Objective To evaluate advantages of the Herbert screw in treating displaced radial head fractures. Methods The Herbert screw was used to treat 25 segmental fractures of the radial head from since 1991 and the results were compared with those of other treatment methods mentioned in the literature. Results A follow up averaging 6 years and 8 months showed that postoperative function was all excellent or good and that most cases recovered to normal absolutely, without complications. Conclusions The Herbert screw provides such rigid internal fixation for displaced radial head fractures that, after operation, a plaster cast is rarely required and most patients are able to return to work within a few weeks. This method of treatment appears to offer significant advantages over conventional techniques.

From July 2006 to November 2008,16 patients with unstable intertrochanteric fractures were treated with cemented bipolar hemiprosthesis arthroplasty, including 5 males and 11 females, at a mean age of 84 years (range, 78-92 years) in the First Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University. Of them, 15 patients were followed with mean time of 14 months. The cemented bipolar hemiprosthesis was purchased from Beijing Montagne. The patients received 5-7 days of antibiotics following arthroplasty in addition to medicine of anticoagulation and analgesia. 1 case died of pulmonary heart disease 10 months after the operation and 3 cases had heterotopic ossification. There was no prosthesis loosening or dislocation. According to Harris hip scores, 3 cases were rated as excellent, 9 good, 3 fair, and 0 poor; the excellent and good rate was 80%. Results show that cemented bipolar hemiprosthesis arthroplasty is effective in treating elderly unstable intertrochanteric fractures, but operation indications require more attention.

Postoperative X-ray films showed that the fracture healing time was averagely 5.4 months. Al of the fractures were recovered wel that subtrochanteric fractures, intertrochanteric fractures and femoral shaft fractures were al healed. There was no fracture displacement, internal fixation loosening and varus deformity. Only one case showed difficulties in nail insertion. Excellence rate of Harris hip functional scores was 88.2%postoperatively. Proximal femoral nail antirotation is a reasonable design, and the helical blade can resist the rotation and stabilize the angle. The proximal femoral nail antirotation has better effects, which is an ideal internal fixation for subtrochanteric femoral fractures.

Objective To compare the outcome of proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA)and third generation of Gamma nail (TGN) in the treatment of femoral intertrochanteric fracture in the elderly. Methods From January 2007 to June 2008, the patients with intertrochanteric fractures were divided into PFNA group ( n = 55 ) and TGN group ( n = 52 ) randomly. The two treatment groups were comparable in aspect of general data. The clinical data of surgical trauma, complications and postoperative function of the two groups were compared in our study. Results The mean operation time was (66.6 ± 15.4) min in PFNA group and (73. 1 ± 20.8 ) min in TGN group (P ＞ 0. 05 ). The mean intraoperative blood loss differed significantly, (219.5 ± 107.5 ) ml in PFNA group compared with (269.0 ±123.9) ml in TGN group ( P ＜ 0. 05 ). The mean fluoroscopy time was ( 2.97 ± 1.14 ) min in PFNA group and (3.43 ± 1.18) min in TGN group (P＜0.05). Unilateral femoral shaft splits at the distal end of the nail was observed intra-operatively in four patients of the PFNA group and in one of the TGN group,with no statistical difference between two groups. Of all, 91 patients ( n =46 in the PFNA group and n =45 in the TGN group) were followed up for a duration of ( 17.5 ±3.69) months. There was one re-fracture and one implant failure during the follow up period in PFNA group, which was not found in TGN group. Fiftyone patients recovered to normal activity status, including 27 in the PFNA group and 24 in the TGN group,with no statistical differences. Conclusions Intertrochanteric fracture can be treated successfully with PFNA and TGN. There is no significant difference in complications and functional outcome between the two groups. However, PFNA takes advantages of less blood loss, less operative time and less fluoroscopy time over TGN.

