205 research outputs found

    The Use of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 (rhBMP-2) to Promote Spinal Fusion in a Nonhuman Primate Anterior Interbody Fusion Model

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    Study Design. A study on the efficacy of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 2 (rhBMP-2) in a nonhuman primate anterior interbody fusion model. Objectives. To investigate the efficacy of rhBMP-2 with an absorbable collagen sponge carrier to promote spinal fusion in a nonhuman primate anterior interbody fusion model. Summary of Background Data. RhBMP-2 is an osteoinductive growth factor capable of inducing new bone formation in vivo. Although dosage studies using rhBMP-2 have been performed on species of lower phylogenetic level, they cannot be extrapolated to the primate. Dosage studies on nonhuman primates are essential before proceeding with human primate application. Methods. Six female adult Macaca mulatta (rhesus macaque) monkeys underwent an anterior L7-S1 interbody lumbar fusion. All six sites were assigned randomly to one of two fusion methods: 1) autogenous bone graft within a single freeze-dried smooth cortical dowel allograft cylinder (control) or 2) rhBMP-2-soaked absorbable collagen sponges within a single freeze-dried smooth cortical dowel allograft cylinder also soaked in rhBMP-2. The animals underwent a baseline computed tomography scan followed by 3- and 6-month postoperation scans. Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs of the lumbosacral spine were performed monthly. After the monkeys were killed, the lumbar spine fusionsites were evaluated. Histologic evaluation of all fusion sites was performed. Results. The three monkeys receiving rhBMP-2-soaked collagen sponges with a freeze-dried allograft demonstrated radiographic signs of fusion as early as 8 weeks. The control animals were slower to reveal new bone formation. The computed tomography scans revealed extensive fusion of the L7-S1 lumbar vertebrae in the group with rhBMP-2. A pseudarthrosis was present in two of the control animals. Conclusions. This study was able to document the efficacy of rhBMP-2 with an absorbable collagen sponge carrier and a cortical dowel allograft to promote anterior interbody fusion in a nonhuman primate model at a dose of 0.4 mg per implant site (1.5 mg/mL concentration). The rate of new bone formation and fusion with the use of rhBMP-2 and cortical dowel allograft appears to be far superior to that of autogenous cancellous iliac crest graft with cortical dowel allograft

    Prevalence of Malnutrition in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer in Yazd, Iran

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    Background: Head and neck cancers are accounted for 4.9% of all cancers worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of malnutrition in patients with head and neck cancers in Yazd, Iran.Methods: Eighty-nine patients with locally advanced head and neck cancers who referred to a training clinic or a hospital were included in this cross sectional study. All patients were assessed for nutritional status by Patient Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) questionnaire, and serum albumin and hemoglobin levels.Results: Bases on PG-SGA assessment, 49.4% of the patients had proper nutrition, 30.4% were at risk or suspected to malnutrition, and 20.2% had severe malnutrition. The prevalence of malnutrition was significantly related to gender of patients, type of treatment and the stage of the disease. There was no significant relationship between the prevalence of malnutrition and age, although the prevalence of severe malnutrition was higher at older ages.Conclusion: The prevalence of malnutrition among our patients was high. Nutritional evaluation is very important to detect patients at risk of malnutrition or with malnutrition and helps to choose the nutritional treatment

    Salivary Secretor Status of Blood Group Antigens in Patients with Head and Neck Cancer

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    BACKGROUND: Head and neck cancers include malignancies of the scalp and neck skin, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, oral cavity, salivary glands, pharynx and larynx. The term ABO secretor refers to people who secrete blood group antigens in their body fluids such as saliva, sweat, tears, semen, and serum. Non-secretors refer to those who do not secrete their blood group antigens in their body fluids. The lack of blood type antigens in body discharge increases the susceptibility to certain types of diseases and infection. AIM: Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between the secretion of blood groups in the saliva of patients with head and neck cancers. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This case-control study was performed on 110 people (57 patients with head and neck cancer who were referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital, Tehran and 53 cancer-free controls). Five ml of non-stimulated saliva were collected by the spitting method. By agglutination or lack of agglutination in the test tubes, we determined the patient’s secretor or non-secretor condition. RESULTS: In terms of secretor status, 52.7% of all samples were secretors. In the case group, 19 out of 57 cases (33.3%) were secretors, and 38 were non-secretors (66.7%). In the control group, 39 out of 53 cases (73.6%) were secretors, and 14 cases were non-secretors (26.4%). There was a significant difference in the percentage of non-secretors between the two groups (p = 0.00). CONCLUSION: People with non-secretor status may be more prone to develop head and neck cancer. The presence of these antigens in saliva may have a protective effect

    Abnormal anti-Müllerian hormone level may be a trigger for breast cancer in young women: A case-control study

