Denosumab: Current Use in the Treatment of Primary Bone Tumors.

Denosumab, a human monoclonal antibody that inhibits bone resorption by binding on the receptor activator of the nuclear factor kappa-β ligand, has recently emerged as an additional option in the treatment of musculoskeletal osteolytic tumors. This article focuses on the recent literature regarding the effectiveness of denosumab in the management of giant cell tumor, multiple myeloma, aneurysmal bone cyst, and osteosarcoma. The mechanism of action of denosumab in the management of these tumors and the associated side effects are discussed in detail.

Leishmania Infection of a Knee Megaprosthesis.

This article presents a 19-year old patient with a distal femoral osteosarcoma treated with limb salvage and distal femoral megaprosthetic reconstruction complicated postoperatively by bone leishmaniasis. Bone biopsy was done; bone tissue was sent for cultures and histology. Cultures were negative.

Computer-assisted navigation in orthopedic surgery.

Computer-assisted navigation has a role in some orthopedic procedures. It allows the surgeons to obtain real-time feedback and offers the potential to decrease intra-operative errors and optimize the surgical result. Computer-assisted navigation systems can be active or passive.

Modified McLaughlin technique for neglected locked posterior dislocation of the shoulder.

Several surgical techniques have been described for the treatment of posterior shoulder dislocation depending on the time elapsed between injury and surgery and the size of the humeral head impression fracture. When the bone defect is between 25% and 50% of the articular surface of the head, the procedures of choice are autologous bone graft or allograft or subscapularis tendon or lesser tuberosity transfer. In neglected cases in which patients undergo surgery more than 3 weeks after injury, no standard accepted treatment for this injury exists.

Computer-assisted navigation in knee surgery.

Although computer-assisted navigation has been used in clinical practice for more than 15 years, it has only recently started to gain acceptance in a variety of orthopedic procedures. Different types of computer-assisted navigation are available, which allow the surgeon to obtain real-time feedback and offer him the potential to decrease intraoperative errors. However, its increased cost and lacking evidence of long-term superiority have made many surgeons skeptical about its clinical usefulness.

Correlation of rCBF (SPECT), CSF tau, and cognitive function in patients with dementia of the Alzheimer's type, other types of dementia, and control subjects.

Background: The diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) during life remains difficult and a definite diagnosis of AD relies on histopathological confirmation at post-mortem or by cerebral biopsy. It is well known that levels of tau proteins are consistently and significantly increased in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of Alzheimer's patients versus levels in normal controls. However, the sole use of this biochemical marker as a test for AD is hampered by mediocre specificity, since tau concentrations may also be elevated in certain other neurological disorders (OND).

Fever and evoked potentials in multiple sclerosis.

The somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) and visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were studied in 19 patients with multiple sclerosis; 17 controls were studied during fever (38.0 degrees - 39.7 degrees C) and 2-3 days following return to normal temperature.