Research Spotlight

Azarpazhooh, A., A. R. Diogenes, A. F. Fouad, G. N. Glickman, A. Kishen, L. Levin, R. S. Roda, C. M. Sedgley, F. R. Tay and K. M. Hargreaves (2020). “Insights into the June 2020 Issue of the JOE.” J Endod 46(6): 705-706.

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Welcome to the June 2020 issue of the Journal of Endodontics (JOE). Here we share some of our favorite articles that are published in this issue of the journal. We hope you look forward to reading these and other articles in JOE. (Excerpt from text; no abstract available.)

Azarpazhooh, A., A. R. Diogenes, A. F. Fouad, G. N. Glickman, A. Kishen, L. Levin, R. S. Roda, C. M. Sedgley, F. R. Tay and K. M. Hargreaves (2020). “Insights into the May 2020 Issue of the Journal of Endodontics.” J Endod 46(5): 561-562.

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Welcome to the May 2020 issue of the Journal of Endodontics (JOE). Here we share some of our favorite articles that are published in this issue of the journal. We hope you look forward to reading these and other articles in JOE. (Excerpt from text; no abstract available.)

Alves do Monte, F., M. Sung Park, V. Gokani, M. Singhal, C. Ma, O. O. Aruwajoye, B. Niese, X. Liu and H. K. W. Kim (2020). “Development of a novel minimally invasive technique to washout necrotic bone marrow content from epiphyseal bone: A preliminary cadaveric bone study.” Orthop Traumatol Surg Res 106(4): 709-715.

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INTRODUCTION: Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease is a juvenile ischemic osteonecrosis which produces extensive necrotic cell debris and release of damage associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) in the femoral head. The necrotic bone environment induces a chronic inflammatory repair response with excessive bone resorption leading to deformity and early osteoarthritis. Currently there is no minimally invasive method to clear the necrotic materials from the bone to decrease the inflammatory burden of the necrotic environment and to improve the healing process. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that a novel minimally invasive two-needle saline washing technique would be effective to remove cell debris, proteins, and fat from the marrow space of porcine cadaveric humeral heads (HHs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-two HHs were subjected to three freeze-thaw cycles to simulate osteonecrosis prior to the wash procedure which consisted of placement of two 15-gauge intraosseous needles followed by incremental saline wash. After the washout procedure, the solutions were collected for measurements of turbidity, protein concentration, and cell count. The HHs were analyzed by optical scanning and histology. RESULTS: The solution collected after each wash showed a significant decrease in the turbidity, cell count, and protein concentration (p<0.05). Histologic assessment showed significantly decreased cell debris and adipocytes in the washed group compared to the unwashed group (p<0.001). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: The two-needle intraosseous wash technique effectively removed cell debris and proteins from the marrow space. The technique may be used to reduce the necrotic cell debris and DAMPs present in the necrotic bone. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III, in vitro comparative study.

Zhang, Q. and A. Bansal (2020). “Role of Extracellular Vesicles in the Diagnosis and Pathogenesis of Barrett’s Esophagus: A Mini-Review.” Dig Dis Sci Apr 10. [Epub ahead of print].

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Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) continues to be a significant public health problem with survival rates that have remained stagnant. Although the population at the highest risk for EAC, i.e., patients with Barrett’s esophagus (BE) has been clearly defined, patients with EAC continue to do poorly due to advanced stage at diagnosis. The field of extracellular vesicles (EV) could have huge application for the management of patients with BE and EAC by allowing timely diagnosis, serial monitoring, and improved understanding of disease biology. EV are actively packaged and actively secreted vesicles and contain microRNAs, proteins, lipids, and DNA. The contents of EV have been shown to provide useful insights into cellular transformation and pro-oncogenic processes. Early work shows promise but suffers from a high degree of technical and biological variation. The current review not only summarizes the current knowledge about EV as diagnostic biomarkers and their role in disease progression of BE and EAC but also provides the reader practical guidance to devise future experiments to perform well-designed studies.

Wu, E. and D. Qi (2020). “Masks and thermometers: Paramount measures to stop the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the United States.” Genes Dis Apr 25. [Epub ahead of print].

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In the United States, there is currently an exponential growth for the COVID-19 cases. The US president’s coronavirus guidelines for Americans “30 Days to Slow The Spread” are necessary. To effectively curb the rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2, two more control measures masks and thermometers are strongly suggested to be included in the Guidelines.