[Modern treatment of ankylosing spondylitis].

Bechterew's disease belongs to subgroup of spondyloarthritis. Even today there is still a delay of 5-10 years between the first occurrence of symptoms and the final diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis. Without treatment the spine increasingly stiffens and the peripheral (mostly large) joints are often destroyed by inflammatory processes.

[Modern treatment of ankylosing spondylitis].

Bechterew's disease belongs to subgroup of spondyloarthritis. Even today there is still a delay of 5-10 years between the first occurrence of symptoms and the final diagnosis of ankylosing spondylitis. Without treatment the spine increasingly stiffens and the peripheral (mostly large) joints are often destroyed by inflammatory processes.

[Is a dorsal access associated with an elevated luxation rate following total hip replacement?].

The use of the dorsal approach to the hip joint for insertion of an endoprosthesis is associated with a dislocation rate of 1-7%, which is higher than comparable operations using an anterolateral approach. In recent years an enhanced dorsal capsular reconstruction technique has been recommended with increasing frequency. This has reduced the likelihood of dislocation to 0-3%.

[Alterations to the lumbar spine in rheumatoid arthritis].

In rheumatoid arthritis the anatomical structures of the lumbar spine are affected by the same mechanisms of destruction as are known from other skeletal regions. Although spinal symptoms do not become apparent until the later stages of rheumatoid arthritis, patients do sometimes complain of typical symptoms. We present data recorded in 19 patients with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis who underwent hospital treatment directed exclusively at isolated low-back pain.

Genomic imprinting of insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2) in chronic synovitis.

Objective: To search for relaxation or loss of IGF-2 imprinting (LOI) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial tissues.

Design: The genotype of IGF-2 was determined in 25 freshly isolated synovial tissue samples with signs of active inflammation by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction fragment length polymorphism. Imprinting was determined in synovial tissue mononuclear cells (STMC) of five informative heterozygous patients by reverse transcriptase (RT)-PCR.

[Peripheral nerve entrapment syndrome of the upper extremities in cases of inflammatory, rheumatic joint diseases].

Entrapment neuropathy of the upper extremities could be detected by electroneurophysiological investigations in one third of our patients with rheumatoid arthritis. These neuropathies are often overlooked and therefore not treated appropriately. The functional impairment of arms and hands should not be neglected.

Overground and walkway ambulation with unilateral hip osteoarthritis: comparison of step length asymmetries and reproducibility of treadmill mounted force plate readings.

The purpose of this study was to analyze and compare the degree of step length asymmetry of patients with hip osteoarthritis during free walking and treadmill ambulation and to determine the reproducibility of treadmill based vertical ground reaction force parameters. Twelve subjects with monoarticular hip osteoarthritis undergoing total hip replacement surgery were assessed preoperatively. The assessed parameters were step length, maximal forces at heel strike and push off minimum force, force inclining and declining rate and relative stance time.

A navigated mechatronic system with haptic features to assist in surgical interventions.

Objective: In orthopaedic surgery, the development of new computer-based technologies such as navigation systems and robotics will facilitate more precise, reproducible results in surgical interventions. There are already commercial systems available for clinical use, though these still have some limitations and drawbacks. This paper presents an alternative approach to a universal modular surgical assistant system for supporting less or minimally invasive surgery.

[Minimally invasive approaches to hip and knee joints for total joint replacement].

The manuscript features the different minimally invasive approaches to the hip for joint replacement. These include medial, anterior, anterolateral, and posterior approaches. The concept of minimally invasive hip arthroplasty makes sense if it is an integral part of a larger concept to lower postoperative morbidity.

[Resorbable pin refixation of an osteochondral fracture of the lateral femoral condyle due to traumatic patellar dislocation: case management, follow-up and strategy in adolescents].

Aim: Intraarticular osteochondral fractures resulting from traumatic patellar dislocation in children are reported most frequently between 13 and 15 years of age. Fracture localization concerns, apart from loose intraarticular bodies, the inferiomedial patellar facet and the lateral femoral condyle. Osteochondral fractures of the lateral femoral condyle with more than 50 % of its surface are extremely rare and reported infrequently.

[Endoprostheses of the hand].