Objective To compare the value of "linear shadow" of posterior vertebral body wall under standard lateral X-ray fluoroscopy and CT scan in evaluating the reduction of bone fragment retro-pulsed into the spinal canal so as to provide evidence for indirect reduction degree of bone fragment under X-ray fluoroscopy during operation. Methods A retrospective study was done on 25 cases of thoraco-lumbar burst fractures treated at our department. There were 15 males and 10 females, at age range of 24-66 yeas(average 44. 9 years). Preoperative CT scan confirmed burst fractures in all cases. Bone frag-ment occupied mearl 35. 2% of midsngittal diameter of injured segment. All cases were treated by indirect reduction with short-sesment pedicle instrumentation, rather than laminotomy or partial laminectomies. When imging of posterior vertebral body wall manifested a continuous and smooth"linear shadow" under standard lateral X-ray fluoroscopy during operation, bone fragment War considered to be under reduction. CT span was performed to evaluate the reduction of bone fragment postoperatively. Results The bone fragment occupation of midsngittal diameter of injured segment was decreased from preoperative 35. 2%to postoperative 8. 6%, with statistical difference(t=9. 122, P<0. 01). Neurological function of all 25 cases was normal at last follow-up. The decompression of spinal canal was effective. Conclusions A continuous and smooth"linear shadow"on posterior vertebral body wall imaging is a simple and effective way to judge the reduction of bone fragment retropulsed into the spinal canal and can provide evidence for whether laminotomies and pushing bone fragment are necessary during operation.

BACKGROUND:The incidence of low serum level of vitamin D in patients undergoing hip arthroplasty and its impact has not been reported in China, indicating that it has not been brought to the forefront. OBJECTIVE:To determine the prevalence of low serum level of vitamin D in patients before total hip arthroplasty and its relationship with the hip function scores. METHODS:Forty-eight hips from 48 patients undergoing primary hip arthroplasty from July 2013 to August 2014 in the First Affiliated Hospital of Suzhou University were enrol ed. According to the serum level of vitamin D, patients were assigned to low-level (<20μg/L) and high-level (20≥μg/L) groups. The general information of patients, the hip function scores before and after replacement at the last fol ow-up in the two groups were observed and compared. The relationship between the serum level of vitamin D and the hip function scores before and after replacement was analyzed by multiple linear regression analysis. And the average fol ow-up was 12 months (11-14 months). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1) The incidence of low vitamin D level was 82%(20 ng/mL serving as standard). (2) Compared with patients with high vitamin D level, patients with low level of vitamin D had lower preoperative Harris scores and Merle D′Aubigne-Postel score (P<0.05), and also at the last fol ow-up (P<0.05. (3) Based on the preoperative and postoperative Harris, the multiple linear regression analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between the level of vitamin D and Harris score both preoperatively and postoperatively (P<0.05). (4) These results suggest that there is a higher incidence of low level of vitamin D in patients undergoing arthroplasty, and hip function scores before and after replacement in patients with low level of vitamin D are lower than the high level patients. Moreover, there is a positive correlation between the level of vitamin D and the hip joint function scores. Therefore, it is advisable to supplement vitamin D and calcium preoperatively, and the level of vitamin D wil be helpful for disease assessment and prognosis.

Background Tear meniscus gained by OCT device is essential to the dry eye diagnosis.Currently,RTVue Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (FD-OCT) is commercially available to image the tear menisci.However,there were few studies to report the repeatability and reproducibility of lower and upper tear meniscus parameters measured by RTVue FD-OCT.Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the repeatability and reproducibility of lower and upper tear meniscus parameters measured by RTVue FD-OCT in normal and dry eyes.Methods In this prospective study,20 dry eyes of 20 patients were finally recruited,and 20 normal eyes of 20 age-and gender-matched healthy subjects were included during the same period.Successive three-time scans were performed at a 3-minute interval with RTVue FD-OCT in optional eye by one well-trained examiner,and the other operator performed the same measurement 10-15 minutes later.Six parameters of tear meniscus were yielded by custom software,including upper meniscus curvature (UMC),upper meniscus height(UMH),upper meniscus area (UMA),lower meniscus curvature (LMC),lower meniscus height (LMH) and lower meniscus area (LMA).The between-image repeatability was assessed using mean coefficient of repeatability (MCOR),while between-operator reproducibility were evaluated using coefficient of repeatability (COR) and interclass correlation of coefficients (ICC).Results As for the between-image repeatability,the results of MCOR for UMH,UMA,LMH and LMA were 5.11％,3.58％,4.98％ and 4.82％ respectively in the normal eyes and 5.60％,5.80％,5.03％ and 5.74％ respectively in the dry eyes.As for the between-operator reproducibility,the results of COR and ICC for UMA were 5.38％ and O.975,the COR and ICC for LMA were 5.28％ and 0.961 respectively in the normal eyes,and the results of COR and ICC for LMA were 9.69％ and 0.964 in the dry eyes.Conclusions The UMA,LMH and LMA tear meniscus parameters obtained by RTvue FD-OCT show good between-image repeatability,and LMA also presents good between-operator reproducibility.Measurement of tear meniscus parameters with RTVue FD-OCT measuring is a potential diagnostic index for the diagnosis of dry eye.

