PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

H S Ranu

Publications and source records attributed to H S Ranu.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

Percutaneous laser disc decompression. A new therapeutic modality.

The authors present a new advance in the treatment of herniated disc disease using percutaneous Nd:YAG laser to vaporize a small portion of nucleus pulposus, thereby decompressing the disc. In vitro and in vivo animal data are presented. Three hundred seventy-seven magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scan-documented, herniated, nonsequestered lumbar intervertebral discs with corresponding clinical findings in 333 patients were so treated in an outpatient setting. The longest follow-up was 62 months, with a mean of 26 months. According to the Macnab criteria, there was a good to fair response in 261 patients (78.4%), and a poor response in 72 (21.6%); 166 patients experienced relief of pain during the procedure. One-third of repeat magnetic resonance imaging scans at 4-6 months postlaser treatment showed modest to moderate decrease of disc herniation.

Adult

The effects of split dose radiations on the mechanical properties of the skin.

A series of split dose experiments in which the interval between doses was varied from 1 to 7 d is reported. In vitro measurements of the mechanical properties of skin are made 50 and 120 d after the first irradiation. The variation of the skin thickness, load at rupture, extension at rupture, stress at rupture and skin stiffness with dose and with time interval between doses is examined. The results suggest that after the highest doses of irradiation the skin is matted in structure and the fractionation pattern is insignificant. Different fractionation patterns only influence the radiation effects at lower doses where the skin retains an open mesh structure. The experiments indicate that a maximum skin sparing effect is obtained with a two day interval between the split doses.

Animals

A method of in vivo measurement of the elastic properties of skin in radiotherapy patients.

A portable apparatus which measures the force-displacement or elastic characteristics of skin in vivo has been constructed. A displacement transducer between two arms measures the extension of the skin as the arms are driven apart by means of a lead screw, and the force exerted on the skin is measured by means of two electrical resistance strain gauges attached at a reduced section on each of the arms. The apparatus was designed for compactness and lightness to enable it to be hand held. Illustrative results obtained on patients during and after courses of radiotherapy are presented.

Breast Neoplasms

Effects of radiation on the visual appearance and mechanical properties of mouse skin.

A study of the long term effects of radiation on the visual appearance and mechanical properties of mouse skin is presented. The effects associated with the hair follicle (greying and alopecia) increase monotonically with exposure. Other effects (load, extension and stress at rupture and scarring of the skin) all show a reversal at the highest exposures. The skin thickness changes little with exposure, while the skin stiffness exhibits a shoulder on the response curve. Possible mechanisms underlying these effects are discussed.

Alopecia

The effects of x-irradiation on the mechanical properties of skin.

The elastic properties of rat skin previously irradiated with single doses form 1000 to 3000 rad have been studied. The measurements were made 50 and 120 d after irradiation on skin specimens immersed in saline at 37 degrees c. The tests were carried out on a tensile testing machine. The load extension curve, which was plotted to the point of rupture, exhibits two portions which are identified with the aligment of the collagen fibres and then their subsequent stretching. The elastic properties associated with fibre alignment are little affected by these doses of radiation but the stiffness of the collagen itself tends to decrease with increasing dose, exhibiting a shoulder in the dose response curve.

Animals