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
-
Clinical management of disc degeneration in patients with chronic low back pain (cLBP) is hampered by the challenge of distinguishing pathologic changes relating to pain from physiologic changes related to aging. The goal of this study was to use imaging biomarkers of disc biochemical composition to distinguish degenerative changes associated with cLBP from normal aging. ⋯ Aging effects on the biochemical composition of the L5-S1 disc may involve a relatively uniform set of factors from which many cLBP patients deviate. NP-T1ρ values at L5-S1 may be highly relevant to clinical phenotyping, particularly in younger individuals.
-
Review
Treatment of acute traumatic central cord syndrome: a score-based approach based on the literature.
Acute traumatic central cord syndrome (ATCCS) accounts for up to 70% of incomplete spinal cord injuries, and modern improvements in surgical and anaesthetic techniques have given surgeons more treatment options for the ATCCS patient. We present a literature review of ATCCS, with the aim of elucidating the best treatment option for the varying ATCCS patient characteristics and profiles. We aim to synthesise the available literature into a simple-to-use format to aid in the decision-making process. ⋯ An individualised approach to each ATCCS patient, considering their unique characteristics will lead to the best outcomes, and the use of a simple scoring system, can aid clinicians in choosing the best treatment for ATCCS patients.
-
To evaluate the clinical and radiological results of the operative management of three-column uncomplicated type «B» subaxial injures treated with a one-level cervical corpectomy with an expandable cage. ⋯ One-level cervical corpectomy with an expandable cage, despite a poor fusion rate, can be considered a feasible and relatively safe method for treating three-column uncomplicated subaxial type «B» injures, with the benefit of immediate stability, anatomical reduction, and direct decompression of the spinal cord. While no one in our series had any catastrophic complications, we did note a high complication rate.