Cardamonin inhibits osteogenic differentiation by downregulating Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and alleviates subchondral osteosclerosis in osteoarthritic mice.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common degenerative joint disease, and subchondral osteosclerosis is an important pathological change that occurs in its late stages. Cardamonin (CD) is a natural flavonoid isolated from Alpinia katsumadai that has anti-inflammatory activity. The objectives of this study were to investigate the therapeutic effects and potential mechanism of CD in regulating OA subchondral osteosclerosis at in vivo and in vitro settings.

Fabrication, Characterization, and In Vitro Cytotoxicity Assessment of Tri-Layered Multifunctional Scaffold for Effective Chronic Wound Healing.

Chronic wounds have been a global health risk that demands intensive exploration. A tri-layered biomaterial scaffold has been developed for skin wounds. The top layer of the scaffold is superhydrophobic, and the bottom layer is hydrophilic, both of which were electrospun using recycled expanded polystyrene (EPS) and monofilament fishing line (MFL), respectively.

Movement Artifact Suppression in Wearable Low-Density and Dry EEG Recordings Using Active Electrodes and Artifact Subspace Reconstruction.

Wearable low-density dry electroencephalogram (EEG) headsets facilitate multidisciplinary applications of brain-activity decoding and brain-triggered interaction for healthy people in real-world scenarios. However, movement artifacts pose a great challenge to their validity in users with naturalistic behaviors (i.e.

Coronoid Fracture Reconstruction with Ipsilateral Olecranon Osteoarticular Autograft in the Acute Setting: A Case Report.

Case: An 18-year-old male polytrauma patient sustained a high-energy posterior fracture dislocation of his left elbow associated with a comminuted and irreparable O'Driscoll type 2 subtype 3 anteromedial facet coronoid fracture. He underwent early coronoid reconstruction using ipsilateral olecranon osteoarticular autograft with incorporation of the sublime tubercle attachment of the medial collateral ligament and repair of the lateral ulnar collateral ligament. A 3-year follow-up revealed a functional, painless, congruent, and stable elbow.

Higenamine Promotes Osteogenesis Via IQGAP1/SMAD4 Signaling Pathway and Prevents Age- and Estrogen-Dependent Bone Loss in Mice.

Osteoporosis is a common bone disease caused by an imbalance of bone resorption and formation that results in a loss of total bone density. SMAD2/3 signal transduction is known to play a crucial role in osteogenic differentiation through transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β). By screening a library of small-molecule compounds, the current study identifies higenamine (HG) as an active osteogenic agent that could be a therapeutic candidate for osteoporosis.

The Role of IL-6 and TMEM100 in Lumbar Discogenic Pain and the Mechanism of the Glycine-Serine-Threonine Metabolic Axis: A Metabolomic and Molecular Biology Study.

Background: It is well established that discogenic low back pain (DLBP) is often caused by the inflammatory response during intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). However, it remains unclear how inflammatory mediators such as Interleukin-6 (IL-6) are involved in discogenic pain caused by degeneration and intervertebral disc (IVD) metabolism. The purpose of this study is to study the relationship between IL-6 and Transmembrane protein 100 (TMEM100), and to analyze the different metabolites and metabolic pathways in various rat intervertebral discs by metabonomics.

DEPDC1 as a crucial factor in the progression of human osteosarcoma.

Objective: Novel therapeutic strategies are emerging with the increased understanding of the underlying mechanisms of human osteosarcoma. This current study tends to decipher the potentially critical role of DEP domain-containing 1 (DEPDC1), a tumor-related gene, during the progression of osteosarcoma.

Methods: Bioinformatics analysis of 25,035 genes from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) databases was performed to screen differentially expressed genes between osteosarcoma and normal control groups, complemented by the examination of 85 clinical osteosarcoma specimens.

Synthesis and Properties of Magnetic FeO/PCL Porous Biocomposite Scaffolds with Different Sizes and Quantities of FeO Particles.

