Spine
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A consecutive series of 19 cases of solitary plasmacytoma (SP) of cervical spine that underwent surgical treatment and one case that underwent pure radiotherapy were observed from 1995 to 2006. ⋯ SP of the cervical spine is relatively rare, and no typical early symptoms are present. Gross total tumor resection or total spondylectomy by piecemeal manner with adjuvant radiotherapy can markedly reduce local recurrences and lower the possibility of progressing to MM. Patients with progression to MM should be treated with individualized chemotherapy, but the prognosis may be poor.
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Quasi-experimental before-and-after design with control group. ⋯ A Canadian media campaign appears to have had a small impact on public beliefs specifically related to campaign messaging to stay active, but no impact was observed on health utilization or work disability outcomes. Results are likely because of the modest level of awareness achieved by the campaign and future campaigns will likely require more extensive media coverage.
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Case Reports
Giant anterior arachnoid cyst associated with syringomyelia: implications for treatment and follow-up.
A case report of a unique anterior intradural spinal arachnoid cyst (ISAC) associated with syringomyelia. ⋯ This is the most extensive anterior ISAC associated with syringomyelia reported in literature until now. The treatment of extensive intradural extramedullary arachnoid cysts, especially for those located ventral to the spine and associated with syringomyelia, is still a matter of debate. In our case, fenestration and insertion of a cyst-subarachnoid shunt alone were not sufficient to restore normal CSF dynamics. In addition, we show that K-MRI may not be a proper method for postoperative follow-up of these lesions.
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Retrospective case-control study. ⋯ Compared with a closely matched control cohort, we found that 75% of surgical patients returned to play again in the NBA, compared with 88% in control subjects who did not undergo surgery. For those players who returned, overall athletic performance was slightly improved or no worse than control subjects.