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Background: Cisplatin is used as an anti-neoplastic agent against several cancers. Neuropathy is one of its major side effects that contributes to patients' intolerance to the standard regimen. Sex-related differences have been reported in nerve injury and neuropathies. However, there has been no study on cisplatin regarding this issue., Objective: Compare various abnormalities in cisplatin neuropathy between sexes., Material and Method: Two mg/kg of cisplatin was administered intraperitoneally twice a week for five consecutive weeks. Body weight, heat latency of hind paw and sciatic motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV), pathological alterations in the sciatic nerve and dorsal root ganglion (DRG) including the level of NGF in the sciatic nerve were examined. Untreated rats of both sexes were used as controls., Results: Weight loss, prolonged heat latency, and slow MNCV in the treated rats of both sexes with higher severity in males were showed. Furthermore, reduction in myelinated fiber diameter, myelin thickness, and myelinated fiber density was more severe in females, whereas, atrophy of neuronal cell body, nucleus, and nucleolus was more striking in males. The decreased level of NGF was similar between sexes., Conclusion: These data suggest the differences in various aspects of cisplatin neurotoxicity between sexes. However, future studies are needed to verify this issue in a clinical condition and clarify the underlying mechanisms.

Background: Paclitaxel, an anti-neoplastic agent effective against several solid tumors, has several side effects including peripheral neuropathy. So far, there are no effective treatments for this complication. Monosialic acid ganglioside (GM1) has been shown to protect neurons against injuries and degeneration. However, its efficacy in the treatment of paclitaxel-induced neuropathy has not been verified., Objective: To evaluate the effect of porcine GM1 on neurophysiological abnormalities in rats receiving paclitaxel., Material and Method: Fifty-four Wistar rats were divided into control, vehicle for paclitaxel (Cremophor EL), paclitaxel, and paclitaxel + GM1 groups. Paclitaxel 16 mg/kg/week for five consecutive weeks was given intraperitoneally. Treatment with 30 mg/kg 5 days per week of GM1 was started 3 days prior to the first dose and continued until 3 days after the last dose of paclitaxel. Tail and hind paw thermal thresholds including tail motor nerve conduction velocity (MNCV) were measured prior to and after the start of treatments. Histopathology of the sciatic nerve was also examined., Results: Paclitaxel alone induced thermal hypoalgesia and reduced tail MNCV Less severe abnormalities were also found with the vehicle. GM1 appeared to prevent the development of hypoalgesia and ameliorated the decreased MNCV without any evidence of Guillain-Barre Syndrome. Mild endoneurial edema and axonal degeneration in the sciatic nerve sections were seen in paclitaxel treated rats. Microtubule accumulation and activated Schwann cell were also presented in the paclitaxel treated groups., Conclusion: These data suggest that porcine GM1 may be useful in the prevention and treatment of paclitaxel-induced neuropathy. However the adverse effect of Cremophor EL should be of concern.

Background: The anatomy of orbital foramina appears to vary depending on the population studied Moreover; different data between sides and genders have been reported., Objective: The present study was done to provide the morphometric data of the orbitalforamina related to side and gender in Thai subjects., Material and Method: One hundred orbits from 50 adult dried skulls were used. Gender of each skull was identified and the distances from the constant landmarks to the foramina in the medial, superior; inferior and lateral walls were measured., Results: In the medial wall, the mean distances from the anterior lacrimal crest to the optic canal (OC), anterior, and posterior ethmoidalforamina were 42.2, 23.5, and 36. 0 mm for both sides and genders, respectively. The average distances from the supraorbital notch/foramen in the roof to the superior orbital fissure (SOF), OC, and lacrimal foramen were 44.7, 40.0, and 33.6 mm, respectively. In the inferior wall, the distances from the infraorbital rim to the OC, inferior orbital fissure (IOF), and the posterior edge of roof of the infraorbital canal were 46.2, 21.7, and 12.3 mm, respectively. The distances from the frontozygomatic suture to the OC, SOF, IOF and LF were 46.9, 34.5, 24.0, and 27.2 mm, respectively. When compared to those of the previous reports, several considerable differences that may be of clinical importance were observed. Moreover, some distances were significantly different between sides or genders., Conclusion: The present results suggest that race, side, and gender should be concerned during the orbital surgery and the data are good references for Thai subjects.

Background: Superficial radial nerve (SRN) that lies superficially on the radial side of the distalforearm and dorsum of the hand, can be injured by various procedures. Thus, precise knowledge in its variation is crucial., Objective: Since there were no such data in Thai population, provide the variation data of the SRN in Thai cadavers. This is likely to be more accurate when applied in Thailand., Material and Method: The authors studied the branching pattern and the course of SRN in 40 Thai cadavers., Results: The extra type, replacement of SR3 by a branch of the lateral antebrachial cutaneous nerve, was found (4.7%) and the incidences of other patterns were different from those of previous reports. Moreover; asymmetry and gender difference were also demonstrated. The authors observed the higher frequencies of the SRN lying over the snuff box and first dorsal compartment of the wrist compared to other reports. The distances to important landmarks were measured and the presented data were comparable to those of other studies with no significant differences between sides or genders., Conclusion: These findings suggest that the different variations of the SRN among various races should be concerned during the relevant procedures.

Morphometry has an important role in the interpretation of sural nerve biopsies. It is used for early detection of structural abnormalities in peripheral neuropathies. This application requires a comparison with data of normal population. However, most data in the literature were of Western subjects with a small number of samples. In this study the authors reported the morphometric data of sural nerve harvested within 24 hours after death from 78 Thai subjects without known causes of neuropathy. The samples were transversely sectioned and analyzed for the number and area of fascicles, the total number of myelinated axons, myelinated fiber diameter; myelinated axon diameter, myelin sheath thickness, g ratio and myelinated axon density. Results were discordant in some measurement parameters compared to previous reports. These data are valuable for the early recognition of peripheral nerve diseases from biopsied sural nerve of Thai subjects.

Several previous studies have introduced classifications of Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemical staining patterns in rectal suction biopsy performed in patients with Hirschsprung's disease. However, we introduce a new classification that is less complicated but shows the same age dependence as seen in previous studies. 135 rectal suction biopsies were submitted to histochemical staining for AChE activity and 88 specimens showed increased AChE activity. Therefore, we retrospectively analysed these 88 cases and could establish three patterns. Pattern I, presence of thick nerve trunks or coarse nerve fibers only in the muscularis mucosae and submucosa. This pattern was mainly seen in children aged 6 months or below. Pattern II, presence of abundant nerve fibers in all three layers of mucosa. This pattern was predominantly seen in children over 6 months of age. Pattern III, not predominant in any age group, showed positive nerve fibers in all three layers but, in one or more layers, the nerve fibers were sparse. Upon comparison with previous studies, we could observe the same age-pattern relationship. Thus, we propose this method of classification as a new tool to classify AChE histochemical staining patterns.