Relationship between medial partite hallux sesamoid and hallux valgus in the general population.

BACKGROUND: An association between the medial partite hallux sesamoid (MPHS) and hallux valgus (HV) has been suggested; however, a causal relationship has not been confirmed. This study aimed to determine their causal relationship using a cross-sectional radiographic survey of a large-scale population cohort covering a wide age group. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The fifth survey of the Research on Osteoarthritis/Osteoporosis against Disability study involved 1997 participants aged 21-95 years who had undergone anteroposterior radiography of bilateral feet. The presence of MPHS, its morphology, and radiographic parameters related to the HV were assessed using radiographs. Changes in the prevalence of MPHS with age were assessed using trend tests. The relationship between the MPHS and HV was assessed based on sex and age. RESULTS: MPHS was found in 508 out of 3994 feet (12.7 %), with a significant difference in prevalence between men and women (10.0 % vs. 13.7 %, p < 0.001). Trend analysis demonstrated a significant decrease in MPHS occurrence with age in both sexes. HV angle was significantly higher in feet with MPHS than in those without (Men: 17.8 ± 7.0° vs. 14.0 ± 5.9°, p < 0.0001; Women: 19.6 ± 7.7° vs. 17.7 ± 7.9°, p < 0.0001). The prevalence of HV angle ≥ 20° was also significantly higher in feet with MPHS than in those without (Men: 33.3 % vs. 14.6 %, p < 0.0001; Women: 46.5 % vs. 34.6 %, p < 0.0001). This association between MPHS and HV was noticeable in younger adults and became less prominent with age. CONCLUSIONS: MPHS is associated with HV. The weakening of this relationship and the decreased prevalence of MPHS with age suggest that MPHS is not caused by HV, but is one of the causes of HV, especially in younger adults.

Association of Preoperative Depression Score With Outcomes of Transfibular Total Ankle Arthroplasty.

Favorable short-term results of transfibular total ankle arthroplasty have been reported in several studies; however, the factors affecting these results have not been elucidated. This study aimed to determine whether preoperative depression affects the outcome of transfibular total ankle arthroplasty and whether depression changes with surgery. Scores from the Japanese Society of Surgery of the Foot Ankle/Hindfoot scale (JSSF scale), Self-Administered Foot Evaluation Questionnaire (SAFE-Q), Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and Timed Up & Go test (TUG) were collected preoperatively, at 6 months, and at 1 year postoperatively from 20 patients. Eighteen patients were diagnosed with osteoarthritis and 2 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. The mean age of the patients was 75 years. Patients were divided into 2 groups: those with preoperative HADS depression scores above the median (higher depression score group) and below the median (lower depression score group), and intergroup comparisons were made. No significant differences were observed in the JSSF and TUG scores between the groups, both preoperatively and postoperatively. Meanwhile, the SAFE-Q pain subscale score was significantly lower in the higher depression score group than in the lower depression score group (median, 59 vs 90) 1 year postoperatively. There were no differences in the other SAFE-Q subscale scores between the groups. The results suggested that depressive tendencies did not affect postoperative functional results using objective assessment measures but had a negative impact on pain in subjective assessment measures.

Runx2 and Runx3 differentially regulate articular chondrocytes during surgically induced osteoarthritis development.

The Runt-related transcription factor (Runx) family plays various roles in the homeostasis of cartilage. Here, we examined the role of Runx2 and Runx3 for osteoarthritis development in vivo and in vitro. Runx3-knockout mice exhibited accelerated osteoarthritis following surgical induction, accompanied by decreased expression of lubricin and aggrecan. Meanwhile, Runx2 conditional knockout mice showed biphasic phenotypes: heterozygous knockout inhibited osteoarthritis and decreased matrix metallopeptidase 13 (Mmp13) expression, while homozygous knockout of Runx2 accelerated osteoarthritis and reduced type II collagen (Col2a1) expression. Comprehensive transcriptional analyses revealed lubricin and aggrecan as transcriptional target genes of Runx3, and indicated that Runx2 sustained Col2a1 expression through an intron 6 enhancer when Sox9 was decreased. Intra-articular administration of Runx3 adenovirus ameliorated development of surgically induced osteoarthritis. Runx3 protects adult articular cartilage through extracellular matrix protein production under normal conditions, while Runx2 exerts both catabolic and anabolic effects under the inflammatory condition.

[Pharmacological profile and clinical efficacy of anamorelin HCl (ADLUMIZ®Tablets), the first orally available drug for cancer cachexia with ghrelin-like action in Japan].

Anamorelin hydrochloride (hereinafter referred to as anamorelin) is an orally active, small-molecule drug with a similar pharmacological action to ghrelin, an endogenous ligand of growth hormone secretagogue receptor type 1a (GHS-R1a). It was first approved in Japan for the treatment of cancer cachexia, characterized by weight loss and anorexia. Anamorelin stimulated the secretion of growth hormone (GH) from cultured rat pituitary cells and increased plasma GH levels by oral administration to rats, pigs and humans. When anamorelin was orally administered once daily for 6 days to rats, larger body weight gain associated with increased food consumption compared to the control group was observed from after the first dose. Anamorelin is a selective agonist for GHS-R1a and enhanced GHS-R1a-mediated pituitary GH secretion and increased food consumption, resulting in body weight gain. In the two Japanese phase II studies in patients with cancer cachexia associated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), improvement of lean body mass (LBM) and body weight losses and anorexia were demonstrated. The tumor types of target patients in the Japanese phase III study were colorectal, gastric, and pancreatic cancer. As a result, maintenance and increase of LBM and body weight as well as improvement of anorexia were observed, and the efficacy against cancer cachexia associated with colorectal, gastric, and pancreatic cancer was confirmed. There were no observed events considered to be significant safety risks. In conclusion, anamorelin is expected to provide a new therapeutic option for cancer cachexia for which no effective treatment has been available.

