The symptomatic degenerative meniscus continues to be a source of discomfort for a significant number of patients. With vascular penetration of less than one-third of the adult meniscus, healing potential in the setting of chronic degeneration remains low. Continued hoop and shear stresses upon the degenerative meniscus results in gross failure, often in the form of complex tears in the posterior horn and midbody. Patient history and physical examination are critical to determine the true source of pain, particularly with the significant incidence of simultaneous articular pathology. Joint line tenderness, a positive McMurray test, and mechanical catching or locking can be highly suggestive of a meniscal source of knee pain and dysfunction. Radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging are frequently utilized to examine for osteoarthritis and to verify the presence of meniscal tears, in addition to ruling out other sources of pain. Non-operative therapy focused on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and physical therapy may be able to provide pain relief as well as improve mechanical function of the knee joint. For patients refractory to conservative therapy, arthroscopic partial meniscectomy can provide short-term gains regarding pain relief, especially when combined with an effective, regular physiotherapy program. Patients with clear mechanical symptoms and meniscal pathology may benefit from arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, but surgery is not a guaranteed success, especially with concomitant articular pathology. Ultimately, the long-term outcomes of either treatment arm provide similar results for most patients. Further study is needed regarding the short and long-term outcomes regarding conservative and surgical therapy, with a particular focus on the economic impact of treatment as well.

Background: Female athletes are 2 to 8 times more prone to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture than males. Furthermore, reinjury to the ipsilateral or contralateral knee can occur in >20% of athletes. Female sex and younger age are known risk factors for graft failure. The optimal graft choice for young females remains unknown and poorly studied. Purpose/Hypothesis: The authors aimed to compare clinical outcomes in young females who underwent ACL reconstruction (ACLR) with bone–patellar tendon–bone (BTB) and quadrupled hamstring (HS) autografts. It was hypothesized that no significant differences in outcomes exist between graft choices. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Female patients aged 15 to 25 years who underwent primary ACLR with BTB or HS autograft were included for review. Patients were subdivided into 2 age groups: 15 to 20 years and 21 to 25 years. The occurrence of chondral, meniscal, or ligamentous injury to either knee was recorded for comparison. Results: A total of 256 females were included (BTB, n = 175; HS, n = 81). The majority of patients were between the ages of 15 and 20 years (BTB, 80%; HS, 77.8%). Overall, graft rupture occurred in 23 patients (9%) and contralateral ACL tear occurred in 18 (7%). Subgroup analysis showed that 75% of BTB and 100% of HS graft retears occurred in females aged 15 to 20 years. Within this age group, there was a significantly lower rate of graft ruptures in the BTB group (6.4%) as compared with the HS group (17.5%, P = .02). Allograft augmentation was used in 4 of the 11 HS grafts that retore. When allograft-augmented grafts were excluded, there was no significant difference in graft failure rate between graft choices. Fifteen patients in the BTB group (12%) as opposed to 1 in the HS group (2%) reported extreme difficulty or the inability to kneel on the front of the knee ( P = .04). Conclusion: In females aged 15 to 20 years undergoing ACLR, BTB autograft may lead to fewer graft ruptures than HS autograft. While this difference was not observed in females aged 21 to 25 years, a larger sample may be required to accept the null hypothesis in this age group. BTB autograft significantly increased the risk of kneeling pain as compared with HS regardless of age.

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2-Amino substituted benzothiazoles 2a-l and 2-chloropyridine-3-carboxylic acid 3 were used to prepare 2-[N-(substitutedbenzothiazolyl)amino]pyridine-3-carboxylic acids (4a-l) in 2-ethoxy ethanol. Acid chlorides (5a-l) were condensed with 2-hydroxyethyl piperazine (6) and 2,3-dichloropiperazine (7) to prepare amide derivatives 2-[N-(substituted benzothiazolyl)amino]pyridin-3-yl (4-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazin-1-yl)methanones (8a-l) and 2-[N-(substituted benzothiazolyl) amino]pyridin-3-yl(2,3-dichloropiperazine-1-yl)methanones (9a-l), respectively. The structures of new compounds have been established on the basis of elemental analysis and spectral (IR, 1 H NMR, and Mass spectra) studies. The in vitro antimicrobial activity was screened for all the synthesized compounds. Variable and modest activity were observed against the investigated strains of bacteria and fungi.