Biomechanical assessment of an alternative method of staple fixation for anchoring the Bone Patellar Tendon Bone graft to the tibia

Introduction

The Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is the most commonly injured ligament around the knee and is best reconstructed with a biological graft. For ideal graft fixation, there should be sufficient initial strength to avoid failure of fixation and sufficient stiffness to restore the stability of the knee and to avoid gradual loosening in the post-operative period.When considering fixation of Bone Patellar Tendon Bone (BPTB) grafts to the tibia, the interference screw is considered to be the gold standard. As an alternative, we have used of staples and stainless steel (SS) wire to anchor the BPTB graft to the tibia and femur. The aim of this study was to assess the biomechanical efficacy of this fixation technique for anchoring the BPTB graft to the proximal tibia. We used a bovine model to compare three fixation techniques ?interference screw, braided polyester sutures tied to a screw post and SS wire tied to a staple.

Evaluation of trans-scleral diode laser using diopexy probe for subfoveal choroidal neovascular membrane in age-related macular degeneration

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate safety and short-term visual and fluorescein angiographic effects of trans-scleral diode laser photocoagulation in patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization from age-related macular degeneration (ARMD). BACKGROUND DATA: The visual outcome following treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization in ARMD is still unsatisfactory. Various forms of therapy such as laser treatment, photodynamic therapy, radiation therapy, transpupillary thermotherapy, and surgical excision have been tried with variable results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with subfoveal choroidal neo-vascularization were treated with trans-scleral diode laser using the diopexy probe under indirect ophthalmoscopic visualization and followed up at 2, 6, and 12 weeks. Standardized protocol refraction, visual acuity testing, reading speed, contrast requirement measurement, ophthalmic examinations, color fundus photographs, and fluorescein angiogram were used to evaluate the results of treatment. RESULTS: Eighteen eyes of 18 patients were included in the study between April 2000 and May 2002. At 12 weeks, 81.5% patients showed stabilization (+/-5 letters) in letter visual acuity score, and one patient showed improvement (gain of more than five letters) in letter visual acuity score. Reading speed levels and contrast requirement were found to be similar to pre-laser level at 3 months followup. At 12 weeks, moderate fluorescein leakage was seen in one eye, minimal leakage was seen in five eyes, absence of leakage was seen in 10 eyes, and progression was seen in two eyes. CONCLUSION: Transcleral diode laser treatment of subfoveal choroidal neovascular membranes in ARMD may be an effective as well as safe alternative in the management of these patients.     

Neurectomy for anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome in children

Introduction

Anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome (ACNES) is an underrecognized etiology of chronic abdominal pain that causes great morbidity to those affected. We sought to determine the outcome of neurectomy for ACNES in children.

Retroequatorial myopexy in the management of adult-onset cyclic esotropia

A 65-year-old otherwise healthy female, with bilateral normal visual acuity, presented with a unique pattern of strabismus. She complained of esotropia and diplopia occurring after every 24 h. There was no history of previous injury or ocular surgery. Other differentials were ruled out and the patient was diagnosed as adult-onset cyclic esotropia. The patient underwent right eye medial rectus retroequatorial myopexy, which tackled both diplopia and strabismus, without causing exotropia on nonsquint days.     

Development, evaluation, and application of a highly sensitive microtiter plate ELISA for human Bcl10 protein

Bcl10 (B-cell CLL/lymphoma 10) is a 233 amino acid CARD (caspase recruitment domain)-containing cellular protein, increasingly recognized as a mediator of NFkappaB activation in non-immune, as well as immune cells. Due to the importance of Bcl10 in diverse cell types, we developed a solid-phase, enzyme-linked immunosorbent (ELISA) assay to precisely measure Bcl10 in small volume cell lysates, using recombinant Bcl10 to standardize the assay. Standard curve measures Bcl10 from 0.25 ng/mL to 16 ng/mL, with very low intra- and inter-assay variation. Sample dilution and exogenous Bcl10 recovery experiments, comparisons with Western blot, and linear response to increasing doses of known Bcl10 activators confirm the specificity and precision of the ELISA.     

“NQO1 Gene C609T Polymorphism (dbSNP: rs1800566) and Digestive Tract Cancer Risk: A Meta-Analysis.”

Several studies reported that polymorphism C609T (rs1800566) in (NAD(P)H): quinoneoxidoreductase 1 (NQO1) gene is associated with risk to digestive tract (DT) cancers, like esophageal cancer (EC), gastric cancer (GC), and colorectal cancer (CRC). Authors conducted a meta-analysis to investigate association between C609T polymorphism and DT cancer risk. Eligible studies were extracted from the databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, and Springer Link. All retrieved articles were evaluated. All statistical analyses were performed using Open Meta-Analyst and MIX1.7 programs. A total of 34 studies including 12,043 DT cancer cases and 15,209 healthy controls were included in the present meta- analysis. Results of meta-analysis revealed a significant association between NQO1 C609T polymorphism and DT cancer risk adopting all 5 genetic models (T vs. C: OR = 1.21, 95% CI = 1.11–1.31, p < 0.001; TT vs. CC: OR = 1.48, 95% CI = 1.22–1.79, p < 0.001; TT + CT vs. CC: OR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.12–1.35, p < 0.001; TT vs. CT + CC: OR = 1.36, 95% CI = 1.15–1.60, p < 0.001; CT vs. CC: OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.07–1.27, p < 0.001). In the stratified analysis based on cancer types, significant associations were observed between NQO1 C609T polymorphism and GC (OR = 1.38, 95% CI = 1.11–1.72, p = 0.003) and CRC (OR = 1.18, 95% CI = 1.06–1.30, p = 0.001), but not with EC (OR = 1.16, 95% CI = 0.99–1.35, p = 0.06). Furthermore, stratified analysis based on ethnicity indicated that there was a significant association between NQO1 C609T polymorphism and DT cancer risk in the Asian (TT vs. CC: OR = 1.55, 95% CI = 1.21–2.00, p ≤ 0.001) as well as in Caucasian populations (TT vs. CC: OR = 1.34, 95% CI = 1.04–1.73, p = 0.02). In conclusion, the results of meta-analysis suggested that the NQO1 C609T polymorphism is a risk factor for DT cancers, including GC and CRC.     

Alternative fluorophores designed for advanced molecular imaging

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