Return to sport activity after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in skeletally immature athletes with manual drilling original all inside reconstruction at 8 years follow-up.

Objective: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are common injuries in adolescent athletes, especially in those who bear high stress on their knees due to shearing forces. The goal of the surgical procedures in skeletally immature patients is to restore joint stability avoiding the adverse effects on the growth process. The aim of this study was to verify the return of the skeletally immature professional athletes to sports in the long-term, following ACL reconstruction with the original all-inside technique and with manual drilling.

Acute patellofemoral instability in children and adolescents.

Patellofemoral problems are considered to be among the most frequent causes of knee pain in children and adolescents. Correcting bone abnormalities through specific and targeted interventions is mandatory in skeletally immature patients. Medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction is the preferred procedure, but there are several important precautionary considerations that the surgeon must take into account.

Outcomes of tenodesis of the long head of the biceps tendon more than three months after rupture.

Aim: To demonstrate that long head of the biceps tendon (LHBT) tenodesis is possible more than 3 mo after rupture.

Methods: From September 2009 to January 2012 we performed tenodesis of the LHBT in 11 individuals (average age 56.9 years, range 42 to 73) more than 3 mo after rupture.

Magnesium ring device to restore function of a transected anterior cruciate ligament in the goat stifle joint.

A bioresorbable, mono-crystalline magnesium (Mg) ring device and suture implantation technique were designed to connect the ends of a transected anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) to restabilize the knee and load the ACL to prevent disuse atrophy of its insertion sites and facilitate its healing. To test its application, cadaveric goat stifle joints were evaluated using a robotic/universal force-moment sensor testing system in three states: Intact, ACL-deficient, and after Mg ring repair, at 30°, 60°, and 90° of joint flexion. Under a 67-N anterior tibial load simulating that used in clinical examinations, the corresponding anterior tibial translation (ATT) and in-situ forces in the ACL and medial meniscus for 0 and 100 N of axial compression were obtained and compared with a control group treated with suture repair.

Reconstruction of medial patello-femoral ligament: Comparison of two surgical techniques.

The medial patello-femoral ligament is considered the most important passive patellar stabilizer and its proper functionality is essential for the patello-femoral joint stability. In this work, 18 human knees were randomly divided into two groups and reconstructed through two different surgical techniques: the "Through tunnel tendon" and the "Double converging tunnel" reconstructions. Subsequently, the samples were mechanically tested to evaluate the structural properties of reconstructed femur-MPFL-Patella complex (rFMPC).

Biomechanical evaluation of medial patello-femoral ligament reconstruction: comparison between a double-bundle converging tunnels technique versus a single-bundle technique.

Background: Several MPFL reconstructions are commonly performed for recurrent patellar dislocation, but misleading data are currently available in the literature on the ability of the different techniques to re-create a functioning ligament.

Materials And Methods: In this study, we showed the biomechanical properties of two different procedures for MPFL reconstruction using a natural orientation during uniaxial tensile testing. Eighteen fresh-frozen human knees were randomly assigned to two groups of nine each.

Quasi-linear viscoelastic properties of the human medial patello-femoral ligament.

The evaluation of viscoelastic properties of human medial patello-femoral ligament is fundamental to understand its physiological function and contribution as stabilizer for the selection of the methods of repair and reconstruction and for the development of scaffolds with adequate mechanical properties. In this work, 12 human specimens were tested to evaluate the time- and history-dependent non linear viscoelastic properties of human medial patello-femoral ligament using the quasi-linear viscoelastic (QLV) theory formulated by Fung et al. (1972) and modified by Abramowitch and Woo (2004).

Material and structural tensile properties of the human medial patello-femoral ligament.

The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) is considered the most important passive patellar stabilizer and acts 50-60% of the force of the medial soft-tissue which restrains the lateralization of the patella between 0° and 30°. In this work, 24 human knees have been tested to evaluate the material properties of MPFL and to determine the structural behavior of femur-MPFL-Patella complex (FMPC). Particular attention was given to maintain the anatomical orientation between the patella and MPFL and to the evaluation of the elongation during the mechanical tests.

Postpartum Sacral Stress Fracture: An Atypical Case Report.

Sacral stress fractures are common in elderly people. However, sacral stress fracture should be always screened in the differential diagnoses of low back pain during the postpartum period. We present a case of sacral fracture in a thirty-six-year-old woman with low back pain and severe right buttock pain two days after cesarean section delivery of a 3.

CROSSTALK BETWEEN VITAMIN B AND IMMUNITY.

Vitamin B1 (thiamin) is considered to be the oldest vitamin and in 1936 R.R. Williams and colleagues determined its chemical structure and were able to synthesize this vitamin.

Chondropenia: current concept review.

The term "chondropenia" indicates the early stage of degenerative cartilage disease, and it has been identified by carefully monitoring early-stage osteoarthritis (OA). Not only is it the loss of articular cartilage volume, but it is also a rearrangement of biomechanical, ultrastructural, biochemical and molecular properties typical of healthy cartilage tissue. Diagnosing OA at an early stage or an advanced stage is valuable in terms of clinical and therapeutic outcome.

Can vitamin a mediate immunity and inflammation?

Vitamins are natural components of foods and are organic compounds distinct from fat, carbohydrates and proteins. Vitamin A is the generic descriptor for compounds with the qualitative biological activity of retinol. Unlike beta-carotene, vitamin A is not an antioxidant and its benefit is related to possible boosting of immune reactions.

Throbbing headache associated with enoxaparin administration: a case report, a review of pharmacovigilance databases for similar cases and possible mechanisms.

