Spine
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Case-control study. ⋯ Significantly decreased plasma ccf mt-DNA levels were observed in patients with CS compared with those in controls. Although this finding has limited significance for clinical practice, it indicates that ccf mt-DNA may predict the onset or development of CS. Further studies should focus on the role of ccf mt-DNA in embryo development and whether ccf mt-DNAs could be considered as a marker for prenatal screening in development disorder like CS.Level of Evidence: 4.
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Multicenter Study
Is There Additional Value to Flexion-Extension Radiographs for Degenerative Spondylolisthesis?
Multicenter retrospective study. ⋯ Flexion-extension radiographs may play a limited role in management of degenerative spondylolisthesis. The subset of patients for which flexion-extension views were most likely to provide value were patients with smaller slips (<7 mm) with no evidence of motion on standing radiographs versus MRI. In 90% of spondylolisthesis cases, information used for surgical planning may be ascertained by comparing motion between supine MRI and upright lateral radiographs.Level of Evidence: 3.
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Kinematics of the cervical spine was investigated using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images combined with three dimensions to three dimensions (3D-3D) registration technology in patients after anterior odontoid screw fixation (AOSF) surgery. ⋯ Although AOSF surgery reduced the flexion-extension ROMs of all investigated spinal segments, additionally, it reduced twisting ROMs of C1-C2 and C1-C7, but only lateral bending ROM of C2-C3, when compared with the control group. The data implied that the AOSF surgery would result in different biomechanics changes in the atlantoaxial segment and caudal adjacent segment. Longer-term follow-up studies of larger patient cohorts are necessary to evaluate the clinical outcomes of patients after the AOSF surgery.Level of Evidence: 3.