Myxomas are the most frequent, cardiac benign cardiac tumors which often present with stroke caused by tumorous orthrombotic emboli. The treatment of embolic stroke due to cardiac myxoma is still a clinical and technical challenge. A 61-year-old man who had an embolic stroke in the left middle cerebral artery was admitted to the Third Poeple′s Hospital of Huizhou. The initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was 16. He received endovascular thrombectomy after intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) one hour after stroke onset. No intracranial hemorrhage developed. Pathological study of embolus showed a myxoma. A cardiac mass was found in the left atrium and removed surgically three weeks after stroke. Pathological study of the tumor showed a myxoma. At the one-month follow-up after excision of myxoma, the NIHSS score was 1 and the modified Rankin scale score was 0. No recurrence of embolism occurred after surgical resection. Endovascular thrombectomy after intravenous rt-PA (bridging therapy) for embolic stroke due to cardiac myxoma is safe and effective, and early resection of atrial myxoma can effectively avoid recurrence of cerebral infarction.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of computed tomography (CT)-guided ¹²⁵I seed implantation in the treatment of patients with spinal and/or paraspinal osteolytic metastatic tumors. Methods: The radiation dose distribution was planned for 27 patients with 35 spinal and paraspinal osteolytic metastatic tumors by a treatment planning system (TPS). CT-guided ¹²⁵I seed implantation was carried out in the patients, and the quality of treatment was evaluated based on CT-imaging follow-up. Results: All the 27 patients underwent CT-guided ¹²⁵I seed implantation successfully. 12 to 50 ¹²⁵I seeds were injected into each spinal or paraspinal metastatic tumor, 39.15 on average, and the specific radioactive activity of the particles ranged from 0.60 to 0.80 mCi, 0.73 mCi on average. The minimal percentage of the dose received by 90% of the target volume (D₉₀) of the spinal and paraspinal metastatic tumors ranged from 90 to 165 Gy, 115.03 Gy on average. Among the 27 patients, 21 (77.8%) had partial remission (PR) and 6(22.2%)had stable disease (SD). The Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scores before implantation and at postoperative 3 and 6 months were 7.81±0.74, 2.04±1.10 and 1.81±0.79, respectively, (P<0.05). The assessment of pain intensity before ¹²⁵I seed implantation and at 3 postoperative months showed obvious improvements in the patients evaluated according to the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) impairment scale: 12 (44.4%) patients with ASIA grade C were changed to grade D, 3 (11.1%) from grade C to grade E, 8 (29.6%) from grade D to grade E, 3 (11.1%) with a stable grade D, and 1 (3.7%)with a stablegrade C. The Karnovsky performance scale (KPS) scores before treatment and at 3 months and 6 months postoperatively were 66.30±6.88, 85.93±9.31 and 87.91±8.56, respectively (P<0.05). Their local control rate (LCR) at 3 months, 6 months and 1 year postoperatively were 100%, 92.6% and 51.9%, respectively, and the overall survival rates(OSR) were 100%, 92.6% and 55.6%, respectively. Conclusions CT-guided ¹²⁵I seed implantation can significantly relieve local pain, has advantages of less complications and higher local control rate. Therefore, it is a safe, effective and feasible treatment option for patients with spinal and paraspinal osteolytic metastatic tumors.

Objective To study the effect of bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) via artery transplantation on behavior changes after ischemic brain injury in mice.Methods 60 mice (C57BL/6) were divided randomly into sham group,brain ischemia group (MCAO group) and stem cell therapy group (BMSC group).The latter two groups were injected respectively with 200 μl PBS or BMSC suspension into common carotid arteries namely when removal suture after middle cerebral artery occlusion model,while sham group was only isolated carotid artery.Infarct size of brain tissue was measured by TTC staining.Focal deficit score,Morris water maze test,the rotating beam test and Rotarod test were resepectively made to evaluate the animal behavior after injury.Results Adequate amounts of BMSCs were harvested by adherence screening method and subculture.Ischemic area of BMSC group ((34.98±12.49) ％) was significantly smaller than that of MCAO group ((42.36±9.41)％) at 2nd day after injury (P＜0.05).Compared with MCAO group,focal deficit score of BMSC group reduced significantly at 3rd day after injury,and got to the most significant differences at 5th day after injury (P＜0.01);escape latency of BMSC group was significantly shortened at 7th day and 14th day after injury in Morris water maze test (P＜ 0.05),meanwhile time percentage,distance percentage in the target quadrant and the times corssing the platform were increased gradually after injury,and reached significant differences at 14th day after injury(P＜0.05);exercise time in Rotarod runner increased at every time point after injury,and reached most significant differences at 14th day after injury(P＜0.01);walking speed in the rotating beam test increased most significantly at 14th day after injury,meanwhile walking distance at 5th and 10th day after injury(P＜0.01).Conclusion BMSC transplantation via carotid artery can significantly improve neural function,learning,balance and motor function after brain injury,which will be a new way of TBI therapy.

