Partial Recovery of Limb Function Following End-to-Side Screw Anastomosis of Phrenic Nerve in Rats with Brachial Plexus Injury.

BACKGROUND Brachial plexus injury (BPI), a severe nervous system injury, is a leading cause of functional damages of the affected upper limb. Patients with BPI manifested with motor weakness or paralysis, sensory deficits, and pain. We established a BPI rat model to explore the in vivo effect of end-to-side screw anastomosis (ETSSA) of phrenic nerve on the recovery of limb function after BPI. MATERIAL AND METHODS After modeling, rats were treated with end-to-side anastomosis (ETSA) and ETSSA respectively. After 1 and 3 months, the behavioral changes of rats were observed using the Terzis grooming test, and the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) and muscle tension of biceps brachii were detected. The muscle weight recovery rate (MWRR) and cross-sectional area recovery rate (CARR) were calculated. Toluidine blue staining was used to observe the myelinated nerve fibers in the proximal phrenic nerve and distal musculocutaneous nerve of suture. The ratio of regenerated nerve traversing rate (NTR) was counted and motor endplate area of biceps brachii was measured. RESULTS The rats treated with ETSA and ETSSA exhibited elevated grading of Terzis grooming test with time. Although both the ETSSA and ETSA can reduce the MWRR, CARR and motor endplate area in BPI rats, ETSSA showed a better influence on the latency delayed rate (LDR) and amplitude recovery rate (ARR) of CMAP, muscular tension recovery rate (MTRR), MWRR, number of regenerated myelinated nerve fibers, NTR, and motor endplate area in BPI rats. CONCLUSIONS Our study provided evidence that ETSSA can restore the limb function recovery to a greater extent, and accelerate the regeneration of nerve fibers in rats with BPI; the effect of ETSSA was better than that of ETSA.

Protective effects of Vitamin C against spinal cord injury-induced renal damage through suppression of NF-κB and proinflammatory cytokines.

Spinal cord injury [SCI] leads to complex cellular and molecular interactions which affects various organ systems. The present study focused on determining the protection offered by Vitamin C against spinal injury-induced kidney damage in wistar rats. The experimental protocol was performed with three groups; Sham, SCI and Vitamin C [20 mg/kg/bw] followed by SCI. The kidney tissue was investigated for oxidative stress parameters [reactive oxygen species, protein carbonyl, sulphydryl content, thiobarbituric acid reactive species [TBARS], and myeloperoxidase activity] and antioxidant status [glutathione, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase activity]. Further, inflammation studies were performed by analyzing expression of NF-κB, cycloxygenase-2, iNOS through western blot analysis and inflammatory cytokines by TNF-α and IL-1ß levels. The present study shows clear evidence that Vitamin C treatment abrogated spinal injury-induced oxidative stress and inflammatory responses and enhanced the antioxidant status. Thus, the protection offered by Vitamin C against spinal cord injury-induced kidney damage is attributed to its anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

[Clinical anatomic study of internal fixation of acetabular posterior column plate technique].

OBJECTIVES: To study the best entry points, direction and length of screw in acetabular posterior column plate technique, and to prevent the serious complications of screw penetrating the joint surface. METHODS: February to July 2008 20 male cadaveric adult semi-pelvic specimen were taken.Serial cross-sections of the acetabular posterior column were determined and made. The safe angle of screw entry and the length on all entry points of each cross-section were measured. And put all data into software SPSS 10.0 for statistics process. RESULTS: On margin of acetabulum, lateral-middle 1/4 point, midpoint, medial-middle 1/4 point and medial margin of posterior column of each cross-section, safe entry angle of inclination was 39 degrees , 57 degrees , 74 degrees , 90 degrees and 106 degrees respectively, the length of the screw was 39, 57, 74, 90 and 106 mm respectively. CONCLUSION: On lateral 1/4 region, lateral-middle 1/4 region, medial-middle 1/4 region and medial 1/4 region, screw posterior column angle is 40 degrees to 60 degrees , 60 degrees to 75 degrees , 75 degrees to 90 degrees , 90 degrees to parallel to the quadrilateral plate, and the length of the screw is 30 mm.

Application of a fasciocutaneous free flap for treatment of a severe soft tissue injury of the foot and ankle: a case report.

UNLABELLED: The authors report an unusual case wherein a fasciocutaneous free flap from an amputated upper limb was used to repair a severe soft tissue injury of the ipsilateral forefoot and ankle. After amputating the nonviable portions of the forefoot, a residual limb flap from the patient's forearm, pedicled with the brachial artery, was used to cover the lower extremity defect. Three years after the injury, the patient was able to maintain balance and ambulate without assistance on the reconstructed lower extremity. LEVEL OF CLINICAL EVIDENCE: 4.

[CpcHID operon as a new tool for classification and identification of Arthrospira platensis strains].

Arthrospira is a photoautotrophic filamentous cyanobacterium belonging to the family Oscillatoriaceae, phylum Cyanophyta. Morphological criteria alone were inadequate for classification of Arthrospira . To develop new molecular markers, in this study, the cpcHID operon, 16S rRNA and 16S-23S rRNA internally transcribed spacer (ITS) of seven Arthrospira platensis strains, Sp-10, Sp-2, Sp-9, Sp-1, Sp-1ll, Sp-3 and Sp-5, were cloned and sequenced. And the results of bioinformatics and molecular phylogenetics analyses with BioEdit 7.0, Clustal X 1.81 and Phylip 3.65 were as follows: (1) The sequences of cpcHID operon, 16S rRNA and ITS from the seven strains were highly homologous to the each corresponding gene based on multiple pair-wise comparison. (2) The mean absolute deviation of the G + C content, the ratio of different sites and the genetic distance coefficient based on the sequences of cpcHID operon in the seven strains were generally greater than that based on 16S rRNA and ITS region. (3) The phylogenetic dendrogram based on the sequences of cpcHID operon was almost same with that based on the sequences of 16S rRNA and ITS region. Therefore, it revealed that cpcHID operon could be applied as a new molecular marker to classification and identification of cyanobacterium, and more appropriate for species or strains determination due to its abundant information.