ABSTRACT
In order to determine whether microRNA (miR)-300 is a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker in osteosarcoma, the miR-300 levels in serum of 114 osteosarcoma patients and 114 healthy controls were compared, followed by serum analysis of the differences between the pre-operative and post-operative sera of these osteosarcoma patients. It was observed that the concentration levels of miR-300 in the serum of osteosarcoma patients was significantly higher than those in the serum of healthy controls (P<0.01). Furthermore, the concentration levels of miR-300 in the post-operative serum were significantly reduced when compared with the pre-operative serum levels (P<0.001). High miR-300 levels in serum correlated significantly with clinical stage, distant metastasis and poor survival of osteosarcoma patients. Notably, serum miR-300 was an independent prognostic marker for osteosarcoma. In conclusion, our results suggested that serum miR-300 may be a potential and useful noninvasive biomarker for the early detection of osteosarcoma.
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a review of the rationale for the in vitro mineralization process, preparation methods, and clinical applications of mineralized collagen. The rationale for natural mineralized collagen and the related mineralization process has been investigated for decades. Based on the understanding of natural mineralized collagen and its formation process, many attempts have been made to prepare biomimetic materials that resemble natural mineralized collagen in both composition and structure. To date, a number of bone substitute materials have been developed based on the principles of mineralized collagen, and some of them have been commercialized and approved by regulatory agencies. The clinical outcomes of mineralized collagen are of significance to advance the evaluation and improvement of related medical device products. Some representative clinical cases have been reported, and there are more clinical applications and long-term follow-ups that currently being performed by many research groups.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the mechanical properties of bilateral atlantoaxial trans-articular screws and atlas laminar hooks instrumentation with finite element method. METHODS: There was a volunteer with age of 28 years old, body height 172 cm, body weight of 60 kg and without cervical deformity by X rays. The ligamentous, nonlinear, three-dimensional finite element models of normal upper cervical spine (C0-3) was developed and validated. The destabilized model with bilateral atlantoaxial trans-articular screws and atlas laminar hooks was evaluated for quasistatic loading. RESULTS: The finite element model of upper cervical spine consists of 229,047 nodes and 152,475 elements, and correlated well with experimental data for all load cases and could be used for experiment. The finite model with bilateral atlantoaxial trans-articular screws and atlas-laminar hooks predicted that the maximum Von Mises Stress was in the region in which screws penetrated the atlantoaxial articular facet. The novel instrumentation resulted in sufficient stability. CONCLUSION: The bilateral atlantoaxial trans-articular screws and atlas laminar hooks instrumentation is useful and effective for atlantoaxial arthrodesis.
