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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Comparative Study
Gait impairment in cervical spondylotic myelopathy: comparison with age- and gender-matched healthy controls.
Gait impairment is a primary symptom of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM); however, little is known about specific kinetic and kinematic gait parameters. The objectives of the study were: (1) to compare gait patterns of people with untreated CSM to those of age- and gender-matched healthy controls; (2) to examine the effect of gait speed on kinematic and kinetic parameters. ⋯ The findings suggested that people with CSM have significant gait abnormalities that have not been previously reported. In particular, there are key differences in the motor strategies used in the terminal stance phase of gait that cannot be explained by speed alone.
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Mutilating-type rheumatoid arthritis, the most aggressive type of rheumatoid arthritis, is frequently associated with destructive cervical involvement, both at the high-cervical and subaxial levels, causing significant neurological deficit, and their natural course of the disease and the survival are discouraging. For such cases, we have been actively performing occipito-thoracic fusion since 1991. Although medical treatment for rheumatoid patients has represented a marked improvement, it could not treat all of these patients because of several reasons. Therefore, it is still important to evaluate the past treatment results. ⋯ The neurological improvement and prognosis after surgery was poorer in class IIIBb patients than in the other patient groups. Occipito-thoracic fusion can improve the neurological symptoms and prognosis. However, early surgical intervention is recommended, before a patient becomes bedridden (class IIIBb).
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To investigate the incidence and risk of stroke after lumbar spinal fusion surgery. ⋯ Three years post-operatively, patients who received lumbar spinal fusion had stroke incidence rates similar to those without surgery. Posterior lumbar spinal fusion surgery is not associated with increased risks for any kind of stroke.
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How the lumbar neural foramina are affected by segmental deformities in patients in whom degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) is unknown. Here, we used multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) to measure the morphology of the foramina in three dimensions, which allowed us to elucidate the relationships between foraminal morphology and segmental deformities in DLS. ⋯ The new analysis method proposed here is useful for understanding the pathomechanisms of foraminal stenosis in DLS patients.