Spine
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A morphometric study of lumbar vertebral pedicular parameters in cadavers and comparison with previous studies in the literature was conducted. ⋯ On the basis of this limited study in a subset of the Indian population, it appears that the transverse diameter and pedicle entrance point differ from those in the white population. The results suggest that a 5-mm screw would be safer in the upper lumbar levels (L1, L2), and 6-mm screw in the lower lumbar levels (L3-L5). The pedicle entrance point migrates laterally for lower lumbar levels, especially at L5. The medial pedicle cortex can be safely sounded while the pedicle is probed.
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Description of a workshop entitled "Implementation and Dissemination: Getting Research into Practice," that was held at the Fourth International Forum on Low Back Pain Research in Primary Care, in Israel in March 2000. ⋯ The plenary and workshops focused on closing the gap between research results and actual practice. As long as we do not fully understand how best to influence and change physician behavior, the choice of implementation strategies should be based on the present knowledge of potentially effective interventions and should include considerations of available resources for, and potential barriers to, implementation.
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Immunohistochemical examination of the expression and localization of neurofilament (NF) proteins and growth-associated protein (GAP)-43 in spinal hyperostotic (twy/twy) mice with progressive compression of the cervical spinal cord. ⋯ The results showed that the expression of NF proteins and GAP-43 in the white matter increased proportionally with the magnitude of spinal cord compression, and indicated the possible involvement of GAP-43 in both axonal degeneration and repair processes in the chronically compressed spinal cord.
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For a single L5 radicular lesion produced by constant, localized compression, sequential changes of epidurally recorded potentials after sciatic nerve stimulation or direct L5 root stimulation were compared with those after indirect L5 root stimulation with a collision technique in rats. ⋯ The present animal experiment demonstrated that the collision technique improved the sensitivity of the lumbosacral-evoked potential for a single radicular lesion. With this technique, the evoked potential study in the clinical domain will identify conduction abnormalities more consistently than peripheral nerve stimulation alone.