Chemical burns represent potentially blinding ocular injuries and constitute a true ocular emergency requiring immediate assessment and initiation of treatment. The majority of victims are young and exposure occurs at home, work place and in association with criminal assaults. Alkali injuries occur more frequently than acid injuries. Chemical injuries of the eye produce extensive damage to the ocular surface epithelium, cornea, anterior segment and limbal stem cells resulting in permanent unilateral or bilateral visual impairment. Emergency management if appropriate may be single most important factor in determining visual outcome. This article reviews the emergency management and newer techniques to improve the prognosis of patients with chemical injuries.
IntroductionOsteoarthritis (OA) is a progressively debilitating disease that
affects mostly cartilage, with associated changes in the bone. The
increasing incidence of OA and an ageing population, coupled with
insufficient therapeutic choices, has led to focus on the potential
of stem cells as a novel strategy for cartilage repair.MethodsIn this study, we used scaffold-free mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
obtained from bone marrow in an experimental animal model of OA
by direct intra-articular injection. MSCs were isolated from 2.8
kg white New Zealand rabbits. There were ten in the study group
and ten in the control group. OA was induced by unilateral transection
of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee joint. At 12 weeks
post-operatively, a single dose of 1 million cells suspended in 1 ml
of medium was delivered to the injured knee by direct intra-articular
injection. The control group received 1 ml of medium without cells.
The knees were examined at 16 and 20 weeks following surgery. Repair
was investigated radiologically, grossly and histologically using
haematoxylin and eosin, Safranin-O and toluidine blue staining.ResultsRadiological assessment confirmed development of OA changes after
12 weeks. Rabbits receiving MSCs showed a lower degree of cartilage
degeneration, osteophyte formation, and subchondral sclerosis than
the control group at 20 weeks post-operatively. The quality of cartilage
was significantly better in the cell-treated group compared with the
control group after 20 weeks.ConclusionsBone marrow-derived MSCs could be promising cell sources for
the treatment of OA. Neither stem cell culture nor scaffolds are
absolutely necessary for a favourable outcome.Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2014;3:32–7.
Recent technical advances in computed tomography (CT; helical and electron beam) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging have spurred a renewed interest in these modalities for the diagnosis of acute and chronic pulmonary embolism (PE). These techniques can enable accurate clot detection down to segmental pulmonary arteries, with CT currently allowing more accuracy than that with MR imaging. Ongoing technical advances, particularly in MR angiography, will likely increase diagnostic accuracy. Inability to reliably detect subsegmental acute emboli may not prove to be a clinically significant limitation if lung imaging is coupled with evaluation for deep venous thrombosis. MR imaging can potentially accomplish this within a single examination. Incorporation of CT and MR imaging into diagnostic algorithms for suspected PE can be cost-effective. Evaluation of these new modalities should be based on patient outcome, not solely on clot detectability. Well-designed clinical trials are warranted before CT and MR imaging can be used routinely in the diagnosis of acute PE.
Background:Skin adnexal tumors (SAT) encompass wide spectrum of benign and malignant tumors that differentiate toward one or more adnexal structures found in normal skin. Overall incidence of SATs is low yet they can be challenging to diagnose.Aims:The aim of this study is to study the spectrum and microscopic features of SATs.Materials and Methods:It was a retrospective cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted over a period of 3 years. Formalin fixed, paraffin-embedded sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for histopathological analysis.Results:Out of the total 34,400 biopsies, 110 cases were diagnosed as SATs comprising 39.09% of tumors with follicular differentiation followed by tumors showing sweat gland differentiation (37.27%), and sebaceous differentiation (23.63%). The age ranged from 5 years to 85 years and male:female ratio was 1.03:1. Most of the tumors were benign (82.73%) while only 17.27% were malignant. Pilomatricoma (28.2%) was the most common benign tumor while sebaceous carcinoma (11.8%) was the most common malignant tumor.Conclusion:Architectural features are of great importance in differentiating benign tumors from malignant.
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