Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundThe relationship between cell shape, proliferation, and extracellular matrix (ECM) production, important aspects of cell behavior, is examined in a little-studied cell type, the human annulus cell from the intervertebral disc, during monolayer vs three-dimensional (3D) culture.ResultsThree experimental studies showed that cells respond sp...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundBone remodelling is dependent on the balance between bone resorbing osteoclasts and bone forming osteoblasts. We have shown previously that osteoclasts contain gap-junctional protein connexin-43 and that a commonly used gap-junctional inhibitor, heptanol, can inhibit osteoclastic bone resorption. Since heptanol may also have some unspecif...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundCMV infections have been linked to vasculopathies like atherosclerosis and Scleroderma. CMV infects vascular endothelium with intermittent shedding of the virus and the development of latency.MethodsWe adopted a model of arteritis, developed by Presti et al. (1998), triggered by murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) infection. Our studies focused...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundAcquired toxoplasmosis more frequently goes unrecognized. Immunocompetent adults and adolescents with primary infection are generally asymptomatic, but symptoms may include malaise, fever, and lymphadenopathy. By contrast, immunocompromised patients may experience severe manifestations including encephalitis and multisystem organ failure....
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundFracture healing slows with age. While 6-week-old rats regain normal bone biomechanics at 4 weeks after fracture, one-year-old rats require more than 26 weeks. The possible role of altered mRNA gene expression in this delayed union was studied. Closed mid-shaft femoral fractures were induced followed by euthanasia at 0 time (unfractured) ...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundHormone replacement therapy (HRT) is often seen as the treatment of choice for preventing fractures in women. We undertook a recent meta-analysis of randomised trials which suggested that HRT reduced non-vertebral fractures by 30%. In this analysis we extend that analysis to vertebral fractures.MethodsWe searched the main electronic datab...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundInterlocking nailing, which has become the method of choice for treating fractures of the femoral and tibial shafts, still lacks ability to provide the important contact-compression at the fracture. An intramedullary compression nail is described, which provides axial compression at the fracture site with tightening of the specially desig...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundPost-exercise muscle soreness is a dull, aching sensation that follows unaccustomed muscular exertion. Primarily on the basis of previous laboratory-based research on eccentric exercise, soreness is usually said to follow an inverted U-shaped curve over time, peaking 24 – 48 hours after exercise. As such, it is often described as "delayed...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundNeedle EMG may be negative in mild or predominantly sensory lumbosacral radiculopathies. In such cases, an increase in the latency of the soleus H-reflex is a useful diagnostic criterion for establishing sensory fiber compromise at the S1 root level. However, if clinical signs of radicular involvement are lacking, the latency of the H-ref...
Published in BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders
BackgroundAlthough all patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty are subjected to similar risk factors that predispose to thromboembolism, only a subset of patients develop this complication. The objective of this study was to determine whether a specific genetic profile is associated with a higher risk of developing a postoperative thromboembol...
