Surgical treatment for acute posterolateral structures injuries of the knee joint in 12 patients / 中国骨伤

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the clinical results of surgical treatment for acute posterolateral structures(PLS) injuries of knee joint.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Twelve patients (12 knees) with acute PLS injuries were treated from May 2006 to October 2008, including 9 males and 3 females, ranging in age from 23 to 47 years, with an average of 31 years. Nine patients had posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries, 3 patients had both anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and PCL injuries, and 7 patients had articular capsule injuries. The knee joint was explored under arthroscope and the meniscuses were repaired firstly, then the ACL was rebuilt, as well as the PCL and PLS at the same time. The popliteus muscle tendon unit(PMTU) and the lateral collateral ligament (LCL) were anatomy reconstructed using variant tendon according to the degree of injury. The cruciate ligament reconstructed and fixed after the PLS reconstruction. The capsule tears were treated by reinforced suture techniques in the end. IKDC and Lysholm score were used to evaluate the postoperative knee joint function.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>All the patients were followed up, and the duration ranged from 12 to 24 months,with an average of (16.5 +/- 3.2) months. According to IKDC standard, 8 cases restored to normal (grade A), 3 cases near to normal(grade B) and 1 poor (grade C). The preoperative Lysholm joint function score was (39.6 +/- 3.1) and improved to (85.1 +/- 2.2) after surgery. All the patients were satisfied with their operation because of no-swelling and no-pain of the knee joint.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The acute PLS injuries should be repaired with anatomy reconstruction of the PMTU and LCL which were the most important structure of the PLS. The operative procedure required accurate establishment of the bone tunnel, protection of fibular nerve, and avoiding the incision of the variant tendon, thus can make the PLS more stable after the reconstruction.</p>

Regulation of estrogen receptors alpha and beta in human breast carcinoma by exogenous leptin in nude mouse xenograft model / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>It is essential to clarify the interactions of hormones during the progression of human breast cancer. This study examined the effects of exogenous human leptin on estrogen receptor (ER) alpha and beta in human breast tumor tissue in a nude mouse xenograft model.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We created nude mice xenografts of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells, and randomly divided them into an experimental group and a control group. The mice in experimental group were injected subcutaneously around tumors with human leptin, while the control group were injected with the same dose of normal saline. A real-time RT-PCR assay was developed to quantify the mRNA of ERalpha, beta in the tumor tissues. Western blotting analyses were used to assess the relative quantities of the ERalpha, beta proteins.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Leptin-treated xenografted nude mice were successfully established. The amount of ERalpha mRNA was significantly higher in the leptin group than in the control group (P < 0.01), while the amount of ERbeta mRNA was significantly lower in the leptin group than in the control group (P < 0.01). Western blotting analyses revealed that the ERalpha protein level was significantly higher in the leptin group than in the control group (P < 0.01), while the ERbeta protein level was significantly lower in the leptin group than in the control group (P < 0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Nude mouse xenograft model can be safely and serviceably treated with human leptin by subcutaneous injections around tumor. ERalpha, beta were both targets of leptin in breast cancer. Leptin can up-regulate the expression of ERalpha and down-regulate the expression of the ERbeta in human breast tumor.</p>