Spine
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This biomechanical study of fractures in cadaver vertebrae used specially designed pedicle screws to determine screw strains during loading of two different fixation constructs. ⋯ Supplemental offset hooks significantly increase construct stiffness without sacrificing principles of short-segment pedicle instrumentation, and absorb some part of the construct strain, thereby reducing pedicle screw bending moments and the likelihood of postyield deformation and clinical failure.
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The possibility of a relationship between discographic pain responses and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality inventory scores was investigated. ⋯ Discographic pain reports are not only related to anatomic abnormalities, but are influenced by personality as assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory. Patients with elevated scores on the hypochondriasis, hysteria, and depression scales may tend to overreport pain during discographic injection. Among such patients, even those with a concordant computed tomography/discographic image, selection of therapeutic modalities should be made with caution.
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Case Reports
Amyloidosis-related cauda equina compression in long-term hemodialysis patients. Three case reports.
These case reports illustrate the neurologic manifestations due to beta 2 microglobulin amyloid deposition at the lumbar spine level in long-term hemodialysis patients. ⋯ In long-term hemodialysis patients, cauda equina compression may develop as the consequence of beta 2 microglobulin amyloid deposition in lumbar intervertebral discs, facet joints, and ligaments. Magnetic resonance imaging is well suited to show the extent of the compression and supports the argument for the amyloid origin of extradural soft tissue.