Effect of BMP-12, TGF-β1 and autologous conditioned serum on growth factor expression in Achilles tendon healing

Purpose: Achilles tendon ruptures are devastating and recover slowly and incompletely. There is a great demand for biomolecular therapies to improve recovery, yet little is understood about growth factors in a healing tendon. Here, the role of growth factors during tendon healing in a rat model and their reaction to single and multiple growth factor treatment are explored. Methods: Rat tendons were transected surgically and resutured. The expression of bFGF, BMP-12, VEGF and TGF-β1 was assessed by immunohistochemical analysis one to 8weeks after surgery. Paracrine effects of TGF-β1 or BMP-12 added by adenoviral transfer, as well as the effect of autologous conditioned serum (ACS) on growth factor expression, were evaluated. Results: bFGF, BMP-12 and VEGF expression was highest 1week after transection. bFGF and BMP-12 declined during the remaining period whereas VEGF expression persisted. TGF-β1 expression dramatically increased after 8weeks. ACS treatment increased bFGF (P=0.007) and BMP-12 (P=0.004) expression significantly after 8weeks. Also overall expression of bFGF, BMP-12 and TGF-β1 regardless of time point was significantly greater than controls with ACS treatment (P<0.05). Both BMP-12 and TGF-β1 treatments had no significant effect. No effect was observed in VEGF with any treatment. Conclusion: bFGF, BMP-12, VEGF and TGF-β1 are differentially expressed during tendon healing. Additional BMP-12 or TGF-β1 has no significant influence, whereas ACS generally increases expression of all factors except VEGF. Staged application of multiple growth factors may be the most promising biomolecular treatmen

A CORRELATION BETWEEN THE THERMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS OF 1-BUTANOL, 2-BUTANOL, l-PROPANOL MOLECULES AND THEIR INFRARED SPECTRA

The method is based on the thermodynamic parameters of the molecules- standard molar Gibbs free energy change of molecular formation ΔGf0 (kJ/mol), standard molar enthalpy change of molecular formation ΔHf0 (kJ/mol) and standard molar entropy of molecule S0 (J/mol·K). From these thermodynamics parameters the vibrational modes in infrared diapason can be calculated using TG=ΔGf0/S0 and TH=ΔHf0/S0 ratios, considered as ‘apparent’ temperatures. After conversion of the thermal energy kTG or kTH (k is Boltzmann constant) to energy of electromagnetic quanta E=hν (h is Planck constant), an frequencies in infrared spectral range are derived 1/λ=kTG/ch (cm-1), where λ= c/ν (c is speed of light). The calculated frequencies coincide with the vibrational mode on infrared spectrum of given corresponding molecule. The difference between the theoretically calculated frequencies and the experimentally measured ones in the infrared spectra of the studied molecules is within 50 cm-1

The relationship between hospital patients' ratings of quality of care and communication

Objective To assess the relationship between hospital patients' quality of care ratings and their experiences with health-related information exchanges and communication during hospitalization. Design Cross-sectional multivariate dimensional analysis of data from a quality of care experience questionnaire of hospital patients comparing scores across three levels of reported satisfaction. Setting and participants Five thousand nine hundred and fifty-two patients from a Swiss University Hospital responded to the questionnaire at discharge during 2010. Main outcome measures Survey questions measuring patients' evaluation of quality of care, patient loyalty and overall satisfaction. Results Different levels of reported satisfaction are associated with differing experiences of health-related information and communication during a hospital stay. Conclusions Patients who report lower satisfaction appear to attribute to the hospital staff enduring negative dispositions from behaviours that may be due to specific situational contexts. Negative experiences appear to influence scores on most other communication and information domains. Patients who report higher satisfaction, in contrast, appear to differentiate negative experiences and positive experiences and they appear to relativize and compartmentalize negative experiences associated with their hospital sta

Successful Therapy for a Patient With an Infected Ascending Aortic Graft and Sternal Osteomyelitis Without Graft Removal

Objective: Following open-heart surgery, sternal osteomyelitis or infection of the graft may be a serious complication with high mortality rates. The recommended treatment of an infected graft is its explantation. Because of the poor performance status of the patient, this may not always be an option. We report a successful treatment concept without removal of the infected graft. Methods: The infected ascending aortic graft and the remaining sternum of a critically ill 60-year-old man were covered with a bilateral pectoralis muscle flap. Results: Postoperatively, the laboratory test values normalized and the patient was discharged 1 month after the intervention. One year after surgery, the patient was in good condition and the examination showed no signs of infection. Conclusion: The thus demonstrated treatment concept with insertion of well-vascularized tissues in combination with a specific antibiotic regime in our hands proved to be an additional option for the successful management of life-threatening infections of a sternal osteomyelitis in combination of an infected aortic graft

