Ten fresh-frozen cadaveric ankles were studied to investigate the effect of an ankle brace (Air-Stirrup) on the three-dimensional (3-D) motion and contact-pressure distribution of the talo-tibial joint with lateral ligamentous injury. Three-dimensional motion and contact-pressure distribution were simultaneously measured under dynamic conditions employing a direct linear-transformation technique and a dynamic-pressure sensor, respectively. Inversion increased significantly upon severing of the anterior talo-fibular (ATF) ligament and calcaneo-fibular (CF) ligaments; however, restoration to the intact level was observed following application of the ankle brace. Internal rotation also increased upon severing of the lateral ligaments in the plantar flexion; however, this difference was not altered by using the ankle brace. The contact area on the articular surface of the talus shifted from posterior to anterior between plantar flexion and dorsal flexion; additionally, a high pressure area was evident in the medial aspect of the talus following severing of the lateral ligaments. Upon application of the ankle brace, however, no significant changes were apparent in the contact condition. The results of this study suggest that stabilization against inversion is the major function of braces in terms of protection of ankle sprains. Ankle sprains, however, often occur in combinations of inversion, plantar flexion and internal rotation; therefore, restriction of plantar flexion and internal rotation may also be an important function of the ankle brace.

Purpose In recent years, the medial pivot (MP) type total knee arthroplasty (TKA) implant has been developed and marketed for achieving more natural kinematics with MP. However, little is known about the pivot pattern during walking after MP type TKA. This study aimed to determine the kinematics and center of axial rotation during walking after MP type TKA. Methods This randomized prospective study enrolled 40 patients with MP type TKA, 20 with cruciate-substituting TKA (MP-CS group), 20 with posterior-stabilized TKA (MP-PS group), and 10 healthy volunteers (control group). The kinematics and center of axial rotation during overground walking were measured by a three-dimensional motion analysis system. The six-degrees-of-freedom kinematics of the knee were calculated by the point cluster method. Results The amount of change in knee flexion in early stance phase was significantly lower in the MP-CS and MP-PS groups than in the control group. The femur showed anterior translation during early stance phase in all three groups. The median center of axial rotation in the transverse plane was predominantly on the lateral side of the knee during stance in all groups. Conclusions Kinematics during gait are thought to be determined by physical posture, the kinetic chain during weight-bearing, and the kinematic features of adjacent structures, such as the behavior of the biarticular muscles. MP-CS and MP-PS did not necessarily induce rotational motion centered on the medial ball-in-socket component during walking; translational and lateral pivoting movements were also observed. Long-term follow-up is needed to monitor for polyethylene wear and implant loosening.

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to determine the normal range of the side-to-side difference in three dimensional knee kinematics measured by the point cluster technique (PCT). [Subjects] The subjects were twenty-one healthy normal volunteers without knee pain or an episode of injury to the legs. [Methods] The subjects were tested bilaterally at a self-selected normal walking speed and six degrees of freedom knee kinematics were measured using the PCT, and the 95% confidence intervals of the average side-to-side differences in flexion-extension (FE), adduction-abduction (AA), internal-external (IE) rotation, and anterior-posterior (AP), medial-lateral (ML), superior-inferior (SI) translation in each stage of the gait cycle were determined. [Results] The average side-to-side differences and their 95% confidence intervals in rotation/translation in each stage of the gait cycle were determined. The side-to-side differences in AA rotation and AP translation of the tibia were significantly larger in the swing phase than in the stance phase. [Conclusion] The side-to-side differences in AA rotation and AP translation were highly dependent on the stage of the gait cycle. Therefore, the normal ranges of the side-to-side differences in knee kinematics in each stage of the gait cycle, in particular AA rotation and AP translation of the tibia, is useful information for evaluating knee kinematics during walking.

We intended to destruct bilaterally the hippocampal regions or amygdala in infant and adult animals to get some effective disturbances in growth, food intake, behavior, sexual cycle and other conditions in the autonomic nervous system. This report is only a preliminary one, because the investigations are now in progress in our laboratory. We had already made some experiments upon amygdala and reported on the inhibitory effect upon the growth of infant animals or on the obesity in adult cat induced by bilateral destruction of the amygdaloid nuclear region.z,3) The inhibitory effect upon the growth was exceedingly obvious in those cases, in which the medial amygdaloid complex such as the cortical, the medical or the basomedial group or surrounding structures of these most effective parts of the amygdala upon the sympathetic nervous system were extensively damaged on both sides. We noticed, however, in some cases somewhat accelerating effect upon the growth with no reasonable evidence and also found no sign of retardation of the growth in those examples of unilateral amygdalar or hypothalamic destruction. Further we had an example of remarkable obesity in an adult cat following bilateral destruction of the medial parts of the amygdala and a part of the entorhinal area3). It must be noticed that the destruction in the medial or anterior part of amygdala results in growth inhibition in infant animals and in obesity in adult ones. The effect of destruction of amygdala seems to be influencing hypothalamic equilibrium of autonomous functions in such a way that disturbance of the latter leads to malgrowth in infants and to obesity in adults in definite cases.

Cancer metastasis accounts for most of the mortality associated with solid tumors. However, antimetastatic drugs are not available on the market. One of the important biological events leading to metastasis is the epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) induced by cytokines, namely transforming growth-factor-β (TGF-β). Although several classes of inhibitors targeting TGF-β and its receptor have been developed, they have shown profound clinical side effects. We focused on our synthetic compound, HPH-15, which has shown anti-fibrotic activity via the blockade of the TGF-β Smad-dependent signaling. In this study, 10 μM of HPH-15 was found to exhibit anti-cell migration and anti-EMT activities in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. Although higher concentrations are required, the anti-EMT activity of HPH-15 has also been observed in 3D-cultured NSCLC cells. A mechanistic study showed that HPH-15 inhibits downstream TGF-β signaling. This downstream inhibition blocks the expression of cytokines such as TGF-β, leading to the next cycle of Smad-dependent and -independent signaling. HPH-15 has AMPK-activation activity, but a relationship between AMPK activation and anti-EMT/cell migration was not observed. Taken together, HPH-15 may lead to the development of antimetastatic drugs with a new mechanism of action.