OBJECTIVETo explore the value of percutaneous vertebroplasty combined with interstitial implantation of ¹²⁵I seeds in the treatment of metastatic thoracolumbar tumors.

METHODSBased on the CT images before ¹²⁵I seed implantation, a computer-based treatment planning system (TPS) was used to determine the optimal seed distribution. Under CT guidance and local anaesthesia, ¹²⁵I seeds were implanted into 22 osseous metastatic lesions in 18 patients. Based on the CT images after the implantation, quality check was carried out with TPS. DSA (digital subtraction angiography)-guided vertebroplasty was performed under local anaesthesia, and bone cement was injected into the vertebrae through pedicle of vertebral arch.

RESULTSAll the 18 patients received percutaneous vertebroplasty combined with interstitial implantation of ¹²⁵I seeds. Every vertebra was injected with 2-6 ml bone cement, average 3.5 ml, and was injected with ¹²⁵I seeds 16-34 pills, average 26 pills. At 2-months follow-up, their numerical rating scale (NRS) pain scores were 7.12 ± 1.48 before and 2.26 ± 1.07 after treatment, with a significant difference (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSPercutaneous vertebroplasty combined with interstitial implantation of ¹²⁵I seeds is a minimally invasive procedure with small wound and minor complications, and no need of external radiation therapy. It is effective in the alleviation of pain in metastatic thoracolumbar tumor patients, restrains the tumor growth, and improves the quality of life. It is a promising minimally invasive method in the treatment of metastatic thoracolumbar tumors.

Aged ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Bone Cements ; therapeutic use ; Brachytherapy ; Breast Neoplasms ; pathology ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Iodine Radioisotopes ; therapeutic use ; Lumbar Vertebrae ; Lung Neoplasms ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pain Measurement ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; pathology ; Quality of Life ; Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted ; Spinal Neoplasms ; secondary ; therapy ; Thoracic Vertebrae ; Vertebroplasty ; methods

BACKGROUND:Osteosarcoma combined with pathological fracture was often treated by amputation. With clinical application of neoadjuvant chemotherapy and improvement of technology and material of the prosthesis, the limbs of patients with osteosarcoma combined with pathological fracture were reserved. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effect of the application of custom-manufactured artificial total knee prosthesis replacement in limb salvage treatment for patients with osteosarcoma combined with pathological fracture. METHODS:A total of 11 patients with pathological fracture with osteosarcoma located in adjacent knee Joint were enrol ed from June 2002 to September 2012. In accordance with individual condition of the patient, limb salvage treatment was designed for knee prosthesis for a tumor. Fol ow-up results were retrospectively analyzed. There were six males (54.5%) and five females (45.5%) and their age ranged from 11 to 50 years old with an average age of 25.4 years old. Onset regions:seven tumors were located in the distal femur and four tumors were in the proximal tibia. Al patients received neoadjuvant chemotherapy, and limb salvage treatment with custom-manufactured artificial knee prosthesis. The fol ow up was performed for 9 to 105 months. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:In 11 patients after prosthesis replacement, the regional recurrence rates were 18%, lung metastasis rates were 36%. The five-year survival rate was 58%. Four patients developed lung metastases and died in 9 to 24 months postoperatively. During the last fol ow-up, Enneking score of the affected limbs was 11 to 30 points, averagely 23.3 points, with an excellent and good rate of 82%. Results indicated that combined with neoadjuvanet chemotherapy, the application of custom-manufactured artificial total knee prosthesis replacement in the treatment of osteosarcoma located in adjacent knee joint and pathological fracture achieved an ideal outcomes of the limb salvage treatment in the near future. The lone-term effectiveness was expected to be evaluated.