Vladimir Antić

Morphological and biomechanical features of the temporomandibular joint disc: an overview of recent findings.

The temporomandibular joint is a type of synovial joint with unique structure and function. Between the mandibular condyle and the mandibular fossa there is a dense fibrocartilaginous oval articular disc, temporomandibular joint disc. This disc serves as a nonossified bone, thus permitting the complex movements of the joint, and plays a major role in jaw function by providing stress distribution and lubrication in the temporomandibular joint. Pathological mechanical loads are one of the principal causes of temporomandibular joint disc displacement. There is a high frequency of temporomandibular joint disc disorders and treatment options are very limited. For this reason, it is necessary to examine possible alternatives to current treatment options like physiotherapy, drugs, splints or surgical techniques. Recent discoveries in the field of structure and functions of temporomandibular joint disc have created the need for their particular systematization, all in order to create an implant that would be used to replace the damaged disc and be more similar to the natural one. There is a need to more fully meet the morphology and biomechanical properties of the temporomandibular joint disc, and using tissue engineering, make a substitute for it, as faithful as possible, in a case where the natural TMJ disc is damaged so much that the normal function of the joint can be preserved only through implanted disc. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to describe morphology and structure, as well as biomechanical properties of the TMJ disc, in light of the possible applications of this knowledge for the purposes of tissue engineering.

Morphometric Analysis of Connective Tissue Sheaths of Sural Nerve in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Patients

One of the most common complications of diabetes mellitus is diabetic neuropathy. It may be provoked by metabolic and/or vascular factors, and depending on duration of disease, various layers of nerve may be affected. Our aim was to investigate influence of diabetes on the epineurial, perineurial, and endoneurial connective tissue sheaths. The study included 15 samples of sural nerve divided into three groups: diabetic group, peripheral vascular disease group, and control group. After morphological analysis, morphometric parameters were determined for each case using ImageJ software. Compared to the control group, the diabetic cases had significantly higher perineurial index (P < 0.05) and endoneurial connective tissue percentage (P < 0.01). The diabetic group showed significantly higher epineurial area (P < 0.01), as well as percentage of endoneurial connective tissue (P < 0.01), in relation to the peripheral vascular disease group. It is obvious that hyperglycemia and ischemia present in diabetes lead to substantial changes in connective tissue sheaths of nerve, particularly in peri- and endoneurium. Perineurial thickening and significant endoneurial fibrosis may impair the balance of endoneurial homeostasis and regenerative ability of the nerve fibers. Future investigations should focus on studying the components of extracellular matrix of connective tissue sheaths in diabetic nerves.

Placental complications after a previous cesarean section

INTRODUCTION The incidence of cesarean section has been rising in the past 50 years. With the increased number of cesarean sections, the number of pregnancies with the previous cesarean section rises as well. The aim of this study was to establish the influence of the previous cesarean section on the development of placental complications: placenta previa, placental abruption and placenta accreta, as well as to determine the influence of the number of previous cesarean sections on the complication development. MATERIAL AND METHODS The research was conducted at the Clinic of Gynecology and Obstetrics in Nis covering 10-year-period (from 1995 to 2005) with 32358 deliveries, 1280 deliveries after a previous cesarean section, 131 cases of placenta previa and 118 cases of placental abruption. The experimental groups was presented by the cases of placenta previa or placental abruption with prior cesarean section in obstetrics history, opposite to the control group having the same conditions but without a cesarean section in medical history. RESULTS The incidence of placenta previa in the control group was 0.33%, opposite to the 1.86% incidence after one cesarean section (p<0.001), 5.49% after two cesarean sections and as high as 14.28% after three cesarean sections in obstetric history. Placental abruption was recorded as placental complication in 0.33% pregnancies in the control group, while its incidence was 1.02% after one cesarean section (p<0.001) and 2.02% in the group with two previous cesarean sections. The difference in the incidence of intrapartal hysterectomy between the group with prior cesarean section (0.86%) and without it (0.006%) shows a high statistical significance (p<0.001). CONCLUSION The previous cesarean section is an important risk factor for the development of placental complications.

Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis

Prenatal diagnosis, traditionally used as a synonymous for invasive fetal testing and evaluation of chromosomal constellation, presently encompasses many other issues like pedigree analyses, fetal risk assessment, population screening, genetic counseling and fetal diagnostic testing as well. Ultrasound guided chorionic villus samling (CVS), amniocentesis and, to a lesser extent, fetal blood sampling are used routinely in fetal medicine units. Other fetal tissue biopsies such as skin, liver and muscle biopsy are used only rarely. In this chapter we discuss the invasive diagnostic procedures in maternal fetal medicine with specific interest of showing the list of indications basic principles used for choosing the particular invasive technique, linkage of non invasive with invasive diagnostic procedures, precise description of techniques, list of complications and their prevention and management, all of these based on the recent scientific results and clinical experiences publicized in the available literature.

Analysis of Fascicular Structure and Connective Tissue Sheaths in Sural Nerve during Aging

Summary The aim of our study was to analyze the changes of connective tissue sheaths of epi-, peri- and endoneurium of sural nerve during aging. The study was conducted on sural nerve samples of 10 cases aged 9-80 years. The specimens were embedded in paraffin using standard procedures, after which 5-μm-thick cross-sections of nerve trunks were made and stained using Masson’s trichrome staining. After morphological analysis of fascicular structure and connective sheaths of the nerve, morphometric analysis was conducted using the software for digital image analysis “ImageJ”. Each investigated case was analyzed for total neural, epineurial and fascicular cross-section area, mean values of perineurial index, volume density of myelinated axons and of endoneurial content. To test the difference in mean values for statistical significance we used the Student’s T-test for small independent sample. The number of fascicles was 5-13, while the majority of the nerves had less than 10 fascicles. Fascicular structure, which included the number of fascicles and epifascicular/fascicular area ratio, did not show significant changes during aging. Perineurial thickness /fascicle size ratio statistically significantly increased in the older investigated group (p<0.05). Myelinated fibres were of smaller diameter, with more irregular form and markedly less frequent in older cases. Quantitative analysis showed statistically significant decrease in volume density of myelinated fibres in the older group. As results of applied investigation methods we found thickening of perineurial sheath of sural nerve during aging, as well as endoneurial fibrosis. Future investigations of age-related changes should focus on analysis of the components of extracellular matrix within perineurium and endoneurium.

The role of hysteroscopy in diagnosis and treatment of postmenopausal bleeding

BACKGROUND/AIM Abnormal uterine bleeding is the most common problem which brings woman to the gynecologist during the postmenopausal period. The aim of this study was to define the significance of hysteroscopy as a diagnostic procedure for the evaluation of patients with postmenopausal bleeding, as well as to define it as a surgical procedure by which the cause of bleeding can be treated in most cases in the same sitting. METHODS The study involved 148 female patients referred to the Clinic for Gynecology and Obstetrics in Nis for postmenopausal bleeding in the period of 12 months. Hysteroscopy with endometrial biopsy were performed in all the patients. Biopsy materials were directed to histological examination, and the hysteroscopic and histological findings were compared afterwards. Polyps and submucous miomas were hysteroscopically removed in the same sitting and also directed to histological examination. RESULTS The success rate of the method was 95.1%, while complications occurred in 1.37% of the cases. The hysteroscopic findings were normal in almost 30% of the cases, and the most common pathological finding was endometrial polyp. The sensitivity of hysteroscopy in the detection of intrauterine pathology was 100%, the specificity 81%, the positive predictive value 92% and the negative predictive value 100%. In 69.7% of the patients the cause of bleeding was hysteroscopically removed. Hysteroscopy was performed in 58.1% of the patients in the same sitting, and in 11.6% of the patients after obtaining histological findings. CONCLUSION Hysteroscopy is a safe, highly sensitive diagnostic procedure, thus being an ideal method for evaluation of patients with postmenopausal bleeding. The application of hysteroscopy with endometrial biopsy leads to accurate diagnosis. An adequate diagnosis is crucial for the selection of relevant treatment of postmenopausal bleeding and avoidance of unnecessary major surgical procedures. Except for being a diagnostic method hysteroscopy, is also an outpatient minimally invasive surgical procedure for treating the cause of bleeding in the majority of cases in the same sitting.

