Spine
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To investigate the effects of biologic age, as well as chronologic age, on the vertebral ultimate load (strength) and risk score of vertebral fracture (Phi) between the genders. ⋯ Our findings emphasize the importance of Phi, which considers BMC, bone size, body weight, body height, and weight lifted, for evaluating a more individualized risk of spine fracture in elderly men and postmenopausal women. The Phi increased more prominently with lifting weight and increased with aging only in the early postmenopausal females. The study showed that a combination of bone mass and anthropometric parameters provides a more individualized assessment of fracture risk than bone mineral density alone.
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Review of results of patients with Marfan syndrome treated with instrumented posterior fusion alone for scoliosis. ⋯ These results seemed to demonstrate that a satisfactory stabilization of scoliosis can be achieved by posterior instrumentation alone in patients with Marfan syndrome. Instrumented posterior fusion should be extended to include vertebrae that are neutral and stable in both coronal and sagittal planes before surgery, in order to ensure stabilization of the deformity and reduce the risks of decompensation of the spine.
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We investigated the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation by immunohistochemically detecting phosphorylated ERK (pERK) in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and spinal cord. ⋯ Profiles of pERK induction in neurons after DRG injury were similar between the DRG and spinal cord, whereas pERK induction in the satellite cells was more long lasting. The pERK induction in Schwann cells in the DRG was late onset and the most long lasting.
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Pinealectomy was used to induce scoliosis in Broiler chickens, and a histologic investigation of the pinealectomized chickens was performed. ⋯ The results show that the incidence of scoliosis using pinealectomized Broiler chickens is sufficient to study histologic changes of the vertebral body before onset of scoliosis. We found that the osteoclast number and trabecular thickness increased in pinealectomized chickens after 3 days after surgery, just before scoliosis began to develop, and that no change in the growth plate occurred. This suggests that there is no association between changes in the growth plate and the development of scoliosis. However, the change in osteoclast number may have an association with the development of scoliosis, through changes in bone modeling.