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With the advent of nanotechnology, the use of nanoparticles as drug delivery system (DDS) has attracted great interest. We aimed to apply carbon nanohorns (CNHs) as DDS in the development of new treatments for bone diseases. We evaluated the in vitro and in vivo cellular responses of CNHs in bone-related cells compared with carbon blacks (CBs), which are similar in particle size but differ in surface and structural morphologies. Although in vitro experiments revealed that both CNHs and CBs were incorporated into the lysosomes of RAW264-induced osteoclast-like cells (OCs) and MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells (OBs), no severe cytotoxicity was observed. CNHs reduced the tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase activity and expression of the differentiation marker genes in OCs at noncytotoxic concentrations, whereas the alkaline phosphatase activity and differentiation of OBs increased. Under calcification of OBs, CNHs increased the number of calcified nodules and were intra- and extracellularly incorporated into calcified vesicles to form crystal nuclei. The in vivo experiments showed significant promotion of bone regeneration in the CNH group alone, with localized CNHs being found in the bone matrix and lacunae. The suppression of OCs and promotion of OBs suggested that CNHs may be effective against bone diseases and could be applied as DDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although both anti-PD-1 antibody and treatments using anti-PD-L1 antibody are currently in clinical use, their therapeutic effects vary according to cancer type. One of the factors accounting for this variability is the expression level of the immune checkpoint molecule that differs between cancer types; thus, it is important to clarify the relationship between clinical outcomes and immune checkpoint molecules for all types of human cancer. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcome of osteosarcoma in relation to PD-L1, PRF, GZMB, and IFNγ expression. Methods: Using 19 clinical specimens of osteosarcoma, we examined the expression of PD-L1, PRF, GZMB, and IFNγ in relation to their clinical outcomes. Results: PD-L1 expression correlated with early metastatic formation in clinical specimens of osteosarcoma, and the group with highly expressed functional markers for T cells such as PRF and GZMB resulted in a long overall survival time. Conclusion: This is the first study to elucidate the clinical outcomes of osteosarcoma in relation to PD-L1, PRF, GZMB, and IFNγ expression. This study provides valuable information regarding the clinical indication and prediction of effect for anti-PD-1 antibody in osteosarcoma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many recent studies have been conducted to assess the ability of composite materials containing carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with high bone affinity to serve as scaffolds in bone regenerative medicine. These studies have demonstrated that CNTs can effectively induce bone formation. However, no studies have investigated the usefulness of scaffolds consisting exclusively of CNTs in bone regenerative medicine. We built a three-dimensional block entity with maximized mechanical strength from multi-walled CNTs (MWCNT blocks) and evaluated their efficacy as scaffold material for bone repair. When MWCNT blocks containing recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) were implanted in mouse muscle, ectopic bone was formed in direct contact with the blocks. Their bone marrow densities were comparable to those of PET-reinforced collagen sheets with rhBMP-2. On day 1 and day 3, MC3T3-E1 preosteoblasts were attached to the scaffold surface of MWCNT blocks than that of PET-reinforced collagen sheets. They also showed a maximum compression strength comparable to that of cortical bone. Our MWCNT blocks are expected to serve as bone defect filler and scaffold material for bone regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Design: Retrospective chart review. Purpose: A comparison of mini open foraminotomy (MOF) for cervical radiculopathy using either large tubular (LT) or TrimLine (TL) retractors. Overview of Literature: Posterior foraminotomy relieves compression of the cervical nerve root in radiculopathy patients. However, invasion of the paravertebral muscle may cause major problems in these patients. To address these problems, we performed MOF. Methods: Twenty cervical radiculopathy patients (16 male and 4 female) who underwent MOF between May 2004 and August 2011 were assigned to LT and TL groups. Each group contained 10 subjects. Surgical and clinical outcomes were compared. Results: The average operating time in the TL group was significantly shorter than that in the LT group. The final follow-up mean neck disability indices significantly improved compared to the preoperative values (LT group, 12.0±7.8 vs. 28.0±9.4; TL group, 6.0±5.9 vs. 21.9±10). The final follow-up neck pain visual analog scale (VAS) scores also decreased significantly from the preoperative of 8.0±1.5 and 2.5±2.5 to the final follow-up values of 2.2±2.2 and 1.0±2.5 in the LT and TL groups, respectively. The recovery rate for the neck pain VAS score was 70.0±31.9 in the LT group and 87.0±32.0 in the TL group, thus suggesting no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions: MOF with the TL retractor is an easy and safe procedure. Furthermore, the use of the TL retractor allows for a minimally invasive and effective surgical treatment of cervical radiculopathy patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights from the article: We report a case of effective treatment using Mohs' Combined treatment using Mohs' paste and neoadjuvant chemotherapy Hemorrhage, cancer, chemotherapy regimen, ulcer, combined modality therapy, neoadjuvant therapy, odors, pain, sarcoma, surgical procedures, operative, infection, adjuvant therapy, soft tissue sarcomas, dedifferentiated liposarcoma, chemotherapy, neoadjuvant, tumor volume, paste.