Spine

BACKGROUND: Fatty acid metabolism in the hypothalamus has an important role in food intake, but its specific role in AgRP neurons is poorly understood. Here, we examined whether carnitinea palmitoyltransferase 1A (CPT1A), a key enzyme in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, affects energy balance. METHODS: To obtain Cpt1aKO mice and their control littermates, Cpt1a(flox/flox) mice were crossed with tamoxifen-inducible AgRPCreERT2 mice. Food intake and body weight were analyzed weekly in both males and females...

BACKGROUND: To explore the characteristics and clinical management of thoracic spinal stenosis with diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). METHODS: The patients diagnosed with thoracic spondylotic myelopathy who underwent spinal decompression and fusion surgery in a single center between 2012 and 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were followed up for at least 2 years. Patients were classified into DISH and non-DISH groups. Demographic, radiographic and clinical parameters were compared between the two groups...

BACKGROUND: With the popularization of robot-assisted spinal surgeries, it is still uncertain whether robots with different designs could lead to different results in the accuracy of pedicle screw placement. This study aimed to compare the pedicle screw inserting accuracies among the spinal surgeries assisted by various types of robot and estimate the rank probability of each robot-assisted operative technique involved. METHODS: The electronic literature database of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, CNKI, WANFANG and the Cochrane Library was searched in November 2021...

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective observational cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To understand if serum procalcitonin (PCT) is a reliable indicator of sepsis in spinal cord injury (SCI) patients for better prognosis and earlier diagnosis when compared with other common biomarkers such as C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), white blood cells (WBC), blood culture and body temperature. METHODS: From March 2021 to August 2022, data were collected for SCI patients who developed septicaemia...

Previous studies using immunoassays for steroid measurements have focused on the association between steroid hormone levels and bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal women, obtaining contradictory results. This study aimed to assess this association using a highly sensitive bioanalytical method. A total of 68 postmenopausal women, aged 65-89 years, were enrolled in a cross-sectional study. Measurements of the BMD of the hip and lumbar spine were performed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, and serum hormone levels were quantified by gas chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry...

Dermatologic diseases are frequently diagnosed in the four-toed hedgehog. Common clinical signs include spine loss, scales and crusts, pruritus, alopecia, and masses. Caparinia tripilis, family Psoroptidae, is the most common mite affecting hedgehogs, and is diagnosed via light microscopy. Dermatophytosis from Trichophyton erinacei infection is a common zoonotic dermatologic disease in pet hedgehogs. Diagnosis is through fungal culture. Neoplasia is another major cause of dermatologic diseases in four-toed hedgehogs...

BACKGROUND AND IMPORTANCE: Nontraumatic pedicle fracture is uncommon, with sparsely described cases of conservative management versus surgical treatment by open fusion or percutaneous fixation. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 60 year old woman with nontraumatic L4 and L5 pedicle fracture who developed additional pedicle fractures at L3 while undergoing conservative management in a brace. The patient underwent percutaneous pediculosynthesis with screw fixation without fusion at L3-5 bilaterally...

OBJECTIVE: We present the Jenkins classification for Bertolotti's Syndrome, or symptomatic lumbosacral transitional vertebrae (LSTV) and compare this with the existing Castellvi classification in patients presenting for treatment. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of 150 new patients presenting for treatment of back, hip, groin, and/or leg pain from July 2012 through February 2022. Using MRI, CT, and X-Ray imaging, patients with radiographic finding of LSTV, appropriate clinical presentation, and identification of LSTV as the primary pain generator via diagnostic injections were diagnosed with Bertolotti's syndrome...

OBJECTIVE: Subjects with diabetes mellitus have an increased risk of fractures. We aimed to identify discrepancies in the first type of major osteoporotic fracture (MOF) and anti-osteoporotic therapy between subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D) and subjects without diabetes. Methods and research design. We conducted a retrospective national cohort study by access to all discharge diagnoses (ICD-10 system) and redeemed drug prescriptions (ATC classification system). We included all subjects alive and Danish citizens in 2010 and identified subjects with T2D diagnosed after the age of 50 between 1998 and 2018...

