Computed Tomography Evaluation of Forearm and Hand Muscles in Patients With Distal Radius Fracture

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) can be used to assess bone status with measurement of Hounsfield unit (HU). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether HU of muscle might be associated with parameters of bone and muscle status. Methods: We reviewed 71 women aged over 50 yr of age who had distal radius fracture and underwent CT evaluation of affected wrist. We assessed HUs of forearm flexor muscles (flexor digitorum superficialis) and thenar muscles and bone HUs at the capitate and the ulnar head. Other parameters included femur neck and lumbar bone mineral density (BMD), upper extremity lean mass, hand grip strength, and muscle fiber cross-sectional area. We performed correlation analyses to determine associations between variables. Results: Thenar and forearm muscle HUs were significantly correlated with each other, but not with other parameters. HUs of the capitate and ulnar head were positively correlated with femur neck and lumbar BMDs and inversely correlated with age. Ulnar head HU was positively correlated hand grip strength. Conclusions: HUs of forearm and thenar muscles did not show significant correlations with bone or muscle parameters, although bone HUs correlated well with bone mineral densities. These results support the opportunistic use of CT for evaluating bone fragility. Clinical usefulness of muscle HU measurement needs further studies.     

Mechanisms linking gut microbial metabolites to insulin resistance

Insulin resistance is the rate-limiting step in the development of metabolic diseases, including type 2 diabetes. The gut microbiota has been implicated in host energy metabolism and metabolic diseases and is recognized as a quantitatively important organelle in host metabolism, as the human gut harbors 10 trillion bacterial cells. Gut microbiota break down various nutrients and produce metabolites that play fundamental roles in host metabolism and aid in the identification of possible therapeutic targets for metabolic diseases. Therefore, understanding the various effects of bacterial metabolites in the development of insulin resistance is critical. Here, we review the mechanisms linking gut microbial metabolites to insulin resistance in various insulin-responsive tissues.     

Treatment of Recurrent Hemarthrosis Following Total Knee Arthroplasty Using Surgical Interventions

BackgroudRecurrent hemarthrosis following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a rare complication. Its pathophysiology and standard treatments have not yet been established. In this study, we report 7 cases of recurrent hemarthrosis after TKA in which failure of the initial conservative treatment was followed by angiographic embolization; in 1 of the 7 cases, arthroscopic electrocauterization was also performed after treatment failure with selective embolization.MethodsFrom January 2015 to May 2018, 7 patients visited our hospital due to recurrent hemarthrosis after TKA. Their medical records and serologic test results were reviewed to check for the presence of any bleeding disorder and history of anticoagulant use. Implant malalignment and instability were checked using X-ray. In all cases, the conservative treatment failed, so interventional angiography with selective embolization was performed, which was also followed by arthroscopic electrocauterization if the outcome was unsatisfactory.ResultsThe interval between TKA and the onset of hemarthrosis ranged from 3 to 76 months (average, 34.1 months). There was no coagulopathy and instability. All patients underwent conservative treatment at an interval of 4.3 months and the rate of relapse was 3.1 on average. On the interventional angiography, 6 cases showed vascular blush, and 1 case had pulsatile bleeding. The average duration for interventional angiography was 90.9 minutes. The average length of follow-up was 38.8 months. Embolization was successfully performed in 4 cases. In 2 of 3 failed cases, the symptoms improved without further treatment. In the remaining 1 failed case, the patient had a relapse of hemarthrosis, so an arthroscopic procedure was performed, which led to identification of the suspicious bleeding point by using preoperative angiographic findings. Electrocauterization was performed and active bleeding was stopped. All cases with recurrent hemarthrosis achieved improvement.ConclusionsInterventional angiography was used to aid in the diagnosis of recurrent hemarthrosis, and therapeutic selective embolization provided satisfactory clinical results. Even if selective embolization fails, interventional angiography may be helpful for further surgical procedures because it reveals vascular blush of a bleeding site. Therefore, interventional angiography and selective embolization should be considered to be a useful treatment for recurrent hemarthrosis after TKA.     

