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BACKGROUND: Mirror illusion therapy (mirror therapy) is based on the experimental substrate of a visual illusion of active hand movement to excite ipsilateral primary motor cortex (iM1). PURPOSE: We tested whether iM1 excitability could be modulated by enabling or disabling vision of the active hand during mirror therapy. METHOD: Motor cortical activations of healthy right-handed participants were identified by magnetoencephalography. Participants performed voluntary index finger extension of their dominant and non-dominant hands, separately, while viewing mirror reflection images of their active hand superimposed upon their hidden inactive hand. This was performed either with vision of the active hand (uncovered viewing condition) or without vision of the active hand (covered viewing condition). RESULTS: In the covered viewing condition, the iM1could be excited in all participants (n = 10) and this excitation did not differ whether the active hand was the dominant or non-dominant hand. However, in the uncovered viewing condition, dominant and non-dominant hands were able to excite iM1 only in some participants (n = 4 and n = 7, respectively). Moreover, the participants' responses to the illusion validation questionnaire revealed that the covered viewing condition could cause clearer visual illusion for the active hand than the uncovered viewing condition. CONCLUSION: Disabling vision of the active hand during mirror therapy was more effective to excite iM1 responses by creating more immersive visual illusion of the active hand.

The flexion gap inclination obtained without patellar eversion was steeper than with patellar eversion. This induced more externally rotated femoral positioning in absence of patellar eversion. These results ought to be taken into account by surgeons considering switching from conventional to MIS-TKA.

Cartilage regeneration treatments using stem cells are associated with problems due to the cell source and the difficulty of delivering the cells to the cartilage defect. We consider labeled induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells to be an ideal source of cells for tissue regeneration, and if iPS cells could be delivered only into cartilage defects, it would be possible to repair articular cartilage. Consequently, we investigated the effect of magnetically labeled iPS (m-iPS) cells delivered into an osteochondral defect by magnetic field on the repair of articular cartilage. iPS cells were labeled magnetically and assessed for maintenance of pluripotency by their ability to form embryoid bodies in vitro and to form teratomas when injected subcutaneously into nude rats. These cells were delivered specifically into cartilage defects in nude rats using a magnetic field. The samples were graded according to the histologic grading score for cartilage regeneration. m-iPS cells differentiated into three embryonic germ layers and formed teratomas in the subcutaneous tissue. The histologic grading score was significantly better in the treatment group compared to the control group. m-iPS cells maintained pluripotency, and the magnetic delivery system proved useful and safe for cartilage repair using iPS cells.