Stage-I osteochondritis dissecans versus normal variants of ossification in the knee in children

Background: Juvenile osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) has a better prognosis than the adult type. Objective : We postulated that the excellent prognosis of juvenile OCD could be explained, at least in part, by the erroneous diagnosis of some developmental variants of ossification as stage-I OCD. Materials and methods : Knee MRIs of 38 children, ages 7.5–17.7 years (mean and median age 13 years), were retrospectively reviewed to look for features that might separate normal variants of ossification from stage-I OCD. These included age, gender, site, configuration of the lesion, residual cartilaginous model and presence of edema. Results : Twenty-three patients (32 condyles) had ossification defects with intact articular cartilage suggestive of stage-I lesions. No stage-II lesions were seen in the posterior femoral condyles. Accessory ossification centers were seen in 11/16 posterior condyles and 3/16 central condyles. Spiculation of existing ossification was seen in 12/16 posterior condylar lesions and 1/16 central condyles. There was a predominance of accessory ossifications and spiculations in the patients with 10% or greater residual cartilaginous model. No edema signal greater than diaphyseal red-marrow signal was seen in the posterior condyles. Clinical follow-up ranged from 0.5 to 38 months, with clinical improvement in 22 out of 23 patients. Conclusion : Inclusion of normal variants in the stage-I OCD category might explain, in part, the marked difference in published outcome between the juvenile and adult forms of OCD. Ossification defects in the posterior femoral condyles with intact overlying articular cartilage, accessory ossification centers, spiculation, residual cartilaginous model, and lack of bone-marrow edema are features of developmental variants rather than OCD.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46719/1/247_2005_Article_1507.pd

Wound dressings for a proteolytic-rich environment

Wound dressings have experienced continuous and significant changes over the years based on the knowledge of the biochemical events associated with chronic wounds. The development goes from natural materials used to just cover and conceal the wound to interactive materials that can facilitate the healing process, addressing specific issues in non-healing wounds. These new types of dressings often relate with the proteolytic wound environment and the bacteria load to enhance the healing. Recently, the wound dressing research is focusing on the replacement of synthetic polymers by natural protein materials to delivery bioactive agents to the wounds. This article provides an overview on the novel protein-based wound dressings such as silk fibroin keratin and elastin. The improved properties of these dressings, like the release of antibiotics and growth factors, are discussed. The different types of wounds and the effective parameters of healing process will be reviewed

Genome-wide meta-analysis for serum calcium identifies significantly associated SNPs near the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) gene.

Calcium has a pivotal role in biological functions, and serum calcium levels have been associated with numerous disorders of bone and mineral metabolism, as well as with cardiovascular mortality. Here we report results from a genome-wide association study of serum calcium, integrating data from four independent cohorts including a total of 12,865 individuals of European and Indian Asian descent. Our meta-analysis shows that serum calcium is associated with SNPs in or near the calcium-sensing receptor (CASR) gene on 3q13. The top hit with a p-value of 6.3 x 10(-37) is rs1801725, a missense variant, explaining 1.26% of the variance in serum calcium. This SNP had the strongest association in individuals of European descent, while for individuals of Indian Asian descent the top hit was rs17251221 (p = 1.1 x 10(-21)), a SNP in strong linkage disequilibrium with rs1801725. The strongest locus in CASR was shown to replicate in an independent Icelandic cohort of 4,126 individuals (p = 1.02 x 10(-4)). This genome-wide meta-analysis shows that common CASR variants modulate serum calcium levels in the adult general population, which confirms previous results in some candidate gene studies of the CASR locus. This study highlights the key role of CASR in calcium regulation

Effect of nicotine exposure during gestation on neonatal rat crystalline lenses

Purpose To assess histologically the influence of maternal nicotine exposure during gestation in vivo on crystalline lenses in neonatal rats using different dosages of the test compound simulating the range of low, moderate, and heavy smokers in humans

Beneficial soil microbiome for sustainable agricultural production

The projected increase in world population and the need to reduce the reliance on non-renewable inputs, such as synthetic agrochemicals, are challenging the current vision of agriculture. In particular, to achieve a fair and sustainable global food security, disruptive changes in crop production are unavoidable. A promising strategy proposes to exploit the metabolic capabilities of soil microbial communities, i.e., the microbiome, to conjugate stable yield with reduced impact on the agroecosystem. In this chapter, we introduce the microbiome populating the root-soil interface from an evolutionary perspective. Next, we discuss the molecular bases of plant-microbe interactions in soil and how these interactions impact plant growth, development and health. We illustrate how plant-probiotic members of the microbiome can be isolated from soil and further characterized for their biological activities, a key pre-requisite for translational applications. In addition, we focus on paradigmatic examples of soil microbes turned into inoculants for agriculture, their fate on soil, their impact on the native microbiome and the beneficial effects exerted on crop productio