[Feasibility study of locomotion training in a home-visit preventive care program].

Aim: To evaluate the feasibility of locomotion training (single-leg standing and squats) in a home-visit preventive care program for the elderly.

Methods: We invited 246 people who were not attending any preventive care programs within the long-term care insurance system. Among these, 60 participated in the current program.

Double clavicular fractures associated with scapular neck and coracoid process fractures.

We report a 38-year-old man with a combination of fractures in his left shoulder involving the middle and distal clavicle, the scapular neck, and the coracoid process, associated with scapulothoracic dissociation and an upper brachial plexus injury. The middle clavicular fracture was fixed with a plate, whereas the distal clavicular fracture was fixed with tension band wiring. Internal fixation for fractures of the scapular neck and coracoid process was not performed, as they were in an acceptable position after fixation of the clavicular fractures.

Involvement of tachykinins and NK1 receptor in the joint inflammation with collagen type II-specific monoclonal antibody-induced arthritis in mice.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic multisystem disease characterized by persistent joint inflammation associated with severe pain. Because RA is an immune-mediated joint disease and because type II collagen is considered an autoantigen, rodent models of arthritis using collagen type II-specific monoclonal antibodies are valuable for studying the pathogenesis of autoimmune arthritis and for evaluating therapeutic strategies. The tachykinin family peptides, substance P (SP) and hemokinin-1 (HK-1), are expressed in the nervous systems and in many peripheral organs and immunocompetent cells and activate tachykinin NK1 receptors with similar affinities.

Closed radial wedge osteotomy for Preiser's disease: a report of four cases.

Purpose: To investigate the clinical outcome of closed radial wedge osteotomy (CRWO) for Preiser's disease.

Methods: CRWO was performed for four patients with Preiser's disease between 2000 and 2005. All patients were diagnosed by X-ray and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.

Characteristics of the electrophysiological activity of muscles attached to the transverse carpal ligament in carpal tunnel syndrome.

The main cause of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) remains unknown. Stiffness of the subcutaneous area of the volar aspect of the carpal tunnel is present in many patients and suggests that the stiffness of muscles attached to the transverse carpal ligament is increased. We performed an electrophysiological study to investigate muscle activities and to clarify whether the stiffness of muscles attached to the transverse carpal ligament is involved in the pathogenesis of CTS.

Intra-articular administration of tachykinin NK₁ receptor antagonists reduces hyperalgesia and cartilage destruction in the inflammatory joint in rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis.

Persistent pain associated with inflammatory arthritis is an aggravating factor that decreases patients' quality of life. Current therapies for joint pain have limited effectiveness and produce unwanted negative side effects. Although the involvement of substance P and its cognate tachykinin receptor, NK(1), in joint inflammation has been extensively documented through animal experiments, the development of oral tachykinin NK(1) receptor antagonists against arthritis-induced pain has been unsuccessful in humans to date.

Electrophysiological and histological investigation on the gradual elongation of rabbit sciatic nerve.

A basic study using animal models was performed to investigate whether the sciatic nerve retains physiological functions and normal morphology after the gradual elongation associated with adjacent bone elongation. Electrophysiological and histological studies were performed on the elongated sciatic nerve of rabbit accompanied by the femur bone elongation. Compound action potentials evoked by electrical stimulation of the sciatic nerve were recorded and histological specimens of elongated nerve fibers were obtained immediately after final bone elongation from 4 rabbits (immediate group).

Autofluorescence assessment of extracellular matrices of a cartilage-like tissue construct using a fluorescent image analyser.

For the assessment of tissue-engineered cartilage, easy and precise evaluation methods are anticipated. We have investigated the use of a fluorescent image analyser and the application of fluorescence intensity measurements to describe and evaluate a tissue-engineered cartilage-like tissue construct. We evaluated the matrix production of a tissue-engineered cartilage-like tissue (TCL) construct in vitro using the image analyser.

Myositis ossificans of the supinator muscle causing posterior interosseous nerve palsy: a case report.

Some tumors or tumorous conditions causing posterior interosseous nerve palsy are well documented, but myositis ossificans causing the palsy of this nerve has not been described. We present a case of posterior interosseous nerve palsy caused by myositis ossificans of the supinator muscle.

Simplified dorsal approach to fracture of the hamate hook with percutaneous fixation with screws.

We present a new method for treating a fracture of the hook of the hamate with a percutaneous screw using a dorsal approach. Through this small incision, the fracture may be fixed easily and safely while avoiding damage to the blood supply of the hamate and the surrounding soft tissue.

Recurrence of fibrous hamartoma of infancy excised 14 years after the primary surgery.

