The effect of head cooling and remote ischemic conditioning on patients with traumatic brain injury.

Cerebral impairment caused by an external force to the head is known as traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this study was to determine the role of local hypothermia and remote ischemic conditioning (RIC) on oxidative stress, inflammatory response after TBI, and other involved variables. The present study is a clinical trial on 84 patients with TBI who were divided into 4 groups. The head cooling for 1.5 to 6 hr was performed in the first three days after TBI. RIC intervention was performed within the golden time after TBI in the form of four 5-min cycles with full cuff and 5 min of emptying of cuff. The group receiving the head cooling technique recovered better than the group receiving the RIC technique. Generally, combination of the two interventions of head cooling and RIC techniques is more effective on the improvement of clinical status of patients than each separate technique.

Bilateral occipito-condylar hyperplasia: a very rare anomaly treated with endoscopic endo-nasal approach.

INTRODUCTION: Occipito-condylar hyperplasia is a very rare anomaly of the cranio-vertebral junction that was only reported in two patients before and managed through posterior approach. CASE MATERIAL: A 10-year-old girl with a sudden attack of quadriparesis and respiratory distress was admitted to our center. A detailed work up favored a high cervical myelopathy due to bilateral occipito-condylar hyperplasia and Chiari malformation. RESULTS: An endoscopic endo-nasal approach under navigation guide was used to drill the compressive lesion. CONCLUSION: Our patient is added to the literature as the third one that was approached through a different surgical corridor. Successful decompression with excellent results was gained.

Chondroma of falx: case report of a rare condition.

Chondroma is a benign tumor which mostly occurs in extremities but also sometimes in brain. Most intracranial chondromas arise from skull base, but chondroma of falx origin is a rare circumstance. Indeed, the intracranial chondromas rise from falx is mostly in relation with syndromic disorders such as Mafucci's syndrome or Ollier's syndrome. Here, we reported a rare case of falxian intracranial chondroma in a young man who has normal physical examination and no signs of any syndromic disorder. The goal of this paper was to raise awareness about chondromas and suggest that chondroma be ruled out in any patient with masses arising from falx.