Arthroscopy and microfracture technique in the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum: report of three adolescent gymnasts

The aim of this paper is to report on three cases of symptomatic osteochondritis dissecans of the humeral capitellum in adolescent gymnasts, two females and one male. In all the cases arthroscopic surgery was performed. During arthroscopy, loose osteochondral fragments were removed, the defect was debrided and microfractures were performed. All the three patients regained the full range of motion of the affected elbow, and returned to the high-level gymnastics within a period of 5 months. At 12 months follow-up, all the three patients remained symptomless and were participating in high-level gymnastics. A combination of arthroscopy and the microfracture technique is a reliable method with excellent short-term results in the treatment of the osteochondritis dissecans of the elbow.     

Rates of intestinal absorption of molybdenum in humans.

The intestinal absorption of molybdenum in healthy human volunteers has been measured by simultaneous oral and intravenous administration of the stable isotopes 95Mo and 96Mo, and the results were analysed using the convolution integral technique. The results showed that molybdenum ingested in liquid form was rapidly and totally absorbed into the circulation under ordinary intake regimes. The rates and extent of absorption were lower for composite meals, and also for increasing levels of administration. This information can be helpful in the application of the new ICRP model of the human alimentary tract.     

FFT-based digital tactile vocoder system for real-time use

A microprocessor-based real-time digital vibrotactile vocoder system has been developed to train the deaf and for artificial hearing research. The system is composed of a microcomputer module with a digital signal processor interface units and an attenuator/driver circuit. Live or digitised (stored or synthetic) speech is presented to the skin spectrally through a belt housing eight or 16 vibrators. Speech is processed in real time using a fast Fourier transform. The system is also capable of presenting any arbitrary spatiotemporal pattern on the skin for artificial hearing experiments. A preliminary experiment with a deaf subject indicates that the system is potentially an effective device for artificial hearing.     

Reversibility of calcitriol-induced medial artery calcification in rats with intact renal function.

VC is an important clinical entity; however, very little information is available on its resolution. Induction and regression of calcitriol-induced VC was studied in 47 rats. After calcitriol withdrawal, there was a relatively rapid regression of VC mediated by an active cellular process. INTRODUCTION: Vascular calcifications (VCs) represent an important risk factor for cardiovascular death. Although VCs are prevalent in relevant diseases (e.g., chronic kidney disease, osteoporosis, diabetes), the reversibility of extraskeletal calcifications is an unresolved issue. This study was conducted to investigate (1) the in vivo effect of calcitriol on VC and (2) whether calcitriol-induced VC would regress after suppression of calcitriol treatment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The calcifying effect of calcitriol was studied in four groups of rats (n = 8) that received calcitriol (1 mug/kg, IP) for 2, 4, 6, and 8 days. The reversibility of VC was studied in three additional groups (n = 5) treated with 1 mug/kg of calcitriol for 8 days that were subsequently killed 1, 2, and 9 weeks after the last calcitriol dose. Aortic VC was assessed by histology and by quantification of aortic calcium and phosphorus content. The aortic wall was studied by histology and immunohistochemistry. Statistical analysis was performed by ANOVA and t-tests. RESULTS: Calcitriol administration resulted in a time-dependent induction of VC, with aortic calcium and phosphorus being significantly increased at 6 and 8 days. Treatment with calcitriol for 8 days resulted in massive medial calcification of the aorta with a 10- to 30-fold increase in the aortic Ca and P content. After suppressing calcitriol administration, a progressive decrease in von Kossa staining and aortic Ca (from 32.8 +/- 2.5 to 9.3 +/- 1.8 mg/g of tissue, p < 0.001) and P (from 11.9 +/- 1.2 to 2.7 +/- 1.8 mg/g of tissue, p = 0.001) content was evidenced. Histology of the aortic wall showed monocytes adhered to the aortic endothelium and macrophages involved in the reabsorption of calcium deposits. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that calcitriol treatment induces time-dependent VC. After calcitriol withdrawal, VC regress rapidly with aortic calcium and phosphorus decreasing by 75% in the course of 9 weeks. An active cellular process seems to be involved in regression of VC.     