Divergence in chondrogenic potential between in vitro and in vivo of adipose- and synovial-stem cells from mouse and human.

BACKGROUND: Somatic stem cell transplantation has been performed for cartilage injury, but the reparative mechanisms are still conflicting. The chondrogenic potential of stem cells are thought as promising features for cartilage therapy; however, the correlation between their potential for chondrogenesis in vitro and in vivo remains undefined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the intrinsic chondrogenic condition depends on cell types and explore an indicator to select useful stem cells for cartilage regeneration. METHODS: The chondrogenic potential of two different stem cell types derived from adipose tissue (ASCs) and synovium (SSCs) of mice and humans was assessed using bone morphogenic protein-2 (BMP2) and transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGFß1). Their in vivo chondrogenic potential was validated through transplantation into a mouse osteochondral defect model. RESULTS: All cell types showed apparent chondrogenesis under the combination of BMP2 and TGFß1 in vitro, as assessed by the formation of proteoglycan- and type 2 collagen (COL2)-rich tissues. However, our results vastly differed with those observed following single stimulation among species and cell types; apparent chondrogenesis of mouse SSCs was observed with supplementation of BMP2 or TGFß1, whereas chondrogenesis of mouse ASCs and human SSCs was observed with supplementation of BMP2 not TGFß1. Human ASCs showed no obvious chondrogenesis following single stimulation. Mouse SSCs showed the formation of hyaline-like cartilage which had less fibrous components (COL1/3) with supplementation of TGFß1. However, human cells developed COL1/3+ tissues with all treatments. Transcriptomic analysis for TGFß receptors and ligands of cells prior to chondrogenic induction did not indicate their distinct reactivity to the TGFß1 or BMP2. In the transplanted site in vivo, mouse SSCs formed hyaline-like cartilage (proteoglycan+/COL2+/COL1-/COL3-) but other cell types mainly formed COL1/3-positive fibrous tissues in line with in vitro reactivity to TGFß1. CONCLUSION: Optimal chondrogenic factors driving chondrogenesis from somatic stem cells are intrinsically distinct among cell types and species. Among them, the response to TGFß1 may possibly represent the fate of stem cells when locally transplanted into cartilage defects.

Comparison of an Accelerometer-Based Portable Navigation System, Patient-Specific Instrumentation, and Conventional Instrumentation for Femoral Alignment in Total Knee Arthroplasty.

PURPOSE: The KneeAlign2 (KA2, OrthoAlign Inc.) accelerometer-based portable navigation system and patient-specific instrumentation (PSI; Signature, ZimmerBiomet) are widely used for ideal femoral component alignment in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, there has been no comparative study of the KA2 system, PSI, and conventional intramedullary instrumentation (CON). The purpose of this study was to compare the accuracy in achieving proper femoral component alignment and clinical features by using the KA2 navigation system, PSI, and CON. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively compared the accuracy of femoral component alignment of 34 TKAs performed with the KA2 system for implantation of the femoral component, 32 TKAs with PSI, and 33 TKAs with CON. RESULTS: In the coronal plane, use of the KA2 system was more likely to result in optimal femoral component alignment than the CON and PSI (p<0.01). In the sagittal plane, use of the KA2 system was more likely to result in optimal component alignment than PSI, but the difference between the KA2 and CON was insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: The portable accelerometer-based KA2 navigation system enabled ideal femoral implantation in the coronal and sagittal planes, as compared to the PSI or CON.

Concurrent spinal schwannoma and meningioma mimicking a single cervical dumbbell-shaped tumor: case report.

Dumbbell-shaped tumors consisting of 2 different tumors are extremely rare. Herein, the authors present a case of concurrent spinal schwannoma and meningioma mimicking a single cervical dumbbell-shaped tumor. A 64-year-old man presented with a 5-year history of gradually exacerbating left occipital pain without clinical evidence of neurofibromatosis. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an extradural tumor along the left C-2 nerve root with a small intradural component. The tumor was approached via a C-1 hemilaminectomy. The intradural tumor was resected together with the extradural tumor after opening the dura mater. The intradural tumor was attached to the dura mater around the exit point of the C-2 nerve root. Intraoperative biopsy revealed that the extradural tumor was a schwannoma and that the intradural tumor was a meningioma. The dura mater adjacent to the tumor was then coagulated and resected. Postoperative pathological examination confirmed the same diagnoses with no evidence of continuity between the intra- and extradural components. The patient's postoperative clinical course was uneventful. Clinicians should be aware that cervical dumbbell-shaped tumors can consist of 2 different tumors.