In clinical practice, to treat diseases such as osteosarcoma or chondrosarcoma with broad surgical ostectomy, it would be ideal to have scaffolds that not only fill up the bone void but also possess the ability to regulate the subsequent regimes for targeted chemotherapy and/or bone regeneration. Magnetic targeting of therapeutic agents to specific sites in the body provides certain advantages such as minimal side-effects of anti-cancer drugs. The objective of this study was to characterize novel magnetic scaffolds that can be used as a central station to regulate the drug delivery of a magnetic nanoparticle system.

Polymeric biomaterials for wound healing applications: a comprehensive review.

Chronic wounds have been a global health threat over the past few decades, requiring urgent medical and research attention. The factors delaying the wound-healing process include obesity, stress, microbial infection, aging, edema, inadequate nutrition, poor oxygenation, diabetes, and implant complications. Biomaterials are being developed and fabricated to accelerate the healing of chronic wounds, including hydrogels, nanofibrous, composite, foam, spongy, bilayered, and trilayered scaffolds.

Classification and Treatment for Cervical Spine Fracture with Ankylosing Spondylitis: A Clinical Nomogram Prediction Study.

Objective: Through the follow-up analysis of cervical spine fracture cases with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a treatment-oriented fracture classification method is introduced to evaluate the clinical efficacy guided by this classification method.

Method: A retrospective analysis was performed on 128 AS patients who underwent comprehensive treatment in the Spine Surgery Department of Qingdao University Hospital from January 2009 to May 2018. Statistics of patient demographic data, distribution of different fractures corresponding to surgical methods, 3-year follow-up outcomes, and summary of objective fracture classification methods were analyzed.

Effects of Hypoxia on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Osteosarcoma Cells.

Background: Hypoxia can happen during solid tumor growth including osteosarcoma. This study investigated the relationship of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) on osteosarcoma cell growth and apoptosis under hypoxic conditions.

Materials And Methods: Human osteosarcoma cells were cultured under normal or hypoxic conditions.

Glycine-Serine-Threonine Metabolic Axis Delays Intervertebral Disc Degeneration through Antioxidant Effects: An Imaging and Metabonomics Study.

Although intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) can be described as different stages of change through biological methods, this long and complex process cannot be defined in stages by single or simple combination of biological techniques. Under the background of the development of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) technology and the emerging metabonomics, we based on animal models and expanded to the study of clinical human degeneration models. The characteristics of different stages of IDD were analyzed by omics.

Exosomal MATN3 of Urine-Derived Stem Cells Ameliorates Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Antisenescence Effects and Promotes NPC Proliferation and ECM Synthesis by Activating TGF-.

Objective: Low back pain (LBP) is one of the top three causes of disability in developed countries, and intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a major contributor to LBP. In the process of IDD, there is a gradual decrease in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) and extracellular matrix (ECM). Exosomes are important exocrine mediators of stem cells that can act directly on cells for tissue repair and regeneration.

Identification and coregulation pattern analysis of long noncoding RNAs following subacute spinal cord injury.

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been demonstrated to play critical regulatory roles in posttranscriptional and transcriptional regulation in eukaryotic cells. However, the characteristics of many lncRNAs, particularly their expression patterns in the lesion epicenter of spinal tissues following subacute spinal cord injury (SCI), remain unclear. In this study, we determined the expression profiles of lncRNAs in the lesion epicenter of spinal tissues after traumatic SCI and predicted latent regulatory networks.

Exosomes Derived from Human Urine-Derived Stem Cells Inhibit Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Ameliorating Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress.

Objective: This study is aimed at determining the effects of human urine-derived stem cell-derived exosomes (USCs-exos) on pressure-induced nucleus pulposus cell (NPC) apoptosis and intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) and on the ERK and AKT signaling pathways.

Methods: The NPCs were obtained from patients with herniated lumbar discs. Western blot analysis (WB) and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to determine endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress levels of NPCs under stress.

