ABSTRACT
Objective To explore the clinical effects of variable angle locking plate ( VLP ) in the treatment of pediatric subtrochanteric femoral fractures. Methods Between January 2012 and November 2014, 9 pre-school children were treated at our department for subtrochanteric femoral fractures. They were 6 boys and 3 girls, with an average age of 4. 8 years ( from 4 to 6 years ) . By the Seinsheimer classification, 5 cases were of typeⅡB and 2 of typeⅡC and 2 of typeⅢA. The intervals between injury and surgery averaged 3 days ( from 2 to 5 days ) . All of them were treated with open reduction and VLP internal fixation. Results All the wounds healed well without any infection. All the stitches were removed within 12 days. They were followed up for 8 to 26 months ( average, 16 months ) . All the fractures united within 3 months after operation. Follow-ups revealed no plate or screw loosening, or refracture at the same site. According to the Beaty imaging criteria, the early outcomes were all satisfactory. At the final follow-ups, all the children gained normal gait after full-weight rehabilitation. The affected and normal hips are nearly identical in range of motion and muscle strength. All the children recovered their pre-injury status. By the Sanders scoring for function of the affected hip, 7 cases were rated as excellent and 2 as good. Conclusion VLP can be an effective option for treatment of subtrochanteric femoral fractures in preschool children patients.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect of neuropeptide Y (NPY) on the osteoblastic differentiation of murine MC3T3-E1 cells and its mechanism related to the Wnt signaling pathway.Methods The murine MC3T3-E1 cells were divided into 4 groups according to the stimulators added:phosphate buffered saline (PBS) (control) and different concentrations of NPY (10-8 mol/L,10-10 mol/L and 10-12 mol/L).The cellular proliferation was detected with MTT assay after 1,3,5,7 and 9 days.The cells were identified with cell immunochemistry and Western Blot to find out the most effective concentration of NPY at different time points under osteoblastic condition.The cells were then divided into 4 groups:PBS,NPY,NPY + NPY receptor antagonist,and NPY + DKK1.Western blot was used to determine the expression of β3-catenin and p-GSK-3β in each group.Nuclear signaling activity of β3-catenin was observed using immunofluorescence staining.Results NPY significantly improved the proliferation of MC3T3-E1 cells at 7 and 9 days (P ＜0.05).NPY (10s mol/L and 10-10 mol/L) groups and NPY (10-10 mol/L and 10-12 mol/L) groups significantly improved the ALP activity at 4 and 14 days respectively (P ＜ 0.05).At 4 days,the expression of ALP protein was significantly decreased in the NPY + DKK1 group and the NPY + NPY receptor antagonist group compared with that in the NPY group (P ＜ 0.05).Although the expression levels of [β-catenin and p-GSK-3β protein were uninfluenced in either case,NPY significantly stimulated the nuclear signaling activity of β3-catenin.Conclusions NPY may significantly increase the expression of ALP protein in MC3T3-E1 ceils during osteoblastic differentiation.This effect might be mediated through the canonical Wnt signaling pathway.