In 1890, the German surgeon T. Gluck was the first to implant an ivory arthroplasty into a wrist which was being destroyed by tuberculosis. The finger joints were first replaced with endoprostheses in 1940 by Burman.

[Operative approaches to the elbow for surgery of rheumatoid arthritis].

Operative approaches to the elbow are classified according to the direction of approach to the joint. A selection of dorsal, ventral, lateral, and medial approaches useful for open elbow surgery in rheumatoid arthritis is presented.

[Injury and overuse pattern in professional ballet dancers].

Aim: The purpose of the study was to show the injury profile and common discomforts of professional ballet dancers and to examine factors that affect the frequency of the injuries, like age, gender, regeneration activities.

Method: 42 female and 35 male dancers in German theaters were evaluated by a questionnaire, training observation, and physical examination.

Results: Common discomfort was described frequently in the lumbar spine (88%), the knee (80.

[A comparison of total knee replacement in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and those with degenerative arthritis].

This article aims at determining the differences in resources needed for the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis as opposed to osteoarthritis. Data on ten patients for each of these diagnoses, all of whom had been subject to the implantation of a knee arthroplasty,were compared. We looked at parameters such as the duration of surgery, further diagnoses, costs of radiological measures and medical treatment, simultaneous operations, need of nursing care,physical and occupational therapy and complications.

[Differences between rheumatoid and degenerative disease in total hip replacement].

The aim of this study was to compare total hip replacement (THR) in rheumatoid and osteoarthritic patients. Ten rheumatoid and ten osteoarthritic patients undergoing THR were compared with respect to preoperative diagnostics, operative therapy, nursing and rehabilitation. Statistically significant differences existed between the groups: In rheumatoid patients, radiographic diagnostics were more extensive ( P=0.

[The influence of rheumatoid and degenerative disease on hospital resources in the operative treatment of cervical spine instability].

The aim of this study was to compare perioperative diagnostic and therapeutic measures in the treatment of cervical spine instability in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or degenerative disease. Twenty patients (ten in each group) were evaluated and compared with regard to age, sex, surgery time, total operating room time, intensive care time, extent of physical therapy, nursing requirements, costs of medication and radiography. Rheumatoid arthritis patients required more resources with regard to surgery, nursing and rehabilitation than the patients with degenerative disease.

[Non-hodgkin-lymphoma of low malignancy (immunocytoma) and arthritis of the glenohumeral joint].

Aim: Oligo- or monarthritis is reported as an uncommon complication of both acute and chronic leukemia. Childhood leukemias are complicated more frequently by leukemic arthritis (LA) than adult cases. LA occurs rather in acute than in chronic leukemia and can present at any stage of the disease.

[Occipitocervical fusion in rheumatoid arthritis].

A case of spontaneous occipitocervical fusion is discussed. The authors believe that fusion at the occipitocervical junction will occasionally occur in rheumatoid arthritis in the adult population. As a result of fusion, the dens axis is unable to exert compression on the spinal cord with increased neck flexion.

[Atlanto-axial kyphosis].

Atlantoaxial kyphosis (AAK) is a rare sagittal deformity of the occiptoatlantoaxial junction. It is defined as a subgroup of anterior translatory atlantoaxial instability. AAK is a symptom of several ligamentours or bony disorders of the craniocervical junction; however, rheumatoid arthritis and trauma are the most common causes for AAK.

Potential economic impact of using a proprietary willow bark extract in outpatient treatment of low back pain: an open non-randomized study.

An open, non-randomised, study (postmarketing surveillance) was carried out on three groups of patients aged 18 to 80 presenting over an 18 month period with acute exacerbations of low back pain. The objective was to assess the possible economic impact of including a regular dose of proprietary willow bark extract (Assalix) in the treatment provided. A first group of 115 patients, presenting to 3 general practitioners in the first 3 months, was prescribed a daily dose of extract containing 120 mg of salicin (group W120).

The Giessen-Mainz-Frankfurt procedure: a new method for complex pelvic reconstruction for bladder exstrophy.

Purpose: In bladder exstrophy primary reconstruction remains the gold standard worldwide. Despite various types of osteotomies the permanent correction of pubic diastasis remains a challenge. In maxillofacial surgery callus distraction is a routine treatment for hypoplastic mandibles.