The levels of tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) in synovial fluid (SF) and serum in cases of canine osteoarthritis (OA) were measured. OA was induced by a surgically-created medial patellar luxation in the left stifle of 24 dogs. SF and blood samples were collected at 1.5- and 3-month intervals, respectively. Every 3 months, one dog was euthanatized to collect tissue samples from both stifles. TRAP levels in SF and serum were measured using a spectrophotometer, and TRAP-positive cells in joint tissues were identified by enzyme histochemistry. MMP-2 and TIMP-2 in SF and serum were detected by Western blotting and ELISA, respectively. TRAP in SF from the stifles and serum was significantly increased (p < 0.05) after 3 months. TIMP-2 in SF and serum was significantly decreased (p < 0.05), whereas MMP-2 in SF was significantly increased (p < 0.05) during the progression of OA. Histochemistry revealed an increased number of TRAP-positive cells in tissues from OA-affected joints. Assays measuring TRAP, MMP-2, and TIMP-2 in SF and serum, and methods that detect increased numbers of TRAP-positive cells in the joint tissues can play an important role in identifying the early phases of degenerative changes in canine joint components.
Acid Phosphatase/analysis/blood ; Animals ; Arthritis, Experimental/enzymology/etiology/veterinary ; Biological Markers/*analysis/*blood ; Blotting, Western/veterinary ; Dislocations/complications/*veterinary ; Dog Diseases/*enzymology/etiology ; Dogs ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/veterinary ; Female ; Isoenzymes/analysis/blood ; Male ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2/analysis/blood ; Osteoarthritis/enzymology/etiology/*veterinary ; Spectrophotometry/veterinary ; Stifle/physiopathology ; Synovial Fluid/*enzymology ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2/analysis/blood

OBJECTIVE: Incompetent internal os of cervix is one of the most common causes of midtrimester abortion in which interventions such as, transvaginal cerglage and transabdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage (TCIC) have been performed to prolong pregnancy. Transabdominal cerclage is beneficial in treating patients with cervices that are either extremely short, congenitally deformed, deeply lacerated after operative delivery, or markedly scarred because of previously failed transvaginal cerclage procedures. Due to technical difficulties and the fact that a cesarean section is necessary for delivery, has not been a procedure easily adopted. The purpose of our study was to compare the effectiveness of selected Modified McDonald cerclage (MTVC) and TCIC was compared in patients who had history of a previously failed transvaginal cerclage in other hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pregnancy outcomes of 13 patients who underwent TCIC from November 1997 to January 2002 and those of 28 patients who underwent MTVC from January 2000 to January 2002 were compared. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test and Mann-Whitney. RESULTS: The fetal salvage rates for total 13 cases of TCIC and 28 cases of MTVC were 100% (13/13) and 85.7% (24/28), respectively. The fetal salvage rates between these two groups were not statistically different. The mean gestational age at the time of operation in TCIC group was 13.15 (+/-1.63) weeks, mean gestational weeks delayed until delivery was 23.85 (+/-3.24) weeks and mean fetal body weight was 2780.77 (+/-667.33) gm. Comparably, the mean gestational age at the time of operation in MTVC group was 15.00 (+/-2.05) week, mean gestational weeks delayed until delivery was 9.96 (+/-6.65) week and mean fetal body weight was 2530 (+/-1071.26) gm. CONCLUSION: In patients who had a history of failure of TVC, the effectiveness of TCIC and MTVC had no statistical significance. Treatment with MTVC should be considered since TCIC is technically difficult and requires cesarean section.
Cervix Uteri* ; Cesarean Section ; Cicatrix ; Female ; Fetal Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second

Tracheobronchomegaly, or Mounier-Kuhn syndrome, is a rare clinical and radiologic condition characterized by marked tracheobronchial dilatation and recurrent lower respiratory tract infections. It is thought to be due to a congenital anomaly. A diagnosis is typically made using computed tomography (CT) and bronchoscopy. Symptoms can range from minimal with preserved lung function to severe respiratory failure. Here, we present the case of a 50-year-old male who was referred to our hospital for chronic cough, sputum, and dyspnea. In addition, the patient showed tracheobronchomegaly with bronchomalacia on CT and bronchoscopy. This report describes a rare case of Mounier-Kuhn syndrome with a literature review.
Bronchomalacia ; Bronchoscopy ; Cough ; Dilatation ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Lung ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Sputum ; Tracheobronchomegaly

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of further successful pregnancies and prognosis after delivery where the band was not removed from a transabdominal cervicoisthmic cerclage (TCIC) after a first successful pregnancy. The candidates of TCIC were those who were diagnosed with incompetent internal os of cervix (IIOC) and either had failed to maintain pregnancy after undergoing transvaginal cerclage (TVC) or could not undergo TVC due to cervical abnormalities. METHODS: During the period from May of 1991 until November of 2002, there were total 20 cases in which the band was not removed after previous TCIC, followed by a first successful pregnancy. RESULTS: In the 20 patients who had undergone TCIC, the average age, average gestational age at the time of operation, average number of previous pregnancy, average number of surviving fetus, average number of preterm delivery, and average number of fetal death were 32 years old, 12.8 weeks, 5.4, 0.2, 2 and 2.2, respectively. Cesarean section was performed at an average gestational age of 37.1 weeks in which the average birth weight was 2903 g in the first born child among 19 patients. In the following pregnancies, the average age of the patients were 34 years old in which there were 17 successful deliveries out of 20 cases where the average gestational period was 35.4 weeks and an average weight of 2661 g. There was an average of 22.5 months between the time of the first and second delivery. CONCLUSION: When the location and tension of the band had been confirmed after the first delivery in a total of 20 patients, there was a high successful delivery rate of 85% (17/20) in the next pregnancy. In this study, there was no evidence to support the complications reported in previous studies of difficulty in removal of trophoblastic tissue after abortion, dysmenorrhea, and increase in infertility associated with non removal of bands.
Adult ; Birth Weight ; Cervix Uteri* ; Cesarean Section ; Child ; Dysmenorrhea ; Female ; Fetal Death ; Fetus ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infertility ; Pregnancy* ; Prognosis ; Trophoblasts

Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) is a technique that was developed to derive movement representation of the motor cortex. Although rats are now commonly used in motor mapping studies, the precise characteristics of rat motor map, including symmetry and consistency across animals, and the possibility of repeated stimulation have not yet been established. We performed bilateral hindlimb mapping of motor cortex in six Sprague-Dawley rats using ICMS. ICMS was applied to the left and the right cerebral hemisphere at 0.3 mm intervals vertically and horizontally from the bregma, and any movement of the hindlimbs was noted. The majority (80%+/-11%) of responses were not restricted to a single joint, which occurred simultaneously at two or three hindlimb joints. The size and shape of hindlimb motor cortex was variable among rats, but existed on the convex side of the cerebral hemisphere in all rats. The results did not show symmetry according to specific joints in each rats. Conclusively, the hindlimb representation in the rat motor cortex was conveniently mapped using ICMS, but the characteristics and inter-individual variability suggest that precise individual mapping is needed to clarify motor distribution in rats.
Animals ; *Brain Mapping ; Electric Stimulation ; Electrodes ; Hindlimb/*physiology ; Male ; Motor Cortex/*physiology ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley