Local anesthesia, epidural anesthesia and general anesthesia comparison in lumbar disc herniation: a network meta-analysis.

There were 3 major anesthesia methods for discectomy: local, epidural and general. A lot of studies has been established to compare these three methods in different aspects, however, the result is still controversial. We conducted this network meta-analysis to evaluate these methods.

Comparison of surgical outcomes of lumbar disc herniation using local anesthesia and epidural anesthesia: A meta-analysis.

We performed this meta-analysis to evaluate the effects of epidural anesthesia and local anesthesia on the surgical outcomes of lumbar disc herniation (DH).Electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, and the Chinese Academic Journal Full-text Database were searched to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported on the effects of local anesthesia and epidural anesthesia in lumbar DH surgical management. Evaluation indicators included: onset time of anesthesia, patient satisfaction, and the rate of adverse effects.

Use of a locking intramedullary nail for the treatment of initial varus proximal humeral fracture: a prospective pilot study.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of locked intramedullary nailing, rather than locking plate fixation combined with fibular allograft augmentation, for initial varus proximal humeral fractures.

Methods: This prospective pilot study enrolled patients with initial varus proximal humeral fractures that were treated with a locking intramedullary nail. Radiography was performed to evaluate fracture healing.

Hypoxia facilitates the survival of nucleus pulposus cells in serum deprivation by down-regulating excessive autophagy through restricting ROS generation.

Nucleus pulposus (NP) cells reside in a hypoxic environment in vivo, while the mechanisms of how NP cells maintain survival under hypoxia are not clear. Autophagy is an important physiological response to hypoxia and implicated in the survival regulation in most types of cells. This study was designed to investigate the role of autophagy in the survival of NP cells under hypoxia.

The responses of autophagy and apoptosis to oxidative stress in nucleus pulposus cells: implications for disc degeneration.

Background/aims: Apoptosis and autophagy are two patterns of programmed cell death which play important roles in the intervertebral disc degeneration. Oxidative stress is an important factor for the induction of programmed cell death. However, the cellular reactions linking autophagy to apoptosis of disc cells under oxidative stress have never been described.

The effect of transforming growth factor β1 on the crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis in the annulus fibrosus cells under serum deprivation.

Autophagy and apoptosis are important in maintaining the metabolic homeostasis of intervertebral disc cells, and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is able to delay intervertebral disc degeneration. This study determined the effect of TGF-β1 on the crosstalk between autophagy and apoptosis in the disc cells, with the aim to provide molecular mechanism support for the prevention and treatment of disc degeneration. Annulus fibrosus (AF) cells were isolated and cultured under serum starvation.