European spine journal : official publication of the European Spine Society, the European Spinal Deformity Society, and the European Section of the Cervical Spine Research Society
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Comparative Study
Healing properties of allograft from alendronate-treated animal in lumbar spine interbody cage fusion.
This study investigated the healing potential of allograft from bisphosphonate-treated animals in anterior lumbar spine interbody fusion. Three levels of anterior lumbar interbody fusion with Brantigan cages were performed in two groups of five landrace pigs. Empty Brantigan cages or cages filled with either autograft or allograft were located randomly at different levels. ⋯ With the numbers available, no statistically significant difference was found in histological fusion between autograft and allograft applications. There was a significant difference of mean bone volume between autograft (49.2%) and empty cage (27.5%) (P<0.01). In conclusion, this study did not demonstrate different healing properties of alendronate-treated and non-treated allograft for anterior lumbar interbody fusion in pigs.
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Comparative Study
Dynamic electrophysiological examination in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis: is it useful in clinical practice?
Neurogenic claudication (NC) is typical of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). One suspected pathophysiological mechanism underlying NC is intermittent hypoxia of cauda equina fibres resulting from venous pooling, which may lead to ischaemic nerve conduction failure and to transient clinical and electrophysiological changes after exercise. The aim of this study was to evaluate the appearance of significant transient electrophysiological abnormalities after walking exercise in patients with LSS and to establish the contribution of dynamic electrophysiological examination in the differential diagnostics of patients with LSS. The study participants were 36 consecutive patients with LSS demonstrated by computed tomography (CT). The control groups included, respectively, 28 patients with diabetes mellitus and clinically manifested polyneuropathy, and 32 healthy volunteers. The LSS patients were divided into four subgroups based on the clinical severity of the disease (with respect to the presence or absence of NC in the history and pareses on neurological examination). Soleus H-reflex, tibial F-wave and motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to abductor hallucis muscle were examined in all groups, before and after quantified walking on a treadmill. The electrophysiological parameters measured after an exercise treadmill test (ETT) in LSS patients and in both control groups were compared with the same parameters obtained before ETT. The study shows that the electrophysiological parameters reveal minimal but statistically significant changes after walk loading in patients with LSS (a prolongation of the minimal latency of the tibial F-wave and of the latency of the soleus H-reflex). The changes in these parameters were demonstrated not only in patients with NC but also in patients without NC. More pronounced changes were found in LSS patients exhibiting chronic lower extremity pareses. ⋯ From among a large battery of electrophysiological tests, only the minimal latency of the tibial F-wave and the latency of the soleus H-reflex exhibit changes after walk loading in patients with LSS. These are minimal but statistically significant. Dynamic electrophysiological examination can illustrate the pathophysiology of NC in LSS, but from a practical point of view its contribution to the differential diagnostics of LSS or diabetic polyneuropathy is limited by an absence of established cut-off values.
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Comparative Study
Preoperative transarterial embolization of vertebral metastases.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of preoperative devascularization of spinal metastases in relation to the preembolization tumor vascularization degree and in relation to the intraoperative blood loss. Twenty-four patients underwent preoperative transarterial embolization of hypervascular spinal metastases. Each tumor was assigned a vascularization grade (I-III) according to tumor blush after contrast agent injection in the main feeding artery. ⋯ The surgeons concluded that radical tumor resection after embolization was facilitated. Intraoperative blood loss is not correlated with the pre-interventional vascularization degree, if complete devascularization can be achieved with embolization. Preoperative embolization of vertebral hypervascular tumors is safe, effective and facilitates tumor resection.
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Comparative Study
Morphological changes of the ligamentum flavum as a cause of nerve root compression.
The ligamentum flavum is considered to be one of the important causes of radiculopathy in lumbar degenerative disease. Although there have been several reports anatomically examining the positional relationship between the ligamentum flavum and nerve root, there are few reports on ventral observation. The purpose of this study is to clarify the shape of the ligamentum flavum seen ventrally, and to obtain anatomic findings related to nerve root compression. ⋯ Proximal bulging indicates the type with the cranial portion bulging from the subarticular zone to the foraminal zone of the ligamentum flavum. In this type associated with a decrease in disc height, nerve root compression was frequently observed. Thus, we could more realistically grasp the relationship between bulging morphology of the ligamentum flavum and nerve root compression.
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Comparative Study
Absorbable self-reinforced polylactide (SR-PLLA) rods vs rigid rods (K-wire) in spinal fusion: an experimental study in rabbits.
Several clinical and experimental reports have evaluated the spinal application of bioabsorbable material for plating the anterior lumbar and cervical spine, and in anterior and posterior lumbar interbody spinal fusion. Nevertheless, the use of these materials in posterolateral interlaminar fusion has yet to be elucidated in the literature. The effects of bioabsorbable self-reinforced polylactide rod (SR-PLLA) implantation, rigid fixation (K-wire) and non-implantation with posterior interlaminar fusion were compared using a rabbit model. ⋯ Computed tomography (CT) scans were used to detect fusion mass volume. The fusion mass in the SR-PLLA implanted group had a mean volume of 1,196 mm3 +/- 167 mm3 vs 1,061 mm3 +/- 181 mm3 for the K-wire implanted group (not significant) and 711 mm3 +/- 407 mm3 (p<0.05) for the non-implanted group. The results of this study suggest that the stabilization properties of both SR-PLLA rods and K-wire seem to be sufficient for spinal fusion, but using SR-PLLA is especially advantageous, since they do not require a removal operation and do not interfere with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).