The Contribution of Deleterious Rare Alleles in ENPP1 and Osteomalacia Causative Genes to Atypical Femoral Fracture.

Context: Atypical femoral fractures (AFFs) are very rare atraumatic or mild trauma fractures in the subtrochanteric region or femoral shaft. Some unique genetic variants in Asian populations might confer susceptibility to AFF, since the incidence of AFFs is higher in Asian populations.

Objective: Because rare variants have been found to be causative in some diseases and the roles of osteomalacia causative genes have not been reported, we investigated rare variants in genes causing abnormal mineralization.

TNF-α-induced miR-155 regulates IL-6 signaling in rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts.

Background: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of a variety of inflammatory mediators. The present study was undertaken to elucidate the role of miRNAs in the rheumatoid cytokine network.

Methods: We analyzed miRNA expression in rheumatoid synovial fibroblasts (RASFs).

Spinal anesthesia increases the risk of venous thromboembolism in total arthroplasty: Secondary analysis of a J-PSVT cohort study on anesthesia.

Clinical guidance on the choice of anesthetic modality vis-à-vis the risk of perioperative venous thromboembolism (VTE) is largely lacking because of a paucity of recent evidence. A comparative effect of general anesthesia and neuraxial blockade on the perioperative incidence of VTE has not been well-investigated.We compared the effects of different types of anesthetic modalities on the risk of VTE after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Reduced induction of anti-PF4/heparin antibody in RA patients after total knee arthroplasty.

Background: Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is caused by antibodies (Abs) specific to platelet factor 4 (PF4)/heparin complexes. In this study, we evaluated the rates of seroconversion of anti-PF4/heparin Ab between patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and with osteoarthritis (OA) who underwent total knee arthroplasty.

Methods: The subjects of this randomized controlled trial were 124 patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and received edoxaban with or without a foot pump as thromboprophylaxis.

Effects of a Foot Pump on the Incidence of Deep Vein Thrombosis After Total Knee Arthroplasty in Patients Given Edoxaban: A Randomized Controlled Study.

We conducted a randomized clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of the A-V Impulse System foot pump for reducing the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in patients under edoxaban thromboprophylaxis. Patients undergoing primary TKA at our institution between September 2013 and March 2015 were enrolled after obtaining informed consent. The patients were randomized to use the foot pump (n = 58) and not to use the foot pump (n = 62).

Risk of venous thromboembolism after total knee arthroplasty in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Objective: To compare the incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and those with osteoarthritis (OA).

Methods: The subjects were composed of 1084 Japanese patients with OA and 204 with RA. Primary effectiveness outcomes were any deep vein thrombosis (DVT) as detected by bilateral ultrasonography up to postoperative Day 10 (POD10) and pulmonary embolism (PE) up to POD28.

Protracted arthritis in a Japanese patient with familial Mediterranean fever.

The most common arthritic involvement in familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is acute self- limiting monoarthritis which typically lasts for 72 h. Hip joint involvement is uncommon in FMF and can result either from a process specific to this disease or from a coexisting inflammatory joint disease. We describe a 37-year-old woman with FMF and right osteoarthritis secondary to congenital hip dislocation.

Pentosan polysulfate treatment ameliorates motor function with increased serum soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 in HTLV-1-associated neurologic disease.

The main therapeutic strategy against human T lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I)-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP) characterized by lower extremity motor dysfunction is immunomodulatory treatment, with drugs such as corticosteroid hormone and interferon-α, at present. However, there are many issues in long-term treatment with these drugs, such as insufficient effects and various side effects. We now urgently need to develop other therapeutic strategies.

Antiviral effects of Psidium guajava Linn. (guava) tea on the growth of clinical isolated H1N1 viruses: its role in viral hemagglutination and neuraminidase inhibition.

Rapid evolution of influenza RNA virus has resulted in limitation of vaccine effectiveness, increased emergence of drug-resistant viruses and occurrence of pandemics. A new effective antiviral is therefore needed for control of the highly mutative influenza virus. Teas prepared by the infusion method were tested for their anti-influenza activity against clinical influenza A (H1N1) isolates by a 19-h influenza growth inhibition assay with ST6Gal I-expressing MDCK cells (AX4 cells) using fluorogenic quantification and chromogenic visualization.

Pravastatin reduces steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head in SHRSP rats.

Background And Purpose: Although the definite cause of steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) is unknown, peripheral circulatory failure, lipid metabolism disturbance, and increased oxidative stress are considered to be possible causes. We investigated whether pravastatin as a statin treatment reduces (1) the incidence of ONFH, (2) the adipocyte area, and (3) bone marrow changes in the femoral head.

