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Introduction & Objective: Acute injuries of the spine and spinal cord are among the most common causes of severe post-traumatic disability and death. The sample population was defined with respect to gender, age, cause of injury and neurological impairment (based on Frankel Grading System) to see whether these properties are similar to those of other studies. Materials & Methods: This is a prospective study conducted in Shiraz Nemazi Hospital to evaluate 85 new patients (68 men & 17 women) with a traumatic vertebral column injury (VCI) admitted in 1381. Results: The mean age was 35 ± 12 (Min15day-old baby, Max70 year-old man). The highest frequency of injuries was observed between ages of 20-29 for adults.The male female ratio was 4 to1. Motor vehicle accidents were the leading cause of VCI (54.11%), followed by falls (42.35%).The most common site of injury was thoracolumbar region (40%) while the most common neurological impairments were found in thoracic fractures (75%). A total of 60% of our patients had different degrees of neurological deficits (Frankel B-D), however, 32.44% of them were complete (Frankle A). Conclusion: Our focus on the traumatic VCI and its major etiology revealed that efforts should be made to prevent collisions on the road. It highlights the need for a national prevention strategy and a nation-wide epidemiological study in our country.

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Introduction & Objective: Nowadays, cellular and tissues transplant has become the focus of attention for spinal cord injury. It has been shown olfactory nerve cells or olfactory mucosa whi have more efficient on nervous tissue repair and they have been more studied in experimental study. Furthermore, they were used in a few clinical centers for spinal defect. But mucosa tissue and spinal tissue have different structure and there is doubt about the integration of mucosa tissue in nervous tissue. Thus, in this research the morphology and the effect of the fetal olfactory mucosa (FOM) on spinal tissue sparing were studied after transplanted into the spinal cord hemisection in rats. Materials & Methods: This experimental study was conducted at Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2008. Of thirty eight female Sprague-Dawley (200-250g) rats twenty- eight were spinally hemisected at the L1 spinal level and were randomized into two groups of 14 animals. Treatment group received FOM graft and the control group received fetal respiratory mucosa graft (FRM). The other animals received surgical procedure without spinal cord injury as a sham group. The morphology of the transplant region and spinal tissue sparing was examined histological eight weeks after transplantation. The collected data was analyzed by the SPSS software using ANOVA and the morphology of the transplant region were studied by light microscope. Results: Histological study showed that the both mucosa tissues could not integrate with the parenchyma of the spinal tissue. Although the FOM were fused more than the FRM with the host tissue but clear boundary was seen at the graft–host interface. The mean spinal tissue sparing of the treatment group increased a little compare to the control but a significant difference was not apparent whereas, the spinal tissue sparing in treatment and control groups compare to the sham group decreased significantly (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Transplantation of the mucosa tissue directly, into the spinal cord injury was created different cytoarchitecture with spinal tissue and FOM partially preserving tissue sparing.

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Abstract Background & aim: Nervous system is one of the organs that suffer from the side-effects of diabetes. This study investigated the effect of Juglans regia ethanolic leafextract on lumbo-sacral spinal cord in 18 and 20 days old fetus of diabetic mother rats. Methods: A total of 16 Sprague Dawley female rats became diabetic by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (50 mg/kg). The animals were randomly divided into four groups. Rats in all groups became pregnant by natural mating. In their first day of pregnancy, they received walnut leaf extract at a dose of 250 mg/ kg. After formation of the nervous system, two fetuses were obtained after anesthezing animals on 18th and 20th gestational days.The animals were euthanized, their birth weight were recorded and the lumbo-sacral spinal cord samples were taken and fixed. Tissue sections were prepared by routine procedures and different histological parameters were examined. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Results: Significant decrease in the transverse diameter, vertical diameter, and the number of neurons in the spinal cord gray matter of the spinal cord at days 18 and 20 of pregnancy in the diabetic group compared to other groups was observed (p ≤ 0.05) and a significant difference in the number of neurons in the spinal cord white matter was observed on day 18 of pregnancy (p≤0.05). Conclusion: This study confirmed the ameliorative effects of ethanolic extract of walnut leaves in controlling the metabolic disorders in diabetic pregnancy on the fetus's central nervous system. Key words: Juglans regia leaves, Diabetic, Spinal cord

