Does sildenafil attenuate vaso-obliteration and neovascularization in a mouse model of retinopathy of prematurity?
Sildenafil treatment significantly decreased retinal vaso-obliteration and neovascularization in a mouse OIR model. These effects are likely due to sildenafil-induced HIF1α stabilization during hyperoxia exposure. Furthermore, we confirm disease overlap by showing that OIR mice also develop hyperoxia-induced right ventricular hypertrophy, which is prevented by sildenafil. This study is a first step toward delineating a potential therapeutic role for sildenafil in OIR and further suggests that there may be common pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying hyperoxia-induced retinal and pulmonary vascular disease.
This study indicates that when using fresh-frozen cadaveric bone in biomechanical tests to simulate the orthopaedic clinical setting, specimen exposure time should be considered. The timing of testing should be kept constant between specimens to allow for a proper comparison. Furthermore, for fresh--frozen cadavers, the physical properties of bone may be detrimentally affected in biomechanical testing that exceeds the 50-hour time point after removal from the freezer.