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Biomedical subjects

K Takaoka

Publications and source records attributed to K Takaoka.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Clinical outcome of extrasynovial steroid injection for trigger finger.

A prospective clinical study was performed to investigate the clinical results of extrasynovial (subcutaneous) steroid injection for trigger finger. One hundred and twenty-nine trigger fingers were investigated in 100 adult patients; 76 were women and 24 were men. Their mean age was 60 years (range: 17 to 88 years). We classified trigger fingers into three different grades according to clinical severity at a medical examination. All patients were injected with betamethasone mixed with lidocaine. Surgical release of the A1 pulley was performed at the patients' request if steroid injection therapy was not effective. Pain and snapping were relieved in 98% and 74% of cases, respectively. Recurrence occurred in about half our patients, but the same clinical benefit was obtained after re-injection. Surgery was performed for seven fingers. No complications of steroid injections were observed. This study suggests that extrasynovial steroid injection is a valuable conservative treatment for trigger finger and it is not necessary to try and inject into the tendon sheath to get a good result and markedly reduce the risk of causing damage to tendons and other structures.

Adolescent↗

Evaluation of the flexion gap by axial radiography of the distal femur.

The shape of the flexion gap in 20 normal knees was evaluated by axial radiography of the distal femur, and the results compared with those obtained in a previous study by MRI. The observed asymmetry was reduced by 29% using radiography, with a mean value of 3.6 degrees (1.5 degrees to 6.3 degrees) compared with that obtained by MRI of 5.1 degrees (2.6 degrees to 9.5 degrees), a mean discrepancy of 1.49 degrees. The results obtained by radiography and MRI showed a strong correlation (r = 0.78). Axial radiography is acceptable for the evaluation of the flexion gap and is less expensive and more comfortable to perform than MRI. Additionally, no metallic artefact occurs when the radiological method is used for assessment after arthroplasty.

Adolescent↗

Synthetic biodegradable polymers as drug delivery systems for bone morphogenetic proteins.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) induce bone formation in vivo, and clinical application in repair of bone fractures and defects is expected. However, appropriate systems to deliver BMP for clinical use need to be developed. We synthesized a new synthetic biodegradable polymer, poly-D,L-lactic acid-para-dioxanone-polyethylene glycol block copolymer (PLA-DX-PEG), to serve as a biocompatible, biodegradable polymer for recombinant human (rh) BMP-2 delivery systems. In animal experiments, new bone was efficiently formed and a large bone defect was repaired using PLA-DX-PEG/rhBMP-2 composites. In addition, this new polymer could be used as an injectable delivery system for rhBMP-2. The rhBMP-2/PLA-DX-PEG composites also could be combined with other materials such as hydroxyapatite or titanium. This new synthetic polymer might be used for rhBMP-2 delivery in various clinical situations involving repair of bone, leading to great changes in orthopedic treatment.

Animals↗

A case of toe macrodactyly treated by application of a vascularised nail graft.

Macrodactyly is a relatively rare congenital abnormality of the fingers and toes and is difficult to treat. We report a new method for treating toe macrodactyly in which a nail with a vascularised pedicle is raised, the toe is shortened to an appropriate length, and the nail transferred to an aesthetically appropriate proximal site. Although this technique is of a higher level of difficulty than conventional procedures involving pedicled nail flaps, allows aesthetically more favourable nail reconstruction by single-stage operation.

Adult↗

The flexion gap in normal knees. An MRI study.

Varus and valgus joint laxity of the normal living knee in flexion was assessed using MRI. Twenty knees were flexed to 90 degrees and were imaged in neutral and under a varus-valgus stress in an open MRI system. The configuration of the tibiofemoral joint gap was studied in slices which crossed the epicondyles of the femur. When a varus stress was applied, the lateral joint gap opened by 6.7 +/- 1.9 mm (mean +/- SD; 2.1 to 9.2) whereas the medial joint gap opened by only by a mean of 2.1 +/- 1.1 mm (0.2 to 4.2). These discrepancies indicate that the tibiofemoral flexion gap in the normal knee is not rectangular and that the lateral joint gap is significantly lax. These results may be useful for adequate soft-tissue balancing and bone resection in total knee arthroplasty and reconstruction surgery on ligaments.

