Determining Accessibility of Anterior Cervicothoracic Spine Based on Age and Gender: Radiographic Analysis of Computed Tomography Scans.

 The approachability of the cervicothoracic region anteriorly based on age and gender, and the possibility of anatomic variances in different geographic populations have not been previously investigated. The aim of the present work was to perform a radiographic analysis of Brazilian patients to assess anterior approachability of the cervicothoracic junction based on age and gender.  Retrospective radiographic analysis of 300 computed tomography scans.

Minimally invasive swine spine surgery training: technical aspects, benefits, and anatomical limitations.

Objective: To describe the technical specificities and feasibility of simulation of minimally invasive spine surgery in live pigs, as well as similarities and differences in comparison to surgery in humans.

Methods: A total of 22 Large White class swine models, weighing between 60 and 80kg, were submitted to surgical simulations, performed during theoretical-practical courses for training surgical techniques (microsurgical and endoscopic lumbar decompression; percutaneous pedicular instrumentation; lateral access to the thoracic spine, and anterior and retroperitoneal to the lumbar spine, and management of complications) by 86 spine surgeons. For each surgical technique, porcine anatomy (similarities and differences in relation to human anatomy), access route, and dimensions of the instruments and implants used were evaluated.

Knowledge and Attitude Regarding Radiation Exposure Among Spine Surgeons in Latin America.

Background: Spine surgeons are exposed to high amounts of radiation from fluoroscopic procedures during their lifetime. In this study, we evaluated spine surgeons' knowledge of and attitude regarding radiation exposure during spine surgery.

Methods: We developed a questionnaire including questions about surgeons' characteristics and knowledge of and attitude regarding radiation exposure during spine surgery.

Subclinical infection estimation in the intervertebral disc (SPInE-ID): protocol for a prospective cohort.

Introduction: Low back pain and vertebral endplate abnormalities are common conditions within the population. Subclinical infection caused by indolent pathogens can potentially lead to these findings, with differentiation between them notably challenging from a clinical perspective. Progressive infection of the intervertebral disc has been extensively associated with increasing low back pain, with specifically implicated with in relation to sciatica.

Assessment of a Learning Strategy among Spine Surgeons.

Study Design: Pilot test, observational study.

Objective: To evaluate objectively the knowledge transfer provided by theoretical and practical activities during AOSpine courses for spine surgeons.

Methods: During two AOSpine principles courses, 62 participants underwent precourse assessment, which consisted of questions about their professional experience, preferences regarding adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) classification, and classifying the curves by means of the Lenke classification of two AIS clinical cases.

Effects of transporting an infant on the posture of women during walking and standing still.

We investigated the effects on women of carrying an infant in front, focusing on the pelvic and spinal posture and the displacement of the body's center of gravity. For such, we compared mothers to non-mothers not carrying anything or carrying the same load (a doll) and the mothers carrying their infants. Twenty mothers and 44 women who did not have children were analyzed for their movement and posture during walking and standing still with a motion capture system.

Feasibility of intralaminar, lateral mass, or pedicle axis vertebra screws in children under 10 years of age: a tomographic study.

Background: There are several techniques for screw insertion in upper cervical spine surgery, and the use of the 3.5-mm screw is usually the standard. However, there is no consensus regarding the feasibility of using these screws in the pediatric population.

Spinal cord regeneration: the action of neurotrophin-3 in spinal cord injury in rats.

Objective: For many years, it was believed that medullary regeneration could not occur, although currently there are many trials using neurotrophic factors, stem cells, fetal medulla grafts, peripheral nerve grafts, and antibodies against myelin-associated proteins that demonstrate the existence of the possibility of spinal cord regeneration. The purpose of this study was to investigate the action of neurotrophin-3, a novel neurotrophic factor.

Methods: The New York University impactor, a standardized device for delivery of spinal cord injuries was used on 33 rats, which were divided into 2 groups: a control group receiving distilled water intraperitoneally and a treatment group receiving neurotrophin-3 intraperitoneally.