Journal of neurosurgery
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Journal of neurosurgery · Apr 2002
Review Case ReportsTraumatic thoracic spinal fracture dislocation with minimal or no cord injury. Report of four cases and review of the literature.
Thoracic fracture dislocations reportedly lead to complete paraplegia in 80% of cases. It is rare for these dislocations not to cause neurological deficits, as evidenced by the mere 11 well-documented neurologically intact cases in the English-language literature. ⋯ In cases in which bilateral pedicle fractures occur at the site of significant thoracic subluxation and/or translation, preservation of the spinal canal and spinal cord neurological function can rarely occur when both the lamina and spinal cord do not dislocate along with the anterior VBs. In these instances, perfect anatomical reduction may require forces that unnecessarily put neurological function at risk and the results appear to justify internal fixation with some or no reduction of deformity.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Apr 2002
Neurological and functional status 1 year after acute spinal cord injury: estimates of functional recovery in National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study II from results modeled in National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study III.
In the second National Acute Spinal Cord Injury Study (NASCIS II) investigators evaluated several standard neurological parameters but not functional activity. This has led to questions concerning the clinical importance of the increase in neurological recovery observed following administration of methylprednisolone (MP) within 8 hours of acute spinal cord injury (SCI). The safety of the therapy has also been questioned. ⋯ The extent of MP therapy-related motor function recovery observed in NASCIS II predicted clinically important recovery in the FIM. Reasons to be cautious with regard to this prediction include the lack of robustness in statistical modeling, some loss of validity in the FIM, and considerable heterogeneity in the SCI population. Whatever functional activity is ascribed to high-dose MP therapy, it is does not appear to be associated with risk of adverse outcomes.
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Journal of neurosurgery · Apr 2002
Increased pedicle screw pullout strength with vertebroplasty augmentation in osteoporotic spines.
The authors conducted a biomechanical study to evaluate pedicle screw pullout strength in osteoporotic cadaveric spines. Nonaugmented hemivertebrae were compared with pressurized polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA)-augmented hemivertebrae. ⋯ Augmentation of osteoporotic vertebrae in PMMA-assisted vertebroplasty can significantly increase pedicle screw pullout forces to levels exceeding the strength of cortical bone. The maximum attainable force appears to be twice the pullout force of the nonaugmented pedicle screw for each osteoporotic grade.