•Possible bio- applications of bistable glass-coated microwires are shown.•Biocompatibility was proven experimentally.•Application on temperature sensing in cranium implants is confirmed.•Application ...for osteomalacy monitoring is shown.
In the given contribution, two examples of applications of glass-coated microwires for biomedical sensing are shown. Firstly, application of microwires for contactless sensing of the intracranial temperature below titanium implants confirms the possibility to sense the temperature with sensitivity down to 0.01 °C. Secondly, application of microwires for monitoring the stress applied on bones after injury or for monitoring the osteomalacy effect is shown. Our measurements confirm that high sensitivity of order of 10−10 s/Pa can be obtained.
Although precise criteria have not been assessed yet, small haematomas and clinical improvement claim only close observation according to literature. However a question can arise how to advance in ...patient with vertex epidural haematoma (VEPH) thinner than 10 mm associated with intradural lesions, when his neurological state is improving. The authors present a case of a man who was conservatively treated due to an epidural clot at the vertex associated with intracerebral haematomas, subarachnoid haemorrhage and haemocephalus diagnosed by computed tomography (CT). Despite his neurologically stable condition with slow, but continuous improvement, after few days the patient suddenly died. Authors analyze advantages and disadvantages of conservative vs. surgical treatment of this pathological condition (Fig. 8, Ref. 31). Full Text (Free, PDF) www.bmj.sk.
The intracranial venous system (ICVS) represents in mammals a complex three-dimensional structure, which provides not only for adequate brain perfusion, but has also a significant impact on: ...cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) resorption, maintaining of the intracranial pressure (ICP), and brain thermoregulation. An intimate understanding of the anatomy and physiology of ICVS is fundamental for neurological diagnostics, selection of therapeutic options, and success of neurosurgical procedures in human and veterinary medicine. Since the intracranial interventions in dogs are recently performed more frequently than twenty or thirty years ago, the authors decided to review and report on the basic knowledge regarding the complex topic of morphology and function of the canine ICVS. The research strategy involved an NCBI/NLM, PubMed/MED-LINE, and Clarivate Analytics Web of Science search from January 1, 1960, to December 31, 2021, using the terms “canine dural venous sinuses” and “intracranial venous system in dogs” in the English language literature; also references from selected papers were scanned and relevant articles included.
In this review we briefly discuss animal experiments involving acute traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and the need for larger animals in testing experimental therapies. This literature overview, ...including the discussion of our own results from animal models, examines the use of hypothermia as a treatment method for SCI. Finally, we report the results of hypothermia application in clinical trials. Minipigs have been proposed as a potentially preferable model to rodents (typically rats) for predicting outcomes in human SCI due to their closer anatomical similarity to humans. In various animal studies, hypothermic treatment applied in the acute phase after SCI has resulted in neuroprotective effects, most likely due to inhibition of blood flow and oxygen consumption and reduction of overall metabolic activity and inflammation, resulting in improved nerve tissue sparing. Small-scale human clinical trials have been carried out, involving general (whole-body, systemic) or local hypothermia (close to the SCI site), with encouraging results. Nevertheless, further multi-center, randomized, double-blind studies with much larger patient numbers are necessary so that protocols can be standardized in order for hy pothermia treatment to be reliably applied in clinical practice. Key words: hypothermia, spinal cord injury, rats, pigs
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is neoplasm which is resistant to all currently used treatment modalities including surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been ...suggested as a novel therapeutical approach to the treatment of malignant gliomas. Here, we attempted to enhance hypericin-induced photocytotoxicity and apoptosis by diazepam, a non-selective ligand of peripheral benzodiazepine receptors (PBR) which seem to play an important role in apoptosis regulation. For the study, we used U-87 MG and U373 MG glioma cell lines and primary cultures of GBM cells prepared from peroperatively obtained tumor specimens. The patients included 7 histologically confirmed GBMs. Colorimetric MTT assay was employed to study the photocytotoxic effects of hypericin and diazepam. Flow cytometry was used to detect apoptosis and assess the proapoptotic effects of diazepam. We found that hypericin upon photoactivation exerts strong cytotoxic effects against U-87 MG and U373 MG cells as well as primary GBM cell cultures. No cytotoxic effect of hypericin was observed under dark conditions. Diazepam inhibited cell growth in U-87 MG cells and primary cultures whereas proliferation of U373 MG cells remained unaffected. When hypericin was combined with diazepam, photocytotoxicity was increased in U-87 MG cells and primary cultures unlike U373 MG cells. Flow cytometric analysis revealed photoactivated hypericin-induced apoptosis in both cell lines. Apoptosis was significantly enhanced by diazepam in U-87 MG cells. However, no such effect was observed in U373 MG cells. In the present study, we showed that photocytotoxic effect of hypericin in glioma cells can be potentiated by diazepam. This effect is underlied by the ability of diazepam to facilitate hypericin-induced apoptosis. This work provides support to performe clinical studies involving diazepam in the antiglioma treatment regimens as an apoptosis-modulating agent.