Fibrous hamartoma of infancy is a rare, benign, superficial soft-tissue mass. It usually occurs within the first 2 years of life at the axial regions, upper arms, and external genital areas. There have been some recurrences within the 1st year of the surgery, although no cases have been reported to recur after 1 year.

Closing radial wedge osteotomy for Preiser's combined with Kienbock's disease: two case reports.

Avascular necrosis involving more than one carpal bone is rare, and the appropriate treatment for this condition has not yet been established. In this report, two patients with concomitant Preiser's and Kienböck's disease who also had severe wrist pain without obvious traumas were treated by closing radial wedge osteotomy (CRWO). Clinical evaluation showed that CRWO was effective against both conditions and indicated that it is more suitable for early stage than stage II diseases of the Hebert and Lichtman classifications.

Clinical usefulness of assessing lumbar somatosensory evoked potentials in lumbar spinal stenosis. Clinical article.

Object: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of assessing lumbar somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) in central lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS).

Methods: The latencies of lumbar SSEPs were recorded in 40 patients with central LSS, including 16 men and 24 women. The mean age of the patients was 67.

New mathematical approach for approximating the baseline of F-waves using spreadsheet software.

Objective: The aim of this study was to see if curved baselines of F-waves could be mathematically approximated with universal spreadsheet software.

Methods: The subjects were 3 healthy persons and 3 patients with cervical myelopathy. Supramaximal electrical stimuli were applied 200 times to the median nerve at the wrist.

[Diagnosis of musculoskeletal ambulation disability symptom complex (MADS)].

It was described to diagnosis of Musculoskeletal Ambulation Disability Symptom Complex (MADS). The definition of MADS is an person of advanced years with lower leveled balance and walking ability, high risk for fall, and who is keeping to the house. The diagnosis of MADS was decided to a history of 11 musculoskeletal disorders and evaluation of balanced and walking function.

Clinical value of motor evoked potentials with transcranial magnetic stimulation in the assessment of lumbar spinal stenosis.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical usefulness of assessing motor evoked potentials (MEP) in lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). Twenty-three LSS patients were enrolled. The preoperative data of MEP latency (MEPLT), clinical symptoms, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores for low back pain, visual analogue scale (VAS) for back pain, leg pain and numbness, walking distance and the minimal cross-sectional area (mCSA) of the dural sac were evaluated.

Epidemiological study of low back pain and occupational risk factors among taxi drivers.

A survey of taxi drivers was conducted to determine the actual situation of drivers' low back pain (LBP). The survey was carried out in October 2002, the target drivers were asked to complete a questionnaire which contains questions regarding physique of drivers, demographic features, working conditions, office environment, health conditions, the presence of low back pain, the level of low back pain based on Visual Analogue Scale and Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire score. As a result, the total number of valid responses was 1,334 and the response rate was 71 percent, and the 1-wk prevalence of LBP was 20.

Comparison of osteogenic ability of rat mesenchymal stem cells from bone marrow, periosteum, and adipose tissue.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) reside in many types of tissue and are able to differentiate into various functional cells including osteoblasts. Recently, adipose tissue-derived MSCs (AMSCs) have been shown to differentiate into many lineages, and they are considered a source for tissue regeneration. The purpose of this study was to compare the osteogenic differentiation capability of MSCs from bone marrow (BMSCs), MSCs from periosteum (PMSCs), and AMSCs using in vitro culture and in vivo implantation experiments.

Evaluation of parameters of serially monitored F-wave in acute cervical spinal cord injury.

Objective: In this study, we aimed to determine how physicians can evaluate the severity of acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and predict the prognosis of this injury using the relationships of changes in clinical features and electrophysiological examination results.

Materials And Methods: Serial recordings of F-waves were performed on 20 consecutive cervical SCI patients. In 12 of the patients, changes in several parameters of F-waves which were elicited by median and ulnar nerve stimulations were examined by analyzing their relationships to clinical symptoms.

Transverse divergent dislocation of the elbow with ipsilateral distal radius fracture in a child.

We report a rare case of an irreducible transverse divergent dislocation of the elbow with an ipsilateral distal radius torus fracture and a fracture of the coronoid process in a 9-year-old male. Closed reduction of the elbow was attempted, but the humeroulnar joint remained dislocated. At surgery, the avulsed anterior band of the medial collateral ligament complex of the elbow was found to be interposed between the medial condyle of the humerus and the olecranon.

Closing radial wedge osteotomy for Preiser's disease: a case report.

A case of Preiser's disease treated with closing radial wedge osteotomy is reviewed and the therapeutic effect is reported. A good result was obtained in the short term and we believe that this surgical method could become one of the choices for surgical treatment to alleviate pain in Preiser's disease.