Clinical and neuropathological study about the neurotization of the suprascapular nerve in obstetric brachial plexus lesions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The lack of recovery of active external rotation of the shoulder is an important problem in children suffering from brachial plexus lesions involving the suprascapular nerve. The accessory nerve neurotization to the suprascapular nerve is a standard procedure, performed to improve shoulder motion in patients with brachial plexus palsy.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We operated on 65 patients with obstetric brachial plexus palsy (OBPP), aged 5-35 months (average: 19 months). We assessed the recovery of passive and active external rotation with the arm in abduction and in adduction. We also looked at the influence of the restoration of the muscular balance between the internal and the external rotators on the development of a gleno-humeral joint dysplasia. Intraoperatively, suprascapular nerve samples were taken from 13 patients and were analyzed histologically.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Most patients (71.5%) showed good recovery of the active external rotation in abduction (60°-90°). Better results were obtained for the external rotation with the arm in abduction compared to adduction, and for patients having only undergone the neurotization procedure compared to patients having had complete plexus reconstruction. The neurotization operation has a positive influence on the glenohumeral joint: 7 patients with clinical signs of dysplasia before the reconstructive operation did not show any sign of dysplasia in the postoperative follow-up.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The neurotization procedure helps to recover the active external rotation in the shoulder joint and has a good prevention influence on the dysplasia in our sample. The nerve quality measured using histopathology also seems to have a positive impact on the clinical results.</p

Is Ultracision Knife Safe and Efficient for Breast Capsulectomy? A Preliminary Study

Background: Silicone breast implants are used to a wide extent in the field of plastic surgery. However, capsular contracture remains a considerable concern. This study aimed to analyze the effectiveness and applicability of an ultracision knife for capsulectomy breast surgery. Methods: A prospective, single-center, randomized study was performed in 2009. The inclusion criteria specified female patients 20-80years of age with capsular contracture (Baker 3-4). Ventral capsulectomy was performed using an ultracision knife on one side and the conventional Metzenbaum-type scissors and surgical knife on the collateral side of the breast. Measurements of the resected capsular ventral fragment, operative time, remaining breast tissue, drainage time, seroma and hematoma formation, visual analog scale pain score, and sensory function of the nipple-areola complex were assessed. In addition, histologic analysis of the resected capsule was performed. Results: Five patients (median age, 59.2years) were included in this study with a mean follow-up period of 6months. Three patients had Baker grade 3 capsular contracture, and two patients had Baker grade 4 capsular contracture. The ultracision knife was associated with a significantly lower pain score, shorter operative time, smaller drainage volume, and shorter drainage time and resulted in a larger amount of remaining breast tissue. Histologic analysis of the resected capsule showed no apoptotic cells in the study group or control group. Conclusions: The results suggest that ventral capsulectomy with Baker grade 3 or 4 contracture using the ultracision knife is feasible, safe, and more efficient than blunt dissection and monopolar cutting diathermy and has a short learning curve. Level of Evidence II: This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors at www.springer.com/0026

Stem cells for nerve repair and prevention of muscle atrophy

  Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) is common and despite modern microsurgical techniques of repair, functional restoration is always incomplete. This results in impaired sensation and reduced motor function alongside pain and cold intolerance. Traumatic PNI are often associated with loss of nerve tissue, creating a gap, and direct repair of the two damaged nerve stumps is not possible. These types of injuries are reconstructed using autologous nerve grafts but this is far from ideal since it necessitates the sacrifice of a functional nerve from elsewhere in the body. Chronic muscle atrophy because of the prolonged delay in nerve regeneration across gaps is a significant impediment to an optimal functional recovery.   Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine approaches to nerve repair might one day replace the need for autologous nerve grafts. This thesis investigates the effects of adipose derived stem cells (ASC) on nerve regeneration and muscle recovery by using the stem cells for intramuscular injection and combined with a biomaterial, poly-3-hydroxybutyrate (PHB), to create a bioengineered artificial nerve repair construct.  The mechanisms of interaction between the stem cells and neuromuscular system cells were investigated and with a view to translating this work into clinical practice, an optimal source of cells was investigated from human donors.   It was hypothesized that injecting regenerative cells into muscle would reduce nerve injury induced muscle atrophy. A rat sciatic nerve lesion was performed and three different types of cells were injected into the denervated gastrocnemius muscle; either (1) undifferentiated ASC, (2) ASC induced to a ‘Schwann cell-like’ phenotype (dASC) or (3) primary Schwann cells. Nerves were either repaired by direct end-end suture or capped to prevent muscle reinnervation. One month later, functionality was measured using a walking track test, and muscle atrophy was assessed by examining muscle weight and histology. The Schwann cells and dASC groups showed significantly better scores on functional tests when compared with control injections of growth medium alone. Muscle weight and histology were also significantly improved in the cell groups in comparison with the control group.   PHB strips seeded with either primary Schwann cells or dASC suspended in a fibrin glue matrix were used to bridge a 10mm rat sciatic nerve gap. After 12 weeks, functional and morphological analysis (walking track test, electromyography, muscle weight and muscle and nerve histology) was performed. The results showed significantly better functional results for the PHB strips seeded with cells versus the control group with fibrin matrix only. This correlated with less muscle atrophy and greater distal axon myelination in the cell groups.   To further optimize the nerve regeneration and muscle recovery, the nerve gap lesion was repaired by treatment with the bioengineered constructs seeded with dASC or nerve autograft in combination with stem cell injection in the muscle. After 6 weeks, the best results were obtained in the nerve graft group combined with intramuscular dASC injection which showed significantly less atrophy than the other groups. The results also showed that using the stem cells in a matrix on a PHB strip in combination with intramuscular injections could significantly reduce muscle atrophy.   In vitro experiments showed that dASC expressed a wide range of neurotrophic and myogenic factors including BDNF, VEGF-A, IGF-1 and HGF. Stem cell conditioned medium enhanced the proliferation of myoblast cell lines and primary Schwann cells. Various signaling pathways (PKA, MAP kinase) were involved in these effects dependent on the cell type investigated. Furthermore, in direct co-culture with myoblast cells, a small population of the cells fused together to form myotube-like structures and expressed myogenic markers.   Human ASC were isolated from the deep and superficial layers of abdominal fat tissue obtained during abdominoplasty procedures.  Cells from the superficial layer proliferated significantly faster than those from the deep layer. Superficial layer ASC induced significantly enhanced neurite outgrowth from neuronal cell lines when compared with the deep layer cells.  However, RT-PCR and ELISA analysis showed that ASC isolated from both layers expressed similar levels of the neurotrophic factors NGF, BDNF and GDNF.   In summary, these results show that stem cell therapy at both levels (the nerve lesion site and in the target denervated muscle) offers a promising approach for clinical application for treatment of peripheral nerve lesions. The bioengineered artificial nerve construct, combining PHB strip with cells, also provides a beneficial environment for nerve regeneration. Many of the benefits of the ASC are likely to be mediated through their secretome, a rich source of neurotrophic and myogenic factors. Thus adipose tissue contains a pool of regenerative stem cells which have significant potential application to tissue engineering and regenerative medicine for nerve repair

Major depressive disorder across the life span: The role of chronological and biological age

Penninx, B.W.J.H. [Promotor]Beekman, A.T.F. [Promotor]Comijs, H.C. [Copromotor