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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Hyaluronic acid plays an essential role in water retention of the intervertebral disc (IVD) and thus provides flexibility and shock absorbance in the spine. Hyaluronic acid gets degraded by hyaluronidases (HYALs), and some of the resulting fragments were previously shown to induce an inflammatory and catabolic response in human IVD cells. However, no data currently exist on the expression and activity of HYALs in IVD health and disease. ⋯ Although HYAL-1, HYAL-2 and HYAL-3 are all expressed in the IVD, HYAL-2 seems to have the highest pathophysiological relevance. Nonetheless, further studies will be needed to comprehensively elucidate its significance and to determine its potential as a therapeutic target. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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To investigate the age-based normal values of sagittal parameters and establish the relationships between them in Chinese population. ⋯ The normal values of sagittal parameters were presented and changed with age in Chinese asymptomatic population. The gender differences existed in sagittal parameters. The relationships between PI and other parameters were established which could be used for further research. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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Numerous candidate genes and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been identified in the background of lumbar disc degeneration (LDD). However, in most of these underpowered studies, definitions of LDD are inconsistent; moreover, many of the findings have not been replicated and are contradictory. Our aim was to characterize LDD by well-defined phenotypes and possible endophenotypes and analyse the association between these and candidate vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms on a large (N = 1426) dataset. ⋯ Understanding relationships between phenotype and gene variants is crucial for describing the pathways leading to the multifactorial, polygenic degeneration process and LDD-related conditions. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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The objective of this study was to test the correlation between the apex of lumbar lordosis (LLA) and pelvic incidence (PI) in asymptomatic adults, and to establish predictive formulae based on the PI to obtain the reference values of lumbar sagittal parameters. ⋯ The PI has strong correlations with the LLA, LAPL, LL, LLUA and LLLA, which demonstrates that the specific lumbar shape can be affected by the pelvic morphology. Moreover, predictive models for ideal lumbar sagittal parameters based on the PI have been developed, contributing to the design of precise and individualized preoperative plans. These slides can be retrieved under Electronic Supplementary Material.
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Unfortunately, the following reference was missed out in the original publication.