Schwannomas (also called neurilemmomas) are slow-growing nerve sheath tumors derived from Schwann cells. However, intraosseous schwannoma is a rare entity with an incidence of only 0.2% in overall primary bone tumors. The purpose of this case report is to present a case of an intraosseous schwannoma of the calcaneus. A 35-year-old woman was admitted to our outpatients' clinics with a complaint of long-time right heel pain (for approximately eight months). After a suspicious cystic lesion was observed on the patient's plain radiograph examination, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed. The MRI showed a 22 × 20 mm intraosseous cystic lesion at the posterior part of the calcaneus. Extended curettage and iliac bone grafting were performed. In the presence of postoperative histopathologic and immunohistochemical examination, histopathologic diagnosis of the patient was reported as intraosseous schwannoma. After 4 weeks of nonweight-bearing, she completely recovered with no pain. In conclusion, intraosseous schwannoma of the calcaneus must be kept in mind for patients who have chronic heel pain.

In this study, we aimed at fabricating a novel porous physical construct from quince seed mucilage for translational medicine applications. To achieve this goal, quince seed mucilage was extracted, molded, and freeze-dried. After being freeze-dried, the molded constructs were chemically crosslinked with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide/N-hydroxysuccinimide to maintain the mechanical integrity of the structure. The fabricated scaffolds were characterized in-depth by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller analysis, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis in addition to the swelling, liquid uptake, and porosity tests. The extraction yield of mucilage was calculated to be 6.28% ± 0.40% (n = 3). The swelling ratio of crosslinked quince seed mucilage–derived scaffolds was found to be 12,677.50% ± 388.82% (n = 3), whereas the porosity of crosslinked quince seed mucilage–derived scaffolds was 83.43% ± 2.84% (n = 3). The analyses confirmed the crosslinked quince seed mucilage–derived scaffolds to be possessed interconnected, highly porous structure. Afterward, human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells were seeded on the crosslinked quince seed mucilage–derived scaffolds, and the cell viability on the scaffolds was assessed with 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazole-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The MTT results revealed the scaffolds not to be possessed any cytotoxic effect on seeded cells. Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells adhesion and migration on the crosslinked quince seed mucilage–derived scaffolds were also evaluated histologically using hematoxylin and eosin staining in addition to scanning electron microscopy analysis. In conclusion, we believe that crosslinked quince seed mucilage–derived scaffolds have the potential to be an alternative to routinely used polysaccharides in regenerative medicine applications.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between MMP13 rs3819089, ADAM12 rs3740199 and rs1871054, and ADAMTS14 rs4747096 genotypes in patients with radiologically diagnosed knee osteoarthritis (OA). Patients and methods: A total of 300 patients (68 males, 232 females; mean age: 61.6 years; range, 25 to 89 years) who were admitted to the orthopedics and traumatology clinic and diagnosed with knee OA according to the 2000 American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria between October 2018 and March 2019 were prospectively analyzed. Patients with Grades III-IV OA according to the Kellgren- Lawrence (K-L) grading system were included in the patient group (n=150) and those without radiological features of knee OA (K-L Grades I-II) were included in the control group (n=150) voluntarily. The presence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the targeted genes in both groups was assessed by real-time polymerase chain reaction in the peripheral blood sample. Results: The most common nucleotides in both the control and patient groups were CG for rs3740199 and CT for rs1871054 in the ADAM12 gene, and the most common nucleotides in alleles were GG for MMP13 rs3819089 and AA for ADAMTS14 rs4747096. No statistically significant relationship was detected between the gene polymorphisms and advanced OA. Conclusion: The study results suggest that ADAM12 rs3740199 and rs1871054, MMP13 rs3819089, and ADAMTS14 rs4747096 polymorphisms have no relationship with knee OA susceptibility in the Turkish population. However, as this is the first study to investigate the relationship between the SNPs of ADAM12, ADAMTS14, and MMP13 genes and the development of OA in the Turkish population, it would contribute to our understanding of the molecular bases of OA.

Amaç: Bu çalışmada femur başı osteonekrozu (FBO) olan solid organ transplantasyonu hastalarında çoklu drilleme ile yapılan kor dekompresyon cerrahisinin klinik ve radyolojik sonuçları araştırıldı ve bu işlemin kortikosteroid kullanım süresi ve osteonekroz evresi açısından etkililiği değerlendirildi. Hastalar ve yöntemler: Femur başı osteonekrozu için çoklu drilleme ile kor dekompresyon cerrahisi planlanan toplam 22 solid organ transplantasyonu (kalp, karaciğer veya böbrek) hastası (14 erkek, 8 kadın; ort. yaş 43.3 yıl; dağılım, 23-67 yıl) değerlendirildi. Hastaların Harris kalça skorları (HKS'leri) ve Kemik Dolaşımını Araştırma Birliği (ARCO) evrelemesi ve Kerboul evrelemesi dahil radyolojik verileri ameliyat öncesi ve sonrası kontrollerde retrospektif olarak incelendi. Bulgular: Hastalar ortalama 34.3 ay (dağılım, 12-76 ay) takip edildi. İki hastaya (%9.09) total kalça artroplastisi uygulandı. Bu iki hastada Kerboul evresi 3 idi. ARCO evrelemesi açısından ameliyat öncesinde ve sonrasındaki son kontrol arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı ilişki yoktu. Ameliyat öncesi ve sonrası HKS'leri arasında istatistiksel olarak anlamlı farklılık yoktu. Sonuç: Çoklu drilleme güvenli ve minimal invaziv bir cerrahi olsa da özellikle uzun süreli kortikosteroid kullanımı nedeniyle FBO'su olan solid organ transplantasyonu hastalarında etkisi sınırlıdır. Bu nedenle, solid organ transplantasyonu hastaları FBO gelişimi açısından yakından takip edilmelidir.

Objectives This study aims to investigate the effect of radial extracorporeal shock wave therapy (rESWT) treatment in the prevention of epidural fibrosis after laminectomy in rats. Materials and methods Eighteen 16-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300 g were used in this experimental study between November 2019 and February 2020. The rats were randomly divided into two groups as the control group (L3-L4 total laminectomy without any treatment) and the study group (L3-L4 total laminectomy plus rESWT). The rats were sacrificed at the postoperative sixth week and the lumbar spine was excised en bloc, fixed, and decalcified. Sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin to evaluate epidural fibrosis, acute inflammation, chronic inflammation, and vascular proliferation. Results The median value and standard deviations were obtained based on histological examinations. Accordingly, epidural fibrosis decreased significantly in the study group compared to the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the groups in terms of acute and chronic inflammation response and vascular proliferation. Conclusion The rESWT application immediately after surgery is effective in preventing epidural fibrosis after laminectomy in rats.