Postpartum HELLP syndrome—the case of lost battle

Abstract Unexpected rapid maternal death after delivery due to HELLP syndrome is rarely encountered and may become the subject of forensic expertise. Unexpectedness, suddenness, and fulminant course of this syndrome as well as absence of classical signs of pre-eclampsia can confuse physicians and lead to diagnostic delay. A definitive post-mortem diagnosis of HELLP syndrome in questionable cases of maternal death should be based on accepted laboratory criteria and characteristic histopathological alterations. We present a case of acute postpartum HELLP syndrome complicated by disseminated intravascular coagulation and acute renal failure which caused rapid maternal death only 20 hours after a caesarean section following an uncomplicated pregnancy.

Laparoscopic Surgery in the Treatment of Endometriosis

Endometriosis is a benign disease, which affects about 10% of reproductive age women and almost 50% of infertile women. Although every year at least 300 new articles deal with this topic, endometriosis is still a enigmatic disease starting with theories of etiopathogenesis where there is still no consensus about the major cause of endometriosis. Also there is still no consensus about the management of the disease, mainly when there is an infertile patient who is preparing for in vitro fertilization procedure.

ANTIOXIDANTS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE DURING MUSCULAR EXERCISE: A REVIEW

Physiological levels of reactive oxygen species, as an essential part of the homeostatic milieu, are required for normal functioning of skeletal muscle. High levels of reactive oxygen species promote contractile dysfunction resulting in muscle weakness and fatigue, oxidative stress, apoptosis and necrosis of muscle cells. It is known that both resting and contracting skeletal muscles produce reactive oxygen species and reactive nitrogen species. The first suggestion that physical exercise results in free radical-mediated damage to tissues appeared in 1978. The newest researches investigate the mechanisms by which oxidants influence skeletal muscle contractile properties and explore how to protect muscle from oxidant-mediated dysfunction. Principal antioxidant enzymes include superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase. Numerous non-enzymatic antioxidants exist in cells within skeletal muscle fibers, the most abundant of which include glutathione, bilirubin, α-Lipoic acid , uric acid, and ubiquinones, or coenzyme Q (CoQ) andflavonoids. Dietary antioxidants are vitamins C- L ascorbic acid , vitamin A, retinol and their provitamins, carotenoids (especially β-carotene), vitamins E, tocopherol (especially a-tocoferol ), folic acid or folates. The usage of endogenous enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants protects muscle from strong damaging effects caused by free radicals during acute exercise or longer term physical exercise. Scientific researches now confirm that the long-term use of antioxidants is safe and effective. The actual recommendation for physically active individuals is to ingest a diet rich in antioxidants.

Preeclampsia with and without intrauterine growth restriction–Two pathogenetically different entities?

ABSTRACT Objective: The objective of this study is to determine the differences in histopathological features of basal decidua and placenta in cases of preeclampsia with or without fetal intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). Methods: A prospective case–control study included a study group consisting of 30 pregnant women with preeclampsia completed by cesarean section (CS), in 19 of whom preeclampsia was associated with IUGR, and in 11 it was not. The control group consisted of 20 healthy pregnant women delivered by elective CS. Placentas and samples of placental bed obtained during CS were histopathologically (HP) analyzed after hematoxylin–eosin staining and immunohistochemical labeling of Cytokeratin 7 (CK7) trophoblastic cells in decidua. Results: Regarding the HP changes in the spiral arteries in preeclampsia, the most frequent features were inadequate transformation of spiral arteries with poor trophoblastic invasion (70.0%) and fibrinoid necrosis of the media (66.7%), and rarely acute atherosis (33.3%) and thrombosis (30.0%). Villous hypermaturity was more frequently found in placentas of patients with preeclampsia with IUGR (p < 0.05), while there were no differences between subgroups of preeclampsia with and without IUGR regarding some of HP alterations of placental bed. Conclusion: Alterations of the placental bed in terms of decidual vasculopathy are more the characteristics of the preeclampsia itself than IUGR, while changes in placental villi primarily follow the presence of IUGR, which could indicate that preeclampsia with and without IUGR are two pathogenetically different entities.