The surgical management of resistant club foot by rotation skin flap and extensive soft tissue release

Summary Resistant club foot remains an unsolved problem because of the complex aetiological and pathological factors, and is still seen quite frequently, especially in developing countries. The posteromedial skin contracture is a potent deforming force which is responsible for many failures or relapses. I report the results of an operation in which a rotation skin flap was combined with an extensive soft-tissue release. The age of the children was from 9 months to 10 years. The follow-up period was from one to 9 years with an average of 43 months, and in 50 cases for more than 5 years. I consider that the outcome has been excellent or good in 94 out of 100 feet.

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Résumé Le pied bot invétéré demeure un problème mal résolu en raison de la complexité des facteurs étiologiques et anatomiques et il est encore bien souvent rencontré, notamment dans les pays en voie de développement. La rétraction cutanée postéro-interne représente un puissant élément de la déformation, qui est responsable de bon nombre d'échecs ou de récidives. Nous rapportons les résultats d'une opération qui associe un lambeau cutané de rotation à la libération des parties molles. L'âge des enfants était compris entre neuf mois et dix ans. Le recul est de un à neuf ans, avec une moyenne de 43 mois. Cinquante enfants ont été suivis plus de cinq ans. Les résultats sont excellents ou bons dans 94% des cas.

     

Study on the Mechanism of the Annexin I -Mediated Co-Assembly of t-PA and Plasminogen

In order to further investigate the effect of annexin Ⅱ (Ann- Ⅱ ) on tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)-dependent plasminogen (PLG) activation and its interactive mechanism, recombinant native Ann- Ⅱ bound t-PA, PLG and plasmin with high affinity was examined. The flow cytometric assay showed that the ann- Ⅱ expression rate was higher in the human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) (87. 65 %) than in the HL-60 cells as controls (35. 79 %). Two irrelevant proteins,bovine serum albumin (BSA) and equine IgG (EIG) had no effect on the production of plasmin.Ann- Ⅱ -mediated enhancement of t-PA-dependent PLG activation was inhibited by ε-aminocaproic acid or by pretreatment of Ann- Ⅱ with carboxypeptidase B with the inhibitive rate being 77.8 % and 77. 0 %, respectively. It was revealed that the effect of Ann- Ⅱ on PLG activation was specific for tPA. Urokinase didn‘t bind to Ann- Ⅱ , demonstrating the role of receptor-related lysine residues on activation of PLG, showing that the Ann- Ⅱ -PLG interaction was dependent upon carboxyl-terminal lysine residues. These findings suggest that annexin Ⅱ -mediated co-assembly of t-PA and PLG may promote plasmin generation and play a key role in modulating fibrinolysis on the endothelial surface.     

Adipose tissue as target organ in the treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer: new therapeutic perspectives

Breast cancer is the female malignant neoplasia with the highest incidence in the industrialized world. Despite many undeniable therapeutic successes obtained, breast cancer still remains, however, a major health issue. In the last few years, thanks to aromatase inhibitors, the hormone therapy for oestrogen-dependent breast cancer has evolved in terms of efficacy and tolerability; at the same time, it has enabled us to better define the role of oestrogens in the etiopathogenesis of this tumour. Weight increase and obesity have been identified as the most important risk and prognostic factors for breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the association of obesity with postmenopausal breast cancer. A more recent hypothesis suggests that adipocytes and their autocrine (paracrine and endocrine actions) are at the centre of such an etiopathogenetic mechanism. A better understanding of the main mechanisms that link together menopause, body-weight increase and hormone-dependent breast cancer is paramount to enable the identification of key molecules involved in the development of breast carcinoma and suggest new therapeutic options. The present review will discuss important findings on the therapeutic aspects of adipose tissue and adipokines as a target for treatment of hormone-dependent breast cancer.     

