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Popliteal entrapment syndrome caused by isolated popliteus muscle enlargement is very rare, although its occurrence has been reported after discrete trauma. However, popliteal artery stenosis with combined peroneal and proximal tibial neuropathy caused by popliteus muscle enlargement without preceding trauma has not been reported. A 57-year-old man presented with a tingling sensation and pain in his left calf. He had no previous history of an injury. The symptoms were similar to those of lumbosacral radiculopathy. Calf pain became worse despite treatment, and the inability to flex his toes progressed. Computed tomography angiography and magnetic resonance imaging of the lower extremity showed popliteal artery stenosis caused by popliteus muscle enlargement and surrounding edema. An electrodiagnostic study confirmed combined peroneal and proximal tibial neuropathy at the popliteal fossa. Urgent surgical decompression was performed because of the progressive neurologic deficit and increasing neuropathic pain. The calf pain disappeared immediately after surgery, and he was discharged after the neurologic functions improved.

Intestinal entrapment between two vertebral bodies is very rare. In all previous cases, it occurred by major trauma. However, the bowel entrapment between two vertebral bodies without trauma has never been reported, not to mention as the cause of lower extremity radicular pain. We describe the case of an 82-year-old female patient with right lower extremity radicular pain without recent trauma history. The patient was diagnosed sigmoid colon entrapment between the L5 and S1 vertebrae by lumbar spinal computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging, and showed improvement in radicular pain after manual reduction of interpositioned colon during surgery. Intestinal entrapment between two vertebrae without trauma is caused by degenerative and vacuum changes of the intervertebral disc combined with the anterior longitudinal ligament injury.

Objective: To evaluate the analgesic effect of intrathecal gabapentin therapy on secondary hyperalgesia in a rat model of persistent muscle pain., Methods: Intrathecal catheters were implanted into rats. Mechanical secondary hyperalgesia was induced by repeated intramuscular injections of acidic solution into the gastrocnemius muscle. Gabapentin was administrated intrathecally. Rats were allocated to control and experimental (gabapentin 30, 100, 300, and 1,000 µg) group. After gabapentin administration, mechanical withdrawal threshold was measured every 15 minutes and the motor function was measured 30 minutes later., Results: Mechanical hyperalgesia was evoked after the second acidic buffer injection. There was a significant improvement on the mechanical threshold after administration of 100, 300, and 1,000 µg gabapentin compared to pre-injection and the control group. The analgesic effect continued for 105, 135, and 210 minutes, respectively. To discern side effects, motor function was measured. Motor function was preserved in both groups after gabapentin administration, except for rats who received 1,000 µg gabapentin., Conclusion: Intrathecal gabapentin administration produces dose-dependent improvements in mechanical hyperalgesia in a persistent muscle pain rat model. This implicates the central nervous system as having a strong influence on the development of persistent mechanical hyperalgesia. These results are helpful in understanding the pathophysiology of secondary hyperalgesia and in the treatment of patients with chronic muscle pain.

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a powerful molecular biological tool in the field of toxicity testing and diagnostics. The use of PCR for large-scale genetic testing requires an effective method of sample processing. Unfortunately, isolation of PCR-quality DNA is time-consuming. PCR performed directly on whole blood is preferred because of time efficiency, cost of the procedure, and possible automation for large-scale toxicity evaluation and diagnosis. The apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene contains two single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) located at codons 112 and 158, producing three APOE protein isoforms known to be associated with the risks of developing cardiovascular disease and susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, an attempt was made to use the AnyDirect solution for APOE genotyping by PCR using whole blood directly without DNA purification. Results for two PCR methods, (1) conventional PCR using purified DNA and conventional buffer and (2) direct PCR using whole blood and AnyDirect solution, were compared in four different PCR-based APOE genotyping methods including PCR restriction-fragment-length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP), allele-specific PCR, SNaPshot mini-sequencing, and multiplex tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system (T-ARMS) PCR. There was complete concordance in the APOE genotypes between conventional PCR and direct PCR, in all four different PCR-based APOE genotyping methods. Data demonstrated that the four different PCR-based APOE genotyping methods are able to determine the APOE genotypes successfully using whole blood directly with the use of AnyDirect solution. The direct multiplex T-ARMS PCR using whole blood may be the most rapid, simple, and inexpensive method for detecting APOE genotypes among four different APOE genotyping methods.

Two chondrogenic factors, Dex and TGF-beta1, were incorporated into PLGA scaffolds and their chondrogenic potential was evaluated. The Dex-loaded PLGA scaffold was grafted with AA and heparin, the heparin-immobilized one was then reacted with TGF-beta1, yielding a PLGA/Dex-TGF (PLGA/D/T) scaffold. The scaffolds were seeded with rabbit MSCs and cultured for 4 weeks. The results show that the scaffolds including chondrogenic factors strongly upregulated the expression of cartilage-specific genes and clearly displayed type-II collagen immunofluorescence. The functionalized PLGA scaffolds could provide an appropriate niche for chondrogenic differentiation of MSC without a constant medium supply of Dex and TGF-beta1.

Stem cells can give rise to various cell types and are capable of regenerating themselves over multiple cell divisions. Pluripotency and self-renewal potential of stem cells have drawn vast interest from different disciplines, with studies on the molecular properties of stem cells being one example. Current investigations on the molecular basis of stem cells pluripotency and self-renewal entail traditional techniques from chemistry and molecular biology. In this mini review, we discuss progress in stem cell research that employs proteomics approaches. Specifically, we focus on studies on human stem cells from proteomics perspective. To our best knowledge, only the following types of human stem cells have been examined via proteomics analysis: human neuronal stem cells, human mesenchymal stem cells, and human embryonic stem cells. Protein expression serves as biomarkers of stem cells and identification and expression level of such biomarkers are usually determined using two-dimensional electrophoresis coupled mass spectrometry or non-gel based mass spectrometry.