Adolescent↗

[Solitary hemangioma of the rib; report of a case].

A case of solitary hemangioma which occurred in the rib. Tumor located in the right seventh rib, incidentally taken X-ray film demonstrated bone tumor, but she had no symptoms. Four years after, chest pain occurred and taken X-ray film, tumor size was inceeced. Computed tomography (CT) showed an expansile, well demarcated lesion, with thin corices and fine trabeclae. Chest wall, from the sixth rib to the eighth rib resection was performed and surgical margin was 4 cm. This case were diagnosed hemangioma of the rib. Hemangiomas of the bone are rare benign vascular tumors that account for less than 1% of all bony neoplasms. These lesions are most often occurring in the vertebral column or in the skull. The localization to the ribs is even more rare, with only sporadic case reports in the literature.

Aged↗

A neurofibromatosis type 1 patient with severe kyphoscoliosis and intrathoracic meningocele.

The patient presented with neurofibromatosis and a dystrophic kyphoscoliosis around the cervico-thoracic junction. When the patient was 59 years old, he started to suffer from dyspnea caused by an intrathoracic meningocele in the upper left thoracic cavity. A wide laminectomy from T2 to T5 was performed and the meningocele was resected. Although the dyspnoea disappeared postoperatively, the patient started to neurologically deteriorate. Laminectomy alone caused instability around the apex of the kyphosoliosis and spinal cord compression. Halo cast was applied and brought remarkable recovery of neurologic deficits. This result encouraged us to perform posterior fusion in situ from C3 to L2 with bone graft from the iliac crests and the Luque technique in conjunction with the Isola system. This resulted in the patient being able to walk again. The removal of the posterior element predisposes the patient to unstable postlaminectomy kyphosis and removes valuable bone stock required for posterior spinal fusion. For this reason, spinal fusion should have been conducted during surgery for the patient's meningocele.

Bone Transplantation↗

A case of mucopolysaccharidosis IV with lower leg paresis due to thoraco-lumbar kyphoscoliosis.

We treated a patient of type IV mucopolysaccharidosis (Morquio's disease) with lower leg paresis due to kyphoscoliosis. A 65-year-old woman presented with Morquio's disease. A lateral radiograph demonstrated the classic bullet-shaped vertebrae and a 65 degrees thoraco-lumbar kyphosis. After the age of 60, she suffered from numbness in both lower legs and walking disturbance. Bilateral patellae-tendon reflexes were exaggerated. MRI showed compression of the spinal cord around T12 to L2 with a highlighted area of change inside the spinal cord. Myelography and computed tomography after the myelography showed narrowing of the sub-arachnoidal space and deformation of the spinal cord around the T12 to L2 levels. Severe vertebral osteoporosis made it necessary to first perform posterior correction of the kyphosis and fusion. The curve was stabilised with the Luque method from T7 to L4. Her neurological condition markedly recovered, but 1 year after surgery her neurological condition again began to deteriorate, resulting in walking disturbance. For this reason, anterior decompression and fusion through a lateral thoracotomy was undertaken. Decompression of the spinal cord and a bone graft from the iliac crest were attained. The patient's neurological condition again improved, but not as much as immediately after the first operation.

Aged↗

Trabecular minimodeling in human iliac bone.

