Objective To compare the clinical and radiological outcome between the modified Broström repair with augmentation using suture tape (MBA) and the modified Broström repair (MB) for patients with chronic lateral ankle instability. Methods A retrospective study was performed in Ningbo No. 6 Hospital. The study included 53 patients who underwent surgical treatment from March 2014 to July 2016 and were followed for 2 years. A total of 25 patients underwent modified Broström repair with augmentation using suture tape, and 28 patients were treated with modified Broström repair. Patients were evaluated using the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Scale (AOFAS) hindfoot scale, the Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) score, range of motion (ROM), and the visual analogue scale (VAS). The talar tilt angle (TTA) and anterior talar translation (ATT) were used to evaluate the mechanical stability. All radiological outcomes were measured by two orthopaedic surgeons, with the measurements repeated 3 days later. Results The mean age of the patients was 26.6 ± 17.8 years in the MBA group and 28.1 ± 19.4 years in the MB group, and no statistical difference in preoperative data was found between two groups. There were significant differences before and after the operation within the groups. Both groups achieved satisfactory outcomes, and significant improvements (VAS, FAAM, AOFAS, TTA, and ATT) were observed between the 1‐year follow‐up and final follow‐up ( P < 0.05). The MBA group showed significant improvement in the FAAM Sport (87.1 ± 5.4 vs 78.2 ± 12.0, P = 0.001) and total scores (93.1 ± 2.3 vs 90.5 ± 5.1, P = 0.027) at the final follow‐up compared with the MB group, and for the other outcomes, there were no significant differences between the two groups. Conclusion The modified Broström repair with augmentation using suture tap for chronic lateral ankle instability achieves a better outcome; however, further research is necessary.

This study examined the value of a novel 1-step labeled integrin α v β 3 -targeting 18 F-AlF-NOTA-PRGD2 (denoted as 18 F-RGD) scan in assessing sensitivity to concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Methods: Twenty-five patients with newly diagnosed GBM were enrolled in this study 3-5 wk after surgical resection. All participants were investigated with 18 F-RGD PET/CT on baseline (T1) and at the third week (T2) after the start of CCRT. Tumor volume, maximal and mean standardized uptake value of the tumor (SUV max , SUV mean ), and tumor-to-nontumor ratios of the tumor volume were obtained. The MRI treatment response was assessed at the 11th week (T3). The change in the lesion volume from T1 to T3 on MRI was used as an endpoint to evaluate the predictive ability of 18 F-RGD PET/CT. Results: With 18 F-RGD PET/CT imaging, we successfully visualized the residual lesions of GBM. Twenty-five and 23 18 F-RGD PET/CT scans at baseline and the third week, respectively, were available for analysis. We found that 18 F-RGD PET/CT parameters, both pretreatment SUV max on baseline (P , 0.05) and intratreatment SUV max at the third week (SUV maxT2 ) (P , 0.05) and tumor-to-nontumor ratios at the third week (P , 0.05), were predictive of treatment sensitivity to CCRT. Additionally, the change of volume from T1 to T2 on MRI was also predictive (P , 0.05). According to receiver-operating-characteristic curve analysis, the most significant parameter was SUV maxT2 (area under the curve, 0.846). The threshold of SUV maxT2 was 1.35, and its sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 84.6%, 90.0% and 87.0%, respectively. Conclusion: 18 F-RGD PET/CT allows for the noninvasive visualization of GBM lesions and the prediction of sensitivity to CCRT as early as 3 wk after treatment initiation.

It is important to distinguish between tumor recurrence and treatment effects in posttreatment patients with high-grade gliomas. Several imaging modalities have been reported in differentiating between tumor recurrence and treatment effects. However, there were no consistent conclusions between different studies. We performed a meta-analysis of 23 studies that compared the diagnostic values of fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (

Stimulation of Hedgehog (Hh) signaling induces carcinogenesis or promotes cell survival in cancers of multiple organs. In epithelial cancer with aberrant Hedgehog activation, abrogation of Hedgehog signaling by cyclopamine, a naturally occurring Hedgehog-specific small-molecule inhibitor, causes profound inhibition of tumor growth. In the present study, cyclopamine displayed a significant potency in suppressing the proliferation of both estrogen-responsive (MCF-7) and estrogen-independent (MDA-MB-231) human breast cancer cells. Cyclopamine induced a robust G1 cell cycle arrest and elicited notable effects on the expression of cyclin D1 through modulation of the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. Cyclopamine also inhibited the invasive ability of both breast cancer cell lines by suppressing the expression levels of NF-κB, MMP2 and MMP9 protein. Furthermore, in estrogen-responsive MCF-7 cells, cyclopamine significantly downregulated the production of estrogen receptor-α protein. Our results implicate cyclopamine as a novel, potent inhibitor of human breast cancer proliferation and estrogen responsiveness that could potentially be developed into a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of breast cancer.

Electrospun nanofibrous scaffolds varying different materials are fabricated for tissue engineering. PLGA, silk fibroin, and collagen-derived scaffolds have been proved on good biocompatibility with neurons. However, no systematic studies have been performed to examine the PLGA-silk fibroin-collagen (PLGA-SF-COL) biocomposite fiber matrices for nerve tissue engineering. In this study, different weight ratio PLGA-SF-COL (50:25:25, 30:35:35) scaffolds were produced via electrospinning. The physical and mechanical properties were tested. The average fiber diameter ranged from 280 + 26 to 168 + 21 nm with high porosity and hydrophilicity; the tensile strength was 1.76 ± 0.32 and 1.25 ± 0.20 Mpa, respectively. The results demonstrated that electrospinning polymer blending is a simple and effective approach for fabricating novel biocomposite nanofibrous scaffolds. The properties of the scaffolds can be strongly influenced by the concentration of collagen and silk fibroin in the biocomposite. To assay the cytocompatibility, Schwann cells were seeded on the scaffolds; cell attachment, growth morphology, and proliferation were studied. SEM and MTT results confirmed that PLGA-SF-COL scaffolds particularly the one that contains 50% PLGA, 25% silk fibroin, and 25% collagen is more suitable for nerve tissue engineering compared to PLGA nanofibrous scaffolds.