卡铂碳包铁纳米笼壳聚糖微球 在肝癌大鼠模型体内的分布和药动学研究

 目的 观察卡铂碳包铁纳米笼壳聚糖微球 （ carboplatin-Fe@C-loaded chitosan nanoparticles ， C - Fe@C-CN ）结合磁场在移植性肝癌大鼠模型体内的靶向分布情况和药动学过程。 方法 建立移植性肝癌大鼠模型 40 只为 A 组， 正中开腹行肝动脉插管，按卡铂 5 mg·kg^-1 体重注入 C-Fe@C-CN 的生理盐水分散液，以肿瘤组织为靶区施加 0.5 T 磁场 30 min 。分别在给药后 0.25 ， 0.5 ， 1 ， 3 ， 6 ， 12 ， 24 和 48 h 各时间点，每组取 5 只大鼠处死，采集血浆、靶区肿瘤、非靶区肝、肾、脾和肺组织标本，石墨炉原子分光光度计测定血浆和组织中卡铂浓度，药物浓度数据用 3P87 药动学程序分析处理，并组织学 观察 C-Fe@C-CN 的在各脏器分布情况。 另 40 只健康大鼠为 B 组，以左肝叶为靶区，给予相同的处理作为对照。 结果 A 组靶区肿瘤组织 <> c _max 是 65.21 μg·g^-1 ，为 B 组靶区肝组织（ 38.47 μg·g^-1 ）的 1.7 倍。 48 h 时 A 组靶区肿瘤组织药物浓度是 7.27 μg·g^-1 ，为 B 组靶区肝组织（ 3.11 μg·g^-1 ）的 2.3 倍。 A 组靶区肿瘤组织 AUC 是 906 mg·h·L^-1 ，为 B 组靶区肝组织（ 421.34 mg·h·L^-1 ）的 2.2 倍。 2 组药动学参数值相近。病理学观察 显示， C-Fe@C-CN 在磁场作用下聚集于肿瘤细胞间隙中，并可栓塞于部分细小动脉。非靶区肝组织内少见 C-Fe@C-CN 的聚集和栓塞的血管。 结论 C-Fe@C-CN 在体内具有长循环和缓释特性，在磁场的引导下对肿瘤组织具有更强的靶向性，成倍提高肿瘤组织中的药物浓度，延长维持时间。     

Necrotizing soft tissue infections

Necrotizing soft tissue infections (NSTI) represent a spectrum of diseases characterized by extensive rapidly progressive necrosis that may involve the skin, subcutaneous tissues, fascia or muscle. Their progress is extremely fast, leading often to sepsis and septic shock that ends up in multiple organ failure with abrupt and high mortality. A variety of classification systems have been developed based on parameters such as anatomic location of the disease or microbiology. There are a number of factors that predispose to the spread of these soft tissue infections, such as delays in recognition, immune suppression, diabetes mellitus and advanced age. The use of broad‐spectrum antibiotics tends to mask the severity of the underlying infection, modulates the clinical presentation, and even delays hospital admission. The most important factor affecting outcome in NSTI is early diagnosis and aggressive radical surgical treatment. The medical records of 13 patients who had been treated for NSTI from 1996 to 2005 were reviewed, retrospectively. There were eight men (61.5%) and five (38.5%) women. Mean age was 56 years (range 27–73). Seven cases of infection involved the perineal region (54%), two the lower limb, one the upper limb and three the abdominal wall/trunk. The most common associated comorbidity was diabetes mellitus in five patients (38.5%). A single organism was identified in two (15%) and multiple organisms in 11 (85%) patients. Necrotizing aponeurositis Type I was the most common of the polymicrobial necrotizing infections. Overall survival was 85%, and the mean hospital stay for survivors was 35 days (range 17–92).     

