Spine
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Pedicle screw fixation (PSF) has been used for the setting of a lumbar interbody fusion. ⋯ Geometric constraints caused by PSF will reduce substantially the bone stress level and the relative motion, and therefore be more likely to allow bone ingrowth at the bone-cage interface, compared with the stand-alone ALIF. The use of pedicle screw stabilization would have significant beneficial effects on the rate of interbody fusion, regardless of whether ALIF or PLIF was used.
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We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first reported case of craniovertebral junction tuberculosis with complete quadriplegia in an infant. ⋯ Craniovertebral tuberculosis is difficult to diagnose and treat in infants. A high index of suspicion is essential for a prompt diagnosis and treatment, which is all the more crucial in this age group.
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Lumbar vertebral segments from a large cross-sectional population of male and female sand rats were assessed for quantitative determination of lumbar endplate bone mineral density (BMD) and radiologic features. ⋯ Results expand our understanding of the association of age and gender to endplate sclerosis patterns in the lumbar spine, and support the hypothesis that endplate sclerosis may play a role in disc degeneration.
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Comparative Study
Immediate biomechanical effects of lumbar posterior dynamic stabilization above a circumferential fusion.
Biomechanical in vitro human cadaveric lumbar flexibility testing with 6 sequential treatments. ⋯ ROM at the superior adjacent level (L2-L3) demonstrated no significant difference between intact, destabilized, one-level posterior fixation, and one-level circumferential fusion at the index level (L3-L4) when comparing posterior dynamic stabilization to rigid rod fixation. However, ROM at the superior adjacent level (L2-L3) was significantly greater for lateral bending and axial rotation when both levels (L2-L3 and L3-L4) were stabilized with a dynamic stabilization system. When the functional spinal units were instrumented with a two-level hybrid construct, two-level posterior instrumentation (L2-L3 and L3-L4) with a cage at the index level (L3-L4), all bending modes generated significantly greater ROM for the dynamic stabilization group at L2-L3 compared with rigid rod fixation.
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Comparative Study
Aggrecanases and aggrecanase-generated fragments in the human intervertebral disc at early and advanced stages of disc degeneration.
A comparative study of aggrecanases and aggrecan fragmentation profile in the human intervertebral disc at early and advanced stages of disc degeneration. ⋯ Aggrecanases are involved in aggrecanolysis at both the early and advanced stages of disc degeneration. The aggrecan fragmentation profile analysis demonstrates the involvement of aggrecanases, as well as that of matrix metalloproteinases and/or cathepsins, during disc degeneration.