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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Due to their properties and characteristics human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) appear to have great therapeutic potential. Many different populations of MSCs have been described and to understand whether they have equivalent biological properties is a critical issue for their therapeutic application. ⋯ The ability of vertebrae-derived MSCs in terms of expansion and differentiation is very interesting at the light of a clinical application for bone fusion in spine surgery.
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There have been several studies regarding the relationship between deglutition and the cervical spine; however, the movement of the cervical spine during deglutition has not been specifically studied. The purpose of the present study was to clarify how the cervical spine moves during normal deglutition. ⋯ These findings suggest that the cervical spine moves to reduce physiological lordosis during deglutition.
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This study aimed at reporting the results of a transthoracic approach in the treatment of patients with calcified giant herniated thoracic discs (HTDs). ⋯ Transthoracic decompression combined with reconstruction, fusion, and fixation is an effective method for the treatment of these lesions and is associated with a low rate of complications, morbidity, and neurological impairment.
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Sagittal spine and pelvic alignment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is poorly described in the literature. It generally reports the sagittal alignment with regard to the type of curve and never correlated to the thoracic kyphosis. The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis and sagittal pelvic parameters in thoracic AIS. ⋯ We can consider that the proximal part of the lordosis depends on the thoracic kyphosis and the distal part depends on the pelvic incidence. The hypokyphosis in AIS is independent of the pelvic parameters and could be described as a structural parameter, characteristic of the scoliotic deformity.
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Lumbar disc degeneration may be associated with intensity of neovascularization in disc herniations. Our study was designed to evaluate how much the severity of histodegeneration is related to the development of neovascularization and to the level of pleiotrophin in the herniated lumbar discs. ⋯ Severe histodegeneration of the lumbar disc herniations is associated with enhanced neovascularization and potentially also spontaneous regression of the herniated tissue.