Telomerase activity in prognostic histopathologic features of melanoma.

BACKGROUND: Telomerase activity (TA) is believed to play a role in the regulation of senescence and to limit the number of cell divisions. The deregulation of telomerase appears to contribute to oncogenesis and the formation of immortal cell lines. As a result, it is believed that it could be used as a prognostic marker in melanoma. METHODS: TA was assayed by the polymerase chain reaction PCR-ELISA-based telomeric repeat amplification protocol (TRAP assay). One hundred and eight samples were distributed in four histological groups: 30 samples from primary cutaneous melanomas, 24 from peritumoural skin sites, 28 from benign melanocytic lesions, and 26 from normal skin sites as a control. RESULTS: TA was different among the four tested groups (Kruskall-Wallis test p<0.001), and increasing values of TA were observed progressing from normal skin to benign and then to malignant lesions. Among melanoma samples, there was a significant association between TA and ulceration (p=0.025), TA and vascular invasion (p=0.018) and TA and mitotic rate (p=0.029) (Mann-Whitney test). A linear regression analysis showed significant associations between the increase of TA with Breslow thickness (p=0.004) and the presence of satellites (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: We observed that TA had increased from control skin to peritumoural skin, and then to benign melanocytic lesions and finally to melanoma, suggesting tumour progression. TA showed higher values in the presence of some important histopathologic parameters related to poor prognosis in cutaneous melanoma such as ulceration, vascular invasion, satellites, high rates of mitosis, and in thicker tumours.     

Glial S100B Positive Vacuoles In Purkinje Cells: Earliest Morphological Abnormality In SCA1 Transgenic Mice

Spinocerebellar ataxia-1 (SCA1) is caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine repeat within the disease protein, ataxin-1. The overexpression of mutant ataxin-1 in SCA1 transgenic mice results in the formation of cytoplasmic vacuoles in Purkinje neurons (PKN) of the cerebellum. PKN are closely associated with neighboring Bergmann glia. To elucidate the role of Bergmann glia in SCA1 pathogenesis, cerebellar tissue from 7 days to 6 wks old SCA1 transgenic and wildtype mice were used. We observed that Bergmann glial S100B protein is localized to the cytoplasmic vacuoles in SCA1 PKN. These S100B positive cytoplasmic vacuoles began appearing much before the onset of behavioral abnormalities, and were negative for other glial and PKN marker proteins. Electron micrographs revealed that vacuoles have a double membrane. In the vacuoles, S100B colocalized with receptors of advanced glycation end-products (RAGE), and S100B co-immunoprecipated with cerebellar RAGE. In SCA1 PKN cultures, exogenous S100B protein interacted with the PKN membranes and was internalized. These data suggest that glial S100B though extrinsic to PKN is sequestered into cytoplasmic vacuoles in SCA1 mice at early postnatal ages. Further, S100B may be binding to RAGE on Purkinje cell membranes before these membranes are internalized.     

Attempted suicide in bipolar disorder pedigrees: evidence for linkage to 2p12.

BACKGROUND: We are interested in identifying susceptibility genes that predispose subjects to attempted suicide. METHODS: We conducted a secondary analysis of genome-wide linkage data from 162 bipolar pedigrees that incorporated attempted suicide as a clinical covariate. RESULTS: The strongest covariate-based linkage signal was seen on 2p12 at marker D2S1777. The logarithm of odds (LOD) score at marker D2S1777 rose from 1.56 to 3.82 after inclusion of the suicide covariate, resulting in significant chromosome-wide empirically derived p-values for the overall linkage finding (p = .01) and for the change in LOD score after the inclusion of the covariate (p = .02). CONCLUSIONS: The finding on chromosome 2 replicates results from two previous studies of attempted suicide in pedigrees with alcohol dependence and in pedigrees with recurrent early-onset depression. Combined, these three studies provide compelling evidence for a locus influencing attempted suicide on 2p12.