OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the functional and aesthetic evaluation of external fixator lengthening through plantar approach for fourth brachymetatarsia. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 20 patients (23 feet) with fourth brachymetatarsia who met the selection criteria between January 2016 and January 2024, including 3 males and 17 females, with 8 left, 9 right, and 3 bilateral cases. The mean age was 24.7 years (range, 14-51 years). The preoperative metatarsal shortening length was (13.8±3.2) mm. The preoperative American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) forefoot score was 79.5±3.9, the visual analogue scale (VAS) score of appearance satisfaction was 1.7±0.8, and the appearance index (AI) score was 13.6±0.9. All patients underwent external fixator lengthening through plantar approach. The lengthening length of metatarsal bone, lengthening ratio, healing time, and healing index were recorded. Functional outcomes were assessed using the AOFAS forefoot score, VAS score of appearance satisfaction, and quality-of-life impact with AI questionnaire. RESULTS: All 20 patients were followed up 14-55 months with an average of 36.3 months. During the follow-up, complications occurred in 4 cases (17.4%), including 2 cases of metatarsophalangeal joint stiffness, which had no significant effect on the function and appearance. Delayed union of osteotomy occurred in 1 case (healed at 12 weeks after operation). Pin loosening occurred in 1 case and recovered after outpatient reinforcement. No complications related to plantar scar occurred. At last follow-up, the lengthening length of metatarsal bone was (13.9±3.1) mm, and the lengthening ratio was 25.8%±5.6%. All cases achieved bony union, with a mean healing time of (64.3±12.5) days and a healing index of (46.9±4.8) d/cm. At last follow-up, AOFAS score was 98.9±2.1, the VAS score of appearance satisfaction was 9.3±0.7, and the AI score was 0.6±0.8, which significantly improved when compared with those before operation ( t=27.398, P<0.001; t=32.994, P<0.001; t=56.135, P<0.001). CONCLUSION External fixator lengthening through plantar approach is a safe and effective technique for fourth brachymetatarsia, achieving satisfactory functional and aesthetic outcomes.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; External Fixators ; Retrospective Studies ; Bone Lengthening/instrumentation* ; Middle Aged ; Metatarsal Bones/abnormalities* ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Treatment Outcome ; Patient Satisfaction ; Esthetics ; Osteotomy/methods* ; Foot Deformities, Congenital/surgery*

With an aging population, the incidence of osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) is on the rise, posing new challenges for developing personalized treatment strategies. For patients who do not respond to conservative treatment, percutaneous vertebroplasty or percutaneous kyphoplasty (PVP/PKP) remains the preferred surgical option due to its minimal invasiveness and rapid recovery time. However, progressive local kyphosis (PLK) is one of the most severe complications following PVP/PKP, with an incidence rate of 1.5%-25.8%. PLK often presents with recurring thoracic and lower back pain, and in severe cases, spinal stenosis, causing symptoms like numbness and pain in the lower limbs. The severity of PLK varies, and treatments can range from conservative management and bone cement reinforcement to internal fixation or osteotomy. Current studies suggest that re-fracture of the affected vertebra, intervertebral disc degeneration, and osteonecrosis may be underlying mechanisms. These conditions shift the axial load forward, promoting postoperative PLK, which tends to progress over time. Postoperative PLK is closely associated with patient characteristics, fracture details, surgical factors, and post-surgery osteoporosis management. 1) The severity of osteoporosis, as indicated by the T-score from bone mineral density testing, can help predict postoperative PLK. While factors like age and gender influence osteoporosis severity, no direct relationship has been established between these factors and PLK. 2) Thoracolumbar fractures, old nonunion fractures, endplate fractures, or severe preoperative compression changes with kyphosis can increase PLK risk. Surgical factors, including the use of balloons or implants and the distribution of bone cement, also play a role. Personalized treatment plans should be developed based on the patient's general condition and imaging results to ensure adequate bone cement diffusion, as enhanced integration can reduce PLK risk. 3) Postoperative anti-osteoporosis therapy is also crucial; long-term therapy, particularly with teriparatide, can prevent PLK. Recognizing the related risk factors and establishing predictive models can help clinicians tailor treatments. Machine learning models, utilizing big data, are particularly adept at handling complex interrelated risk factors and may provide a powerful tool for personalized treatment in the future.

