The effects of extracorporeal shock waves on carrageenan-induced Achilles tendinitis in rats: a biomechanical and histological analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of low-dose extracorporeal shock waves (ESW) on the healing potential of Achilles tendinitis in the rat. METHODS: The 36 adult Sprague-Dawley rats used in this study were randomly divided into four groups. Group A (n=10) were injected with carrageenan, Group B (n=10) were injected with carrageenan and received ESW, Group C (n=10) received ESW only, and Group D (n=6) was a sham group. Rats were injected with 10 microliters of 3% carrageenan or a saline solution eight times during a one-week period with a subcutaneous needle. One week following the final injection, ESW was applied at a rate of 500 impulses in 5 minutes at 2 bars (comparative to 0.09 mJ/mm²) to rats in Groups B and C. Rats were sacrificed three weeks later. Tensile strength, inflammation, and vascularity and collagen density were measured. RESULTS: Failure of the tendon ultimate loads was significantly lower in the study groups than in the control group (p<0.05). Collagen fiber density was higher in the control group than in the other groups (p=0.59). No other histological differences were found. CONCLUSION: Low-dose ESW has a negative effect on tendon tensile strength in this animal model.

Extracorporeal shock waves in articular cartilage defects in the rats.

Thirty adult Sprague-Dawley rats were used to assess the nature of healing tissues in hyaline cartilage defects and to compare the healing in defects treated with shock waves, with those in defects without treatment. A 2 × 2 mm cartilage defect with exposed cancellous bone was created in a nonweight-bearing area of each medial femoral condyle. Each right knee defect was received extracorporeal shock waves (Swiss Dolorclast) of 500 impulses in 5 min at 2 bar (comparative to 0.09 mJ/mm(2)), and the left knee defects were assigned as controls. The rat groups were sacrificed at 6 and 12 weeks postsurgery. Sections from each knee were stained with hematoxylin-eosin to analyze synovial adhesion, synovial thickness, bone maturation, and chondroid metaplasia and with masson trichrome to analyze collagen fiber intensity. There was not a significant difference found between the study and control groups (P > 0.05). Extracorporeal shock waves did not effect healing of the chondral defects.

Solitary fibrous tumor of the lesser omentum: report of a rare case.

We herein describe the case of a 51-year-old male who presented with a mass of the epigastric region. Preoperative contrast enhanced abdominal computerized tomography revealed a solid mass between the left liver lobe and stomach. Histopathologic examination diagnosed the mass as a solitary fibrous tumor. Although solitary fibrous tumors are rare, especially in the abdomen of adults, they are generally benign, but malignant cases have also been reported. Long-term follow-up will be necessary to determine whether the surgery has been curative.

Extraperitoneal pelvic myolipoma.

Myolipoma is a very rare adipocytic tumor occurring most frequently in adults, and usually is located in the retroperitoneum or abdomen. It has been described in the retroperitoneum, spinal cord, orbita, breast, round ligament, subcutaneous tissue, pericardium, rectus sheath of the abdominal wall, and abdominal cavity with attachment to the abdominal wall. Most of these tumors are discovered incidentally and are large when discovered. Radiological findings are nonspecific due to the nonlipomatous component of the tumor. We present radiological findings of a large extraperitoneal pelvic myolipoma adjacent to the anterior abdominal wall, detected incidentally in an elderly woman with a presenting complaint of intractable hiccups.

Medulla oblongata tuberculoma mimicking metastasis presenting with stroke-like symptoms.

Tuberculomas are common forms of central nervous system tuberculosis, presenting as space-occupying-lesions. Brainstem tuberculomas are rare among all intracranial tuberculomas. In old patients, in the absence of tuberculosis history, diagnosis may be challenging. In this case, we present a 70-year-old patient, with bladder cancer, without known tuberculosis who presented with stroke-like symptoms, clinically. Diffusion-weighted imaging revealed no finding of stroke, however, a medulla oblongata tuberculoma, mimicking metastasis was evident on MRI.

Biomechanical and histological comparison of the influence of oestrogen deficient state on tendon healing potential in rats.

Thirty-six female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups: oophrectomised (oestrogen deficient) rats and sham operated (oestrogen maintained) rats. Rats were sacrificed at six, ten, and 14 weeks. The rats were randomly chosen to have biomechanical evaluation on one side and histological evaluation on the other. Biomechanical testing was performed on an Instron machine to measure peak load. Histological sections were evaluated for cell proliferation, collagen-fibre organisation, fibroblast density, angiogenesis, inflammatory cells, chondroid and osseous metaplasia. Compared with the sham operated group, the oophrectomised group showed a lesser average maximum stress (42.9 N/m(2) versus 33.7 N/m(2)) at six weeks, which was significant (p < .05). Succeeding weeks showed no significant biomechanical differences between the two groups. The sham operated group showed greater inflammatory response, which was statistically significant (p < 0.05), and also revealed greater cell proliferation and density. The results of this study revealed that endogenous oestrogen may improve healing of the Achilles tendon in rats.