Transglutaminase 2 moderates the expansion of mouse abdominal aortic aneurysms.

Objective: Previously published work has indicated that transcripts encoding transglutaminase 2 (TG2) increase markedly in a rat model of abdominal aortic aneurysm. This study determines whether TG2 and the related TG, factor XIII-A (FXIII-A), protect against aortic aneurysm development in mice.

Methods: C57BL/6J wild-type, knockout, knockout, and / double knockout mice were subjected to laparotomy and periaortic application of CaCl.

Barriers to accessing and providing rehabilitation after a lower limb amputation in Sierra Leone - a multidisciplinary patient and service provider perspective.

Purpose: The primary aim was to explore the perceived barriers that lower limb amputees and service providers face when accessing or providing rehabilitation services. The secondary aim was to describe the lower limb amputations performed in public hospitals in the Western Area of Sierra Leone in 2018.

Materials And Methods: A mixed methodology was employed, involving the collection of amputation data from surgical logbooks and interviews with amputees ( = 10) and group discussion and interviews with service providers ( = 11).

Toe amputation: a predictor of future limb loss?

Background: Digital toe amputation is a relatively minor surgical procedure but there is a historical view that it is the "first stage in a predictable clinical course" leading to eventual limb loss. There is a paucity of contemporaneous data on the long-term outcomes of patients undergoing toe amputation. We aim to study the experience from our institution, focussing on the risk factors for progression to future limb loss, by conducting a retrospective review of our practice.