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Biomedical subjects

A K Mahapatra

Publications and source records attributed to A K Mahapatra.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Symptomatic epineural ganglion cyst of the ulnar nerve in the cubital tunnel: a case report and brief review of the literature.

An unusual case of pain and weakness in the hand and forearm due to a ganglion cyst of the ulnar nerve at the elbow is presented. The patient was managed initially as a case of cervical disc disease and cervical spondylosis and later as a case of carpal tunnel syndrome at an another institution. Cervical radiography and cervical magnetic resonance imaging scans were inconclusive. Neurosurgical referral revealed tenderness at the right cubital tunnel, weakness of the right hand and forearm muscles, and sensory deficit along the medial border of the forearm and the hand. The diagnosis of ulnar nerve compression at the elbow was made. Nerve conduction studies of the ulnar nerve at the elbow confirmed the diagnosis. A ganglion cyst of the ulnar nerve was excised microsurgically with a complete postoperative sensory motor recovery.

Adult↗

Role of 17p13.3 chromosomal region in determining p53 protein immunopositivity in human astrocytic tumors.

Immunohistochemistry of p53 protein is being increasingly performed as a clinical service as well as in research for prediction of tumor behavior. Although early reports suggested that p53 immunopositivity was associated with p53 gene alterations, recent evidence indicates that this is not always true. Earlier, we had demonstrated the significant association of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the chromosomal region 17p13.3 with higher grades of human astrocytic tumors. This was independent of the heterozygosity status of p53. LOH of p53 was taken as an indicator of p53 gene alteration, which was substantiated by sequencing a subset of the tumors. In the present study, we report that p53 immunopositivity in 40 of the same set of tumors (five could not be evaluated because of paucity of tissue) was significantly associated with LOH of 17p13.3 region (Fisher's exact two-tailed, P = 0.012; odds ratio, 12) but not with LOH of p53 (Fisher's exact two-tailed, P = 0.324; odds ratio, 2.24). This indicates that the gene(s) on the 17p13.3 region of the human chromosome may be influencing the p53 immunopositivity status of glial tumors and possibly other tumors in general. This has great implications in interpreting p53 immunohistochemistry results of biopsies of various tumor types as due to p53 mutations alone. The study thus points to a new molecular correlate for p53 immuno-positivity in tumors.

Brain Neoplasms↗

Giant intradiploic epidermoid cysts of the skull. A report of eight cases.

Giant intradiploic epidermoid cyst of the skull is a rare tumour. Only a small number of cases have been reported. Over a 16-year period, we treated eight cases of giant intradiploic epidermoid cyst of the skull. All cases were between 19 and 45 years of age, except one aged of 61 years. Five cases presented with local swellings, three patients came with infection and one had an extradural abscess. All the patients were operated upon after adequate preoperative care. Patients with infection required appropriate antibiotics. Total or near total excision was carried out in all. One patient developed postoperative infection. So for those have been no recurrences. This appears to be the largest series of giant intradiploic epidermoid cyst of the skull so far reported.

Adult↗

Neonatal cervical osteomyelitis with paraspinal abscess and Erb's palsy. A case report and brief review of the literature.

An unusual case of pyogenic cervical osteomyelitis is reported in a newborn who immediately after birth had no movements in the left shoulder. There was a fullness in the left cervical region. Left Erb's palsy due to an unrecognized birth trauma was diagnosed in a peripheral hospital. Later, the child developed fever and a significant swelling in the left cervical region. On transfer to our institution, the X-rays of the cervical spine, ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) established the diagnosis of C(6) cervical osteomyelitis and paraspinal abscess which extended to the posterior triangle of the neck. The abscess was drained, and the lamina and lateral mass of the C(6) vertebra were debrided. Staphylococcus aureus was grown from the pus. The patient was put on long-term antibiotics to which he responded very well, and he became asymptomatic. In the immediate post-operative period, some movements at the left shoulder were noted, and at 6-month follow-up in the out-patient clinic, the child was virtually normal with near-complete regeneration of the C(6) lamina and lateral mass.

Abscess↗

Split cord malformation with partial eventration of the diaphragm. Case report.

The authors describe the case of a 3-year-old girl who presented with a dorsal split cord malformation (SCM) and was found to have eventration of the diaphragm. Although the child did not undergo surgery for eventration, its presence suggests a need for careful preoperative planning and clinical evaluation to rule out or confirm the anomalies associated with spinal dysraphism or SCM.