Methods: We divided up 81 thirteen-week-old spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone (SHRSP)/Izm male rats into 4 groups: a control group (group C), a group given pravastatin (group P), a group given steroid (group S), and a group given both pravastatin and steroid (Group PS).

Pentosan reduces osteonecrosis of femoral head in SHRSP.

Increased oxidative stress is considered one of the main causes of steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of a steroid hormone and pentosan polysulfate sodium (pentosan), a heparin analog, in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) as a model of ONFH. One hundred twenty-three 13-week-old male SHRSP/Izm rats were divided into four groups: a control group (group C), pentosan-administered group (group P), steroid-administered group (group S), and group administered pentosan plus steroid (group PS).

Sodium pentosan polysulfate resulted in cartilage improvement in knee osteoarthritis--an open clinical trial.

Background: Pentosan polysulfate sodium (pentosan) is a semi-synthetic drug manufactured from beech-wood hemicellulose by sulfate esterification of the xylopyranose hydroxyl groups. From in vitro and animal model studies, pentosan has been proposed as a disease modifying osteoarthritis drug (DMOAD). The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and patient satisfaction in patients with mild radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) findings and OA-associated symptoms and signs.

MRI findings of an inflammatory variant of well-differentiated liposarcoma.

The inflammatory variant of well-differentiated liposarcoma (WDLPS) is a rare subtype. We present a 75-year-old woman who had a tumor that was difficult to diagnose preoperatively. Magnetic resonance imaging of the tumor revealed a large, lobulated heterogeneous soft tissue mass with a distinctive pattern of intermingled well-differentiated fatty elements and nodular areas of high T2-intensity tissue.

Immunohistochemical analyses of beta-catenin and cyclin D1 expression in giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB): a possible role of Wnt pathway in GCTB tumorigenesis.

Giant cell tumor of bone (GCTB) is a benign neoplasm but occasionally shows local recurrence, and histologically consists of osteoclast-like giant cells (GC) and stromal mononuclear cells (SC), which are capable of proliferation and osteoblastic differentiation. Activation of Wnt signaling can induce osteoblast differentiation and osteoclastgenesis during bone resorption process. This study analyzed the profiles of beta-catenin and cyclin D1 expression in GCTB to elucidate an involvement of Wnt pathway in tumorigenesis.

Hip rotationplasty with antibiotic-loaded bone cement spacer for severe infection following limb-sparing surgery.

Knee rotationplasty was initially proposed for the reconstruction of the knee joint in the congenital hypoplasia of the femur. Its application was extended to functional reconstruction of the knee joint after wide resection of malignant bone or soft tissue tumor around the knee. It has also been shown to salvage a failed knee-sparing surgery due to infection or the aseptic loosening of the prosthesis.

Osteonecrosis of femoral head in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats, especially old rats.

The average life span of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) is about eight months. Male SHRSPs at 40 weeks old were used to study the idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ION). The control group showed about 40% old necrosis and 20% early necrosis.

A case of progressive osseous heteroplasia: a first case in Japan.

Progressive osseous heteroplasia (POH) is a rare, hereditary, disorder (number 166350 in Mendelian Inheritance in Man), which was first identified in 1994 and is characterized by dermal ossification beginning in infancy as a result of increasing and extensive bone formation in deep muscle and fascia. We describe a boy with typical clinical, radiographic, and genetic features of POH. A nonsense mutation in exon 7 of the GNAS1 gene was identified in genomic DNA from the patient.

Osteonecrosis in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats: effect of glucocorticoid.

Background: High-dose administration of a steroid hormone has been associated with a major risk of osteonecrosis. In this study we investigated the effects of a steroid hormone on the incidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats/Nagasaki (SHRSP/Ngsks).

Methods: A total of 71 SHRSP/Ngsks were divided into two groups: a control group (C group, n = 40) and a steroid hormone group (S group, n = 31) given 5 mg (about 20 mg/kg) of methylprednisolone acetate during the 17th week of age.

High-grade surface osteosarcoma of the hand.

A 32-year-old woman presented with a 1-year history of mild pain in the right ring finger. Radiographs and CT revealed a calcified lesion with cortical erosion on the surface of the proximal aspect of the right ring finger proximal phalanx. On magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), the lesion showed low signal intensity on T1- and T2-weighted images and slight enhancement with gadolinium.

Warfarin reduces the incidence of osteonecrosis of the femoral head in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

In this study, we investigated the effects of warfarin potassium on the incidence of the femoral head osteonecrosis in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). Twenty-four SHRs were divided into two equal groups, one given normal water (water group) and another provided with water containing warfarin (warfarin group). We compared the two groups histologically and observed the incidence of osteonecrosis.