Troublesome Heterotopic Ossification after Central Nervous System Damage: A Survey of 570 Surgeries

BACKGROUND: Heterotopic ossification (HO) is a frequent complication after central nervous system (CNS) damage but has seldom been studied. We aimed to investigate features of HO for the first time in a large sample and the rate of early recurrence of HO in terms of the time of surgery. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We retrospectively analyzed data from an anonymous prospective survey of patients undergoing surgery between May 1993 and November 2009 in our institution for troublesome HO related to acquired neurological disease. Demographic and HO characteristics and neurological etiologies were recorded. For 357 consecutive patients, we collected data on 539 first surgeries for HO (129 surgeries for multiple sites). During the follow-up, recurrences requiring another surgery appeared in 31 cases (5.8% [31/539]; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.8%-7.8%; 27 patients). Most HO requiring surgery occurred after traumatic brain injury (199 patients [55.7%]), then spinal cord injury (86 [24.0%]), stroke (42 [11.8%]) and cerebral anoxia (30 [8.6%]). The hip was the primary site of HO (328 [60.9%]), then the elbow (115 [21.3%]), knee (77 [14.3%]) and shoulder (19 [3.5%]). For all patients, 181 of the surgeries were performed within the first year after the CNS damage, without recurrence of HO. Recurrence was not associated with etiology (p = 0.46), sex (p = 1.00), age at CNS damage (p = 0.2), multisite localization (p = 0.34), or delay to surgery (p = 0.7). CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In patients with CNS damage, troublesome HO and recurrence occurs most frequently after traumatic brain injury and appears frequently in the hip and elbow. Early surgery for HO is not a factor of recurrence

Modelling the inhibitory effect of copper sulfate on the growth of Penicillium expansum and Botrytis cinerea

International audienceAims: This study aimed to investigate the effect of copper sulfate (from 0 to 8 mmol kg(-1)) on radial growth rate and lag time of two moulds responsible for vine grapes spoilage: Penicillium expansum strain 25.03 and Botrytis cinerea, strains BC1 and BC2. Methods and results: A new model was developed to describe tailing and shoulders in the inhibition curves. Because of tailing, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), was not defined as the concentration at which no growth was observed, but as the concentration at which the lag time was infinite. The concentrations at which mu = mu(opt)/2, (Cu-50), were in the range of 2.2-2.6 mmol kg(-1). Radial growth rate of P. expansum and the reciprocal of the lag time were linearly correlated (r = 0.84). In contrast, in the range 0-4 mmol kg(-1), an inhibition of growth of B. cinerea was observed whereas germination remained unaffected (i.e. the lag time was constant). In the range 4-8 mmol kg(-1), the radial growth rate of B. cinerea was almost constant (c. 1 mm day(-1)), but germination was inhibited (i.e. the lag time was increased). Conclusions: The MIC values were 4.7 mmol kg(-1) for P. expansum, 8.2 and 7.3 mmol kg(-1) for B. cinerea strain BC1 and BC2, respectively, demonstrating that some isolates of these moulds are resistant to copper. Significance and Impact of the Study: Copper concentrations at 4 mmol kg(-1) would be sufficient to control the development of these isolates, but the toxicity of copper should be extended to other isolates and evaluated in vineyards

Amplitude and strength of muscle contraction are reduced in experimental tears of the rotator cuff

The current criteria (atrophy, retraction, and fatty infiltration) may help to quantify the structural reparability of a chronically retracted musculotendinous unit after rotator cuff tendon tear but may only approximately predict the remaining function of the muscle