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    Background: Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) is a known sensitive biomarker for fertility and ovarian reserve. The results of in vivo and human studies showed inconsistency with respect to the relation between AMH and breast cancer. Objective: To compare the AMH level of young Iranian women with early breast cancer who have not received any treatment compared to that of healthy women. Materials and Methods: In this case-control study, 58 breast cancer cases were recruited from the breast oncology clinic of two university hospitals. They were diagnosed with an in situ or invasive breast cancer before any anticancer treatment between August 2018 and April 2019. Healthy controls (n = 58) were selected from women referred to a gynecologic outpatient clinic without any symptoms of cancer or infertility. AMH was measured by the AMH enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits in one laboratory. Results: Final analysis showed that the AMH means of case and control were not statistically significant (3.36 ± 2.95 vs 3.13 ± 1.79). However, the lower and higher AMH level categories are more prevalent in breast cancer compared to the control. Pearson’s correlation test showed that the AMH level was negatively correlated with age (r = -0.44, p< 0.001). The results of logistic regression analysis considering confounding factors showed the positive association between breast cancer and lower (Odds Ratio [OR] = 5.98, p = 0.02) and higher quartile of AMH level (OR = 4.95, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Our results suggest that abnormal AMH level is more frequent in young breast cancer patients. Further investigation considering AMH determinants is required. Key words: Anti-Müllerian hormone, Breast cancer, Biomarkers, Ovarian reserve

    Carcinosarcoma of the Renal Pelvis and Urinary Bladder: A Case Report

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    Carcinosarcomas are rare biphasic malignant neoplasms with an epithelial and a spindle cell component. We present a 62-year-old man with a history of noticeably abdominal distension, proved by surgery to be caused by carcinosarcoma of the renal pelvis and urinary bladder, occupying the entire left abdominal flank. We also illustrate the appearance of this rare entity on sonography and computed tomography

    Vitis Elegan as a Promising Antidiabetic Herb: Phytochemical and Pharmacological Assessment

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    In this research, we investigated the antidiabetic activity of Vitis elegans rhizome, which is used as traditional treatment for diabetes mellitus. The methanol, chloroform, petroleum ether, and hexane extracts of the plant root were obtained through serial exhaustive extraction and were analyzed by Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC).  Glycogen phosphorylase (GP) assay was done to determine the inhibitory effects of respective extracts on GP enzyme. Total phenol content was measured using the Folin-Ciocalteu method and brine shrimp test was done to evaluate the toxicity of the extracts. Evaluation of TLC plates alone and after spraying with different reagents indicated that terpenoid was the major component of the sample followed by alkaloid and phenol. Chloroform extract applied more inhibitory effects on GP enzyme activity with percentages of 39.65 in concentration of 2.5 mg/ml. This suppression effect was higher than glucose, as a standard inhibitory agent in the body. The highest amount of phenol was found in the methanol extract, equal to 49 mg GAE g-1. Petroleum ether, chloroform and methanol extracts were considered as non-toxic solvents with LC50 values of 8.9, 3.5 and 3.7 mg/ml respectively. While hexane with 0.089 mg/ml LC50 value was classified as toxic extract. Based on the results of this study, we concluded that Vitis elegans rhizome, has the potential to be further studied for anti-hyperglycemic properties

    The Role of Open Diagnostic Peritoneal Lavage in the Evaluation of Peritoneal Cytology for Advanced Gastric Cancer: An Old Diagnostic Modality with New Usage

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    Background: Positive peritoneal cytology is a critical factor in prognosis. Peritoneal lavage is associated with long-term survival in patients with gastric cancer. Diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL) is a method for diagnosing visceral injury in trauma patients. This study aimed to investigate the usage of DPL in staging the work-up of patients with gastric cancer. Method: In this prospective study, we enrolled gastric cancer patients referring to Cancer Institute; they underwent DPL and washing specimen was sent for cytology review. After DPL, all patients underwent staging laparoscopy (SL) via the same abdominal incision. Results: DPL and SL were successful in all patients. There were six (11%) cases of peritoneal seeding discovered in SL; all of these patients had positive peritoneal cytology on DPL. Also, four patients showed positive cytology in the absence of positive SL. Thus, sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value, positive predictive value, and accuracy of DPL were 100 % (95% CI: 54.1-100), 91.6 % (95%: 79.2-97.5), 100 % (95%CI: 85.3-100), and 60 % (95%CI: 37-79.3). The accuracy of DPL in determining the peritoneal dissemination of gastric cancer was 92.31% (95% CI: 81.5-97.9). Conclusion: DPL had an excellent ability to find peritoneal dissemination in a gastric cancer patient, which is of great value in the setting of low-resource countries

    Diagnosing Small Hepatic Cysts on Multidetector CT: an Additional Merit of Thinner Coronal Reformations

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    OBJECTIVE: We wanted to validate the additional merit of the thinner coronal reformation images from multidetector CT (MDCT) for making the diagnosis of hepatic cysts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the 90 benign hepatic cysts confirmed on MRI, the transverse (5-mm thickness) and additional coronal (2-mm thickness) reformation images from MDCT were compared with each other in terms of the Hounsfield units (HUs) and the size of each hepatic cyst. RESULTS: THE ATTENUATIONS (MEAN: 17.2 HUs, standard deviation: ± 14.4) on the thinner coronal images were significantly lower than those (mean: 40.7 HUs; standard deviation: ± 20.6) on the thicker transverse images for the small hepatic cysts (≤ 10 mm on the transverse image, p < 0.01). Twenty-three (79%) of the 29 cysts between 5 mm and 10 mm and 21 (51%) of 41 lesions up to 5 mm showed a mean HU value of 20 or less on the coronal reformation images. CONCLUSION: By reducing the partial volume effect, routine coronal reformation of MDCT with a thinner section thickness can provide another merit for making a confidential diagnosis of many small sub-centimeter hepatic cysts, and these small cysts are not easily characterized on the conventional transverse images.ope
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