Effect of angiotensin II type I receptor blocker losartan on bone deterioration in orchiectomized male hypertensive and normotensive rats.

Background: Epidemiological study showed that the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors was associated with higher bone mineral density (BMD) in older people, especially male subjects, which suggested that angiotensin II may have a detrimental effect on bone. Therefore, blocking its effect may have a beneficial effect on bone health.

Methods: Six-month-old male spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) and normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) were used.

Potential reproductive toxicity of Largehead Atractylodes Rhizome, the most commonly used Chinese medicine for threatened miscarriage.

Background: Largehead Atractylodes Rhizome (LAR) is the most commonly used Chinese medicine to prevent early pregnancy loss due to threatened miscarriage. However, its safety profile during pregnancy is still not available. Here we aimed to identify the potential adverse effects of LAR on embryo-fetal development as well as prenatal and post-natal growth.

A novel statistical morphometry imaging method for differentiating long bone geometry: methodological development and application with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients.

Non-invasive quantification of bone shape is crucial in orthopaedic research. The primary objective of this study was to develop an automated statistical morphometry method for comparing the cross-sectional images of normal and diseased bones. The secondary objective involved demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method in distinguishing AIS patients from normal controls.

Fast and accurate 3-D registration of HR-pQCT images.

High-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) is a new noninvasive bone imaging technology that generates high-resolution 3-D images for quantitatively analysis of the bone microarchitecture in human. To enable quantitative evaluation of bone changes, either bone gain or loss, accurate alignment between the baseline and follow-up scans of the same individual is necessary. The major difficulties in achieving efficient and automatic registration of the HR-pQCT data are the large data size, deformations in the nonskeletal structures, and the complexity of the trabecular bone geometry.

Correlation of Risser sign, radiographs of hand and wrist with the histological grade of iliac crest apophysis in girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Study Design: A correlation analysis between histologic grade (HG) of iliac crest apophysis and skeletal age assessments.

Objective: To study the correlation between HGs of iliac crest apophysis and the skeletal age of hand and wrist, digital skeletal age (DSA), and Risser sign in the girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Summary Of Background Data: The evaluation of the remaining growth of the patients clinically and radiologically is highly significant in predicting the curve progression and thus influencing the treatment strategy in AIS.

Morphological and functional electrophysiological evidence of relative spinal cord tethering in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Study Design: Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and multiplanar reconstruction was used to evaluate the morphology and relative position of the spinal cord in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Objective: To determine the longitudinal and cross-sectional morphology of spinal cord in AIS subjects versus normal controls and their correlation with relative position of cerebellar tonsils and somatosensory cortical evoked potentials (SSEP).

Summary Of Background Data: Our previous studies revealed significantly reduced spinal cord to vertebral column length ratios in AIS patients with severe scoliotic curves suggesting the presence of disproportional growth between the neural and skeletal system.

MR analysis of regional brain volume in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: neurological manifestation of a systemic disease.

Purpose: To investigate whether regional brain volumes in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients differ from matched control subjects as AIS subjects are reported to have poor performance on combined visual and proprioceptive testing and impaired postural balance in previous studies.

Materials And Methods: Twenty AIS female patients with typical right-convex thoracic curve (age range,11-18 years; mean, 14.1 years) and 26 female controls (mean age, 14.

Landmark correspondence optimization for coupled surfaces.

Volumetric layers are often encountered in medical images. Unlike solid structures, volumetric layers are characterized by double and nested bounding surfaces. It is expected that better statistical models can be built by utilizing the surface coupleness rather than simply applying the landmarking method on each of them separately.

A detailed morphologic and functional magnetic resonance imaging study of the craniocervical junction in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Study Design: Conventional and phase-contrast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging were used to evaluate the morphology and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow dynamics at craniocervical junction in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Objectives: To determine the morphology of cerebellar tonsil, foramen magnum, and dynamic flow of CSF at the craniocervical junction in AIS patients versus normal controls and their correlation with somatosensory cortical evoked potentials (SSEP).

Summary Of Background Data: Previous studies have documented obstructed CSF flow in patients with Chiari I malformation.

Morphometric analysis for pathological abnormality detection in the skull vaults of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis girls.

In this paper, we present a comprehensive framework to detect morphological changes in skull vaults of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis girls. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to use a combination of medical knowledge, image analysis techniques, statistical learning tools, and scientific visualization methods to detect skull morphological changes. The shape analysis starts from a reliable 3-D segmentation of the skull using thresholding and math-morphological operations.