Child, Preschool↗

Split cord malformations--a clinical study of 48 cases.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical profile of split cord malformations and to evaluate the results of surgery. DESIGN: Retrospective. SUBJECTS: Forty-eight patients of split cord malformation operated during a six years period were studied clinically and radiologically. RESULTS: The mean age of symptomatic patients was more than that of asymptomatic ones (6.85 years vs 2.03 years). The dorsolumbar and lumbar regions were most frequently involved and in three cases the cervical spine was affected. Weakness of lower limbs (n=37), muscle atrophy (n=23) and gait disturbance were the most common indicators of motor system involvement. The sensory complaints were mainly hypoesthesia (n=16), trophic ulcer (n=4) and autoamputation (n=3). Hypertrichiosis was the most common cutaneous marker present alone or in combination with other markers in 21 cases. MRI, done in all cases, correctly established the diagnosis. Additional lesions causing tethering were seen in 50% cases and were simultaneously treated. Associated Chiari malformation was seen in 12%. Of the 42 symptomatic patients, 21 improved, in 17 (40%) the neurological deficits stabilized and 4 showed deterioration. CSF leak occurred in 4 patients and 3 had wound infections. Among the asymptomatic patients none had neurological deterioration postoperatively. CONCLUSIONS: Split cord malformations are rare spinal cord disorders. Complete neural axis should be scanned at the first instance to determine associated lesions. Good results can be expected in about 90% patients with minimal complications.

Adolescent↗

Transcranial Doppler evaluation of blood flow velocity changes in basal cerebral arteries in cerebral AVMs following embolisation and surgery.

Blood flow velocities in the basal cerebral arteries were evaluated in 41 patients with supratentorial arteriovenous malformation (AVM), using a transcranial doppler 64-B instrument. The AVM was surgically excised in 20 patients and embolised in 21 patients. Blood flow velocities in feeding basal cerebral arteries were found markedly decreased in both the groups, at 24 hours after intervention. On follow up study at 3 months, blood flow velocity in feeding cerebral artery was found to be increased in 47 percent of patients who were embolised, but remained normal in all the patients who underwent surgery.

Cerebral Arteries↗

Cerebellar medulloblastoma in a 65 year old Indian male.

A case of cerebellar medulloblastoma in a 65 year old male is reported. Cerebellar medulloblastoma is classically seen during childhood, and less than 25% of these tumours are found in adults below 40 years of age. Rarely, cases are reported above the age of 40 years. So far only three cases have been reported in patients aged above 64 years and none of these case reports are from India.

Adult↗

An unusual case of primary lymphoma of the skull base extending from cerebellopontine angle to cavernous sinus and orbit. A case report.

The authors describe a rare case of a primary central nervous system lymphoma of the cerebellopontine angle, extending into the right cavernous sinus and orbit. The patient presented with multiple right sided cranial nerve palsies and rapidly progressive proptosis and ophthalmoplegia of the right eye. Imaging revealed a cerebellopontine angle mass extending into cavernous sinus. Surgical decompression of the tumor was undertaken through a right sided retromastoid craniectomy. Histopathology revealed Non Hodgkin's lymphoma of diffuse large cell type. There was no evidence of systemic lymphoma. Primary lymphoma of cerebellopontine angle with direct extension into cavernous sinus and orbit is rare and to our knowledge this is the only case reported.

Adult↗

Pituitary adenoma with neuronal choristoma: a report of two rare cases.

Two rare cases of pituitary adenoma with neuronal choristoma are described. Both patients were female and presented with features of acromegaly with elevated growth hormone and prolactin levels. Radiologically, both lesions were predominantly intrasellar in location with extension into suprasellar region, but hypothalamus was not involved. Histopathological examination revealed a mixture of chromophobe pituitary adenoma cells and neuronal cells. In both cases, the adenoma component was positive for growth hormone and prolactin. Interestingly, immunopositivity for alpha-subunit, cytokeratin and prolactin was seen in the adenoma and neuronal cells in one case. Our findings support the hypothesis that the neuronal cells possibly arise from adenoma cells as a result of metaplasia.

Acromegaly↗

Effect of craniopharyngioma fluid on femoral vessels of rat.

