The influence of osteoporosis on mechanical complications in lumbar fusion surgery: a systematic review.

Background: Adults undergoing spine surgery often have underlying osteoporosis, which may be a risk factor for postoperative complications. Although these associations have been described, osteoporosis remains profoundly underdiagnosed and undertreated in the spine surgery population. A thorough, comprehensive systematic review summarizing the relationships between bone mineral density (BMD) and specific complications of lumbar fusion surgery could be a valuable resource for raising awareness and supporting clinical practice changes.

Association between opioid utilization and patient-reported outcome measures following lumbar spine surgery.

Background Context: The patient-reported outcomes measurement information system (PROMIS), created by the National institute of Health, is a reliable and valid survey for patients with lumbar spine pathology. Preoperative opioid use has been shown to be an important predictor variable of self-reported health status in legacy patient-reported outcome measures.

Purpose: To investigate the impact of chronic preoperative opiate use on PROMIS survey scores.

Degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis: review of current classifications and proposal of a novel classification system.

Purpose: To review existing classification systems for degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS), propose a novel classification designed to better address clinically relevant radiographic and clinical features of disease, and determine the inter- and intraobserver reliability of this new system for classifying DS.

Methods: The proposed classification system includes four components: 1) segmental dynamic instability, 2) location of spinal stenosis, 3) sagittal alignment, and 4) primary clinical presentation. To establish the reliability of this system, 12 observers graded 10 premarked test cases twice each.

Benign Glioma.

Benign glioma broadly refers to a heterogeneous group of slow-growing glial tumors with low proliferative rates and a more indolent clinical course. These tumors may also be described as "low-grade" glioma (LGG) and are classified as WHO grade I or II lesions according to the Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System (CNS) (Louis et al. in Acta Neuropathol 114:97-109, 2007).

The Natural History of Coiled Cerebral Aneurysms Stratified by Modified Raymond-Roy Occlusion Classification.

Objective: The natural history and long-term durability of Guglielmi detachable coil (GDC) embolization is still unknown. We hypothesize a stepwise decrease in durability of embolized cerebral aneurysms as stratified by the Modified Raymond-Roy Classification (MRRC).

Methods: First-time GDC-embolized cerebral aneurysms were retrospectively reviewed from 2004 to 2015.

CART Immunotherapy: Development, Success, and Translation to Malignant Gliomas and Other Solid Tumors.

T cell chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) technology has allowed for the introduction of a high degree of tumor selectivity into adoptive cell transfer therapies. Evolution of this technology has produced a robust antitumor immunotherapeutic strategy that has resulted in dramatic outcomes in liquid cancers. CAR-expressing T-cells (CARTs) targeting CD19 and CD20 have been successfully used in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, producing sustained tumor regressions in a majority of treated patients.

Immunologic and gene expression profiles of spontaneous canine oligodendrogliomas.

Malignant glioma (MG), the most common primary brain tumor in adults, is extremely aggressive and uniformly fatal. Several treatment strategies have shown significant preclinical promise in murine models of glioma; however, none have produced meaningful clinical responses in human patients. We hypothesize that introduction of an additional preclinical animal model better approximating the complexity of human MG, particularly in interactions with host immune responses, will bridge the existing gap between these two stages of testing.

Recurrent glioma clinical trial, CheckMate-143: the game is not over yet.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common, and aggressive, primary brain tumor in adults. With a median patient survival of less than two years, GBM represents one of the biggest therapeutic challenges of the modern era. Even with the best available treatment, recurrence rates are nearly 100% and therapeutic options at the time of relapse are extremely limited.

Immune System, Friend or Foe of Oncolytic Virotherapy?

Oncolytic viruses (OVs) are an emerging class of targeted anticancer therapies designed to selectively infect, replicate in, and lyse malignant cells without causing harm to normal, healthy tissues. In addition to direct oncolytic activity, OVs have shown dual promise as immunotherapeutic agents. The presence of viral infection and subsequently generated immunogenic tumor cell death trigger innate and adaptive immune responses that mediate further tumor destruction.

Dendritic cell based vaccination strategy: an evolving paradigm.

Malignant gliomas (MG), tumors of glial origin, are the most commonly diagnosed primary intracranial malignancies in adults. Currently available treatments have provided only modest improvements in overall survival and remain limited by inevitable local recurrence, necessitating exploration of novel therapies. Among approaches being investigated, one of the leading contenders is immunotherapy, which aims to modulate immune pathways to stimulate the selective destruction of malignant cells.