Reaming versus non-reaming in medullary nailing: Interference with cortical circulation of the canine tibia

Summary Medullary nails have only been used with reluctance in the treatment of open fractures since reaming interferes with the cortical circulation. The technique of interlocking offers the interesting possibility of inserting a relatively stiff nail which does not necessarily require reaming. The effects of reaming prior to nail insertion upon the cortical circulation was investigated in the canine tibia. Intravital staining with procion red was used to trace areas of disturbed circulation. Nail insertion without reaming provided clear advantages for the bone's blood supply, while reaming disturbed perfusion in two-thirds of the cortical area and regionally extended through the entire thickness of the cortex. The disturbance without reaming was limited to the inner layer of the cortex and involved only one-third of the cortical cross-section.     

Treatment of defects of the long bones using distraction osteogenesis (Ilizarov) and intramedullary nailing. Theoretic principles, animal experiments, clinical relevance

For large shaft defects of tibia and femur, distraction-compression osteosynthesis (Ilizarov) provides an ideal autologous bone graft. Combination of this with an intramedullary interlocking nail instead of an external fixator could improve patient comfort, because transport with a small external device takes only one-third of the total fixation period. Using 21 adult female sheep we created standardized tibia shaft defects 20 mm (medium size) and 45 mm (large size) in length. The tibiae were stabilized with non-reamed intramedullary interlocking nails. Following corticotomy by chisel, segments were transported using subcutaneous traction wires with a screw as a fulcrum to maintain stationary skin exit points without soft tissue problems. The external traction devices were removed after 12 or 16 weeks. Animals were sacrificed after 12 or 24 weeks with medium-size defects, and after 16 or 32 weeks with large defects. We evaluated the results clinically, by standardized weekly X-rays and, after sacrifice, by quantitative computed tomography (QCT). No animals had to be excluded from the study. Despite primary destruction of the intramedullary circulation all distraction gaps were spanned with bone. X-Rays showed typical signs of good quality of distraction bone regeneration (narrow radiolucent zone in the middle of the regenerate, longitudinal structure), continuous calcification, and cortex formation. QCT cross sections showed completely circular bone regeneration with small and large defects. Bone regeneration was faster on the dorsal side, where more bone was formed than ventrally. Small defects can remain ventrally in the regenerate; these close secondarily.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Lyme disease: recommendations for diagnosis and treatment

The incidence and the endemic range of Lyme disease in the United States have increased steadily since the disease was originally recognized in Lyme, Connecticut, in 1975. Because of the varied clinical manifestations of this illness and the use of unstandardized serologic testing methods, diagnosis is often uncertain and treatment outcomes are often difficult to evaluate. The antibiotic regimens that are commonly used in clinical practice have changed rapidly. They show much regional variation with little critical comparison of treatment results. The clinical diagnosis and the literature on the treatment of the various stages of Lyme disease are reviewed. The reported data are supplemented with recommendations based on 15 years of clinical experience with this illness.     

Induction of monocyte chemotaxis in devascularized rabbit bone

Summary Temporary impairment of blood supply has been suggested to cause bone remodeling. The degradation of cells and matrix and the attraction of resorbing cells were examined in this study. Bone specimens of rabbits were stored in vitro for 2–20 days. At the end of this aging process the probes were tested for their chemotactic activity toward autologous leukocytes in a diffusion chamber. Both supernatant from the aged bone specimens and ground bone particles exhibited significant chemotactic activity that was specifically attracting monocytes. It is suggested that soluble bone matrix proteins or degeneration products liberated during ischemic damage to cortical bone initiate the resorptive process.This work was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation, grant no. 3.857.0.83, and by the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes     

Auditory event-related magnetic fields in a tone-duration discrimination task. Source localization for the mismatch field and for a new component M2"

Auditory event related magnetic fields were measured using an odd-ball paradigm in which the rare event was a tone of short duration, D2, and the frequent one a tone of longer duration, D1. The subjects were required to attend to and count the number of rare stimuli. In the average across target stimuli a mismatch field (MMF) occurs and the dependence of the MMF, especially its latency, on the tone duration D2 is examined in detail. The location of an equivalent current dipole for the MMF-source is found and turns out to be at variance with earlier results. In addition to the MMF we propose a new component, here called MMF, which in time overlaps the magnetic equivalent of the P200 signal and which has a source location (equivalent current dipole) lying rather close to the MMF-source. The two sources are, however, active at latencies differing by a time equal to D2. We speculate that MMF indicates the onset of the process: "evaluation of tone-duration" while the MMF indicates the end of this process.     

Vergleichende In-vitro-Untersuchungen von selbstbohrenden und selbstschneidenden Schrauben

Self-drilling screws are gaining increasing importance in maxillofacial surgery. This study assesses which screw design, self-drilling or self-tapping, is best suited to various locations of the human skull. With regard to different areas in the human midface, mandible, and cranium, the thickness of cortical bone varies as well as the relative proportion of cortical to cancellous bone. Criteria used to judge the success of screws were minimal insertion torque and minimum temperature, maximum pullout strength, and minimum deformation and destruction of the bone. To mimic the variations in anatomical conditions, 1-mm and 3-mm-thick cortical bone specimens and cancellous bone blocks were prepared. Eight screws of three types (self-tapping, self-drilling/self-tapping, conically shaped self-drilling) were inserted into the different bone specimens. Torque and temperature were measured during the insertion procedure. Subsequently, the screws were carefully removed and the specimens were processed for histological evaluation. The same insertion protocol was used to test the pull-out strength of the screws. The conically shaped screw showed best results in cancellous bone for all parameters. The self-tapping screw with a pilot hole performed best in thick cortical bone and the self-drilling/self-tapping screw performed better than did the others in thin bone. The results suggest the three screw designs to be optimal for different locations of the human skull. This project provides the data for a planned in vivo study that will evaluate the long-term influence of deformation and temperature on stability and osseointegration of the screws.     

