Int J Med Sci
-
Review
Priming the Surface of Orthopedic Implants for Osteoblast Attachment in Bone Tissue Engineering.
The development of better orthopedic implants is incessant. While current implants can function reliably in the human body for a long period of time, there are still a significant number of cases for which the implants can fail prematurely due to poor osseointegration of the implant with native bone. ⋯ In order to facilitate the osseointegration of the implant, both the physical nanotopography and chemical functionalization of the implant surface have to be optimized. In this short review, however, we explore how simple chemistry procedures can be used to functionalize the surfaces of three major classes of orthopedic implants, i.e. ceramics, metals, and polymers, so that the attachment of osteoblasts on implants can be facilitated in order to promote implant osseointegration.
-
Comparative assessment of randomized controlled trials of caudal and lumbar interlaminar epidural injections in chronic lumbar discogenic pain. ⋯ This assessment shows that in patients with axial or discogenic pain in the lumbar spine after excluding facet joint and SI Joint pain, epidural injections of local anesthetic by the caudal or lumbar interlaminar approach may be effective in managing chronic low back pain with a potential superiority for a lumbar interlaminar approach over a caudal approach.
-
Diabetes mellitus (DM) is caused by either destruction of pancreatic β-cells (type 1 DM) or unresponsiveness to insulin (type 2 DM). Conventional therapies for diabetes mellitus have been developed but still needs improvement. Many diabetic patients have complemented conventional therapy with alternative methods including oral supplementation of natural products. ⋯ For the type 2 DM model, mice were given high-fat diet for 60 days and then orally administered EGb 761 every other day for 80 days. We found that mice given a high-fat diet and EGb 761 showed decreased blood triglyceride levels, increased liver LPL, increased liver PPAR-α and decreased body weight compared to mice given high-fat diet alone. These results suggest that EGb 761 can exert protective effects in both type 1 and type 2 DM murine models.
-
One of the earliest neuropathological events in Alzheimer's disease is accumulation of astrocytes at sites of Aβ1-42 depositions. Our results indicate that Aβ1-42 toxic peptide increases lipid peroxidation, apoptosis and cell death in neurons but not in astrocytes in primary culture. Aβ1-42-induced deleterious neuronal effects are not present when neurons and astrocytes are mixed cultured. ⋯ In astrocytes Aβ1-42 decreases protein expressions of sirtuin 1 (SIRT-1) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPAR-γ) and over-expresses peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator 1 (PGC-1) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), protecting mitochondria against Aβ1-42-induced damage and promoting mitochondrial biogenesis. In summary our data suggest that astrocytes may have a key role in protecting neurons, increasing neural viability and mitochondrial biogenesis, acquiring better oxidative stress protection and perhaps modulating inflammatory processes against Aβ1-42 toxic peptide. This might be a sign of a complex epigenetic process in Alzheimer's disease development.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial
The efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of intra-operative cell salvage in high-bleeding-risk cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass: a prospective randomized and controlled trial.
Intra-operative cell salvage (CS) was reported to be ineffective, safe and not cost-effective in low-bleeding-risk cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), but studies in high-bleeding-risk cardiac surgery are limited. The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy, safety and cost-effectiveness of intra-operative CS in high-bleeding-risk cardiac surgery with CPB. ⋯ Intra-operative CS in high-bleeding-risk cardiac surgery with CPB is effective, generally safe, and cost-effective in developed countries but not in China.