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Abstract Background & aim: Diabetes can affect the spinal cord, an important part of the central nervous system. Fenugreek seed has been suggested to have potential antidiabetic effects. This study was conducted to assess the effects of Fenugreek seed extract (trigonella foenum-graecum ) on fetal spinal cord structure, specifically in the brachial enlargement cord in an 18-day old fetus of diabetic mothers treated with extracts in comparison with the control groups' mothers. Methods: In the present cross-sectional study, sixteen healthy female rats were randomly divided into four equal groups: Healthy control, Diabetes control, Fenugreek control, Fenugreek treatment. Diabetes was induced by intraperitoneal injection of Streptozotcin (50 mg/kg). All four groups became pregnant by natural mating. After formation of the nervous system, two fetuses from each group were expelled by cesarean after performing anesthesia on the animals on 18th day of pregnancy furthermore their brachial enlargement spinal cord samples were taken. Finally, the tissue sections were prepared by routine procedures and diverse histological parameters were examined. The collected data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. Results: results showed that fetal body weight on the diabetic control group was significantly higher compared to the other groups (P≤ 0/05). Moreover, significant reductions in the transvers and vertical diameters in central channel of the spinal cord and as well in the number of neurons of the spinal cord gray matter in the diabetic control groups in comparison with the other groups were observed (P≤0/05). Conclusion: The hyperglycemic effect of maternal diabetes during fetal period causes abnormalities, especially in the brachial enlargement of spinal cord, including changes in the spinal cord and neurons number in the gray matter. Disorders occurring in the prenatal remains and may perhaps cause lack of ability to perform certain physical activities. Key words: Fenugreek, Streptozotocin, Diabetes, Spinal Cord

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Background & aim: Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common medical complication experienced by individuals living with SCI . Several factors are responsible for the high prevalence of UTIs in individual with SCI. Concerns regarding the overuse of antibiotics in individuals with SCI and emerge multi-drug-resistant bacteria , has prompted consideration for consumer –directed alternatives to improve urinary tract health. This study was designed to evaluation of cranberry juice on bacteriuria and pyuria and in spinal cord injured patients with neurogenic bladder in Shahrekord, Iran. Methods: This study was randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial .60 patients (51 male and 9 female) with creatinine levels below 1.5 mg/dl and in the analysis of their urine white blood cell (WBC) counts were greater than 10 in a high-powered field (pyuria) or with a presence of bacteriuria (>= 104 cc/ml) in their urine culture selected in this study. Urine analysis and culture were carried out at before and after intervention.Samples was divided into two two groups of 30.The case patients were given a dose of 250 to 300 ml of cranberry juice cocktail with 30% concentration, daily with meals.The control group was fed the same amount of a placebo cocktail.After two weeks, first morning urine analysis and culture test were done.Data collected and analyzed using K-squared method using the SPSS software and Paired-T test technique. Results: Urine analysis and culture before and after interventions show , Urinary PH in case and control groups did not any significant statistical difference before and after intervention (P>0.05). A change in pyuria and bacteriuria levels in case patients was observed after the treatment which was statistically significant (P<0.05). However, after treatment, the bacterial colony count in the case patients had dropped as a result of the cranberry juice consumption.the urine foul-smell was noticeably reduced in treated case patients (CI>95٪). Conclusion: Consumption of cranberries can be effective in treating SCI patients with UTI under certain conditions. The effectiveness was most profound in patients with normal GFR who did not use urinary catheter for urination. The effectiveness was especially seen in short term reduction of pyuria and bacteriuria levels and in reduction of foul-smelling of patient's urine.

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Background & aim: Spinal cord injury is a devastating damage that can cause motor and sensory deficits reducing quality of life and life expectancy of patients. Stem cell transplantation can be one of the promising therapeutic strategies. Bone marrow is a rich source of stem cells that is able to differentiate into various cell types. In this study, bone marrow stem cells were transplanted into mice spinal cord injury model to evaluate the motor function test.

Methods: Bone marrow stem cells were isolated from 3 mice. Thirty six mice were randomly divided into 3 groups: the control, sham and experimental. In sham group, mice were subjected to spinal cord compression. In experimental group, one day after lesion, isolated stem cells (200,000) were injected intravenously. Assessment of locomotor function was done by Toyama Mouse Score (TMS) after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 week post-injury. The data were analyzed using one-way Analysis of Variance and Tukey tests and statistical software Graph Pad and SPSS.P > 0/05 was considered as significant difference.

 Results: The score of TMS after cell transplantation was higher in cell transplantation group (experimental), while it was significantly higher after fifth week when compared to other groups.

Conclusion: The increase in TMS score in cell transplantation group showed that injection of stem cells in acute spinal cord injury can have a therapeutic effect and promote locomotor function.