In adult human beings, remodeling creates nearly all of new bone tissue. However, Frost hypothesized that modeling can go on in trabeculae throughout life. As this hypothesis has not been verified, we looked for histologic evidence of trabecular modeling (minimodeling) during bone histomorphometry of transiliac bone biopsy specimens obtained from 34 patients (age range, 38-81 years; mean age, 58.4 years; female, 31/34) at the time of total hip arthroplasty. Before the bone biopsy study, we performed quantitative bone scintigraphy of bilateral hip joints and bilateral iliac crests in 10 other patients with unilateral hip disease and confirmed that the bone biopsy site was not affected by ipsilateral hip joint disease. Patients who had metabolic bone diseases or who had taken medications known to affect bone metabolism were excluded from the study. During modeling where bone formation and bone resorption are not coupled, bone formation can occur on quiescent bone surfaces without preceding bone resorption and create smooth cement lines. Therefore, the combination of fluorochrome labeling and a smooth cement line without interruption of surrounding collagen fibers was regarded as evidence of minimodeling. Histologic evidence of minimodeling was detected in 21 of the entire 34 specimens (62%) and 17 of 27 specimens obtained from postmenopausal patients (63%). Bone volume of minimodeling sites was less than 1% of the trabecular bone volume, and these sites accounted for less than 2% of the entire bone surface on average. However, osteoid volume of minimodeling sites comprised approximately one-tenth of the entire osteoid volume, and their labeled surface constituted one-fourth to half of the entire labeled surface on average. Therefore, when performing bone histomorphometry of adult cancellous bone, minimodeling should be taken into account when dealing with parameters related to osteoid volume and mineralization. A comparison of specimens with and without minimodeling demonstrated that the presence of minimodeling was correlated with smaller physique of patients, accelerated mineralization (as indicated by the higher mean MS/BS and MAR values and the shorter mean Omt), and higher metabolic turn-over of bone (as indicated by the higher mean BFR/BV value). Although the findings still need to be verified in a larger number of normal subjects without hip joint disease, they support Frost's hypothesis that minimodeling can continue throughout human life.

Adult↗

Local bone formation by injection of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 contained in polymer carriers.

The regenerating potential of human bone is limited. The repair of large bone defects often associated with bone tumor resections is not observed, and nonunion or delayed union of bone is a serious problem for fracture treatment. In these cases, autogeneic or allogeneic bone grafting has been routinely indicated, but these approaches require invasive surgical procedures. An alternative approach described in this paper involves the injection of bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) in a polymeric delivery system. We demonstrate that synthetic biodegradable polymers, poly-D,L-lactic acid-polyethylene glycol (PLA-PEG) block copolymers, which exhibit an exquisite temperature-dependent liquid-semisolid transition, work well as an injectable delivery system for recombinant human (rh) BMP-2. The thermosensitive property of the PLA-PEG/rhBMP-2 composite is permissive to percutaneous injection when heated. The fluidity of this composite decreases as it cools down to body temperature and the resultant semisolid form provides a scaffold for bone formation through the gradual local release of the rhBMP-2. This new type of injectable osteoinductive material will enable a less invasive approach to surgeries involving the restoration or repair of bone tissues.

Animals↗

Embryonic stem cells injected into the mouse knee joint form teratomas and subsequently destroy the joint.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the joint space is a suitable environment for embryonic stem (ES) cells to grow and form cartilage. METHOD: We transplanted ES cells into the knee joint and a subcutaneous space of mice with severe combined immunodeficiency. RESULTS: Teratomas formed in both areas. Those in the joints grew and destroyed the joints. The incidence of cartilage formation was the same in the knee joint and subcutaneous space, but the ratio of cartilage to teratoma was higher in the knee joint than in the subcutaneous space. The teratomas were proved to have been derived from the transplanted ES cells by detection of the neomycin-resistance gene that had been transfected into the ES cells. CONCLUSIONS: It is currently not possible to use ES cells to repair joint tissues. Further optimization of donor ES cells to differentiate as well as inhibit tumour growth may help to meet these challenges.

Animals↗

Effect of phosphodiesterase inhibitor-4, rolipram, on new bone formations by recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2.

Collagen sponge disks (6 mm diameter, 1 mm thickness) were impregnated with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) (5 microg/disk) and implanted onto the back muscles of mice. Ten or 20 mg/kg per day of Rolipram, a selective inhibitory agent to phosphodiesterase type 4 (PDE-4), or vehicle, was injected subcutaneously into the host mice for 3 weeks. After treatment, rhBMP-2-induced ectopic ossicles were harvested and examined by radiographic and histologic methods to determine the size, bone quality, and mineral content of the ossicles. The ossicles from a group treated with 20 mg/kg per day Rolipram were significantly larger in size and higher in bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) than the control samples. No significant differences were noted in mice treated with 10 mg/kg per day of Rolipram. Histologically, ossicles from the high-dose (20 mg/kg per day) Rolipram-treated group showed densely packed, thicker trabeculae when compared with those from the control group. These experimental results indicate that the PDE-4 inhibitor, Rolipram, may enhance the bone-inducing capacity of BMP-2 in mesenchymal cells. This in turn may result in increased responsiveness to BMP-2 and point to a potential use of PDE-4 inhibitors for the promotion of rhBMP-dependent bone repair.

