Mastalgia Due to Degenerative Changes of the Spine.

BACKGROUND: Mastalgia is a common and enigmatic condition; the cause and optimal treatment are still inadequately defined. Cervical radiculopathy, which is the result of cervical nerve root pathology often caused by spaceoccupying lesions such as cervical disc herniation, spondylosis, or osteophytosis, is frequently encountered in physical therapy. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the incidence of vertebral pathologies in patients with non-cyclic mastalgia and the efficacy of conservative treatment of these pathologies on relieving breast pain. MATERIAL AND METHODS: One hundred patients were included in the study, all with breast pain continuing throughout the day and lasting at least three months. Breast and axillary physical examinations, mammographic and/or ultrasonographic evaluations were normal in all the patients. The patients' pain levels were scored using a visual analog scale (VAS). Cervical and thoracic spine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on all the participants. RESULTS: Among 96 patients that had pathological findings on magnetic resonance imaging (96%), 49 women had diffuse annular bulging of the cervical spine, and 47 had cervical disc protrusion. Additionally, 12 patients had thoracic disc protrusion. At the end of the three-month period, the patients who were given only conservative treatment returned for follow-up evaluations. According to the VAS scores, five patients had mild to moderate improvement, 55 showed significant improvement, and 29 achieved complete remission. CONCLUSIONS: The authors concluded that if none of the known causes of breast pain are found in a patient, the patient should be evaluated for vertebral pathologies.

The Effect of Montelukast on Liver Damage in an Experimental Obstructive Jaundice Model.

BACKGROUND: Montelukast is a cysteinyl-leukotriene type 1 (CysLT1) selective receptor antagonist. In recent years, investigations have shown that montelukast possesses secondary anti-inflammatory activities and also antioxidant effects. For this reason, we aimed to determine the possible effects of montelukast on liver damage in experimental obstructive jaundice. METHODS: 30 Wistar-Albino male rats were randomized and divided into three groups of 10 animals each: group I, sham-operated; group II, ligation and division of the common bile duct (BDL) followed by daily intraperitoneal injection of 1 ml of saline; group III, BDL followed by daily intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg/kg montelukast dissolved in saline. The animals were killed on postoperative day 7 by high-dose diethyl ether inhalation. Blood and liver samples were taken for examination. RESULTS: In this study, liver malondialdehyde (MDA) (p = 0.001), myeloperoxidase (p = 0.003), and total sulfhydryl (SH) (p = 0.009) were found to be significantly different between the BDL + montelukast and the BDL groups. Plasma total SH (p = 0.002) and MDA (p = 0.027) values were also statistically different between these groups. Statistical analyses of histological activity index scores showed that the histopathological damage in the BDL + montelukast group was significantly less than the damage in the control group (p < 0.05 for all pathological parameters). CONCLUSION: According to the results of this study, montelukast showed a significant hepatoprotective effect in this experimental obstructive jaundice model, which might be due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities.