Balloon kyphoplasty for cervical spine metastasis: a technical note.

We report a simple technique of cervical spine balloon kyphoplasty performed for painful osteolytic metastatic disease in two patients.

Percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty for the vertebral compression osteoporotic and pathological fracture: one-year retrospective study of 112 patients.

AIM: The aim of the study was to look for the effectiveness of percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty in the management of vertebral compression osteoporotic and pathological fracture. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 112 patients with 198 symptomatic wedge vertebral compression fractures who were treated by percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty was done. Visual Analogue pain (VAP) scale, Oswestry Disability index (ODI) and Short Form (SF-36) were used to look for the outcome. RESULTS: Pre-operative median VAS score was (8.0, IQR 2.0) which decreased to (4.0, IQR 3.0) at 12 months. Pre-operative median ODI score was (66, IQR 22) which at 12 months follow up decreased to (28, IQR 31). Short-form 36 showed improvement in all quality of life sub-domains. The physical component summary (PCS) improved from 33.0 ± 5.0 to 37.4 ± 6.1. The Mental component summary (MCS) improved from 17.1 ± 8.6 to 23.5 ± 18.9. The results were statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Percutaneous balloon kyphoplasty alleviates pain and improves function, disability, and quality of life in osteoporotic and pathological fracture.

Facile and Novel Synthesis of Spiky Gold Nanoparticles as an Efficient Antimicrobial Agent against Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.

AIMS: The aim of the study is to develop advanced antibacterial agents as nanoparticles instead of antibiotics due to the emergence of antimicrobial resistance. BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is capable of causing many diseases, including serious bacterial pneumonia. There is a need for an efficient antibacterial agent to kill these pathogens. OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study is the synthesis of advanced antibacterial agents as nanoparticles for biomedical applications that can play a vital role to kill Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa). METHODS: A novel fabrication growth of hydrophilic spiky gold nanoparticles (SGNPs) via reduction method is reported. RESULTS: Surface plasmon resonance peak of the synthesized SGNPs was tuned under near infrared range. The SGNPs have anisotropic and spiky morphology with 68 nm size and -58 mV surface charge and are pure, having adsorption of the organic material. Pseudomonas aeruginosa treated with synthesized SGNPs showed 60% bacterial death at the concentration of 100 µM. CONCLUSION: This work consists of novel synthesis of SGNPs via safe and simple reduction method. The synthesized SGNPs exhibit strong antibacterial activity against the Gram negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa measured using microplate assay test. The result showed that these SGNPs are ideal for biomedical applications.

Nano-hydroxyapatite as a delivery system: overview and advancements.

Nano-hydroxyapatite is being investigated as vital components of implants and dental and tissue engineering devices. It is found as a bone replacement due to its non-toxicity and cytocompatibility with dental tissues and bone. The reality that nanocrystalline hydroxyapatite can be made of porous granules and scaffolds. Additionally, it has a massive loading potential indicating its use as a transporter for drugs or a regulated drug release mechanism in pharmaceutical research. This review aims to present existing nano-hydroxyapatite research developments as a drug carrier employed in bone tissue disorders locally and deliver poorly soluble drugs with reduced bioavailability. We have discussed the nano-hydroxyapatite role in the delivery of drugs (i.e. anti-resorptive, anti-cancer, and antibiotics), proteins, genetic material, and radionuclides.

Lecithin-coated gold nanoflowers (GNFs) for CT scan imaging applications and biochemical parameters; in vitro and in vivo studies.

We report a novel strategy for the fabrication of lecithin-coated gold nanoflowers (GNFs) via single-step design for CT imaging application. Field-emission electron microscope confirmed flowers like morphology of the as-synthesized nanostructures. Furthermore, these show absorption peak in near-infrared (NIR) region at λmax 690 nm Different concentrations of GNFs are tested as a contrast agent in CT scans at tube voltage 135 kV and tube current 350 mA. These results are compared with same amount of iodine at same CT scan parameters. The results of in vitro CT scan study show that GNFs have good contrast enhancement properties, whereas in vivo study of rabbits CT scan shows that GNFs enhance the CT image clearly at 135 kV as compared to that of iodine. Cytotoxicity was studied and blood profile show minor increase of white blood cells and haemoglobin, whereas decrease of red blood cells and platelets.

Novel route synthesis of porous and solid gold nanoparticles for investigating their comparative performance as contrast agent in computed tomography scan and effect on liver and kidney function.

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) with dimension in the range of 1-100 nm have a prominent role in a number of biomedical applications like imaging, drug delivery, and cancer therapy owing to their unique optical features and biocompatibility. In this work, we report a novel technique for the synthesis of two types of GNPs namely porous gold nanoparticles (PGNPs) and solid gold nanoparticles (SGNPs). PGNPs of size 35 nm were fabricated by reduction of gold (III) solution with lecithin followed by addition of L-ascorbic acid and tri-sodium citrate, whereas SGNPs with a dimension of 28 nm were prepared by reflux method using lecithin as a single reducing agent. Comparative studies using PGNPs (λmax 560 nm) and SGNPs (λmax 548 nm) were conducted for evaluating their use as a contrast agent. These studies reveled that in direct computed tomography scan, PGNPs exhibited brighter contrast (45 HU) than SGNPs (26 HU). To investigate the effect of PGNPs and SGNPs on the liver and kidney profile, male rabbits were intravenously injected with an equal dose of 1 mg/kg weight of PGNPs and SGNPs. The effect on biochemical parameters was evaluated 72 hours after intravenous (IV) injection including liver function profile, renal (kidney) function biomarker, random blood glucose value, and cholesterol level. During one comparison of contrast in CT scan, PGNPs showed significantly enhanced contrast in whole-rabbit and organ CT scan as compared to SGNPs 6 hours after injection. Our findings suggested that the novel PGNPs enhance CT scan image with higher efficacy as compared to SGNPs. The results showed that IV administration of synthesized PGNPs increases the levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphate (ALP), serum creatinine, and blood glucose, whereas that of SGNPs increases the levels of AST, ALP, and blood glucose.