Animals↗

A phosphodiesterase inhibitor, pentoxifylline, enhances the bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4)-dependent differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells.

Bone morphogenetic protein-4 (BMP-4), a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, is capable of initiating differentiation of uncommitted mesenchymal cells into a chondro/osteogenic pathway. This study reports the effects of pentoxifylline (PTX), a nonspecific inhibitor of phosphodiesterases (PDEs), that causes elevation of the intracellular cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) level on the BMP-4-induced chondro/osteogenic differentiation of a mesenchymal cell line, C3H10T1/2; a bone marrow stromal cell line, ST2; and an osteoblastic cell line, MC3T3-E1. It was found that PTX enhanced BMP-4-induced chondro/osteogenic differentiation in C3H10T1/2 and ST2 cells. Similar effects were observed when adding dibutyryl-cAMP and forskolin. These results indicate that cAMP may potentiate the action of BMP-4 on osteoprogenitor cells, highlighting the possibility that PDE inhibitors could be used as therapeutic agents to enhance bone formation through this effect.

Animals↗

Early-phase enhanced inflammatory reaction after spinal instrumentation surgery.

STUDY DESIGN: The erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and body temperature were measured prospectively in patients after two types of spinal surgery without complications and three cases of infection after spinal instrumentation surgery. OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effects of instrumentation on postoperative inflammatory reaction, and to describe early detection of postoperative wound infection. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: In thoracic and abdominal surgery as well as hip arthroplasty, C-reactive protein has proved more valuable than erythrocyte sedimentation rate for early detection of postoperative infectious complications. It has not yet been established, however, how inflammatory parameters change after surgery when spinal instruments have been inserted into the body. METHODS: For this study, two groups of patients were examined: a control group that underwent spinal decompression surgery without instrumentation (n = 36) and another group that underwent spinal decompression and fusion surgery with spinal instrumentation (n = 37). The erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and body temperature were recorded 1 day before surgery and on days 0 to 4, 7, 11, 14, 21, 28, and 42 after surgery. RESULTS: Inflammatory indexes (i.e., C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, white blood cell count, and body temperature) were significantly higher for the surgery with instrumentation than for the spinal decompression surgery without instrumentation. Multiple regression analysis showed that C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate peaks significantly correlated with the use of instrumentation (C-reactive protein: P = 0.000257, erythrocyte sedimentation rate: P = 0.000132). In the patients with infection after spinal instrumentation surgery, C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and body temperature started to increase again 4 to 11 days after surgery. The elevation of erythrocyte sedimentation rate levels was prolonged. CONCLUSIONS: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C-reactive protein display a significantly higher reaction after spinal surgery with instrumentation. Renewed elevation of C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and body temperature after postoperative days 4 to 7 may be a critical sign of postoperative infection.

Adult↗

Progressive scoliosis in cri-du-chat syndrome over a 20-year follow-up period: a case report.

STUDY DESIGN: A long-term follow-up study of a patient who had scoliosis associated with cri-du-chat syndrome was performed. OBJECTIVE: To describe for the first time the characteristics and natural course of progressive scoliosis in a patient with cri-du-chat syndrome. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Scoliosis is a common condition in patients with cri-du-chat syndrome. However, there are no reports on the clinical characteristics and course of this spinal deformity. METHODS: The current condition and radiographs of a 33-year-old man with cri-du-chat syndrome were assessed. The records and serial radiographs of his spine were reviewed retrospectively over a 29-year period, between ages 4 and 33 years. RESULTS: The scoliosis had started before the initial radiographic examination and progressed rapidly during the growth period. After this stage, slow but continuous progression was observed over the next 10 years. The final curvature was quite substantial, measuring 119 degrees. CONCLUSIONS: To determine the most appropriate treatment for the scoliosis associated with cri-du-chat syndrome, the characteristics and natural course of the scoliosis should be clarified. Although this first report on this type of scoliosis is informative, more cases and further studies are needed.

Cri-du-Chat Syndrome↗