What Is Known And Objectives: To date, no case of headache has been reported with enoxaparin. We present the case of a 60-years-old man, who developed enoxaparin-induced throbbing headache and discuss the possible pharmacological mechanisms. We provide an analysis of enoxaparin-induced headache in three international databases.

Diagnostic value of the clinical investigation in acute meniscal tears combined with anterior cruciate ligament injury using arthroscopic findings as golden standard.

Introduction: The main purpose of our study was to evaluate the accuracy of clinical investigation for meniscal tears associated with ACL injuries. We hypothesized that combined ACL injury can decrease the accuracy of clinical examination in acute onset.

Materials And Methods: One hundred and thirty-seven patients with a mean age of 28.

Treatment of osteochondritis dissecans of the knee with a biomimetic scaffold. A prospective multicenter study.

Purpose: the aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical outcome of the treatment of osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the knee with a type-I collagen-hydroxyapatite nanostructural biomimetic osteochondral scaffold.

Methods: twenty-three patients affected by symptomatic knee OCD of the femoral condyles, grade 3 or 4 of the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) scale, underwent biomimetic scaffold implantation. The site of the defect was the medial femoral condyle in 14 patients, whereas in 9 patients the lateral femoral condyle was involved.

Role of mast cells in atherosclerosis: a classical inflammatory disease.

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease and hyperlipidaemia is one of the main risk factors for aging, hypertension and diabetes. Variance in plasma LDL cholesterol concentration may be associated with differences in cardiovascular disease risk and high levels of lipids are associated with increased risk of developing atherosclerosis. Macrophages, which generate pro-inflammatory cytokines, mainly interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-alpha), are deeply involved in atherosclerosis, as well as mast cells which generate several cytokines, including IL-6 and IFN-gamma, and chemokines such as eotaxin, MCP-1 and RANTES involved in monocyte recruitment and differentiation in the arterial wall.

Relationship between serotonin and mast cells: inhibitory effect of anti-serotonin.

Serotonin (5-HT) is an important neurotransmitter that acts in both central and peripheral nervous system, and has an impact on cell proliferation, migration and apoptosis. 5HT exerts its effects via several receptors. Treatment with anti-5-HT receptors diminish the severity of contact allergy in experimental animals, an effect mediated by mast cells; while an agonist reduces the stress level and relieves pruritus in patients with atopic dermatitis.

Impact of mast cells on multiple sclerosis: inhibitory effect of natalizumab.

Mast cells (MCs) derive from a distinct precursor in the bone marrow and are predominantly found in tissues at the interface between the host and the external environment where they can secrete mediators without overt degranulation. Mast cells mature under local tissue microenvironmental factors and are necessary for the development of allergic reactions, through crosslinking of their surface receptors for IgE (FcεRI), leading to degranulation and the release of vasoactive, pro-inflammatory and nociceptive mediators that include histamine, pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and proteolytic enzymes. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammatory demylination within the central nervous system.

Fixation techniques for the anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: early follow-up. A systematic review of level I and II therapeutic studies.

The purpose of our study was that to systematically review the fixation techniques for the ACL reconstruction and associated clinical outcomes at the early follow-up. Systematic search on three electronic databases (Cochrane register, Medline and Embase) of fixation devices used for primary ACL reconstruction with doubled semitendinosus and gracilis and bone-patellar tendon-bone autografts in randomized clinical trials of level I and II of evidence published from January 2001 to December 2011. Therapeutic studies collected were with a minimum 12-month follow-up, and the clinical outcomes were evaluated by at least one of International Knee Documentation Committee, Lysholm and Tegner functional scales and at least one of the following knee stability tests: arthrometric AP tibial translation, Lachman test and pivot-shift test.

Shape and size of the medial patellofemoral ligament for the best surgical reconstruction: a human cadaveric study.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the shape and the attachments of the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) in cadaver specimens to determine an anatomical basis for the best MPFL reconstruction.

Methods: Twenty fresh-frozen knees were used. Dissection protocol implied performing dissections from within the knee joint.

Corticotropin-releasing hormone, microglia and mental disorders.

Microglia derive from mononuclear myeloid progenitors and are a major glial complement of the central nervous system. When microglia are activated they secrete inflammatory cytokines and toxic mediators which amplify the inflammatory response. In addition, the microglia inflammatory products are implicated in the neuronal destruction usually observed in various neurodegenerative diseases.

Neuropeptide NGF mediates neuro-immune response and inflammation through mast cell activation.

Human mast cells (first described in 1879 by Paul Ehrlich) develop from committed precursors in the bone marrow expressing the differentiation marker CD34+ and distinct from the three other myeloid cells. Mast cells are present in various tissues especially near blood vessels, epithelia and nerves and they are activated by cross-linking of FcεRI, but also by a number of neuropeptides. NGF mediates a number of inflammatory and autoimmune states in conjunction with an increased accumulation of mast cells which appear to be involved in neuroimmune interactions and tissue inflammation.

Anatomy of the Medial Patello-Femoral Ligament: a systematic review of the last 20 years literature.

Background: Although many studies have investigated the anatomy of the Medial Patello-Femoral Ligament (MPFL), some studies have even questioned its existence. In the last 20 years, there is a renewed interest on the role of the MPFL in patello-femoral instability. As a result, several studies have been published that describe the anatomy, function and possible surgical reconstruction of the MPFL.

Interrelationship between IL-3 and mast cells.

It is well established that mast cells, which are found in the tissues in the proximity of small blood vessels and post-capillary venules, play a key role in the early phase of IgE-mediated allergic reactions. A greatly expanded understanding of the biology of IL-3 has emerged since the early 1980s. IL-3 is a specific factor that stimulates the growth of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells of a variety of lineages and can promote the proliferation of certain classes of lymphocytes distinct from those that are dependent on IL-2.