Deep learning model for automated detection of fresh and old vertebral fractures on thoracolumbar CT.

Purpose: To develop a deep learning system for automatic segmentation of compression fracture vertebral bodies on thoracolumbar CT and differentiate between fresh and old fractures.

Methods: We included patients with thoracolumbar fractures treated at our Hospital South Campus from January 2020 to December 2023, with prospective validation from January to June 2024, and used data from the North Campus from January to December 2023 for external validation. Fresh fractures were defined as back pain lasting less than 4 weeks, with MRI showing bone marrow edema (BME).

Relationship Between Paraspinal Sarcopenia and Lumbar Alignment and Facet Joint Osteoarthritis in Patients with Degenerative Lumbar Spinal Stenosis.

Study Design: Retrospective study analysis.

Objective: To explore association between degenerative spinal conditions and paraspinal sarcopenia in patients with severe degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS).

Background: Paraspinal muscles plays an essential role in stabilizing the spine.

IL-32 aggravates metabolic disturbance in human nucleus pulposus cells by activating FAT4-mediated Hippo/YAP signaling.

Extracellular matrix (ECM) metabolism disorders in the inflammatory microenvironment play a key role in the pathogenesis of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Interleukin-32 (IL-32) has been reported to be involved in the progression of various inflammatory diseases; however, it remains unclear whether it participates in the matrix metabolism of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the mechanism of IL-32 on regulating the ECM metabolism in the inflammatory microenvironment.

Maslinic acid alleviates intervertebral disc degeneration by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT and NF-κB signaling pathways.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is the cause of low back pain (LBP), and recent research has suggested that inflammatory cytokines play a significant role in this process. Maslinic acid (MA), a natural compound found in olive plants ( ), has anti-inflammatory properties, but its potential for treating IDD is unclear. The current study aims to investigate the effects of MA on TNFα-induced IDD and in other models.

Comparing perioperative outcomes between regional anesthesia and general anesthesia in patients undergoing hip fracture surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Purpose: Nearly all patients with hip fractures undergo surgical treatment. The use of different anesthesia techniques during surgery may influence the clinical outcomes. The optimal anesthetic technique for patients undergoing hip fracture surgery is still controversial.

Correlation analysis of surgical outcomes and spino-pelvic parameters in patients with degenerative lumbar scoliosis.

Objectives: The study aims to analyze factors that affect the postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of degenerative lumbar scoliosis (DLS) patients and explore the appropriate pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis (PI-LL) value for Chinese DLS patients.

Methods: DLS patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were included in this study. General information, spino-pelvic parameters, and HRQOL were collected.

Facet joint tropism, pelvic incidence and intervertebral height index: associations with facet joint osteoarthritis in lumbar spinal stenosis.

Background Context: Facet joint osteoarthritis (FJOA) is associated with lumbar disc degeneration and has a significant role in the development of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). The relationship between various radiographic parameters and the grade of FJOA is not well understood.

Purpose: To explore radiographical parameters associated with FJOA in LSS without lumbar dynamic instability.

Preoperative Decreased Hounsfield Unit Values of Cervical Vertebrae and the Relative Cross-Sectional Area of Flexion/Extension Paraspinal Muscles Are Novel Risk Factors for the Loss of Cervical Lordosis after Open-Door Laminoplasty.

Open-door laminoplasty is widely used for patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM). However, the loss of cervical lordosis (LCL) seems to be unavoidable in the long-term follow-up after surgery, which may affect the clinical outcomes. The risk factors for this complication are still unclear.

YTHDF1 Enhances Chondrogenic Differentiation by Activating the Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling Pathway.

Cartilage is derived from the chondrogenic differentiation of stem cells, for which the regulatory mechanism has not been fully elucidated. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) messenger RNA (mRNA) methylation is the most common posttranscriptional modification in eukaryotic mRNAs and is mediated by m6A regulators. However, whether m6A regulators play roles in chondrogenic differentiation is unknown.

Evaluating bone quality and asymmetrical aplasia of the thoracic vertebral body in Lenke 1A adolescent idiopathic scoliosis using hounsfield units.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis.

Objective: To evaluate bone quality and investigate asymmetrical development of the thoracic vertebral body in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) based on Hounsfield unit (HU) measurements obtained from computed-tomography (CT) scans.

Summary Of Background Data: HU value demonstrated higher reliability and accuracy than the traditional method, indicating that they could be used to individually evaluate and effectively assess the bone quality of every vertebra in the CT films.

Identifying the key genes regulating mesenchymal stem cells chondrogenic differentiation: an in vitro study.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) possess the potential to differentiate into chondrocytes, which makes them an ideal source for healing cartilage defects. Here, we seek to identify the essential genes participating in MSCs chondrogenesis.

