Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are applied through oral, injectable or topical routes have been widely used in painful and inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases. The current study aimed to determine whether naproxen, an aryl acetic acid derivative with analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, has a toxic effect on human chondrocytes. Samples containing monolayer primary chondrocyte cultures were prepared following resection from osteochondral tissues obtained from patients with gonarthrosis. Cell viability, toxicity and proliferation and levels of stage-specific embryonic antigen-1, a precursor to human prechondrocytes, were evaluated spectrophotometrically. The results from the untreated control group were compared with those of the study groups, where naproxen was administered in varying doses (1–1,000 µM). Surface morphologies of the cells were compared using inverted light and environmental scanning electron microscopy. Treatment groups were compared by analysis of variance with Tukey's honest difference post hoc test. P<0.01 was considered to indicate a statistically significant difference. The research revealed significant changes to proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes in all treatment groups (P<0.01). Naproxen was demonstrated to suppress chondrocyte proliferation and differentiation, which may be an important factor to consider when prescribing this medication to patients.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of etanercept (ETA), a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor, on human cell cultures prepared from intact intervertebral disc tissue. ETA is used as a treatment for cases of rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, axial spondyloarthritis and ankylosing spondylitis accompanied by moderate or severe joint pain. ETA was applied to primary cell cultures [annulus fibrosus and nucleus pulposus (NP) from intact intervertebral disc tissue]. Cell cultures without ETA treatment served as the control group. Morphological and quantitative molecular analyses of the two groups were performed. The number of viable cells and cell proliferation decreased in the ETA-treated cultures as compared with those in the control group. Furthermore, in the treatment group, the chondroadherin gene, an NP-specific marker, was not expressed after 24 h. By contrast, the cartilage oligo matrix protein was expressed 24, 48 and 72 h post-ETA treatment, while its expression was significantly lower than that in the control group. In addition, the expression of interleukin-1β, as well as matrix metallopeptidase-7 and −19, was markedly decreased. Overall, the cell proliferation and gene expression in the ETA-treated cells were significantly different from those in the control group (P<0.05). These results suggest that the treatment duration and dosage of TNF inhibitors, which are used to suppress active inflammation, should be considered in the clinical setting. These biological agents may delay the healing of intervertebral disc tissue damage by slowing cell proliferation and altering gene expression via anabolic and catabolic pathways.

In the literature, there have been no studies showing clear results on how radio-contrast pharmaceuticals would affect intact disc tissue cells. In this context, it was aimed to evaluate the effects of iopromide and gadoxetic acid, frequently used in the discography, on intact lumbar disc tissue in pharmaco-molecular and histopathological level. Primary cell cultures were prepared from the healthy disc tissue of the patients operated in the neurosurgery clinic. Except for the control group, the cultures were incubated with the indicated radio-contrast agents. Cell viability, toxicity and proliferation indices were tested at specific time intervals. The cell viability was quantitatively analysed. It was also visually rechecked under a fluorescence microscope with acridine orange/propidium iodide staining. Simultaneously, cell surface morphology was analysed with an inverted light microscope, while haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining methodology was used in the histopathological evaluations. The obtained data were evaluated statistically. Unlike the literature, iopromide or gadoxetic acid did not have any adverse effects on the cell viability, proliferation and toxicity (P < 0.05). Although this study reveals that radio-contrast pharmaceuticals used in the discography, often used in neurosurgical practice, can be safely used, it should be remembered that this study was performed in an in vitro environment.

AIM:The surgical results for foramen magnum decompression (FMD) with and without duraplasty in Chiari Malformation type 1 (CM-1) were compared retrospectively. MATErIAL and METHods:Thirty-nine cases of CM-1 with and without syringomyelia (SM) were included. There were 18 patients in the nonduraplasty and 21 in the duraplasty group. Syringomyelia, tonsillar herniation (TH), preoperative symptom duration, and postoperative SM size were compared. rEsuLTs: No significant difference was found between improvement in the duraplasty group (81%) and the non-duraplasty group (61.1%). In cases whose symptom duration was 0-36 months, improvement in the duraplasty group (93%) was significantly better than in the nonduraplasty group (50%) (p<0.01). The rate of syrinx regression was 92.3% in the duraplasty group and 12.5% in the non-duraplasty group (p<0.05). In cases with SM, the improvement was 21.4% in the non-duraplasty group compared to 78.6% in the duraplasty group (p=0.056). In cases with TH greater than 10 mm, the improvement was 66.7% in the non-duraplasty group, whereas all six cases (100%) in the duraplasty group had improved. CoNCLusIoN:In SM associated cases, cases with TH greater than 10 mm, and whose symptom duration is less than 36 months, duraplasty is a more reliable choice despite a slightly higher rate of complications. BuLGuLAr: Duraplastili (%81) ve duraplastisiz grubun (%61,1) iyileşme oranları arasında anlamlı fark bulunmadı. Preoperatif semptom süresi 0-36 ay arasında olan olgularda; duraplastili grubun iyileşme oranı (%93) duraplastisiz gruba göre (%50) anlamlı oranda yüksekti (p<0.05). Sirenks boyutunda küçülme oranı duraplastili grupta % 92,3 iken duraplastisiz grupta % 12.5 idi (p<0.05). SM bulunan olgularda; duraplastili grubun iyileşme oranı % 78,6, duraplastisiz grubun iyileşme oranı ise % 21,4 idi (p=0.056). TH'un 10 mm'den fazla olduğu olgularda; duraplastisiz grubun iyileşme oranı % 66,7 iken, duraplastili 6 olgunun tamamı iyileşmişti (%100).soNuÇ: SM'li olgularda, TH'un 10 mm'den fazla olduğu olgularda ve semptom süresi 36 aydan kısa olan olgularda duraplasti hafif yüksek komplikasyon oranı olmakla birlikte daha iyi bir seçenek olarak düşünülmüştür.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) (Forestier syndrome) is a rheumatologic disease, the etiology of which is not exactly known. It is characterized by spinal osteophyte formations resulting from the ossification of the paravertebral ligaments and muscles. Anterior longitudinal ligament is the usual site of involvement and the frequency of the disease increases after the 5th decade. Lower cervical segments are the most frequently involved regions whereas the upper cervical involvement leading to dysphagia is very rare. In this report, a 77-year-old patient with Forestier syndrome in upper cervical region presenting with dysphagia was presented. Anterior cervical osteophyte resection was performed with no need for discectomy, fusion or stabilization. The patient showed a significant improvement in his all preoperative symptoms, and no recurrence was detected at 1-year follow-up.