Validating a LEGO-Like EEG Headset for a Simultaneous Recording of Wet- and Dry-Electrode Systems During Treadmill Walking.

Recent mobile and wearable electroencephalogram (EEG)-sensing technologies have been demonstrated to be effective for measuring rapid changes of spatio-spectral EEG correlates of brain and cognitive functions of interest with more ecologically natural settings. However, commercial EEG products are available commonly with a fixed headset in terms of the number of electrodes and their locations to the scalp practically constrains their generalizability for different demands of EEG and brain-computer interface (BCI) study. While most progress focused on innovation of sensing hardware and conductive electrodes, less effort has been done to renovate mechanical structures of an EEG headset.

Effect of BMP-2 Adherent to Resorbable Sutures on Cartilage Repair: A Rat Model of Xyphoid Process.

Meniscal tears are often seen in orthopedic practice. The current strategy for meniscal repair has only had limited success with a relatively high incidence of re-operative rate. This study evaluates the therapeutic effects of Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) soaked sutures for cartilage repair, using a rat model of xyphoid healing.

Medial Dislocation of the Long Head of the Biceps without Concomitant Subscapularis Tear: A Case Report.

Introduction: Medial dislocation of the long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) is classically known as a pathognomonic finding for a subscapularis or at least a rotator cuff (RC) injury. However, this case report outlines a young active individual with symptomatic medial dislocation of the long head of the biceps with associated posterior instability, without a corresponding RC injury.

Case Report: An 18-year-old male complained of the left shoulder pain and crepitus after a shoulder injury while playing hockey a year prior.

Urine Screening for Opioid and Illicit Drugs in the Total Joint Arthroplasty Population.

Introduction: Recent studies have shown an increase in post-operative orthopaedic complications associated with pre-operative opioid use. It is, therefore, important to know if patients use opioids before scheduled surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine if urine drug screening (UDS) is an effective screening tool for detecting opioid and illicit drug use prior to joint arthroplasty (JA) procedures.

Spinal subdural hygroma as a post-operative complication in revision spine fusion: a case report.

Lumbar spine fusion has become a common and effective procedure in orthopedic practice, and a spinal subdural hygroma development is a rare complication following this procedure. We report here the case of a revision lumbar spine fusion at levels L4-5, L5-S1, where the patient subsequently developed cauda equina syndrome 2 days post-operatively. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a subdural, extra-arachnoid fluid collection from T12-L2, cephalad to the site of spine fusion.

Near-simultaneous bilateral reverse total shoulder arthroplasty for the treatment of bilateral fracture dislocations of the shoulder.

A man in his mid-80s presented with bilateral posterior fracture dislocations of the humerus after suffering a seizure. He had Parskinson's disease and lived with his wife at home. His left shoulder was not felt to be reconstructable.

Intravenous administration of multipotent stromal cells and bone allograft modification to enhance allograft healing.

This study investigated a coordinated strategy of revitalizing bone allograft with circulating multipotent stromal cells (MSCs). After chemotactic and releasing assessments, stromal cell-derived factor 1 and platelet-derived growth factor BB in copolymers were coated on the bone allograft (Allo). Allograft coated with copolymers alone (Allo), as controls, or Allo was implanted into the femur of athymic mice, which received intravenous injections of human MSCs or saline at weeks 1, 2 and 3.

Particulate and ion forms of cobalt-chromium challenged preosteoblasts promote osteoclastogenesis and osteolysis in a murine model of prosthesis failure.

This study investigated the interactive behavior of the particulate and ion forms of cobalt-chromium (Co-Cr) alloy challenged preosteoblasts during the process of prosthetic implant loosening. Preosteoblasts were challenged with Co-Cr particles or Co(II) ions for 72 h, followed by the proliferation and PCR assays. For in vivo test, a titanium pin was implanted into proximal tibia of SCID mice to mimic knee replacement.