Dietary flavonoids, quercetin, luteolin and genistein, reduce oxidative DNA damage and lipid peroxidation and quench free radicals

Several dietary flavonoids such as quercetin, luteolin and genistein have been suggested to have cancer chemopreventive effects, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. In the present study, the effects of these flavonoids as antioxidants were investigated in the following systems: (1) production of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide anion (O2*-), (2) lipid peroxidation induced by FeCl2 in rat liver, and (3) formation of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) induced by either UV or Fenton reaction in calf thymus DNA. The results showed that quercetin and luteolin were equally potent in scavenging H2O2, with genistein having a moderate effect. Quercetin and luteolin had a potent inhibitory effect on O2*- generation by xanthine/xanthine oxidase while genistein had a moderate effect. Quercetin and luteolin were potent in inhibiting lipid peroxidation induced by FeCl2 in rat liver while genistein had a very weak inhibitory effect. All the test compounds had a potent quenching effect on 8-OHdG formation induced by UV light irradiation, with the order of effects being genistein > luteolin > quercetin. Of the test compounds, luteolin exhibited the most potent quenching effect on Fenton-induced 8-OHdG formation. The scavenging of oxygen free radicals, the inhibitory effect on lipid peroxidation and the quenching effect on 8-OHdG formation by quercetin, luteolin and genistein may, at least in part, be responsible for their anticarcinogenic effects.     

Fracture healing of the sheep tibia treated using a unilateral external fixator. Comparison of static and dynamic fixation

It is generally accepted that when a fracture is treated with external fixation, dynamization of the fixation accelerates formation of the bony callus by transferring part of the functional loads. The aim of the research presented here was to validate this principle using in vivo measurements of callus stiffness. We created a transverse fracture in the mid third of the tibial shaft in 12 sheep and maintained a 3 mm gap between the fragments for 3 weeks. Two types of unilateral external fixators were applied. Axial loading was permitted (dynamization) from the fourth week onwards in 6 animals. In the other 6 animals, fixation remained static for both types of fixation. Weekly measurements of callus stiffness were obtained using a goniometer and load cell to assess bending stiffness. Two slightly different fixators were used. Callus formed in all 12 animals. Callus stiffness increased exponentially to reach the degree of stiffness measured on the contralateral side. There was no clear difference in healing between the two types of fixations nor between dynamic and static fixation. If a unilateral fixator was applied which did not maintain absolutely rigid fixation, the fracture generally healed well even without contact between the fragment ends. If the process of callus formation had begun normally, dynamic fixation offered no further benefit. Measuring the stiffness of the callus with an adequate measurement apparatus in vivo indicated that the fixator could be removed earlier than would have been authorized on the basis of radiological evidence alone.     

Measurement of skeletal status after renal transplantation by quantitative ultrasound

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis remains a major problem following kidney transplantation. Radiographic measures of bone mass are of limited predictive value after transplantation and are complicated by preexisting renal osteopathy. Quantitative ultrasound (QUS) is a new and non-invasive method to assess skeletal status, however, no data exist on ultrasonic bone parameter after kidney transplantation. We evaluated the potential use of this novel method in renal allograft recipients and studied the accuracy compared to normal controls. METHOD: Thirty patients (NTP, age 47.5 +/- 13.0 years) were studied 4.8 +/- 3.2 years after transplantation. Twenty-five healthy control persons (CON) were matched for age and sex. The left and right os calcis were studied by QUS and speed of sound (SOS) and broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) were measured. Bone stiffness (BS) was calculated from these parameters and corrected for age (CBS). Differences between right and left os calcis were compared to CON to assess the side variability. RESULTS: Mean +/- SD BS was 75 +/- 22% compared to young adults, age-corrected CBS was decreased in NTP with 86 +/- 25% of normal, indicating a two-fold increased risk of fracture. SOS was 1525 +/- 47.7 m/s, BUA 105 +/- 22 dB/MHz. Mean difference between right and left os calcis was significantly higher in NTP than in CON (7.2 +/- 7.1% vs. 2.1 +/- 2.1%, p < 0.01). Limits of agreement of the measurements (MW of differences +/- 2 SD) according to a Bland-Altmann-type statistic were -16.9% and 20.7%. There was no correlation between CBS and age, cumulative steroid dose, parathyroid hormone concentrations or time after transplantation. CONCLUSION: Our data show altered bone structure expressed by low bone stiffness values measured by quantitative ultrasound in kidney transplant patients. However, because of relatively high inter-feet variance of QUS results we suggest measurement of both ossa calcis to minimize measurement error after transplantation.