OBJECTIVE: To review the clinical research progress of spinal epidural lipomatosis (SEL). METHODS: The clinical studies on SEL at home and abroad in recent years were extensively reviewed, and the pathogenesis, clinical and imaging manifestations, and treatment status of SEL were summarized and analyzed. RESULTS: SEL is a disease characterized by compression of the spinal cord and nerve roots due to abnormal accumulation of epidural adipose tissue in the spinal canal. Its prevalence and diagnosis rate are low and the pathogenesis is not fully understood. MRI is the most sensitive and specific diagnostic test for SEL. Surgical decompression and removal of excess adipose tissue are the only options for patients with acute SEL or those who have failed conservative management, and conservative management should be considered for other patients. CONCLUSION SEL is a rare disease and related research still needs to be improved. In the future, high-quality, multi-center and large-sample studies will be of great significance for evaluating the choice of treatment methods and effectiveness of SEL patients.
Humans ; Decompression, Surgical/methods* ; Epidural Space/surgery* ; Lipomatosis/surgery* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Spinal Cord Diseases/surgery*

Ex vivo culture-amplified mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been studied because of their capacity for healing tissue injury. MSC transplantation is a valid approach for promoting the repair of damaged tissues and replacement of lost cells or to safeguard surviving cells, but currently the efficiency of MSC transplantation is constrained by the extensive loss of MSCs during the short post-transplantation period. Hence, strategies to increase the efficacy of MSC treatment are urgently needed. Iron overload, reactive oxygen species deposition, and decreased antioxidant capacity suppress the proliferation and regeneration of MSCs, thereby hastening cell death. Notably, oxidative stress (OS) and deficient antioxidant defense induced by iron overload can result in ferroptosis. Ferroptosis may inhibit cell survival after MSC transplantation, thereby reducing clinical efficacy. In this review, we explore the role of ferroptosis in MSC performance. Given that little research has focused on ferroptosis in transplanted MSCs, further study is urgently needed to enhance the in vivo implantation, function, and duration of MSCs.
Humans ; Antioxidants/metabolism* ; Ferroptosis ; Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplantation ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; Iron Overload/metabolism*

Complex structural variants(CSVs)are genomic alterations that have more than two breakpoints and are considered as the simultaneous occurrence of simple structural variants.How-ever,detecting the compounded mutational signals of CSVs is challenging through a commonly used model-match strategy.As a result,there has been limited progress for CSV discovery com-pared with simple structural variants.Here,we systematically analyzed the multi-breakpoint con-nection feature of CSVs,and proposed Mako,utilizing a bottom-up guided model-free strategy,to detect CSVs from paired-end short-read sequencing.Specifically,we implemented a graph-based pattern growth approach,where the graph depicts potential breakpoint connections,and pattern growth enables CSV detection without pre-defined models.Comprehensive evaluations on both simulated and real datasets revealed that Mako outperformed other algorithms.Notably,validation rates of CSVs on real data based on experimental and computational validations as well as manual inspections are around 70％,where the medians of experimental and computational breakpoint shift are 13 bp and 26 bp,respectively.Moreover,the Mako CSV subgraph effectively characterized the breakpoint connections of a CSV event and uncovered a total of 15 CSV types,including two novel types of adjacent segment swap and tandem dispersed duplication.Further analysis of these CSVs also revealed the impact of sequence homology on the formation of CSVs.Mako is publicly available at https://github.com/xjtu-omics/Mako.

Objective: To investigate high-risk factors for lymph node metastasis (LNM) and 10-year survival rate in patients with papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC). Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 3 607 patients with PTMC received surgery in our hospital from January 2005 to December 2015. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the factors associated with metastasis and 10-year survival rate of the patients was calculated. Results: The patients accepted an average follow-up of 68 months, with follow-up from 18 to 138 months. Total LNM rate in the 3 607 patients with PTMC was 17.13%. Central lymph node metastasis rate was 16.86%, which was related to gender (males 21.89% vs females 15.26%, P<0.01), age (<45 years old 24.44% vs ≥45 years old 11.96%, P<0.01), tumor diameter (P<0.01) and multifocality (P<0.01). Lateral lymph node metastasis rate was 1.05%, which was related to age (<45 vs ≥45, P<0.01) and tumor diameter (P<0.01). The 10-year-survival rate was 93.0% and 10-year recurrence-free survival rate was 87.5%. Conclusion PTMC may metastasize to cervical lymph node, especially in males, with age younger than 45, multifocal tumors and maximal tumor diameter larger than 0.7 cm. There was no significant correlation between these clinical features associated with LNM and the 10-year survival rate.

