Symmetry Function in Trans-Tibial Amputees Gait Supplied with the New Concept of Affordable Dynamic Foot Prosthesis—Case Study

The development of modern technologies has made it much easier to regain the ability to walk after losing a lower limb. The variety of prosthetic feet available on the market allows for optimal choice and appropriate adjustment of the foot prosthesis to the trans-tibial amputee patient’s needs. Unfortunately, the best solutions are often not available to everyone due to their high prices. This study compares the gait patterns of patients using the new concept of an affordable dynamic foot with those of other commonly available but much more expensive foot prostheses. The kinematic and spatio-temporal parameters of gait obtained using the motion capture system were analyzed. For a clear picture of changes in bilateral deficits during gait for the pelvis, hip, knee, and ankle joints, the symmetry function was used. The results indicate that the new and cheaper concept of foot prostheses offers a very similar level of gait quality to that provided by more expensive and popular solutions. The authors suggest that the use of symmetry function thresholds of 10% does not work for amputees

Absence of the RET+3:T allele in the MTC patients

Abstract The mutations of the RET proto-oncogene contributes to the development of MTC by increasing the activity of the receptor encoded by this gene. Variant T of polymorphism rs2435357 located in the enhancer of the RET gene reduces the enhancer’s activity. The opposite effects of rs2435357 and the mutations causing medullary thyroid carcinoma resulted in the investigation of the status of this polymorphism in patients with MTC. In our study, we compared the frequency of polymorphism rs2435357 in the group of 48 MTC patients with its frequency in Polish population. The frequency of heterozygotes C/T at rs2435357 reached almost 12% (18/152) for the Polish population, in contrast to the group of MTC patients where not even a single T allele was found. The frequency difference is statistically significant. This observation might indicate that the presence of the heterozygous T allele at rs2435357 may be associated with the inhibition of medullary thyroid carcinoma development.</p