Elective Spinal Transpedicular Ablation of the Basivertebral Nerve of the Vertebral Segment in Adult Spinal Deformity Patients.

Background: Ablation of the basivertebral nerve (BVNA) innervating the vertebral endplate has become a standard treatment of vertebrogenic chronic low back pain (CLBP) arising from vertebral endplate damage. BVNA treatment of CLBP in clinical trials was successful and durable for pain relief and return to daily activities. This case review adds new information about older patients with adult degenerative spinal deformity (ASD) and associated comorbidities not previously described in clinical trials.

The Impact of Cardiac Arrhythmias on Total Knee Arthroplasty Outcomes.

Background: Cardiac comorbidities are common in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). While there is an abundance of research showing an association between cardiac abnormalities and poor postoperative outcomes, relatively little is published on specific pathologies. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of cardiac arrhythmias on postoperative outcomes in the setting of TKA.

Radius additivity score: a novel combination index for tumour growth inhibition in fixed-dose xenograft studies.

The effect of combination therapies in many cancers has often been shown to be superior to that of monotherapies. This success is commonly attributed to drug synergies. Combinations of two (or more) drugs in xenograft tumor growth inhibition (TGI) studies are typically designed at fixed doses for each compound.

Nanoparticle surface stabilizing agents influence antibacterial action.

The antibacterial properties of nanoparticles are of particular interest because of their potential to serve as an alternative therapy to combat antimicrobial resistance. Metal nanoparticles such as silver and copper nanoparticles have been investigated for their antibacterial properties. Silver and copper nanoparticles were synthesized with the surface stabilizing agents cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB, to confer a positive surface charge) and polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP, to confer a neutral surface charge).

Determining bioequivalence possibilities of long acting injectables through population PK modelling.

Long acting injectables (LAI) products are a popular intervention for treating a number of chronic conditions, with their long drug release reducing the administration frequency and thus improving patient adherence. The extended release, however, can provide a major challenge to bioequivalence (BE) testing since the long absorption half-life results in a long washout period, meaning that a traditional BE study can be many months or years in length. The unique PK profile for LAI products also means that it is critical to have appropriate metrics to summarise the plasma concentration profile.

Exploring a model-based analysis of patient derived xenograft studies in oncology drug development.

Purpose: To assess whether a model-based analysis increased statistical power over an analysis of final day volumes and provide insights into more efficient patient derived xenograft (PDX) study designs.

Methods: Tumour xenograft time-series data was extracted from a public PDX drug treatment database. For all 2-arm studies the percent tumour growth inhibition (TGI) at day 14, 21 and 28 was calculated.