New needle biopsy technique for lumbar pyogenic spondylodiscitis.

Study Design: Case series.

Objective: To improve the isolation rate for pyogenic spondylodiscitis, we developed a new needle biopsy technique.

Summary Of Background Data: The biggest problem in treating lumbar pyogenic spondylodiscitis is a low success rate in isolating a causative microorganism.

TNF-alpha-induced aquaporin 9 in synoviocytes from patients with OA and RA.

Objectives: To determine whether aquaporins (AQPs) are expressed in the synovial tissues of patients with OA and RA, and to examine the patterns of expression in patients with and without hydrarthrosis.

Methods: AQPs were detected in synovial tissue samples from patients with OA and RA using RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLSs) from patients with OA and RA were cultured and stimulated with TNF-alpha.