Exp Ther Med
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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the therapeutic effect of intra-articular hyaluronic acid (HA) in comparison to corticosteroids (CS) for knee osteoarthritis (OA). The data sources included PubMed, EMBASE, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and hand searched reviews. Randomized controlled trials that reported the effects of intra-articular HA and CS in the treatment of knee OA were selected based on specific inclusion criteria. ⋯ After one month, the two approaches exhibited equal efficacy; however, in the long term, HA was found to have an enhanced effect. No statistically significant difference was observed in the adverse events caused by the two interventions. Further investigation and understanding into the trend observed in the present study may aid clinicians in the treatment of knee OA.
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Malignant hyperthermia increases mortality and disability in patients with brain trauma. A clinical treatment for malignant hyperthermia following severe traumatic brain injury, termed 'cool and quiet' therapy by the authors of the current study, was investigated. Between June 2003 and June 2013, 110 consecutive patients with malignant hyperthermia following severe traumatic brain injury were treated using mild hypothermia (35-36°C) associated with small doses of sedative and muscle relaxant. ⋯ The therapy using mild hypothermia with a combination of sedative and muscle relaxant was beneficial in decreasing the mortality of patients with malignant hyperthermia following severe traumatic brain injury, particularly in patients with a GCS score within the range 3-5 on admission. The therapy was found to be safe, effective and convenient. However, rigorous clinical trials are required to provide evidence of the effectiveness of 'cool and quiet' therapy for hyperthermia.
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Sepsis is a complex syndrome characterized by the development of progressive dysfunction in multiple organs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the protective effect of curcumin against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced vasoconstrictive dysfunction, and to investigate the possible underlying mechanism. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the following groups: Control, sepsis and curcumin. ⋯ Furthermore, hematoxylin and eosin staining revealed that curcumin alleviated the LPS-induced damage in the aortic tunica intima and tunica media. Therefore, the results indicated that curcumin alleviates LPS-induced vasoconstrictive dysfunction in the thoracic aorta of rats. In addition, the inhibition of TSP-1 and TGF-β1 expression may be involved in the mechanism underlying this protective effect.
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The aim of this study was to assess the computed tomography angiography (CTA) manifestations of collateral circulations in patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS). Eighty patients with BCS were examined by CT scan. Using the CTA images of the relevant blood vessels, including the affected hepatic veins (HVs) and inferior venae cavae (IVCs), the collateral circulations were reconstructed. ⋯ Extrahepatic collateral pathways included IVC-lumbar-ascending lumbar-hemiazygos/azygos vein (n=80, 100.0%), IVC-left renal-ascending lumbar-hemiazygos vein (n=75, 93.8%), IVC-left renal-inferior phrenic vein (n=49, 61.3%), IVC-renal -peri-renal -superficial epigastric vein (n=26, 32.5%) and superficial epigastric vein (n=12, 15.0%) types. The CTA characteristics of each type of collateral circulation were demonstrated. In conclusion, the present study revealed that CTA is able to show the intra- and extrahepatic collateral circulations of patients with BCS, which may be useful for therapeutic planning.