Lumbar spinal stenosis operative treatment--early results]

Early results (12 weeks after surgery) of the lumbar spinal stenosis operative treatment were assessed in the group of 36 patients (aged 40-65 years). In 72% of patients posterior fusion was applied. In the results evaluation lumbar pain, low extremities pain, neurogenic claudicat ion, sensory disturbances and functional status were taken in account. A significant decrease in low extremities and lumbar pain was observed. Some sensory disturbances after operative treatment did not affect general high patients assessment of the performed surgical procedures (positive 80.5% cases).     

Early recognition of newborn goat kids by their mother: II. Auditory recognition and evidence of an individual acoustic signature in the neonate

The vocal recognition of newborn kids by their mother at 2 days postpartum and the possible existence of interindividual differences in the voice structure of newborn kids were investigated in two separate studies. The ability of goats to discriminate between the bleats of their own versus an alien kid was tested at 2 days postpartum in mothers being prevented access to visual and olfactory cues from the young. Goats spent significantly more time on the side of the enclosure from which their own kid was bleating, looked in its direction for longer, and responded more frequently to the bleats of their own than to those of the alien kid (p < 0.05). In the second study, the sonograms of 13 kids, studied from Days 1 to 5, showed significant interindividual differences for the five variables taken into account and on each of the 5 days (duration of bleat, fundamental frequency, peak frequency, and numbers of segments and of harmonics). The potential for individual coding ranged between 1.1 and 4.1, indicating that for some variables variations between individuals were greater than intraindividual variations. Furthermore, when considering the five parameters together, the discriminating scores showed an average of 95% in the 78 combinations of any 2 kids for any given day. Finally, some significant intraindividual differences also were found between days, suggesting ontogenic changes in the characteristics of the kid's voice in early life. Therefore, mother goats are likely to recognize the vocalizations of their 48-hr-old kids, as they show sufficient interindividual variability to allow the existence of individual vocal signatures, even though some of the characteristics of the bleats change rapidly over time.     

Acetabular wall deficiency in primary and secondary total hip replacement

Thirty-eight cases of reconstruction of acetabular wall deficiency in primary and secondary total hip replacement were evaluated according to Merle d’Aubigne-Postel and Gruen’s ratings, after a follow-up of between 1 and 8 years. 16 of them were considered very good, 11 good, 7 fair and 4 poor. The reconstructions were performed by inserting cemented Weller’s or cementless Parhoffer-Mönch’s or Mittelmeier’s cups, depending on patients age and the nature of the lesion. In dysplastic hips the bone stock deficiency of the anterior wall and the roof were reconstructed with the use of massive autogenous cortical bone graft fixed with screws. In cases of Otto-Chrobak disease and in protrusions of Austin-Moore’s prostheses, cancellous auto- or allogenous bone grafts healed correctly even after implantation of cemented sockets. The reconstruction of the acetabulum in an intrapelvic protrusion of the endoprosthesis, especially cemented ones, was always technically difficult, threatening the vessels and intrapelvic organs. This operation requires good experience as well as:

1. thorough radiographic diagnosis (CT, angiography external iliac artery and vein),
2. an appropriate surgical approach,
3. the use of a sufficient amount of cortico-cancellous bone auto- or allograft,
4. implantation of cemented or cementless cups depending on the patient’s age,
5. restriction of weight-bearing even up to 5 months.

In old patients, an alternative to full reconstruction is to remove the endoprosthesis and to leave a hanging hip (Girdlestone pseudarthrosis).     

One Health surveillance of West Nile and Usutu viruses: a repeated cross-sectional study exploring seroprevalence and endemicity in Southern France, 2016 to 2020

BackgroundWest Nile virus (WNV) and Usutu virus (USUV), two closely related flaviviruses, mainly follow an enzootic cycle involving mosquitoes and birds, but also infect humans and other mammals. Since 2010, their epidemiological situation may have shifted from irregular epidemics to endemicity in several European regions; this requires confirmation, as it could have implications for risk assessment and surveillance strategies.AimTo explore the seroprevalence in animals and humans and potential endemicity of WNV and USUV in Southern France, given a long history of WNV outbreaks and the only severe human USUV case in France in this region.MethodsWe evaluated the prevalence of WNV and USUV in a repeated cross-sectional study by serological and molecular analyses of human, dog, horse, bird and mosquito samples in the Camargue area, including the city of Montpellier, between 2016 and 2020.ResultsWe observed the active transmission of both viruses and higher USUV prevalence in humans, dogs, birds and mosquitoes, while WNV prevalence was higher in horses. In 500 human samples, 15 were positive for USUV and 6 for WNV. Genetic data showed that the same lineages, WNV lineage 1a and USUV lineage Africa 3, were found in mosquitoes in 2015, 2018 and 2020.ConclusionThese findings support existing literature suggesting endemisation in the study region and contribute to a better understanding of USUV and WNV circulation in Southern France. Our study underlines the importance of a One Health approach for the surveillance of these viruses.     

Endogenous testosterone density is an independent predictor of pelvic lymph node invasion in high-risk prostate cancer: results in 201 consecutive patients treated with radical prostatectomy and extended pelvic lymph node dissection

International Urology and Nephrology - To evaluate the influence of endogenous testosterone density (ETD) on pelvic lymph node invasion (PLNI) in high risk (HR) prostate cancer (PCa) treated with...     

Perioperative management of the diabetic patient

Diabetes is a chronic disease characterized by the body's inability to process blood glucose properly. It is generally classified as insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM), or type 1, and non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), or type 2. Type 1 is characterized by a defect in insulin secretion by the cells of the pancreas, usually secondary to autoimmune destruction of those cells. Type 2 is characterized by peripheral insulin resistance with an insulin-secretory defect that varies in severity. Diabetes is a common medical condition that affects 6% of Americans younger than 50 years and approximately 10% to 15% of those older than 50 years. Increasing numbers of patients who have diabetes are presenting to the oral surgeon's office for care. Patients who have diabetes have a 50% chance of undergoing a surgical procedure in their lifetime.     

Cellular Targeting in Autoimmunity

Many biologic agents that were first approved for the treatment of malignancies are now being actively investigated and used in a variety of autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and Sjogren??s syndrome. The relatively recent advance of selective immune targeting has significantly changed the management of autoimmune disorders and in part can be attributed to the progress made in understanding effector cell function and their signaling pathways. In this review, we will discuss the recent FDA-approved biologic therapies that directly target immune cells as well as the most promising investigational drugs affecting immune cell function and signaling for the treatment of autoimmune disease.