Spine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Stopping nicotine exposure before surgery. The effect on spinal fusion in a rabbit model.
A double-blind, prospective, randomized study using a validated rabbit model of intertransverse process fusion. ⋯ Chronic nicotine exposure was shown to decrease spinal fusion rates. Discontinuing nicotine before surgery improved fusion rates.
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A 22-month prospective cohort study. ⋯ Once established, chronic low back pain is persistent. Most patients with chronic low back pain seek little care, and a majority are employed. Future research should emphasize maintenance of employment and function.
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A consecutive case retrospective chart and radiographic review. ⋯ Spinal deformities in patients with neurofibromatosis 1 should be regarded as deformities in evolution. One should resist assigning these evolving deformities to either the dystrophic or nondystrophic end of the spectrum without considering the possibility of modulation across the spectrum. A spinal deformity that develops before 7 years of age should be followed closely for evolving dystrophic features (i.e., modulation). When a curve acquires either three penciled ribs or a combination of three dystrophic features, clinical progression is almost a certainty.
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Biography Historical Article
Giovanni Alfonso Borelli: "Father of spinal biomechanics".
The first modern textbook on spinal biomechanics was written by Giovanni Alfonso Borelli in 1680. A mathematician, astronomer, and physicist by trade, Borelli became consumed in the physical laws of nature and the human body. His work served as a monumental contribution to ascertain, in depth and with undiminished accuracy, the basic biomechanical principles of the human body.