Surgical Management of Spondylolisthesis by Pedicular Screw Rod System and Postero-Lateral Fusion

Introduction: Incidence of spondylolisthesis in general population is 5% - 7%. No matter what the etiology is, patients usually have significant functional disability. Few studies have investigated the long term effect of posterolateral fusion on functional outcome. Objectives: To study the efficacy of posterolateral fusion in spondylolisthesis especially in terms of functional outcome. Methodology: From July 2010 to June 2012, a total of 86 patients, operated with postero-lateral fusion were followed up and evaluated based on VAS for low back pain, ODI and neurological deficits. Results: Follow up was 83% of original study population (86). Average follow up was 13 months. The mean difference between pre-operative and post-operative VAS at final follow up was 3.5 cms (SD = 2.94);ODI was 28% at 4 months and 36% at 8 months. Claudication pain relieved in all;functional outcome was good in 67%, fair in 27.5% and failed in 5.5%;75% had fusion at an average of 5.5 months. Conclusion: Posteriolateral fusion is still a safe, promising and appealing technique.

Vitamin D and hypertension:Is there any significant relation?

Dear Editor,Around a billion individuals worldwide have hypertension.Of these,95%have essential hypertension,a type of undiagnosed hypertension.1 The regulation of blood pressure(BP)involves numerous signaling pathways.Among them,the Renin Angiotensin System is well known.All these pathways are regulated by modulation of renal salt handling and tone of vascular smooth muscle(VSM)tissue.Any of these mechanisms can become faulty and alter the resistance arteries’VSM tone,which can elevate BP.However,since the exact origin of PH and its pathophysiology are unknown,less effective,and generic treatments are used.2 The fact that more than 50%of hypertension patients in the USA do not have their BP under good control serves as an illustration of this.Antihypertensive treatment resistance affects an additional 5 million people and is defined as the inability to regulate BP despite the use of at least three antihypertensive drugs in combination.

Association of angiotensin converting enzyme gene insertion/deletion polymorphism with essential hypertension in south Indian population

Genetic,environmental and demographic factors contribute to the development of essential hypertension.Genetic polymorphism of Rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system(RAAS)has been extensively studied to determine the genetic susceptibility to hypertension.The insertion/deletion(I/D)angiotensin converting enzyme(ACE)polymorphism has been established as a cardiovascular risk factor in some population,but its association with essential hypertension is controversial.This study sought to determine the association of I/D polymorphism of the ACE gene in south Indian essential hypertensive subjects.A total of 208 clinically diagnosed essential hypertensive patients without any associated diseases and 220 healthy control subjects were included in this study.Distribution and allelic frequency of Insertion(I)and Deletion(D)polymorphism at the 287 base pair Alu repeat sequence in the intron 16 of ACE gene were analyzed.The distribution of II,ID,DD genotypes of ACE gene was 28.3%,32.6%and 38.9%respectively in essential hypertensive patients and to 53.6%,26.3%and 20%in controls.The allele frequency for D allele is 0.58 in essential hypertension as compared to 0.34 of control subjects.The genotype and allele frequency of ACE gene polymorphism is significantly differed in patients when compared to controls.In conclusion,the I/D polymorphism of ACE gene is associated with Indian essential hypertension.

Deciphering the role of microRNA 21 in cancer stem cells(CSCs)

Irrespective of positive developments of cancer treatment,the mortality due to various cancers remains high and the mechanisms of cancer initiation and the development also remains mysterious.As we know that microRNAs are considered to be a short noncoding RNA molecules consisting of 21e25 nucleotides(nt)in length and they silence their target genes by inhibiting mRNA translation or degrading the mRNA molecules by binding to their 30-untranslated(UTR)region and play a very important role in cancer biology.Recent evidences indicate that miR-21 is over expressed in cancer stem cells and plays a vital role in cell proliferation,apoptosis,and invasion.Even though an increased expression level of miR-21 has been observed in cancer stem cells,studies related to the role of miR-21 in cancer stem cells are limited.The main aim of this mini review is to explain the potency of miR-21 in various cancer stem cells(CSCs)and as a new target for therapeutic interventions of cancer progression.