Is arthroscopic videotape a reliable tool for describing early joint tissue pathology of the knee?

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of the videotape scoring system collected during knee arthroscopy for meniscal tears, and to test the consistency with intra-operative findings.

Methods: Fifty-seven patients undergoing arthroscopic treatment of meniscal tears were included in the analysis. The cartilage damage was assessed intra-operatively, at six sites, using the Outerbridge scoring system.

Increased Plin2 expression in human skeletal muscle is associated with sarcopenia and muscle weakness.

Human aging is associated with a progressive loss of muscle mass and strength and a concomitant fat accumulation in form of inter-muscular adipose tissue, causing skeletal muscle function decline and immobilization. Fat accumulation can also occur as intra-muscular triglycerides (IMTG) deposition in lipid droplets, which are associated with perilipin proteins, such as Perilipin2 (Plin2). It is not known whether Plin2 expression changes with age and if this has consequences on muscle mass and strength.

Enhanced osteoblastogenesis of adipose-derived stem cells on spermine delivery via β-catenin activation.

The molecular mechanisms underlying spermine osteo-inductive activity on human adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) grown in 3-dimensional (3D) cultures were investigated. Spermine belongs to the polyamine family, naturally occurring, positively charged polycations that are able to control several cellular processes. Spermine was used at a concentration close to that found in platelet-rich plasma (PRP), an autologous blood product containing growth and differentiation factors, which has recently become popular in in vitro and in vivo bone healing and engineering.

[Maxillofacial trauma in pediatric age].

The different incidence of various kinds of maxillofacial fractures in children are examined and the causes of such differences are analyzed. The most significant are the variations in morphology of the maxillofacial skeleton during the children's growth and the physical-statistic problems strictly connected. Attention is drawn on the diagnostic difficulties of traumas due to fractures during childhood, sometimes unknown, especially with regard to the heavy functional and aesthetic exits which may occur.

Chondromalacia of the patella. Natural progression.

A total of 42 cases of patellar pain in subjects aged an average of 17.2 years submitted to arthroscopy are analyzed. Femoropatellar balance, where indicated, led to resolution of disorders with full resumption of sports activity.

Does total hip arthroplasty mean sensorial and proprioceptive lesion? A clinical study.

Total hip arthroplasty means sacrificing the joint capsule and the mechanoreceptors contained therein. Recent neurophysiological experiences seem to redefine the sensorial and proprioceptive role of the joint capsule in favor of the activity of the muscular mechanoreceptors, particularly in the area of the coxofemoral joint. The authors have examined the sensorial lesion caused by total hip arthroplasty in a group of 20 patients.

CKS knee prosthesis: biomechanics and clinical results in 42 cases.

From 1991 to 1993 a total of 42 CKS prostheses were implanted for the following reasons: osteoarthrosis (34 cases), rheumatoid arthritis (7 cases) tibial necrosis (1 case). At follow-up obtained after 17 to 41 months the results were: excellent or good: 41; the only poor result was probably related to excessive tension of the posterior cruciate ligament. 94% of the patients reported complete regression of pain, 85% was capable of going up and down stairs without support.

Changes in growth of the ilium after sopraacetabular osteotomy. Long-term evaluation.

It is commonly known that in acetabuloplasty according to the Pemberton-Zanoli method the insertion of the graft produces an immediate increase in the height of the iliac wing which in successive months could become hypergrowth caused by the hyperactivity of the underlying Y cartilage. A total of 40 cases of insufficiency of the acetabular roof treated by this method were examined based on measurements on follow-up radiograms and an evaluation of the spino-malleolar distance until puberty. The clinical evaluation showed that in 82.

The Marfan syndrome. An underdiagnosed killer.

The Marfan syndrome is an inherited connective-tissue disorder. The sequela of the syndrome is premature death that is most often due to cardiac complications and that can be prevented with early diagnosis and aggressive management. Although research has identified a gene responsible for the myriad of phenotypic presentations, the diagnosis of Marfan syndrome remains clinical.

Acute posterior dislocation of the shoulder: diagnosis.

The authors describe the clinical and radiographic findings of posterior dislocation of the shoulder by examining 19 cases observed at the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute between 1981 and 1990; of the total number of cases, 16 were acute and 3 inveterate, equal to 1.7%. After analyzing the pathogenesis of the lesion, which was due to direct trauma, indirect trauma, or which occurred during an episode of convulsions, the authors call attention to the rareness of the lesion, and consequently the little amount of knowledge of the clinical and radiographic elements characterizing it.

The herniated lumbar intervertebral disc in children and adolescents. Long-term follow-up of 101 cases treated by surgery.

The authors review 101 cases of herniated lumbar intervertebral disc in children and adolescents treated by surgery. The most significant etiologic and pathogenetic factors in this series were early onset of disc degeneration, congenital lumbosacral malformations, and repeated trauma. The main clinical symptom was pain, usually sciatica, while neurological symptoms were less common than they are in adults.

The surgical treatment of fractures of the pagetic femur: a case report.

Based on anatomo-pathological findings in fractures in bones affected with Paget's disease, the authors discuss problems related to treatment. One case is reported in which treatment involved intramedullary osteosynthesis with locked nailing and corrective osteotomy. This type of treatment achieved a dual purpose of obtaining fracture consolidation within a short amount of time, and correcting the deformity.

[Cephalometric analysis in acromegalic patients].

The authors of the present work have done a cephalometric study on 11 patients affected by acromegaly. The target of this research was to obtain with cephalometric analysis a means for the follow up of the disease together with an important provisional parameter of growth of the face bones, helping thus to obtain an early diagnosis and the general lines for a correct therapy. With the data obtained has been extrapolated a table with average data of cephalometric angles that, transferred on to a tracing could represent the cephalometric prototype of an acromegalic patient.

Osteoid osteoma of the spine.

After reviewing the international literature the authors present three new cases of osteoid osteoma with vertebral body localisation, two in the lumbar region, and one in the cervical region. This rare localisation necessitates the use of accurate instrumental techniques, based on radiography, scintigraphy, and in particular, CT scanning, in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis as a prelude to the correct surgical treatment.

[Radiographic diagnosis of dislocations and fracture-dislocations of the carpus].

A variety of unique and very rare carpal dislocations are reported. According to personal findings, an extension of the descriptive classification of this pathology is proposed, utilizing also the X-ray files of the Rizzoli Orthopaedic Institute. Moreover, the radiographical features are evaluated which help choosing the treatment to be followed.

Effect of temperature on isoprenaline- and barium-induced slow action potentials in guinea-pig ventricular strips.

The effect of variation in temperature (37-32 and 27 degrees C) on electrical and mechanical activity of depolarized and isoprenaline- or barium-reactivated guinea pig ventricular strips was studied. Lowering the temperature brings a marked prolongation of isoprenaline-induced slow action potentials. In addition the maximal rate of depolarization was strongly reduced at lower temperatures.