Indian Hedgehog (HH) has been shown to be involved in osteoarthritis (OA) in articular joints, where there is evidence that Indian HH blockade could ameliorate OA. It seems to play a prominent role in development of the intervertebral disc (IVD) and in postnatal maintenance. There is little work on IHH in the IVD. Hence the aim of the current study was to investigate the role of Indian Hedgehog...

BACKGROUND The present study was conducted to address whether the intervertebral disc of rabbit could be considered (i) as a valuable model to provide new insights into the tissue and cellular changes of Nucleus pulposus aging and (ii) as an appropriate tool to investigate the efficacy of Nucleus pulposus cell-based biotherapies. METHODS Lumbar intervertebral disc from rabbits with increasing...

The effects of a computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system based on quantitative intensity features with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (MRI) were evaluated by examining radiologists' performance in grading gliomas. The acquired MRI database included 71 lower-grade gliomas and 34 glioblastomas. Quantitative image features were extracted from the tumor area and combined in a CAD system to generate ...

BACKGROUND While most pineal cysts (PCs) are asymptomatic, some PCs are accompanied with symptoms of variable severity. We suggested that symptom severity in symptomatic patients with non-hydrocephalic PCs relates to venous compression causing central venous hypertension. This study explored whether possible magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) biomarkers of central venous hypertension could differ...

Biomechanical modelling of the spine is of high clinical significance, either for implant evaluation or for surgery planning. Nevertheless, assessment of patient specific material properties still remains an issue, especially the viscoelastic characteristics of lumbar intervertebral discs (IVD). MRI, a dedicated system for IVD examination, provides a signal that is correlated with the biochemic...

The aim of this study was to demonstrate the ability of conventional radiography to detect bone erosions of different sizes in metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joints of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the standard reference. A 0.2 T Esaote dedicated extremity MRI unit was used to obtain axial and coronal T1-weighted gradient echo images of the dominant 2nd...

Background: Acne vulgaris is a chronic inflammatory disease of pilosebaceous unit. The role of Pityrosporum ovale (P.ovale) in the exacerbation of acne is still under debate. Objective: To determine the efficacy of topical 2% ketoconazole cream in comparison to placebo in the treatment of acne vulgaris in patients with positive smear for P.ovale. Patients and Methods: A smear was obtained from ...