Craniopharyngioma fluid spillage during surgery is reported to cause aseptic meningitis, but effects of the spillage on vessels have not yet been studied. Therefore we experimentally studied the effect of external contact on femoral vessels of the rat to assess its possible role in the cerebral vascular complications. The major direct effect of the craniopharyngioma fluid on the femoral vessels was vasospasm, appearing on the fourth day after instillation. The vasospasm was observed in 83% of femoral vessels studied between 4-15 days and one of the vessels showed intra-luminal thrombus. The difference in the vessel diameter after instillation (4-15 days) was compared with the controls and was statistically significant (p < 0.01). These findings correspond well with the observed deterioration on post-operative days 5-7, due to vascular complications. No histopathologic (light-microscopic) changes of inflammation or necrosis were found in the femoral vessels. Our study shows that contact of craniopharyngioma fluid to arteries leads to vasospasm, and spillage during surgical excision may contribute to vascular complications encountered in the post-operative period. Prevention of spillage of this fluid and the routine use of cerebral vasodilators to prevent ischemic complications after craniopharyngioma surgery needs further evaluation.

Animals↗

An unusual case of dorsally situated bony spur in a lumbar split cord malformation.

A case of lumbar split cord malformation (SCM) with a bony spur situated dorsally is presented. This was associated with a hypertrophied posterior arch. The ventral dura was totally intact, and there was no fibrous septum connecting the bony arch to the dura. To our knowledge, such a case has not been reported earlier. In view of this unique finding, we propose a slight modification in Pang's unified theory of embryogenesis in the development of SCM.

Child↗

Bilateral optic nerve injury.

Bilateral optic nerve injury is a rare condition and is reported in 5-6 percent of all optic nerve injuries. However, there is no published series on bilateral optic nerve injury. Analysis of 31 cases of bilateral optic nerve involvement seen amongst 275 patients with optic nerve injury (11.5 percent) is discussed. Road traffic accident which is the most common cause of optic nerve injury, was recorded in 61 percent. Shotgun injury and blast in jury was the cause in 22.5 percent of cases. All the patients except 4 received steroids. Anterior cranial fossa fracture and opacity of paranasal sinuses were recorded in a third of the patients. Visual evoked potentials were recorded in 27 patients. Improvement in vision was noticed in 23 patients (74 percent). However, among the 62 eyes, 39 eyes showed improvement (62.8 percent). Possible reasons for better outcome in bilateral optic nerve injury are discussed.

Adolescent↗

Biotyping of Acinetobacter species isolated from clinical samples.

We used the biotyping scheme using carbohydrate substrate utilization test with 14 carbon sources to speciate Acinetobacter isolates from blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures of patients admitted to the postoperative neurosurgery ICU during January to November 1996. Sixty one patients culture positive for Acinetobacter sp. from blood or cerebrospinal fluid were followed up prospectively. Among these patients, 40 patients had clinically diagnosed infections like bacteriemia or meningitis while in 21 patients the isolation was regarded as contaminants. A. baumanniii was the most common isolate associated with clinical infections while A. lwoffii was more likely to be an environmental contaminant.

Acinetobacter↗

Visual outcome in optic nerve injury patients without initial light perception.

PURPOSE: To assess the prognosis for recovery of vision in patients with blindness due to head injury, and to analyse the predictive value of visual evoked potential (VEP). METHODS: One hundred consecutive patients with unilateral/bilateral blindness as a result of minor head injury were studied with regard to their visual status, CT scan, MRI scan and serial VEPs. Steroids were given to those presenting within one month of injury, 5 patients among them received methyl prednisolone. Transethmoidal decompression was done in 6 patients. RESULTS: Visual improvement was recorded in 23 patients. Initial VEP failed to reveal any wave in 29 patients and was abnormal in 71. All the 14 patients in whom VEPs were repeatedly normal, irrespective of initial VEP status, showed varying degrees of visual improvement and none of the 15 patients with persistently negative VEPs showed visual improvement. CONCLUSION: Recovery of VEP from no response to abnormal wave or abnormal wave to normal VEP were indicators of relatively good visual prognosis. Overall, 23 patients showed visual improvement, but did not return to normal. Mode of injury, CT findings and timing of surgery did not influence the outcome.

Adolescent↗