Sutureless bowel anastomosis using Nd:YAG laser

Small bowel anastomoses were performed without sutures by using the Nd:YAG laser to produce welded enterotomies. Optimal energy levels for contact and noncontact laser were determined. Anastomoses produced using five target energy levels between 100 and 500 J were examined. Short-term anastomotic strength of these enterotomies was measured 1 min after the welding. Bursting pressure of the laser welded enterotomies was compared to the bursting pressure of traditional two-layer, inverting, interrupted sutured bowel anastomoses. The overall mean bursting pressure of non-contact-welded enterotomies was 50.6 mmHg. Optimal laser settings determined in this initial phase were then used to produce anastomoses in rabbits which are recovered postoperatively for 1 or 2 weeks in order to examine long-term viability and integrity of the anastomoses. All chronic rabbit preparations recovered without complication. The mean bursting pressure was 200 mmHg, not significantly different from that of uncut bowel or two-layer sutured anastomosis.     

Improved haemorheology associated with a reduction in plasma fibrinogen and LDL in patients being treated by heparin-induced extracorporeal LDL precipitation (HELP)

Heparin-induced Extracorporeal LDL-Precipitation (HELP) is an effective procedure for the elimination of both plasma LDL and fibrinogen. In 10 adult patients with severe type II hyperlipoproteinemia, a single HELP treatment of 3 1 plasma led to an acute decrease in the average plasma viscosity (PV) from 1.30 to 1.1 mPas. At the same time, an even more marked decrease in the mean erythrocyte aggregation rate from a pathological value of 7.9% to a value of 3.7% (normal range less than 5%) was observed. Long-term studies on five patients demonstrated a lasting improvement in these two haemorheological variables. The acute rheological changes were also accompanied by an improvement in polarographically determined muscle oxygen tension. Mean oxygen tension values measured in both the m.biceps brachii and the m.tibialis anterior in five patients before and after a single HELP treatment increased from 30 +/- 4 to 37 +/- 7 mmHg and from 27 +/- 2 to 31 +/- 3 mmHg respectively. These results may provide an explanation for the rapid improvement in patients' clinical symptoms such as angina pectoris and in stress electrocardiogram which have been observed during HELP therapy.     

pp60c-src encoded by the proto-oncogene c-src is a product of sensory neurons

The advent of recombinant DNA technology has led to the identification in the DNA of normal animal cells of over 30 proto-oncogenes that are homologous to retroviral transforming genes. One of these encodes a protein kinase (pp60c-src) of unknown function, that is preferentially synthesized in brain and neural retina. Here the expression of pp60c-src in the peripheral nervous system was examined in sensory neurons from chick dorsal root ganglia with antisera raised against the transforming protein of Rous sarcoma virus (pp60v-src) expressed in Escherichia coli carrying the cloned v-src gene. This antiserum recognizes pp60c-src specifically in normal chicken cells. Western immunoblotting showed that dorsal root ganglia of stage 30 (day 6.5) chick embryos contained elevated levels of pp60c-src. Immunoperoxidase staining of neuron-enriched cultures prepared from chick dorsal root ganglia showed pp60c-src immunoreactivity in cells with neuronal morphology; flat, fibroblastic cells contained no detectable immunoreactivity. Indirect double immunofluorescence with pp60src antibodies and monoclonal antibodies against the 200-kD subunit of neurofilament protein confirmed that the cells expressing pp60c-src were neurons. Ninety-six percent of the neurofilament-positive cells were immunoreactive with pp60src antibodies, and conversely, all pp60c-src-positive cells were immunoreactive with neurofilament antibodies. pp60c-src immunofluorescence appeared to be distributed over the cell body, processes, and growth cones. These results clearly demonstrate that pp60c-src is a product of neurons and is expressed in sensory neurons in culture.     

神经内结缔组织增生与三叉神经脱髓鞘的关系

目的探讨三叉神经痛（trigeminal neuralgia，TN）患者三叉神经患支内结缔组织改变与神经脱髓鞘的关系。方法对手术切取的TN患者三又神经患支标本及对照标本行髓鞘染色，在光镜及电镜下观察神经横截面形态改变，并采用图像分析仪进行半定量测量。结果形态观察及图像分析结果都显示TN患者三叉神经患支明显脱髓鞘，神经内结缔组织显著增生，F检验证实二者存在显著线性正相关。结论TN患者三叉神经惠支内神经内结缔组织增生，可能是TN发生的重要机制之一。