ObjectiveTo explore the therapeutic effect of selective antagonist-AM630 of cannabionid receptor 2 (CB2) in treatment of the titanium particles-induced inflammatory osteolysis.MethodsForty-five female BALB/c mice, 6-8 weeks old, were involved in the study, of which 15 mice were used as skull donors and the rest experimental animals were randomly divided into three groups, ie, black group, control group and treatment group, 10 mice per group.The mice model with air-pouch osteolysis induced by the titanium particles were established.The mice in the treatment group were injected with CB2 selective antagonist-AM630 (200 μg · kg-1 · d-1) intraperitoneally from two days before establishment of the air-pouch osteolysis model to two weeks after establishment of the model.Then, the mice were sacrificed and the pouch tissues were collected for molecular and histological analyses.The pouch membrane thickness and cell infiltration were tested by using computerized image analysis system and HE staining respectively.Osteoclast-like cells in the pouch membrane were determined by using tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) staining.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was employed to detect the mRNA levels of CB2, IL-1 β, TNF-α, receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL)and receptor activator of NF-κB (RANK).ResultsThere exhibited apparent erythematous and oedematous changes in the control group, which was mitigated around the bone implants with AM630 treatment.Quantitative image analysis of the histological sections revealed significant difference of the pouch membrane thickness among three groups, (192.2 ± 19.4)μm in control group, (88.5 ± 14.7) μm in blank group and (122.1 ± 15.2) μm in treatment group (F = 101.74, P ＜ 0.05).Intensive TRAP staining was identified much in the control group but markedly reduced after AM630 treatment in the pouch tissues.RT-PCR showed that titanium particle stimulation could enhance the expressions of CB2, IL-1 β, TNF-α, RANKL and RANK gene in the air pouch tissues.However, the mRNA levels of these genes were markedly reduced after AM630 treatment, with statistical difference compared with control group (P ＜ 0.05).ConclusionsCB2 selective antagonist AM630 can inhibit the process of titanium particlesstimulated inflammatory reaction and osteoclast activation.Therefore, CB2 represents a new suitable therapeutic candidate for the prevention and treatment of aseptic loosening of the artificial joint.

