BACKGROUND:The pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis is stil not very clear, and there is a lack of early diagnosis methods. Because it is more common in middle-aged women, it is suggested that the pathogenesis of knee osteoarthritis may be closely related to serum estradiol levels in the human body. OBJECTIVE:To explore the correlation between the level of serum estradiol and the severity of osteoarthritis in female patients with knee osteoarthritis. METHODS:Seventy-six female patients with knee osteoarthritis admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from February 2012 to December 2013 were enroled, and divided into premenopause group (n=42) and postmenopause group (n=34). According to Kelgren-Lawrence (K-L) grading, both two groups were subdivided into K-L 0, II and IV groups. The knee function was evaluated with Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) Knee Score Standard in USA, the serum estradiol levels were detected with electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. Then, the correlation analysis was performed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The serum estradiol levels of the premenopause group and postmenopause group were decreased significantly with the increase of K-L grade and age (P < 0.05). Under the same K-L grade, the serum estradiol levels in the postmenopausal patients were significantly lower than those in the premenopausal patients. Linear regression analysis showed that there was a negative relationship between age and serum estradiol level (R2=0.222,P < 0.05), and there was a positive correlation between HSS scores and serum estradiol levels (R2=0.415,P < 0.05). The severity of knee osteoarthritis in female patients shows a negative correlation with the level of serum estradiol but a positive correlation with age.

[Objective]To compare the complications of simultaneous versus staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty.[Methods]The databases of Cochrane library,Medline,Embase and Chinese Biomedical Databases were searched online.All the trials comparing simultaneous versus staged bilateral total knee arthroplasty were included.Methodology quality of the trials was assessed and the data of the complications in both groups was extracted,and the RevMan 5.0.18 was used for data-analysis.[Results]In this study,18 controlled trials and 101 084 cases were included(26 536 SB-TKA /74 548 Staged B-TKA).The result of Meta-analysis showed that the 30-day mortality(OR=2.92),3-month mortality(OR=2.11) and pulmonary embolism(OR=2.46) were higher in the SB-TKA group than in the staged B-TKA group.[Conclusion]Campared with staged B-TKA,SB-TKA has a higher risk of mortality and pulmonary embolism.The predominant cause of death after TKA was the cardiopulmonary complications.More and stronger evidence will be needed for supporting the outcomes.

BACKGROUND:There is lack of effective diagnostic methods for early knee osteoarthritis. Proteomics refers to the large-scale experimental analysis of proteomes from the overal level of intracel ular protein compositioon, expression and modification, based on which, we can understand protein-protein interaction and relationship, thereby revealing protein functions and cel activity patterns. OBJECTIVE:To apply the isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) to identify proteins differential y in serums of osteoarthritis Kel gren-Lawrence classification at each stage, and to find out potential molecular markers at each stage of osteoarthritis. METHODS:Sixty patients with knee osteoarthritis were enrol ed, and according to Kel gren-Lawrence (K-L) grading, they were subdivided into K-L 0, II and IV groups. There were 10 males and 10 females randomly selected in each group. Proteins differential y regulated in serums were identified by the stable isotopes 116, 117, 118 of the iTRAQ labeled, reversed-phase column separation, mass spectrometry and Swissport database search, after the serums were subjected to high abundance proteins depletion. Final y, we analyzed the proteins identified by using bioinformatics software. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Total y 169 proteins were identified through iTRAQ peptides experiments of different sample tags, Q-star mass spectrum identification and MASCOT library search. 153 proteins were identified as K-L 0 to K-L IV, 153 proteins were identified as K-L 0 to K-L II, and 145 proteins were identified as K-L II to K-L IV. iTRAQ technology may help to identify novel serum markers for early diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis, indicating iTRAQ technology for proteomics serum biomarkers of osteoarthritis study has good application prospect.

Vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia is a rare and challenging disorder. Vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia is closely related to enzyme action and hemodynamic changes, and is characterized by ischemic stroke, neurological compression symptoms, hydrocephalus, and other clinical symptoms. With development of interventional techniques and materials in recent years, endovascular treatment of vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia has become the focus. This article summarizes the current endovascular treatment of vertebrobasilar dolichoectasia, aiming to provide references for clinicians.