BACKGROUND: Different treatments are available for aggressive vertebral hemangioma [AVH], but a consensus is yet to be reached about the best therapeutic approach. PURPOSE: To explore the possibility that selecting a less aggressive therapeutic approach for AVH decreases the intraoperative and postoperative complications while providing similar clinical, radiographic, and disease-free survival results to more aggressive therapeutic methods. STUDY: We report the case of an AVH of the thoracic spine at the T5 level, treated via perioperative selective arterial embolization plus surgical decompression via laminectomy and reconstruction with polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) vertebroplasty...

PURPOSE: Saikosaponin C (SSc) increases the expression of synaptic proteins and has a unexplored role in the prevention of AD and other neurodegeneration in humans. Therefore, we hypothesized that SSc has the potential to relief of depressive symptoms. Here, our study assessed the role of SSc on depression-like behaviors caused by a chronic social defeat stress (CSDS) in mice and explored the underlying mechanisms. METHODS: Behavioral tests were conducted to verify the efficacy of SSC in treating depression-like behavior in mice...

In this study, the digital subtraction angiography (DSA) data were used to describe the number, course, and distribution of the branches of the lateral circumflex femoral artery (LCFA), in order to provide an imaging basis for the application of the anterolateral thigh flap pedicled with each branch of the LCFA. The number, location, direction, and distribution of the branches of the LCFA were analyzed by selective DSA angiography in 113 patients who needed an anterolateral thigh flap to repair the wound. LCFA usually originates from the deep femoral artery or femoral artery and routinely sends out four main branches: ascending branch, transverse branch, oblique branch, and descending branch...

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Functional recovery is associated with the preservation of dendritic spines in the penumbra area after stroke. Previous studies found that polymerized microtubules (MTs) serve a crucial role in regulating dendritic spine formation and plasticity. However, the mechanisms that are involved are poorly understood. This study is designed to understand whether the upregulation of acetylated α-tubulin (α-Ac-Tub, a marker for stable, and polymerized MTs) could alleviate injury to the dendritic spines in the penumbra area and motor dysfunction after ischemic stroke...

AIMS: Oxygen therapy plays a vital role in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), which is the independent risk factor for neurodevelopment deficits in premature infants. However, the effect of hippocampal cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) on BPD-associated neurodevelopment deficits is not fully understood. METHODS: Mice were placed in a hyperoxia chamber from postnatal Day 1 to Day 7. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to evaluate the lung histomorphological characteristics...

AIM: To investigate the prevalence and characteristics of chronic postICU pain in survivors of critical illness and to examine the association between pain and psychological disorders. METHODS: The study was carried out in an Italian ICU. Six months after ICU discharge, patients were called back for an interview for assessed chronic pain (CP), pain intensity, pain location and interference of pain with activities of daily living. During the interview a battery of psychometric test was administered for evaluate anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)...

PURPOSE: The incidence of osteoporotic compression fractures (VCFs) have been rising over the past decades. Presently, vertebral cement augmentation procedures such as balloon kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty are common treatments allowing pain relief and functional recovery. However, there is controversy on whether different timeframes for cement augmentation affects clinical outcomes. Hence, this study aimed to compare pain relief and complication rates between early versus late cement augmentation...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Despite in utero spina bifida (SB) repair, more than two-thirds of patients with SB are unable to ambulate independently, and 1 in 4 children need surgery for tethered cord by school age. The objective of this study was to test the cryopreserved human umbilical cord (HUC) as an antiscarring material to reduce tethering and improve function in a modified in utero SB repair model. METHODS: An SB defect (L2-6 levels) without myelotomy was created in fetuses of timed-pregnant ewes at gestational day (GD) 75...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

OBJECTIVE: Although the number of elderly patients requiring lumbar fusion for lumbar degenerative disorders has increased over time, the postoperative outcomes of lumbar fusion in very elderly patients (> 85 years) remains unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the comprehensive outcomes of lumbar fusion in elderly patients older than 85 years with mid-term follow-up. METHODS: The authors retrospectively researched patients older than 85 years who underwent single- or double-level posterior lumbar interbody fusion or transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion from 2012 to 2019...