Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages for anterior column reconstruction in pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis.

The objective of study was to evaluate a case series of patients in whom polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cages were used for anterior column reconstruction in vertebral osteomyelitis. Fifteen patients underwent clinical and radiological evaluation with average follow-up of 26 months. Parameters assessed were time of surgery, blood loss, segmental kyphosis or lordosis angle, time to solid bony fusion, ambulatory status, and functional outcome.

Muscles within muscles: a tensiomyographic and histochemical analysis of the normal human vastus medialis longus and vastus medialis obliquus muscles.

The aim of this study was to show the connection between structure (anatomical and histochemical) and function (muscle contraction properties) of vastus medialis obliquus (VMO) and vastus medialis longus (VML). The non-invasive tensiomyography (TMG) method was used to determine the contractile properties (contraction time; T(c)) of VML and VMO muscle, as a reflection of the ratio between the slow and fast fibers in two groups of nine young men. VML and VMO significantly (P < 0.

A novel method for evaluation of capillarity in human skeletal muscles from confocal 3D images.

A well developed capillary bed is essential for proper function of skeletal muscles. We present for the first time a triple immunofluorescent method suitable for staining capillaries and muscle fibre outlines in thick sections of human skeletal muscle, applying antibodies against collagen IV (in red) and F8 (in green) as well as Ulex europaeus lectin, visualized in green fluorescence. Further, we present possibilities for quantitative evaluation of the capillary network which implies the length of capillaries per unit volume of muscle tissue (Lcap/Vmuscle) and the length of capillaries supplying individual muscle fibres per unit fibre length (Lcap/Lfib), per surface area (Lcap/Sfib) and per volume (Lcap/Vfib) as well as the course of capillaries in the muscle.