases based on the metastatic spread and survival rate. MATERIAL and METHODS: A total of 214 patients who were diagnosed with and operated for brain tumor in our clinic between 2007 and 2018, and pathologically diagnosed with glioblastoma were retrospectively evaluated. Among them, 141 medical records were reviewed, and 23 of them underwent spinal magnetic resonance imaging postoperatively due to various complaints. RESULTS: All patients with glioblastoma with spinal metastases had negative isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH-1) in the immunohistochemical examination. The incidence of spinal metastasis is 1.91%. The median Ki-67 index is 30 (range, 4-90; median Ki-67 index: 30+/-18.5). IDH mutation is wild in 55%, mutant in 33%, and not otherwise specified in 12%. Four patients with spinal metastasis has wild-type IDH with mean Ki-67 index of 60, and one of them was a woman (25%) and the remaining three were men (%75), with mean age of 32 years. CONCLUSION: Gliomas with high immunohistochemical proliferation indexes and wild-type IDH with poor prognostic features based on the new classification tended to metastasize to the spine in the early disease stage; therefore, early spinal scanning and radiation therapy might extend the life expectancy. High Ki-67 index and the presence of wild-type isocitrate dehydrogenase may be the predictive factors for spinal screening.

Background: Oxidative stress that leads to an imbalanced prooxidant/antioxidant status can be a critical factor affecting lung cancer etiopathology. The antioxidant system provides primary protection under oxidative stress. Objective: The purpose of the study was to investigate the serum antioxidant system status in brain metastatic and non-metastatic lung cancer patients with different cell types. Methods: In this prospective study, 33 patients with lung cancer metastasis (metastatic patient group), 36 lung cancer patients (non-metastatic patient group), and 25 healthy control groups were included. Enzymatic (Superoxide Dismutase, SOD; Glutathione Peroxidase, GPX; and Glutathione Reductase, GR) and non-enzymatic (Glutathione, GSH) antioxidant system biomarkers with Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances (TBARS) levels were studied in the serum samples of the control and patient groups. The oxidative stress biomarkers were measured spectrophotometrically. Results: SOD activity increased though TBARS levels and GR activity decreased in both patient groups compared to the control. GPX activity increased only in the non-metastatic group. Antioxidant biomarkers varied between small cell and non-small cell group patients. GR activity and GSH levels were significantly higher in the non-metastatic group compared to the metastatic group. Correlations were also found between antioxidant parameters in the non-metastatic group. Conclusions: It was emphasized the imbalanced antioxidant system in the duration of the disease is related to not only cell type but also the metastatic structure. This is the preliminary study exhibiting the contribution of antioxidant imbalance in different subtypes with varied prognosis and behavior of lung cancer in the presence of brain metastasis. Therefore, oxidative stress biomarkers can serve as a useful tool to get information about the progression of lung cancer. Thus, it may provide fundamental data for further cancer research when considering the diagnosis of the disease.