Study Design: A basic study using a spinal cord injury (SCI) model in rats. Objectives: The effect of mild hypothermic treatment on histological changes and motor function after a rat spinal cord compression injury was assessed. Methods: Mild spinal cord compression was performed at the eleventh thoracic vertebral level by a 20 g weight for 20 min. Rats in the mild hypothermic model were kept at a body temperature of 33 1C and rats in the normothermic group were kept at 37 1C for 1 h from beginning of compression. Motor function was evaluated by measuring the frequency of standing. Microglia were stained by isolectin B4 and observed in the compressed portion of the spinal cord. The amount of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) in the compressed spinal cord was measured by the ELISA method. Results: In the normothermic rats, microglia proliferated up to 72 h after the compression. Proliferation was substantially inhibited at 48 and 72 h after compression in the hypothermic rats. The motor function of the hypothermic rats improved at 48 and 72 h after the compression, whereas no improvement was seen in the normothermic rats. The amount of TNF-a in the compressed portion of the spinal cord was lower in hypothermic rats compared with normothermic rats throughout the experiment. Conclusions: These results suggest that hypothermic treatment is effective for the amelioration of delayed motor dysfunction via inhibition of microglial inflammatory responses.

No abstract

This is the first report to describe a method of arthroscopic osteochondral fixation using absorbable pins to treat osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) of the capitellum. Four adolescent baseball players with OCD of the capitellum were treated, and good short-term results were obtained. During this arthroscopic procedure, the elbow was maintained in the maximum flexed position, and posterolateral portals were used to visualize the lesion, perform drilling, and insert the pins. This procedure is less invasive and easier to perform than other fixation procedures that require harvesting or production of autologous bone pegs. This is an effective method of fragment fixation with absorbable pins.

No abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether postoperative combined anteversion (CA) can be kept within the safe zone while using cementless total hip arthroplasty (THA) using the operative technique which prepares the socket first for developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH), by estimating the anteversion of the metaphyseal fit stem using preoperative three-dimensional (3D) computerized planning and by adjusting the anteversion of the socket using a navigation system that considers CA. Our subjects were 65 patients (65 hips) that had undergone cementless THA for DDH that could be observed for 1 year or more. Clinical assessments were made using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association’s (JOA) hip score. For a radiological evaluation, we investigated 3D-planned stem versions, postoperative stem versions, preoperative and postoperative CA, and the relationship between CA and dislocation tendencies with temporary intraoperative reductions. JOA hip scores improved from 52.3 ± 11.4 points to 88.9 ± 8.6 points. CT evaluations revealed that 3D-planned stem versions were strongly correlated with postoperative stem versions (r = 0.80; p < 0.01). Preoperative CA was 50.5° ± 7.2°, and postoperative CA was 41.3° ± 8.6°. Postoperative CA was kept within the safe zone in 61 hips. No intraoperative dislocation tendencies were observed in any hips. By estimating the anteversion of the cementless metaphyseal fit stem using 3D planning preoperatively and adjusting the angle of anteversion of the socket using a navigation system that considers CA intraoperatively, postoperative CA can very frequently be kept within the safe zone, even with cementless THA using the operative technique which prepares the socket first for DDH.