A Case Report of Ablepharon-Macrostomia Syndrome with Amniotic Membrane Grafting

We describe a rare case of an infant who was born with multiple congenital anomalies, including the absence of eyelids. This patient had many dysmorphic features consistent with a severe phenotype of ablepharon-macrostomia syndrome (AMS) including a fish-like appearance of the mouth, rudimentary ears, absence of body hair, thin skin, absent nipples, abdominal distension, and genital abnormalities. Upon presentation, there was severe exposure keratopathy causing large bilateral sterile ulcers culminating in corneal melting of both eyes. An amniotic membrane graft was used to attempt to maintain the corneal surface integrity. However, because of the late presentation, the corneas could not be salvaged. Extensive surgical reconstruction of both eyelids and bilateral penetrating keratoplasty was ultimately performed successfully to protect the ocular surfaces while trying to maximize the visual potential. Early amniotic membrane grafting may be done at the bedside and may help preserve the ocular in patients with severe eyelid deformities until more definitive treatment is performed.Key Words: Ablepharon, Macrostomia, Congenital eyelid anomalies, Absent hair, Absent eyelids     

Revascularization interventions for ischemic heart disease

Coronary artery bypass grafting and percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty are now well established methods of myocardial revascularization. The choice of a method of revascularization depends on several clinical and angiographic parameters. Patients who derive the greatest benefit from coronary artery bypass grafting are those with left main coronary artery disease or those with three-vessel disease with left ventricular impairment. Patients with single-vessel disease achieve more symptomatic relief with coronary angioplasty than with medical therapy alone, but with no improvement in long-term mortality. In nondiabetic patients with multiple-vessel disease, angioplasty and bypass grafting likely yield similar results, and the choice of revascularization technique rests on weighing the more invasive nature of bypass grafting against the need for additional future revascularizations with angioplasty. Diabetic patients with multiple-vessel disease seem to achieve better outcomes with bypass grafting. Minimally invasive bypass surgery is an evolving technique. It is less invasive in nature but its applications are limited, and its advantages over traditional bypass grafting have not yet been shown. Stenting now plays a major role in percutaneous revascularization and is performed in more than two thirds of all interventional procedures. It improves both the short-term and the long-term outcomes of coronary angioplasty. Other novel percutaneous techniques such as directional or rotational atherectomy, laser angioplasty, or thrombectomy devices have not shown convincing superiority over coronary angioplasty alone. Transmyocardial laser revascularization can be performed surgically or percutaneously and may be beneficial in patients with angina refractory to traditional revascularization procedures.     

Inflammatory bowel disease in rats： Bacterial and chemical interaction

AIM：To develop a novel model of colitis in rats, using a combination of iodoacetamide and enteropathogenic E. coli（EPEC）, and to elucidate the pathophysiologic processes implicated in the development of ulcerative colitis （UC）.
METHODS： Hale Sprague-Dawley rats （/7 = 158） were inoculated intrarectally on a weekly basis with 4 different combinations： （a） 1% methylcellulose （HC）, （b） 100 μL of 6% iodoacetamide （IA） in 1% HC, （c） 200 p.L containing 4×10^8 colony factor units （CFU） of EPEC, and （d） combined treatment of （IA） followed by bacteria （13） after 2 d. Thirty days post treatment, each of the four groups was divided into two subgroups; the inoculation was stopped for one subgroup and the other subgroup continued with biweekly inoculation until the end of the experiment. Colitis was evaluated by the clinical course of the disease, the macroscopic and microscopic alterations, activity of myeloperoxidase （HPO）, and by TNF-α gene expression. RESULTS： Findings indicative of UC were seen in the combined treatment （IA ＋ B） as well as the IA continued treatment groups： the animals showed slow rate of increase in body weight, diarrhea, bloody stools, high colonic ulcer score, as well as histological alterations characteristic of UC, with an extensive inflammatory reaction. During the course of the experiment, the MPO activity was consistently elevated and the TNF-α gene expression was upregulated compared to the control animals.
CONCLUSION： The experimental ulcerative colitis model used in the present study resembles, to a great extent, the human disease. It is reproducible with characteristics indicative of chronicity.     

Cement pulmonary embolism after percutaneous vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty: An overview

BACKGROUND: Because of the aging of the American population, osteoporotic vertebral fractures are becoming a common problem in the elderly. Minimally invasive percutaneous vertebral augmentation techniques have gained a great deal of importance in relieving the pain associated with these fractures, and are becoming the standard of care. METHODS: These procedures involve the injection of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) into the vertebral body. However, these techniques have their complications, and among these, pulmonary embolism is one of the most feared. It is attributable to the passage of cement into the pulmonary vasculature. After encountering a case of PMMA embolism in our practice, we decided to highlight this topic and discuss the incidence, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and treatment of cement pulmonary embolisms.     

Fatigue resistance and microleakage of CAD/CAM ceramic and composite molar crowns

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine effect of compressive cyclic loading on fatigue resistance and microleakage of monolithic CAD/CAM molar ceramic and composite crowns. Materials and Methods: Thirty‐two extracted molars were prepared to receive CEREC crowns according to manufacturer's guidelines using a special paralleling device (Parallel‐A‐Prep). Sixteen feldspathic ceramic crowns (VITABLOCS Mark II) (VMII) and 16 resin‐composite crowns (Paradigm‐MZ100 blocks) (PMZ) were milled using a CEREC‐3D machine. Eight crowns of each group were cemented to their respective teeth using self‐etching resin cement (Panavia‐F‐2.0) (PAN), and eight were cemented using self‐adhesive resin cement (RelyX‐Unicem‐Clicker) (RXU). Following storage for 1 week in water, specimens were subjected to uniaxial compressive cyclic loading in an Instron testing machine at 12 Hz for 1,000,000 cycles. Load was applied at the central fossa, and the cycle range was 60–600 N. Specimens were then subjected to microleakage testing. Data were statistically analyzed using factorial ANOVA and Post Hoc (Tukey HSD) tests. Results: All composite crowns survived compressive cyclic loading without fracture, while three ceramic crowns from the subgroup cemented with RXU developed surface cracks at the center of occlusal surfaces, extending laterally. Microleakage scores of ceramic crowns cemented with PAN were significantly lower than those of the other three subgroups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: After 1,000,000 cycles of compressive cyclic loading, PMZ composite molar crowns were more fatigue‐resistant than VMII ceramic crowns. Cement type had a significant effect on fatigue resistance of the ceramic crowns but not the composite ones. Microleakage scores of ceramic crowns cemented with PAN were significantly lower than those of the other subgroups (p < 0.05).