Objective:To explore the early learning curve of OrthoPilot navigation assisted total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Methods:Data of 40 consecutive cases of OrthoPilot navigation assisted TKA completed by the same surgical team in our department were retrospectively analyzed. According to the operation order, 40 cases were divided into the original phase group (the first 20 cases) and the subsequent phase group (the second 20 cases). In original phase group, the average age was 69.85±6.86 years with mean body mass index 24.10±2.88 kg/m 2, preoperative HSS score 48.80±5.33, preoperative knee ROM 87.05°±11.02° and preoperative alignment deviation of 7.40°±5.59°. In subsequent phase group, the average age was 66.65±7.92 years with mean body mass index 22.85±3.15 kg/m 2, preoperative HSS score 49.00±5.47, preoperative knee ROM 85.80°±11.65° and preoperative alignment deviation of 8.22°±5.21°. Perioperative data such as operative duration, incision length, hemoglobin drop and postoperative hospital stay, radiographic outcomes including hip-knee-ankle angle (HKAA), mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (mLDFA), mechanical medial proximal tibial angle (mMPTA), sagittal femoral component angle (sFCA), sagittal tibial component angle (sTCA), joint line convergence angle (JLCA), and functional scores were compared between the two groups. Results:All 40 cases were followed up for 24-33 months (mean, 27.38± 2.73 months). No severe postoperative complications such as infection and loosening occurred during the follow-up. The mean operative duration was 112.35±25.49 min in original phase group versus 82.10±10.96 min in subsequent phase group ( P< 0.05). The durations of tibial cutting was 11.95±3.27 min in original phase group versus 7.35±2.23 min in subsequent phase group ( P< 0.05); the femoral planning + cutting time was 20.95±6.91 min in original phase group versus 16.60±4.78 min in subsequent phase group, and trial + prosthesis implantation time was 39.65±7.72 min in original phase group versus 25.10±5.72 min in subsequent phase group,which was significantly higher in original phase group. There was no significant difference in other perioperative data such as incision length, hemoglobin drop and postoperative hospital stay between the two groups. As for radiographic outcomes, there was no statistical difference between the two groups in the postoperative angular deviation of HKAA (0.70°±0.80° vs. 0.80°±1.06°), mLDFA (0.89°±0.91° vs. 1.00°±0.86°), mMPTA (0.77°±0.53° vs. 0.76°±1.03°), sFCA (0.73°±0.48° vs. 0.87°±1.06°), sTCA (0.95°±0.58° vs. 1.16°±1.14°) and JLCA (0.27°±0.25° vs. 0.39°±0.18°). In original phase group, the HSS scores preoperative and 3 days postoperative were 48.80±5.33 and 60.05±5.10 respectively, and those in subsequent phase were 49.00±5.47 and 60.75±4.47 respectively, and both groups showed satisfactory functional recovery. There was no significant difference in HSS scores at all follow-up time points between two phases, as well as ROM (113.20°±9.82° vs. 113.50°±12.44°) and FJS-12 scores (78.00°±10.98° vs. 76.65°±10.29°) at 2 years postoperatively. Conclusion:In this study, we described a time-related early learning curve for OrthoPilot navigation-assisted TKA, in which the operative duration tended to be shorter after the first 20 cases. However, benefiting from good operative accuracy and repeatability, satisfactory radiographic and functional outcomes can be obtained in early stage of the learning curve.

Objective To compare the bio-medical parameters in SIV infected Chinese rhesus monkeys with diverse disease progression,by which the pathogenesis of simian AIDS were to be investigated.Methods Sixteen Chinese rhesus monkeys were inoculated intravenously with SIVmac239 and followed-up for 18 months.Based on their progression patterns and plasma viral loads,animals were divided into 3 groups,including 1 rapid progressor( RP),13 normal progressors(NP),and 2 elite controllor(EC).Their parameters of haematology,virology,immunology and pathology were examined and compared. Results Compared with other animals,RM449(RP) showed higher viral load,unresponsive humoral immunity,and higher level of auto-antibodies against lymph node,thymus,and spleen.Additionally,its effector memory CD4 count was lower,with the transformation progress being blocked-like from naive/central memory subsets to effector memory subset,as the flow-cytometry assay showed.Notable decrease in its peripheral B cell was also observed,especially to the sub-population of tissue-like memory B cells and activated memory B cells.Pathological examination showed the depletion of lymphoid tissue,atrophy of spleen and loss of thymus.Moreover,most of these parameters of RM450 and RM453 (EC) changed opposite to that of RP.Conclusion The hallmarks of RM449 were higher viraemia and lower SIV specific IgG level,which may due to the disturbance of T cells and B cells development and differentiation.Moreover,destructions of organs of the immune system may contribute to the disturbance.Our study suggest that the change of micro-environments of thymus induced by SIV infection,which is necessary in T cell and B cell development and differentiation,may contribute at least partially to the AIDS pathogenesis.