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Biomedical subjects

N Akalan

Publications and source records attributed to N Akalan.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Lumbar disc herniation and tight hamstrings syndrome in adolescence.

BACKGROUND: Lumbar intervertebral disc herniation is infrequently encountered in children and adolescents. Additional signs and symptoms such as postural deformities and abnormal gait accompany the classical findings of lumbar root irritation. These unusual signs have been described in the literature as "tight hamstrings syndrome". Waddling gait with flexed knees is considered as pathognomonic for this condition and may be masked by the signs of root irritation due to prolapsed intervertebral disc material. CASE REPORT AND DISCUSSION: We report an adolescent patient with lumbar disc herniation in whom gait abnormality and limitation of lumbar movements persisted after surgical intervention. A review of the literature on tight hamstrings is presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Neuroendocrine research models.

The neuroendocrine system has always been a main research area for neuroscience. The distinctiveness of this system is due to its diverse anatomical and physiological properties, which modulates the homeostasis and reproductivity of the organism. For decades, generated research models have served to elucidate the complex properties of this system and provided invaluable data on the physiology and mechanism. Currently, the basic research has concentrated on the mechanisms of neuropeptide secretion, carriage and transportation with neurotransmitters and mechanisms operative during various physiological or pathological states. Comparable to the basic research, neuroendocrine models also help to investigate certain clinical aspects of neurological neurosurgical diseases. Pituitary adenomas have been induced by several methods in rats to elucidate adenoma morphology, characteristics and treatment options. More recently, experimental studies are concentrated on the effectiveness of therapeutic gene transfer in neuroendocrine disorders and tumors. Moreover, animal models are of great importance for both to investigate the role of hypothalamus in aging and the potential of correcting age-related neurodegenerative processes in this setting.

Adenoma↗
PubMed2001

Cranial infantile myofibromatosis: report of three cases.

BACKGROUND: Infantile myofibromatosis is a proliferative disorder of infancy and early childhood characterized by the development of single or multiple nodular lesions arising from cutaneous or subcutaneous tissue, muscle, bone or visceral organs. In approximately one-third of cases, this myofibroblastic proliferation involves the head and neck region. CASE REPORT: In this paper we report on three cases of cranial infantile myofibromatosis in infants. The clinical presentation and the deceptive histopathological features can make diagnosis difficult. CONCLUSION: The significance of recognizing this entity is stressed, since its indolent clinical behavior might prevent diagnosis.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed2001

Fludrocortisone treatment in a child with severe cerebral salt wasting.

Hyponatremia is a common complication of intracranial disease or surgery. An evaluation should be undertaken to determine whether cerebral salt wasting (CSW) or inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone is present as a cause. Since the treatment principles are completely different in the two pathological states, differential diagnosis is very important. CSW is defined as the renal loss of sodium leading to hyponatremia and decreased extracellular fluid volume. In the literature, it has been noted that mineralocorticoid administration can be useful in CSW cases. We herein present an 11-year-old boy who developed hyponatremic seizures after intracranial tumor resection. He was diagnosed with CSW on the basis of high urinary sodium excretion and increased urine output, together with signs and symptoms of dehydration. Despite intensive fluid and salt therapy, we were unable to decrease the urinary output. Therefore, fludrocortisone therapy was administered and his urinary output and sodium excretion were decreased and his serum sodium level was normalized. In conclusion, in addition to fluid and salt replacement, mineralocorticoid supplementation also seems to be a safe and effective treatment for CSW.

Astrocytoma↗
PubMed2001

Pituitary adenoma associated with gigantism and hyperprolactinemia.

An 11-year-old girl presented with excessive growth, headache, left visual loss and seizures. Her growth hormone (GH) and prolactin (PRL) levels were high and magnetic resonance imaging findings showed an invasive macroadenoma. Gross total tumor removal was performed and then radiotherapy and medical therapy were given. During the follow-up, she developed ACTH deficiency, secondary hypothyroidism and hypogonadism requiring replacement therapy. It is still unclear whether the biological characteristics of GH- and PRL-secreting tumors are different in children from those in adults. More data are needed before a definitive conclusion can be established.

Adenoma↗
PubMed2000

Guglielmi detachable coil treatment of a partially thrombosed giant basilar artery aneurysm in a child.

We report a partially thrombosed giant of the aneurysm basilar artery with prominent mass effect, diagnosed in an 11 year-old child who presented with neurological deficits due to brain stem compression. After the patent portion of the aneurysm was embolised with Guglielmi detachable coils, remarkable clinical improvement occurred. Angiography demonstrated complete occlusion of the aneurysm and MRI revealed dramatic shrinkage of the aneurysm at 6-month and 1-year follow-up.

Basilar Artery↗
PubMed2000

Infection as a cause of spinal cord compression: a review of 36 spinal epidural abscess cases.

A retrospective survey of 36 cases treated in the Department of Neurosurgery, Hacettepe University Hospitals since 1970 was performed. Clinical presentation, aetiology and outcome of this rare disease compared to recently published series. All cases were admitted with signs of neural compression. Clinical and laboratory data suggesting an infectious origin were present only in 4 cases. Radiological investigation including magnetic resonance imaging in 10 patients, were not confirmative for an epidural abscess except for two cases. All cases underwent urgent surgical decompression and tuberculous abscess either in granulation or pus form was found in the majority. Overall mortality rate was 5.8%. Outcome was closely related to the neurological condition on admission rather than the underlying infectious origin. When compared with recently reported series, our cases demonstrated a significant divergence in terms of clinical presentation, pathogenesis and outcome. The most probable reason for this discrepancy is that risk factors for compromised immunity or systemic infection were much less than the other series and mycobacterium tuberculosis is the responsible agent in the majority which has a much more favourable outcome than non-spesific infections.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Intracranial ependymomas in childhood--a retrospective review of sixty-two children.