Spinal cord injuries (SCI) in dogs are not frequent, but they are serious pathological conditions accompanied with high morbidity and mortality. The pathophysiology of SCI involves a primary insult, ...disrupting axons, blood vessels, and cell membranes by mechanical force, or causes tissue necrosis by ischemia and reperfusion. The primary injury is followed by a cascade of secondary events, involving vascular dysfunction, edema formation, continuing ischemia, excitotoxicity, electrolyte shifts, free radical production, inflammation, and delayed apoptotic cell death. The most frequent cause of SCI in dogs is an acute intervertebral disc extrusion, exogenous trauma or ischemia. Neurological symptomatology depends on the location, size and the type of spinal cord lesions. It is characterized by transient or permanent, incomplete or complete loss of motor, sensory, autonomic, and reflex functions caudal to the site of the lesion. In a case of partial spinal cord (SC) damage, one of the typical syndromes develops (e. g. Brown-Séquard syndrome, central SC syndrome, ventral SC syndrome, dorsal SC syndrome, conus medullaris syndrome, or traumatic cauda equina syndrome). The severe transversal spinal cord lesion in the cervical region causes paresis or plegia of all four extremities (tetraparesis, tetraplegia); in thoracic or lumbosacral region, paresis or plegia of the pelvic extremities (paraparesis, paraplegia), i. e. sensory-motor deficit, urinary and foecal incontinence and sexual incompetence. The central nervous system in mammals does not regenerate, so the neurological deficit in dogs following severe SCI persists for the rest of their lives and animals display an image of permanent suffering. The research strategy presented here involved a PubMed, Medline (Ovid) and ISI Web of Science literature search from Januray 2001 to December 2017 using the term “canine spinal cord injury” in the English language; also references from selected papers were scanned and relevant articles included.
A lesion of sacrococcygeal spinal nerve roots forming a structure that resembles a horse's tail results in the development of clinical entity identified as the cauda equina syndrome (CES). The ...disease can evolve slowly and symptomatology can be incomplete, but the fully developed CES is characterized by pain and altered sensation in the pelvic extremities, tail, perianogenital region, paresis or plegia of hind limbs, incontinence and impotence. Major causes of CES in dogs are degenerative changes of the lumbosacral vertebral column, haematoma, inflammation, neoplasm or trauma. The diagnosis is based on history, clinical presentation, neurological symptomatology, spinal röntgenography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging. In animals experiencing initial episodes of CES, conservative therapy can be attempted. But the only rational treatment of patients with severe neurological deficit is surgical decompression of the neural structures. The outcome depends on the underlying aetiology and the degree of sensory, motor and autonomic dysfunction. Canine and porcine experimental models mimicking the CES showed the involvement of intrinsic spinal cord structures. This points out the need for an early diagnosis followed by aggressive management before irreversible neuronal lesions develop. The search strategy involved the PubMed, Medline, Embase and ISI Web of Science from January 2000 to August 2017 using the terms 'cauda equina syndrome' and 'lumbosacral stenosis' in the English language literature; also references from selected papers were scanned and relevant articles included.
Segmental and laminar distribution of Fos-like immunoreactive, reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate diaphorase (NADPHd)-exhibiting and double-labeled (Fos-like immunoreactive and ...NADPHd-exhibiting) neurons was examined in lower lumbar and sacral segments of the dog spinal cord using the model of multiple cauda equina constrictions. NADPHd histochemistry was used as marker of nitric oxide synthase-containing neurons. The appearance and the time-course of Fos-like immunoreactive, NADPHd and double-labeled neurons was studied at 2
h and 8
h postconstriction characterized as the incipient phase of cauda equina syndrome. The occurrence of Fos-like immunoreactive and NADPHd-exhibiting neurons in fully developed cauda equina syndrome was studied at five days postconstriction. An increase in Fos-like immunoreactivity in superficial laminae (I–II) and an enhanced NADPHd staining of lamina VIII neurons were found. A statistically significant increase in Fos-like immunoreactive neurons was found in laminae I–II and VIII–X 8
h postconstriction, and in contrast, a prominent decrease in Fos-like immunoreactive neurons was found in laminae I–II, accompanied by a statistically significant increase in Fos-like immunoreactive neurons in more ventrally located laminae VII–X at five days postconstriction. Quantitative analysis of laminar distribution of constriction-induced NADPHd-exhibiting neurons revealed a considerable increase in these neurons in laminae VIII–IX 8
h postconstriction and a statistically highly significant increase in NADPHd-exhibiting neurons in laminae VII–X five days postconstriction. Concurrently, the number of NADPHd-exhibiting neurons in laminae I–II was greatly reduced. While a low number of double-labeled neurons was found throughout the gray matter of lower lumbar and sacral segments at 2
h postconstriction, a statistically significant number of double-labeled neurons was found in lamina X 8
h and in laminae VII–X five days postconstriction. The course and distribution of anterograde degeneration resulting five days after multiple cauda equina constrictions are compared with segmental and laminar distribution of Fos-like immunoreactive and NADPHd-exhibiting neurons.
Prominent involvement of the spinal cord neurons appearing in the lumbosacral segments at the early beginning and in fully developed cauda equina syndrome results in a Fos-like immunoreactivity and strongly enhanced NADPHd staining of some neuronal pools. Under such circumstances, an early cauda equina decompression surgery is advisable aimed at decreasing or preventing the derangement of the neural circuits in the lumbosacral segments.
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