Metabolomics, the newest “omics”science after genomics, thranscriptomics and proteomics, is the study of simultaneous identification and quantification of products of the biochemical reaction within an or-ganism. It has been used in the study of papillary thyroid cancer. This review presents an introduction to the con-cept and research techniques of metabolomics and the progress of application in papillary thyroid cancer.

Objective To analyze the metabolic profiles of the female papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) and the relationship between the metabolic profiles and primary tumor size and cervical lymph node metastasis using a metabolomics approach.Methods Forty-three cases of female PTC were enrolled in this study.Gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry and ultra performance liquid chromatography-time of flight-mass spectrometry were employed for analyzing metabolic profiles of tumor tissues and adjacent normal tissues in the female PTC.Cases were divided into Group T1 (tumor size ≤2.0 cm) and Group T2 (tumor size ＞ 2.0 cm) according to the tumor size,and divided into Group N-(with negative cervical lymph node) and Group N + (with positive cervical lymph node) according to the cervical lymph node conditions.We compared the metabolomic profiles between these groups.Results A panel of 46 differentially expressed metabolites was identified in the PTC specimens,compared with normal tissues.Increased metabolism of amino acid,purine and pyrimidine,tryptophan acid,one carbon,glycolysis,taurine and hypotaurine,and fatty acid were found in PTC tumors tissues.Amino acids,purine and pyridine,tryptophan,and carbon metabolism increased significantly in the tumor tissues of Group T2 compared with Group T1,while glycolysis,amino acid,purine and pyridine,tryptophan,and carbon metabolism increased significantly in the specimens of Group N +.Conclusion Distinct metabolic profiles were identified in the female PTC tissues,which were related to the primary tumor size and cervical lymph node metastases.

A prospective study was conducted for 91 cases of fever patients after neurosurgical procedures during the period of January-December 2013.They were divided into non-infection (n =42) and infection (n =49) groups according to whether there was infection complication.And another 51 nonsurgical hospitalized patients without fever or infection were selected as control group.The levels of procalcitonin (PCT),C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC) were detected respectively.Statistical analysis showed that the level of PCT had no significant difference between non-infection and control groups (P ＞ 0.05).However,it was markedly elevated in infection group than non-infection group (P ＜ 0.01).The level of CRP was significantly different between non-infection and control groups (P ＜ 0.01).And it was the same between infection and non-infection groups.The level of WBC had significant difference between non-infection and control groups (P ＜ 0.05) and infection and non-infection groups (P ＜ 0.01).The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve showed that either sensitivity or specificity of PCT was the highest.Compared with CRP and WBC,PCT may identify more accurately the causes of fever after neurosurgical procedures.

Objective To investigate the diagnosis and treatment of ectopic para-aortic pheochromocytoma. Methods Clinical data of 2 cases with ectopic para-aortic pheochromocytoma in the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from August 2012 to December 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. The informed consents of both patients were obtained and local ethical committee approval had been received. Both patients were female with the age of 54, 57 years old. The occurrence of disease, diagnosis, treatments and efficacy were observed. Results Case 1 was admitted in hospital for complaint of 1-month distending pain in upper abdominal and ifnding of retroperitoneal space-occupying lesion for 8 d. Solid space-occupying lesion at the right side of mid-upper abdomen was found by abdominal ultrasound and computer tomography (CT) examination. The preoperative diagnosis was abdominal mesenchymoma. Case 2 was admitted in hospital for complaint of palpitation, chest pain and ifnding of hepatic space-occupying lesion for 10 d and had a history of 5-year hypertension. Cystic solid space-occupying lesion in the hepatic caudate lobe was found by abdominal ultrasound, CT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations and cystadenoma was suspected. The 2 patients underwent resection of ectopic para-aortic pheochromocytoma under general anesthesia by tracheal intubation. The intraoperative exploration found that touching the tumor had great impacts on blood pressure and heart rate and ectopic para-aortic pheochromocytoma was diagnosed. The patients were transferred to surgical intensive care unit (ICU) for monitoring and treatment. Pheochromocytoma was confirmed by the pathological examination. The patients were recovered and discharged from hospital and remained well till the paper submission date. Conclusions Ectopic para-aortic pheochromocytoma is a rare disease without characteristic clinical features. It is dififcult for preoperative diagnosis. The conifrmation is mainly depends on the pathological ifndings. Surgical resection is the priority of treatment. Fully assessment of operative risk before operation, avoiding touching tumor tissues during operation, complete excision of tumor capsule, close monitoring on the blood pressure after operation can achieve a good clinical treatment outcome.