A retrospective study of temporomandibular joint ankylosis secondary to surgical treatment of mandibular condylar fractures.

We investigated the incidence of ankylosis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) after open operations for fractures of the mandibular condyle, and analysed possible risk factors in a total of 385 patients with 492 condylar fractures who had been operated on in our department from 2001 to 2010. Sixteen patients developed postoperative ankylosis of the TMJ with 26 joints (5%) affected during a follow-up of 6 months-10 years. Of the 492 condylar fractures, the most common ones that were associated with postoperative ankylosis were those of the condylar head (20/248), followed by the condylar neck (6/193). Subcondylar fractures did not cause postoperative ankylosis (0/51). Among the 16 patients with postoperative ankylosis, 13 had associated anterior mandibular fractures. Long-screw (bicortical screw) fixation of fractures of the condylar head seemed to be associated with a lower incidence of postoperative ankylosis than fixation by miniplate and wire or removal of the fractured fragment. The articular discs were damaged in all ankylosed joints, and the remaining fractured fragment was found in 10 ankylosed joints after fractures of the condylar head. The results suggest that fractures of the condylar head are more prone to lead to postoperative ankylosis of the TMJ, and that the possible risk factors seem to include the technique used for fixation and damage to the disc, together with an anterior mandibular fracture with the fractured fragment remaining.

Interferon-gamma decreases the adhesiveness and invasiveness of prostate cancer cells / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To study the effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on the adhesiveness and invasiveness of prostate cancer cells.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>We determined the effect of IFN-gamma on the adhesiveness of prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP and PC-3 by treating the plate with fibronectin and laminin, on the invasiveness of prostate cancer cells into the artificial basal membrane consisting of Matrigel and fibronectin using the Transwell chamber, and on the expression of annexin-2 in these cells by Western blot.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The adhesion rates of prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP and PC-3 were 21% and 23% in the IFN-gamma treatment group, significantly lower than 46% and 40% in the untreated group (P < 0.05). The invasiveness of the cells was markedly decreased in the former as compared with the latter (P < 0.05). IFN-gamma significantly inhibited the expression of annexin-2 in prostate cancer cell lines LNCaP and PC-3 (P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>IFN-gamma can decrease the adhesiveness and invasiveness of the prostate cancer cell line by down-regulating the expression of annexin-2.</p>