TNF与急性早幼粒细胞白血病

１６例急性早幼粒细胞白自病患者血清ＴＮＦ活性明显高于正常对照（Ｐ＜０．０５），而经ＲＡ诱导分化治疗中期及治疗后明显降低（Ｐ＜０．０５），但仍高于正常对照组。各治疗时相的外周白细胞浆内ＴＮＦ平均水平及正常对照间均无明显差别（Ｐ＞０．０５），治疗前及治疗中期胞浆ＴＮＦ活性升高率明显高于治疗后或正常对照（Ｐ＜０．０５）。相关分析表明：血清ＴＮＦ活性水平与外周血ＷＢＣ总数或骨髓ＧＭ－ＣＦＵ无明显相关，而与     

Facilitating visuospatial attention for the contralateral hemifield by repetitive TMS on the posterior parietal cortex

Previous studies have demonstrated that repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) could modulate the visuospatial functions. In this study, we investigated the effect of off-line high frequency subthreshold rTMS, when applied over the right or left posterior parietal cortex (PPC), on the visuospatial attention of the bilateral hemispaces. The subjects underwent visuospatial tasks before and immediately after receiving 1000 pulses of 10 Hz rTMS for a period of 20 min, and their responses were recorded. Our results demonstrated that the high frequency rTMS applied over the PPC produced facilitative effects on the visuospatial attention to the contralateral hemispace. The inhibitory effect to the ipsilateral hemispace was noticeable only in the left PPC.     

Aberrant gene expression associated with recurrent pregnancy loss

Recent studies indicate that a number of factors including chromosomal abnormalities, immunological feto-maternal rejection, hormonal irregulation and anatomical factors are involved in provoking recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL). This indicates that normal cellular regulation of these factors is required for maintaining normal pregnancy. In addition, it is expected that biological processes for maintaining normal pregnancy require a series of differential gene expression. As expected, our previous investigations revealed that there are >/=30 genes showing different levels of expression between normal and RPL patients. In addition, other research groups have also identified a number of genes that are expressed aberrantly in pregnancy failure. In this review, recent study on aberrant expression levels of genes, which are grouped as immunity-related, angiogenesis-related, apoptosis-related and other groups of genes, will be discussed.     

卫生资源优化配置的伦理要求

1　医学目的和卫生资源的配置卫生资源的配置问题 ,不是一个孤立的问题 ,它是同一定的医学目的联系在一起的 ,一定的医学目的 ,对卫生资源的配置起着导向作用 ,是为一定的医学目的服务的。传统医学由于受科学技术和社会发展的局限 ,以及受传统疾病模式的影响 ,只能把医学的目的定位于对疾病的治疗上 ,向一个消防队员一样 ,哪里有火、火大 ,就把目标投向哪里 ,从而终日疲于奔命 ,和这种医学目的相适应 ,这时的卫生资源配置就只能是把大部分卫生资源用于对疾病的诊治上。随着社会的发展 ,疾病模式发生了显著的变化 ,这种救火式的医疗 ,致使一…     

Metabolism of saikosaponin c and naringin by human intestinal bacteria

By human intestinal bacteria, saikosaponin c was transformed to four metabolites, prosaikogenin E1 (E1) prosaikogenin E2 (E2), prosaikogenin E3 (E3) and saikogenin E. Metabolic time course of saikosaponin c was as follows; in early time, saikosaponin c was converted to E1 and E2, and then these were transformed to saikogenin E via E3. Also, this metabolic pathway was similar to the metabolism of saikosaponin c by rat intestinal bacteria.Bacteroides JY-6 andBacteroides YK-4, the bacteria isolated from human intestinal bacteria, could transform saiko-saponin c to E via E1 (or E2) and E3. However, these bacteria were not able to directly transform E1 and E2 to saikogenin E. Naringin was mainly transformed to naringenin by human intestinal bacteria. The minor metabolic pathway transformed naringin to naringenin via prunin. By JY-6 or YK-4, naringin was metabolized to naringenin only via prunin.