Methods: Human MSCs were induced for chondrogenesis for 7, 14, and 21 days using a high-density micromass culture system, and RNA was extracted for RNA-seq.

Irisin enhances chondrogenic differentiation of human mesenchymal stem cells via Rap1/PI3K/AKT axis.

Background: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have been proven to have inherent chondrogenic differentiation potential, which appears to be used in cartilage regeneration. Increasing evidence suggests that irisin enhances osteoblast differentiation of MSCs, but little is known about its potential on chondrogenic differentiation.

Methods: In the study, we investigated the effects of irisin on chondrogenic differentiation of hMSCs using a high-density pellet culture system.

Irisin Ameliorates Intervertebral Disc Degeneration by Activating LATS/YAP/CTGF Signaling.

Unbalanced metabolism of an extracellular matrix (ECM) in nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) is widely acknowledged as the primary cause of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). Irisin, a novel myokine, is cleaved from fibronectin type III domain-containing 5 (FNDC5) and has recently been proven to regulate the metabolism of ECM. However, little is known about its potential on NPCs and the development of IDD.

Comparison of anterior or posterior approach in surgical treatment of thoracic and lumbar tuberculosis: a retrospective case-control study.

Background: With the widespread use of the posterior surgery, more and more surgeons chose posterior surgery to treat thoracic and lumbar tuberculosis. But others still believed that the anterior surgery is more conducive to eradicating the lesions, and easier to place larger bone pieces for bone graft fusion. We compared the clinical and radiological outcomes of anterior and posterior surgical approaches and presented our views.

Melatonin reverses tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced metabolic disturbance of human nucleus pulposus cells via MTNR1B/Gαi2/YAP signaling.

: Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), the main cause of low back pain, is closely related to the inflammatory microenvironment in the nucleus pulposus (NP). Tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) plays an important role in inflammation-related metabolic disturbance of NP cells. Melatonin has been proven to regulate the metabolism of NP cells, but whether it can protect NP cells from TNF-α-induced damage is still unclear.

Corrigendum to "Melatonin Reverses the Loss of Stemness Induced by TNF- in Human Bone Marrow Mesenchymal Stem Cells through Upregulation of YAP Expression".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2019/6568394.].

Aloin Regulates Matrix Metabolism and Apoptosis in Human Nucleus Pulposus Cells via the TAK1/NF-B/NLRP3 Signaling Pathway.

Intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD) is a degenerative disease that is characterized by decreased matrix synthesis and extra degradation, nucleus pulposus cells (NPCs) apoptosis, and infiltration of inflammatory factors. Aloin, a colored compound from aloe plants, has been shown to be effective against skeletal degenerative diseases, but it is unclear whether it is protective against IDD. Herein, we investigated the role of aloin in NPCs.

Inhibition of nuclear receptor RORα attenuates cartilage damage in osteoarthritis by modulating IL-6/STAT3 pathway.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is characterized by cartilage destruction, chronic inflammation, and local pain. Evidence showed that retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor-α (RORα) is crucial in cartilage development and OA pathogenesis. Here, we investigated the role and molecular mechanism of RORα, an important member of the nuclear receptor family, in regulating the development of OA pathologic features.

Inverse Agonist of Retinoid-Related Orphan Receptor-Alpha Prevents Apoptosis and Degeneration in Nucleus Pulposus Cells via Upregulation of YAP.

Intervertebral disc degenerative disease (IDD) is the most common degenerative spine disease, which leads to chronic low back pain and symptoms in the lower extremities. In this study, we found that ROR, a member of the retinoid-related orphan receptor family, is significantly elevated in nucleus pulposus tissue in IDD patients. The elevation of ROR is associated with increased apoptosis of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells.

Melatonin promotes bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell osteogenic differentiation and prevents osteoporosis development through modulating circ_0003865 that sponges miR-3653-3p.

Background: Little is known about the implications of circRNAs in the effects of melatonin (MEL) on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) osteogenic differentiation and osteoporosis (OP) progression. The aim of our study was to investigate circRNAs in MEL-regulated BMSC differentiation and OP progression.

Methods: BMSC osteogenic differentiation was measured by qRT-PCR, western blot (WB), Alizarin Red, and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) staining.

Identification of key potential targets for TNF-α/TNFR1-related intervertebral disc degeneration by bioinformatics analysis.

Background: Bioinformatics analysis was performed on gene expression profile microarray data to identify the key genes activated through the TNF-α/TNFR1 signaling pathway in intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD). The common differentially expressed genes (co-DEGs) were calculated in nucleus pulposus (NP) cells and annulus fibrosus (AF) cells under TNF-α treatment or TNFR1 knockdown, which reveals the potential mechanism of TNF-α involvement in IDD and may provide new therapeutic targets for IDD.

Methods: Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in TNF-α-treated or TNFR1-knockdown NP cells and AF cells were identified.