Spine
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Various amounts of static mechanical load were applied to mouse intervertebral discs in organ cultures. The apoptosis then was examined using nick end labeling. Two mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) inhibitors were added to the medium. ⋯ Chondrocyte apoptosis was induced using a static mechanical load especially in the cartilaginous endplate in an organ culture. Apoptosis occurred similarly to previous findings using an in vivo model. This culture system thus reflected the apoptosis demonstrated in vivo. Because biologically active reagents such as MAPK inhibitors can be simply added to culture media, this system may be a useful method for detecting factors that influence apoptosis induced by mechanical stress. Both MAPK inhibitors increased the occurrence of apoptosis. This suggests that these two MAPKs can counteract the apoptotic pathway induced by mechanical stress.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Osteopathic manipulative treatment for chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial.
A randomized controlled trial was conducted. ⋯ Osteopathic manipulative treatment and sham manipulation both appear to provide some benefits when used in addition to usual care for the treatment of chronic nonspecific low back pain. It remains unclear whether the benefits of osteopathic manipulative treatment can be attributed to the manipulative techniques themselves or whether they are related to other aspects of osteopathic manipulative treatment, such as range of motion activities or time spent interacting with patients, which may represent placebo effects.
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A 2-year follow-up study of patients with back disorders certified as sick. ⋯ Information about the age of the patients, diagnoses, pain intensity, self-assessed work ability, and self-predicted absence status may be used as predictors of time until return to work in patients with back disorders certified as sick who attend a back disorder outpatient clinic.
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A case series of patients with cerebral palsy treated for spinal deformity using Luque-Galveston instrumentation was retrospectively analyzed. ⋯ Preoperative hyperkyphosis in the thoracic, thoracolumbar, or lumbar spine was associated with an increased incidence of proximal and distal loss of sagittal plane correction in patients with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy treated with Luque-Galveston instrumentation alone. An anterior lumbar release and fusion without instrumentation in a patient with thoracolumbar or lumbar kyphosis increased the risk for posterior pullout of the Galveston rods from the pelvis.