Background: On receiving chemotherapy, extravasation of drugs is a severe problem. The extravasations occur more commonly in patients who are elderly, have a poor performance status, have diabetes mellitus complications or have repeatedly received chemotherapy. Also, cancer patients usually require repeated venous punctures for this treatment. Purpose and methods: For the purpose of evaluating the efficacy and safety of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs) for intravenous chemotherapy, we retrospectively reviewed all the cancer patients for whom PICC were inserted for chemotherapy from April 2008 to December 2010. Patients' background, duration of PICC insertion and complications were evaluated in this study. Results: Ten patients (male 4, female 6) were reviewed in this study. The median age was 59 years (17∼69). A total of 13 PICCs were inserted in 10 patients. The most common underlying disease was abdominal rhabdomyosarcoma (n=3, 30%) followed by lung cancer (n=2, 20%) and hematologic tumor (n=2, 20%). The average catheter span was 46 days. Catheter-related infections were seen in 2 cases (15.4%). No phlebitis or thrombosis usually associated with venous route was detected in PICC used for chemotherapy. Conclusions: PICC might reduce patients' discomfort such as repeated venous punctures or complications associated with chemotherapy. We suggest that PICC would be one of the effective tools in chemotherapy. Palliat Care Res 2011; 6(2): 233-236

Vitronectin (VN) is an extracellular matrix protein with a crucial role in regulating bone remodeling. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of VN deficiency in a mouse model of osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy (OVX).The findings revealed that the absence of VN led to an increase in the activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), a marker for osteoclasts, in the plasma of OVX-operated mice. TRAP staining further demonstrated that VN deficiency resulted in a higher number of osteoclasts within the femurs of OVX-operated mice. X-ray micro-computed tomography analysis of the femurs in OVX-operated mice indicated that VN deficiency significantly suppressed the OVX-induced increase of marrow area and total volume of bone. Additionally, we assessed structural model index (SMI) and degree of anisotropy (DA) as indices of osteoporosis. The results showed that VN deficiency effectively attenuated the OVX-induced increase in SMI and DA among OVX-operated mice. In summary, our study demonstrates the vital role of VN in regulating osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling in the mouse model of osteoporosis.

Vitronectin (VN) is an extracellular matrix protein with a crucial role in regulating bone remodeling. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of VN deficiency in a mouse model of osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy (OVX).The findings revealed that the absence of VN led to an increase in the activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), a marker for osteoclasts, in the plasma of OVX-operated mice. TRAP staining further demonstrated that VN deficiency resulted in a higher number of osteoclasts within the femurs of OVX-operated mice. X-ray micro-computed tomography analysis of the femurs in OVX-operated mice indicated that VN deficiency significantly suppressed the OVX-induced increase of marrow area and total volume of bone. Additionally, we assessed structural model index (SMI) and degree of anisotropy (DA) as indices of osteoporosis. The results showed that VN deficiency effectively attenuated the OVX-induced increase in SMI and DA among OVX-operated mice. In summary, our study demonstrates the vital role of VN in regulating osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling in the mouse model of osteoporosis.

Vitronectin (VN) is an extracellular matrix protein with a crucial role in regulating bone remodeling. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of VN deficiency in a mouse model of osteoporosis induced by ovariectomy (OVX).The findings revealed that the absence of VN led to an increase in the activity of tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), a marker for osteoclasts, in the plasma of OVX-operated mice. TRAP staining further demonstrated that VN deficiency resulted in a higher number of osteoclasts within the femurs of OVX-operated mice. X-ray micro-computed tomography analysis of the femurs in OVX-operated mice indicated that VN deficiency significantly suppressed the OVX-induced increase of marrow area and total volume of bone. Additionally, we assessed structural model index (SMI) and degree of anisotropy (DA) as indices of osteoporosis. The results showed that VN deficiency effectively attenuated the OVX-induced increase in SMI and DA among OVX-operated mice. In summary, our study demonstrates the vital role of VN in regulating osteoclastogenesis and bone remodeling in the mouse model of osteoporosis.

Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (T-OLF) is a relatively rare spinal disorder that generally requires surgical intervention, due to its progressive nature and the poor response to conservative therapy. The prevalence of OLF has been reported at 3.8%-26%, which is similar to that of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). The progression of OPLL after cervical laminoplasty for the treatment of OPLL is often shown in long-term follow-up. However, there have been no reports on the progression of OLF following surgery. We report a case of thoracic myelopathy secondary to the progressive relapse of OLF following laminectomy.
Follow-Up Studies ; Laminectomy ; Ligamentum Flavum* ; Longitudinal Ligaments ; Prevalence ; Recurrence* ; Spinal Cord Diseases

Methods: The study included 100 patients with cervical myelopathy who underwent surgery at the National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology in Obu, Japan from June 2010 to March 2013. Before the surgery, neck pain was evaluated using a Visual Analog Scale (a score ≥50 indicated neck pain and a score <50 indicated no neck pain). The preoperative cross-sectional areas of the trapezius muscles were measured with cervical magnetic resonance imaging sagittal T2-weighted images. Cranial stimulation under general anesthesia was used to derive the MEPs, enabling the measurement of latency and amplitude, using preoperative MEPs of the trapezius muscles. Results: The MEP of the trapezius muscle in patients with neck pain had significantly shorter latencies than those in patients who did not have neck pain. However, there was no significant difference in the amplitude between patients with and without neck pain. However, this tended to be greater in patients with neck pain as compared to that in those without neck pain. The cross-sectional area of the trapezius muscle in patients with neck pain was significantly smaller than that in those who did not have neck pain. Conclusions MEPs revealed electrophysiological abnormalities of the trapezius muscles in patients with neck pain, supporting a relationship of neck pain with the trapezius muscles.

Methods: A total of 79 patients with cervical myelopathy who underwent cervical laminoplasty at our facility between June 2010 and March 2013 were included in this study. Intraoperative control and final waveform were evaluated based on the trapezius muscle MEPs by measuring the latency and amplitude. A neck pain group comprised patients with higher neck pain Visual Analog Scale scores from preoperative value to 1 year postoperatively. The cross-sectional areas of the trapezius muscles and the MEP latencies and amplitudes were compared between patients with and without neck pain. Results: The latency and amplitude of the control waveforms were not significantly different between groups. The neck pain group had a significantly shorter final waveform latency (neck pain: 23.6±2.5, no neck pain: 25.8±4.5; p =0.019) and significantly larger amplitude (neck pain: 2,125±1,077, no neck pain: 1,630±966; p =0.041) than the no neck pain group. Conclusions Postoperative neck pain was associated with the final waveform latency and amplitude of the trapezius muscle MEPs during cervical laminoplasty. Intraoperative electrophysiological trapezius muscle abnormalities could cause postoperative neck pain.

Methods: The subjects were 23 children with LLD ≥20 mm (range, 27–65 mm) treated at Nagoya University Hospital between 2007 and 2017. Whole spine posteroanterior standing radiographs and whole lower limb radiographs in a supine position were recorded. Data were collected for demographics, LLD, Cobb angle, pelvic obliquity, and Nash/Moe index. Scoliosis was defined as a Cobb angle ≥10°. Leg length was measured from the top of the femoral head to the middle of the tibial plafond, and LLD was defined as the difference between the left and right leg lengths. Results: The patients (nine males and 14 females) had a mean age of 14.0 years (range, 5–18 years). The average LLD was 44.3±17.2 mm, with LLDs of 20 to 39 mm, 40 to 59 mm, and ≥60 mm in 13, five, and five subjects, respectively. The average Cobb angle was 13.0°±7.0°, and 15 subjects (65%) had scoliosis. Convexity of the scoliosis was to the short leg side in all cases. The Cobb angle was significantly related to the severity of the LLD (R=0.736, p<0.01), pelvic obliquity (R=0.966, p<0.01), and Nash/Moe index (p<0.05). Conclusions LLD is a common pediatric condition that can cause scoliosis of the spine. Severe scoliosis may develop if the LLD is ≥30 mm. Long-term studies are needed to examine the effect of LLD resolution on the elimination of scoliosis.