Acta neurochirurgica. Supplement
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Studying discovertebral complex anatomy is extremely important for the understanding of the pathophysiology of disc degeneration which leads to vertebral endplates signal changes, also known as Modic changes. The sequelae of disc degeneration are among the leading causes of functional incapacity in both sexes and are one of the most common sources of chronic disability in the working years. Even if the presence of degenerative changes in MRI of the spine is by no means an indicator of symptoms, we are concordant in a positive association between Modic changes and low back pain, above all as a relatively specific but insensitive sign of discogenic low back pain.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
Evidenced Based Guidelines for the Management of Good Grade Subarachnoid Haemorrhage Patients in Leeds, UK.
Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH) is a common neurosurgical condition with high morbidity and mortality, with our trust treating over 120 patients annually. Although there are recommendations for the management of some aspects of subarachnoid haemorrhage, a comprehensive guideline document has not been produced. Our guidelines seek to address all aspects of acute patient care in our neurosurgical unit, using evidence based medicine with a multi-disciplinary team to produce care pathways establishing a standard of care for our patients.
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This manuscript describes the development and ongoing integration of neuroArm, an image-guided MR-compatible robot. ⋯ NeuroArm successfully united the precision and accuracy of robotics with the executive decision-making capability of the surgeon.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
Treatment of symptomatic lumbar spinal degenerative pathologies by means of combined conservative biochemical treatments.
Research in spine surgery has proposed new soft and less invasive techniques. These are the results of our experience with oxygen-ozone therapy, which we could experiment within the Italian National Health System over 3 years. A total of 1,920 patients were admitted on the basis of unselected enrolment because of lumbosciatic pain. ⋯ The perceived quality of result for this minimally invasive procedure makes oxygen-ozone therapy an interesting weapon in the hands of doctors. Furthermore, if the technique loses its clinical effectiveness, it can be repeated without harm for the patient, and costs for the health organization are notably very low, above all if compared to surgical procedures. We underline the need that this treatment should be performed in protected structures, in operative rooms, under anesthesiologic control, and in the hands of specialists.
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Acta Neurochir. Suppl. · Jan 2011
Association of apolipoprotein E polymorphisms with cerebral vasospasm after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage.
Cerebral vasospasm (CVS) is the main complication of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), severely affecting clinical outcome of patients with SAH. Apolipoprotein E gene (APOE) is associated with prognosis of spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), and APOEε4 allele is reported to be apt to CVS after SAH. The current study aimed to investigate the association of APOE polymorphisms with CVS after SAH. ⋯ Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that ApoEε4 allele was a risk factor (OR=2.842. 95% CI 1.072-6.124. P=0.019) to predispose to CVS after adjusting for age, sex, hypertension or not, hyperlipemia or not, Fisher grade, and Hunt-Hess grade after SAH. Our finding suggests that the patients with APOEε4 allele predispose to CVS after spontaneous SAH.