Etiology of Spontaneous Extensor Tendon Injury in Northern-China Rice Farmers.

Background: Spontaneous extensor tendon injury is caused by repeated finger flexion and wrist movement. This rare disease has a relatively high incidence in northern China, mostly among rice farmers. This study aimed to elucidate the etiology of spontaneous extensor tendon injury in rice farmers.

A comparison of osteocyte bioactivity in fine particulate bone powder grafts vs larger bone grafts in a rat bone repair model.

The osteogenic potential for bone grafts is based on numbers and activities of cells that survive transplantation. In this study, we compared the bioactivity of osteocytes in 300-500 μm fine particulate bone powder grafts to 2 mm larger bone grafts in a rat radial defect model. Expression levels of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-β1), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and collagen I were semi-quantified by both immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR at days 1 and 4, as well as weeks 1, 2, 4, 6 and 10 post-transplantation.

Curcumin promotes the spinal cord repair via inhibition of glial scar formation and inflammation.

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a serious clinical situation without any effective therapy to date. Traumatic SCI triggers a complex pathological process including inflammatory response and glial scar formation. In this study, we demonstrated that curcumin, a natural product which functions as an anti-inflammatory agent, inhibited the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription-3 and NF-kappa B in the injured spinal cord.

Surgical treatment of cervicothoracic junction spinal tuberculosis via combined anterior and posterior approaches in children.

Background: Cervicothoracic junction spinal tuberculosis (CJST) in children is uncommon, especially when accompanied by a huge abscess. However, its consequences can be severe. Because of the special anatomic location of the cervicothoracic junction, surgical treatment is difficult and rarely reported.