Rehabilitation has a fundamental role in the management of rotator cuff pathology whether the final choice is conservative or surgical treatment. Conservative treatment can give excellent results in cases of rotator cuff tendinopathies without rupture, partial tears less than 50% of the thickness of the tendon, chronic full-thickness tears in elderly patients and irreparable tears. It is an option prior to reconstructive surgery in non-pseudo paralytic cases. When surgery is indicated, adequate postoperative rehabilitation is the best complement to obtain a successful result. No consensus has still been established on the optimal postoperative protocol to follow. No differences were found between delayed, early passive and early active protocols after rotator cuff repair. However, early motion improved the range of motion in the short and mid-term, allowing faster recovery. A 5-phase postoperative rehabilitation protocol is described. Rehabilitation is also an option in specific failed surgical procedures. To choose a therapeutic strategy in these cases, it is reasonable to differentiate between Sugaya type 2 or 3 (tendinopathy of the tendon) and type 4 or 5 (discontinuity/retear). The rehabilitation program should always be tailored to the individual patient.

Human hybridoma technologies permit the cloning of patient antibodies that may have desirable qualities. In this study, we report the isolation of a natural IgG antibody from a stomach cancer patient that illustrates novel diagnostic and therapeutic uses. Human antibody PAT-BA4 recognizes a tumor-specific variant of the transcription factor TATA-binding protein–associated factor 15 (TAF15) that is expressed on the plasma membrane of stomach cancer and melanoma cells but not healthy tissues. TAF15 is a member of the multifunctional TET protein family involved in mRNA transcription, splicing, and transport that is normally expressed only in the cytoplasm and nucleus of fetal or adult tissue cells. However, in malignant cells, TET family members including TAF15 seem to be involved in cell adhesion and spreading. In support of this likelihood, we found that PAT-BA4 inhibited tumor cell motility and tumor cell adhesion. Our findings define a role for a tumor-specific TAF15 antigen in malignant processes. Cancer Res; 70(1); 398–408

Background and Objectives: There is an ongoing discussion about the best alignment targets in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Mechanical alignment has been the standard in TKA for years. Alongside the development of various classification systems to describe the native alignment of the knee (knee phenotype), kinematic alignment restoring the individual phenotype of the knee has been advocated more recently. Alignment in TKA becomes even more challenging in knees with preoperative deformities such as valgus osteoarthritis. Materials and Methods: The study retrospectively evaluated 158 knees in 135 patients who underwent TKA with a mechanical alignment target for valgus osteoarthritis. Pre- and postoperative hip knee angle, lateral distal femur angle, and medial proximal tibial angle/tibial plate angle (pre-/postoperative) were measured on standing hip-to-ankle radiographs. Knees were grouped according to the coronal plane alignment of the knee (CPAK) classification. Preoperative and postoperative range of motion and patient-related outcome measures (WOMAC, UCLA, SF-12, pain) were assessed. Results: There was no difference in outcome for mechanically aligned TKA between the different CPAK phenotypes, suggesting that mechanical alignment is an appropriate target for the different phenotypes analyzed in the study. Remaining valgus alignment was associated with decreased postoperative UCLA scores and decreased improvement in SF-12 scores (p = 0.011/p = 0.028). Within CPAK III, mechanical aligned TKA showed better postoperative UCLA Scores than TKA with valgus alignment (p = 0.015). The individual knee phenotype in patients with valgus osteoarthritis did not influence the outcome of mechanical aligned TKA operated with standardized soft-tissue release.

SICOT-J, official journal of the Société Internationale de Chirurgie Orthopédique et de Traumatologie (SICOT)