ObjectivesTo systematically review the clinical efficacy of ultrasound-guided percutaneous lavage (UGPL) for calcifying tendinitis of rotator cuff.MethodsPubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, WanFang Data, CBM, VIP and CNKI databases were electronically searched to collect the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of ultrasound-guided percutaneous irrigation for calcifying tendinitis of rotator cuff from inception to September 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed by using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 7 RCTs involving 587 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: there were significant differences between the UGPL group and extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) group in 12-month follow-up visual analogue scale (VAS) (MD=–1.96, 95%CI –2.18 to –1.75, P<0.000 01), the average particle size of the calcium deposition (MD=–3.13, 95%CI –5.05 to –1.22,P<0.001), the calcification disappearance rate (RR=1.65, 95%CI 1.36 to 2.01,P<0.000 01). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in 6-week follow-up VAS (MD=–0.85, 95%CI –2.84 to 1.14,P=0.40), and the complications (RR=1.20, 95%CI 0.03 to 49.69, P=0.93).ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that UGPL has certain clinical effect for the calcifying tendinitis of rotator cuff. Compared with ESWT, UGPL may be superior in clinical pain relief and calcification clearance. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high quality studies are required to verify above conclusions.
Objective To explore the therapeutic effect of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on spinal cord injury (SCI) in rats and the influence of Notch/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway. Methods A total of 40 10-week-old male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were selected to establish T10-segment SCI model by a free falling object. Among them, 32 successful models were randomly divided into model group and bFGF group, with 16 in each group. Another 16 SD rats were selected as sham-operation group, with only T10 processes, dura mater, and spinal cord exposed. After modeling, the rats in bFGF group were intraperitoneally injected with 100 μg/kg bFGF (once a day for 28 days), and the rats in model group and sham-operation group were injected with normal saline in the same way. The survival of rats in each group were observed after modeling. Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan (BBB) scores were performed before modeling and at immediate, 14 days, and 28 days after modeling to evaluate the functional recovery of hind limbs. Then, the spinal cord tissue at the site of injury was taken at 28 days and stained with HE, Nissl, and propidium iodide (PI) to observe the pathological changes, neuronal survival (number of Nissl bodies) and apoptosis (number of PI red stained cells) of the spinal cord tissue; immunohistochemical staining and ELISA were used to detect the levels of astrocyte activation markers [glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)] and inflammatory factors [interleukin 1β (IL-1β), tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α), interferon γ (IFN-γ)] in tissues, respectively. Western blot was used to detect the expressions of Notch/STAT3 signaling pathway related proteins [Notch, STAT3, phosphoryl-STAT3 (p-STAT3), bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2)] in tissues. Results All rats survived until the experiment was completed. At immediate after modeling, the BBB scores in model group and bFGF group significantly decreased when compared to sham-operation group (P<0.05). At 14 and 28 days after modeling, the BBB scores in model group significantly decreased when compared to sham-operation group (P<0.05); the bFGF group showed an increase compared to model group (P<0.05). Compared with before modeling, the BBB scores of model group and bFGF group decreased at immediate after modeling, and gradually increased at 14 and 28 days, the differences between different time points were significant (P<0.05). The structure of spinal cord tissue in sham-operation group was normal; in model group, there were more necrotic lesions in the spinal cord tissue and fewer Nissl bodies with normal structures; the number of necrotic lesions in the spinal cord tissue of the bFGF group significantly reduced compared to the model group, and some normally structured Nissl bodies were visible. Compared with sham-operation group, the number of Nissl bodies in spinal cord tissue significantly decreased, the number of PI red stained cells, GFAP, IL-1β, TNF-α, IFN-γ, Notch, p-STAT3 /STAT3, BMP-2 protein expression levels significantly increased in model group (P<0.05). The above indexes in bFGF group significantly improved when compared with model group (P<0.05). Conclusion bFGF can improve motor function and pathological injury repair of spinal cord tissue in SCI rats, improve neuronal survival, and inhibit neuronal apoptosis, excessive activation of astrocytes in spinal cord tissue and inflammatory response, the mechanism of which may be related to the decreased activity of Notch/STAT3 signaling pathway.