Of the 818 tumours of the central nervous system diagnosed between 1972 and 1991, 62 patients (35 males and 27 females) with histopathologically confirmed ependymomas were treated and followed-up at the Children's Hospital of Hacettepe University during that period. The median age was 6 years (range 1-17 years). Headache, nausea and vomiting were the most frequent symptoms; papilledema was the most common sign in our patients. Tumour sites were in the posterior fossa in 47 patients and supratentorial in 15 patients. All patients underwent surgery. Gross- total resection was performed in 27 patients, subtotal resection in 32 patients and biopsy in the remaining 3 patients. Initially, 53 patients were given postoperative radiotherapy. Four patients did not receive radiotherapy because of their young age, whereas five patients died prior to starting radiotherapy. Two slightly different types of chemotherapy protocols were applied for an average of one year in 47 patients. Event-free and overall survival rates at 10 years were 36% and 50%, respectively. Twenty children suffered relapse 4 to 55 months after diagnosis (median 16 months). Relapses were distant in 3 cases and local in 17. Age was the only statistically significant prognostic factor, patients younger than 5 years of age having a poorer outcome. Sex, histopathologic type, localization of the tumour, extent of surgery, and chemotherapy did not influence the prognosis in our study. Because the majority of recurrences were local, better local tumour control is required. New treatment strategies should be developed in order to improve local control.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Benign melanocytic tumor in infancy: discussion on a rare case and review of the literature.

Meningeal melanocytoma is an infrequent neoplasm of the central nervous system (CNS), especially in childhood and infancy. It was first described as an entity different from pigmented meningiomas and schwannomas in 1972, and few cases have been published so far. In this article, a 5-month-old male patient with meningeal melanocytoma is presented. This midline lesion was localized in the posterior fossa and manifested by hydrocephalus. The entire dural origin and extradural growing pattern in addition to the destruction of the adjacent occipital bone were the unexpected presentations since these tumors usually tend to locate on leptomeninges and to extend into the adjacent neural compartment rather than the outside. On the other hand, this case is the only one which had identical lesions in both surrenal glands and the left renal capsule, the structures containing neural-crest-derived cells outside the CNS. The prognostic criteria, differential diagnosis and its embryological aspects are discussed with an extensive review of the related existing literature.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Prolonged cerebral salt wasting syndrome associated with the intraventricular dissemination of brain tumors. Report of two cases and review of the literature.

Hyponatremia is a frequent event in neurosurgery practice and is usually associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage, head trauma, infections and neoplasms. The two common clinical manifestations are the inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone (SIADH) and the cerebral salt wasting syndrome (CSWS), which were usually attributed to each other due to identical clinical presentation. In contrast to the better-recognized SIADH, there has not been a uniform consensus over the humoral and neural mechanisms of CSWS and functional aspects of renal response. In this article, we report on 2 cases of a primitive neuroectodermal tumor with prolonged CSWS manifested during the intraventricular dissemination of primary disease and the high catabolic stage.

Brain Diseases, Metabolic↗
PubMed1999

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Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Bilateral epidural hematoma in a pyknodysostotic child.

Pyknodysostosis is a rarely encountered disease. It is characterized by abnormal facial development, fragility of the bones with relatively mild trauma, cranial abnormalities including widely opened sutures and fontanels frontal bossing, wrinkled skin, finger and nail abnormalities. In the literature, pyknodysostosis was reported only as case reports. Here, we describe a pyknodysostotic child with a bilateral parietal epidural hematoma, caused by a relatively mild head trauma. He was operated on, and the hematoma was evacuated through two different parietal craniotomies. We reported this case, since pyknodysostosis is a rare disease, and our case is the first one who had a surgical intervention as well as being the first with an epidural hematoma in pyknodysostosis.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1999

Clinical and therapeutic properties of Cushing's disease in childhood.

Cushing's disease (CD) in adolescence and childhood is a rare pathology and has some different clinical and therapeutic characteristics than in adults. We report 3 cases treated surgically, with the diagnosis of CD. Their common complaints were short stature and obesity. Endocrinological investigations and radiological evaluation pointed out the diagnosis of CD for all children. They were operated on by the transsphenoidal route, and adenoma resection was performed. Histopathologic and immunohistochemical examination of the tissue specimens confirmed the diagnosis of CD. Long-term follow-up demonstrated weight loss and increase in height.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1998

An atretic parietal cephalocele associated with multiple intracranial and eye anomalies.

We present the cranial MRI findings in a 4-month-old girl with an atretic parietal cephalocele associated with multiple cerebral and ocular anomalies including lobar holoprosencephaly, a Dandy-Walker malformation, agenesis of the corpus callosum, grey-matter heterotopia, extra-axial cysts in various locations, bilateral microphthalmia and a retroocular cyst.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1998

A fatal acute subdural hematoma occurring after evacuation of "contralateral" chronic subdural hematoma.

Although chronic subdural hematomas (SDHs) are bilateral in about 20% of the cases, an acute SDH in one side associated with chronic SDH in "contralateral" side is an extremely rare and devastating condition. In this report, a case of "contralateral" acute SDH occurring after evacuation of chronic SDH in one side is presented. The clinical history, complaints, neurological and neuroradiological findings, and pathophysiological mechanisms of this uncommon entity are discussed and related literature is reviewed.

Acute Disease↗