How do different sporting activities affect bone patella volume? a descriptive pilot study / ¿Como afectan las diferentes actividades deportivas el volumen de la patela? un estudio piloto descriptivo

The aim of this study was to compare the patella bone volume of sedentary men with that of elite male sportspeople, including judoka, cyclists, weightlifters, and taekwondo athletes who were members of Turkish National Professional Teams. All subjects had no history or clinical signs of an orthopaedic disorder such as osteoarthritis or acromegaly. The right and left knees of all groups were placed side by side in a supine position and were scanned by high resolution imaging with multidetector computed tomography. The differences between the volume of right and left patellae of sedentary men, judoka, cyclists, weightlifters, and taekwondo athletes were statistically significant. The average left patella of a professional cyclist and the average right patella volume of a sedentary man were maximum and minimum, respectively. The results demonstrated that the patella volume of cyclists was significantly larger. According to the literature, patella bone volume was associated with a reduced rate of annual patella cartilage volume loss, so cycling early in life may prevent patella cartilage loss in the future.

El objetivo de este estudio fue comparar el volumen de la patela en hombres sedentarios con la patela de deportistas de elite, incluyendo judokas, ciclistas, levantadores de pesas y atletas de taekwondo, miembros de equipos profesionales nacionales turcos. Los sujetos del estudio no tenían antecedentes o signos clínicos de una enfermedad ortopédica como la osteoartritis. Las rodillas derecha e izquierda de los individuos de todos los grupos se colocaron una al lado de otra, en posición supina y fueron escaneadas por tomografía computarizada multidetector de alta resolución. Las diferencias entre el volumen de la patela derecha e izquierda de los hombres sedentarios, atletas judokas, ciclistas, levantadores de pesas y atletas de taekwondo fueron estadísticamente significativas. El volumen promedio de la patela izquierda de un ciclista profesional y el volumen promedio de la patela derecha de un hombre sedentario fueron de máximo y mínimo, respectivamente. Los resultados demostraron que el volumen de la patela de ciclistas fue significativamente mayor. De acuerdo a la literatura, el volumen del hueso de la patela fue asociado con una pérdida anual de volumen del cartílago, razón por la cual el ciclismo en una edad temprana puede prevenir la pérdida de cartílago de la patela en el futuro.

Paradoxic hypertrophy of the sciatic nerve in adult patients after above-knee amputation.

Paradoxic hypertrophy of nerve tissue at an amputation stump without neuroma formation rarely develops in young patients, in contrast to atrophy of the nerve in older patients. Herein, we present the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of adult patients (older than 20 years old) who underwent above-knee amputation, one of whom had a palpable mass suggesting a recurrent lesion. MRI ruled out the recurrent lesion and demonstrated paradoxic hypertrophy of the sciatic nerve in all patients.

Diarrhea in neutropenic patients: a prospective cohort study with emphasis on neutropenic enterocolitis.

BACKGROUND: Although diarrhea is a frequent complication in neutropenic patients, its true incidence, risk factors and clinical course have not been investigated prospectively. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study was carried out at Hacettepe University Hospital for Adults and involved patients over 16 years of age. Patients with malignant diseases who were neutropenic on admission or who became neutropenic during their stay in the wards between January 2001 and February 2003 were included. They were monitored daily until discharge, exitus, or recovery from neutropenia-whichever occurred earlier-to monitor the presence of diarrhea and other infections. RESULTS: A total of 317 neutropenic episodes in 215 patients were followed. Diarrhea was observed in 18.6% episodes, and the incidence of NEC was 3.5%. The etiology in 27% episodes of diarrhea could not be identified. The use of anthracyclines and mitoxantrone increased the incidence of diarrhea. Prior use of penicillin derivatives plus beta-lactam inhibitors and N-imidazoline derivatives was associated with decreased incidence of diarrhea. CONCLUSIONS: Diarrhea is a common complication in neutropenic patients. Not only specific conditions like NEC, but also nonspecific diseases like parasitosis may be the cause of diarrhea in this patient population.

Successful treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome-induced pyoderma gangrenosum.

We report successful treatment of a refractory myelodysplastic syndrome-associated pyoderma gangrenosum with the combination of thalidomide and interferon-alpha2a in a single patient. A non-healing wound developed on a 40-year-old woman's left thumb after minor trauma. Massive ulcerovegetative lesions developed after reconstruction surgery. Histopathological examination of the bone marrow and cytogenetic studies revealed an atypical myeloproliferative/myelodysplastic syndrome. The skin lesions resolved dramatically after two months of thalidomide and interferon-alpha2a combination therapy and the haematological status improved.

MRI of a benign chondroid syringoma.

Chondroid syringoma, also known as mixed tumour of the skin, is a relatively rare, usually benign tumour. A few malignant cases, especially in the lower extremities, have been published, but most of them behave in a benign fashion. A case of a middle-aged woman with surgically proved chondroid syringoma in the pretibial region is presented in this report with MRI and histological findings. Despite rapid growth over a short period of time and a location reportedly associated with malignancy, the histological features were benign.

Infection with Fasciola hepatica.

Fascioliasis, caused by the liver fluke Fasciola hepatica, is an infection that occurs worldwide, although humans are accidental hosts. F. hepatica infection comprises two stages, hepatic and biliary, with different signs and symptoms. Stool examination and ELISA can be used for the initial diagnosis. Radiographic techniques, such as computerised tomography and ultrasonography, as well as magnetic resonance imaging, are used widely for confirmation and follow-up of the disease. Invasive techniques, such as percutaneous cholangiography, endoscopic retrograde cholangiography and liver biopsy, may aid in the diagnosis but are not essential. Triclabendazole is recommended as the first-line agent for the treatment of F. hepatica infection, with bithionol as an alternative.

Spontaneous Thrombosis of Significant Aneurysm Recanalization in the Long Term Follow-up of Coiled Aneurysms: Observation in Two Cases.

SUMMARY: Endovascular treatment of cerebral aneurysms with detachable coils has now been proved to be a superior alternative to open microsurgery in terms of survival free of disability at one year according to the recently published large randomized International Subaracnoid Aneurysm Trial (ISAT). However, aneurysm recanalization secondary to coil compaction is still the main problem of this technique observed in the follow-up period but treatment strategies for these regrowths are not yet well established. We present two interesting cases in which we observed a significant aneurysm recanalization at six month control angiography that was found to be spontaneously thrombosed in the late follow-up angiograms at the second and fifth years consecutively.

Bilateral supernumerary kidney: imaging findings.

Supernumerary kidney is a rare urogenital anomaly with less than 100 cases reported. Bilateral supernumerary kidney is even more rare and to our knowledge there are three cases reported in the literature. Herein we present the computed tomography (CT), excretory urography (IVP), and CT angiography (CTA) findings in a patient with bilateral supernumerary kidneys.