Pain in osteoporosis - causes and pathogenesis

Osteoporosis is a pathological condition of bones caused mainly by accelerated osteoclast activity due to postmenopausal estrogen deficiency. Osteoporosis causes two types of pain: traumatic pain due to a fragility fracture and pain due to osteoporotic pathology without evidence of fracture. This review summarizes the available literature data on osteoporosis-related pain, with particular emphasis on the pathogenesis of pain resulting from osteoporotic pathology without evidence of fracture

Effect of Aronia melanocarpa fruit juice on carrageenan-induced paw edema in metabolic syndrome rats

INTRODUCTION: Chronic, low-grade inflammation plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of the metabolic syndrome (MS). Aronia melanocarpa fruits are rich in biologically active compounds—polyphenols, which possess a variety of health benefits including an anti-inflammatory effect.AIM: The aim of this article is to evaluate the effect of polyphenol-rich Aronia melanocarpa fruit juice (AMFJ) on carrageenan-induced acute inflammation in rats with diet-induced MS.MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty male Wistar rats were included in the experiment. They were allocated into 4 groups: MS, MS+AMFJ2.5, MS+AMFJ5, and MS+AMFJ10, all receiving high-fat high-fructose diet and 10% fructose in the drinking water for 10 weeks. The MS group served as a control and was treated daily with distilled water orally, while the other groups received AMFJ at doses of 2.5 mL/kg, 5 mL/kg, and 10 mL/kg, respectively. At the end of the experiment, carrageenan was injected in the left hind paw in order to induce acute inflammation. Paw edema was evaluated with plethysmometer on the 30th min and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th hour after the injection.RESULTS: In the MS group, the carrageenan-induced paw edema increased gradually with time reaching the highest value on the 5th hour. A decrease throughout the whole 5-hour period was observed in groups treated with AMFJ, the effect being most pronounced and statistically significant in MS+AMFJ5 group on the 2nd and 3rd hour.CONCLUSION: Aronia melanocarpa fruit juice treatment in rats with MS resulted in a decrease in the carrageenan-induced paw inflammation. The anti-inflammatory effect might be attributed to the polyphenols in AMFJ

Temporal trends in mortality and provision of intensive care in younger women and men with acute myocardial infarction or stroke

BACKGROUND Timely management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and acute stroke has undergone impressive progress during the last decade. However, it is currently unknown whether both sexes have profited equally from improved strategies. We sought to analyze sex-specific temporal trends in intensive care unit (ICU) admission and mortality in younger patients presenting with AMI or stroke in Switzerland. METHODS Retrospective analysis of temporal trends in 16,954 younger patients aged 18 to ≤ 52 years with AMI or acute stroke admitted to Swiss ICUs between 01/2008 and 12/2019. RESULTS Over a period of 12 years, ICU admissions for AMI decreased more in women than in men (- 6.4% in women versus - 4.5% in men, p < 0.001), while ICU mortality for AMI significantly increased in women (OR 1.2 [1.10-1.30], p = 0.032), but remained unchanged in men (OR 0.99 [0.94-1.03], p = 0.71). In stroke patients, ICU admission rates increased between 3.6 and 4.1% per year in both sexes, while ICU mortality tended to decrease only in women (OR 0.91 [0.85-0.95, p = 0.057], but remained essentially unaltered in men (OR 0.99 [0.94-1.03], p = 0.75). Interventions aimed at restoring tissue perfusion were more often performed in men with AMI, while no sex difference was noted in neurovascular interventions. CONCLUSION Sex and gender disparities in disease management and outcomes persist in the era of modern interventional neurology and cardiology with opposite trends observed in younger stroke and AMI patients admitted to intensive care. Although our study has several limitations, our data suggest that management and selection criteria for ICU admission, particularly in younger women with AMI, should be carefully reassessed

Long-Term Mortality after New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation in COVID-19

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) has been described as a common cardiovascular manifestation in patients suffering from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and has been suggested to be a potential risk factor for a poor clinical outcome. Methods: In this observational study, all patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 in 2020 in the Cantonal Hospital of Baden were included. We assessed clinical characteristics, in-hospital outcomes as well as long-term outcomes with a mean follow-up time of 278 (±90) days. Results: Amongst 646 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 (59% male, median age: 70 (IQR: 59-80)) in 2020, a total of 177 (27.4%) patients were transferred to the intermediate/intensive care unit (IMC/ICU), and 76 (11.8%) were invasively ventilated during their hospitalization. Ninety patients (13.9%) died. A total of 116 patients (18%) showed AF on admission of which 34 (29%) had new-onset AF. Patients with COVID-19 and newly diagnosed AF were more likely to require invasive ventilation (OR: 3.5; p = 0.01) but did not encounter an increased in-hospital mortality. Moreover, AF neither increased long-term mortality nor the number of rehospitalizations during follow-up after adjusting for confounders. Conclusions: In patients suffering from COVID-19, the new-onset of AF on admission was associated with an increased risk of invasive ventilation and transfer to the IMC/ICU but did not affect in-hospital or long-term mortality