European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Intervertebral disc degeneration is thought to contribute to low back pain. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms remain controversial. In a previous study, we developed an animal model that showed delayed gait disturbance after lumbar facetectomy in the rat. We believe that this gait disturbance was caused by low back pain, although the mechanisms of this gait abnormality remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate structural changes of the lumbar spine after facetectomy in the rat utilizing three-dimensional micro-computed tomography (3DμCT) compared to histology. ⋯ Degenerative changes were observed at the facetectomy level. These may correspond with the previously reported delayed gait disturbance after facetectomy. This animal model may be useful to create mechanically induced disc degeneration without direct tissue damage to the disc.
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Meta Analysis
Meta-analysis of the effects of genetic polymorphisms on intervertebral disc degeneration.
Chronic low back pain is a significant public health issue. Both its direct and indirect cost represents tens of billions of US dollars. Although chronic low back pain can be the result of many factors, the predominant cause is disc degeneration. Recent studies have shown genetic involvement in up to 74% of cases. This study aimed to evaluate genetic risk factors of disc degeneration by performing a systematic analysis of association studies. The objective is to provide a guide for practice by assessing the clinical relevance of current information. ⋯ The results highlight the lack of methodological rigor in most of the studies. The absence of international clinical and radiological classification of early disc degeneration, limits the homogeneity of studies. Understanding which populations are predisposed to this significant public health problem may change our approach to diagnostic and therapeutic methods. This work opens up enormous opportunities to provide a genetic solution and consider new diagnostic and therapeutic means to this public health problem.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Surgical versus nonsurgical treatment of lumbar degenerative kyphosis.
Surgery is widely performed for lumbar degenerative kyphosis (LDK), but its effectiveness as compared with nonsurgical treatment has not been demonstrated. ⋯ Surgery might be a preferred treatment option for LDK, but great caution is needed. And conservative treatment could be the considerable treatment option for LDK who is unwilling or has poor medical condition to operate.
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Multicenter Study
Surgical treatment of thoraco-lumbar kyphosis (TLK) associated with low pelvic incidence.
Thoraco-lumbar kyphosis (TLK) is poorly described in the literature and its surgical treatment remains equivocal for patients with low pelvic incidence. The aim of the study was to identify which surgical correction would yield the best functional results as measured by the Oswestry score. ⋯ It seems that keeping the physiological morphology is the treatment of choice. For patients with degenerative scoliosis, reducing the kyphosis could work. We do not recommend to increase the lordosis and obtain a type 3 morphology with an anteverted pelvis because of the risk of PJK and poor functional results.
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Since its introduction BMP has been utilized in populations with higher rates of malunion, such as adult spinal deformity (ASD) patients. Contradictory conclusions exist in spinal literature regarding the safety and efficacy of the use of BMP in this setting. Previous studies, however, did not distinguish deformity cases from spondylolisthesis or stenosis. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and efficacy of BMP use in spinal fusion surgery for ASD. ⋯ The current literature shows BMP to be a safe and effective grafting technique in the treatment of ASD. Spine surgeons may currently be using sub-optimal doses of BMP. The benefit of increasing the rate of fusion must be weighed against the increased risk of radiculitis and neurologic complications in this patient population.