Surgical management of cervical malignant spinal lesions: a retrospective study of cervical spine metastases and multiple myeloma cases.

Purpose: This study introduces a retrospective analysis of the surgical management of 213 consecutive cases of cervical spine metastases and Multiple Myeloma Cases.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data in a single surgical center of patients who underwent surgery for tumors of the cervical spine between 1994 and 2017. Exclusion criteria were intradural tumors and primary tumors.

Kinetic and Mechanistic Release Studies on Hyaluronan Hydrogels for Their Potential Use as a pH-Responsive Drug Delivery Device.

Hyaluronic acid, a biocompatible polymer, holds significant potential for drug delivery applications. Its variable degree of protonation, which entails tunable physical properties, makes it an ideal candidate for developing pH-sensitive hydrogels. Like other smart drug delivery systems, pH-responsive hydrogels can enhance medical treatment and expedite the healing process.

High-Throughput Screening and Proteomic Characterization of Compounds Targeting Myeloid-Derived Suppressor Cells.

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are a heterogeneous cell population of incompletely differentiated immune cells. They are known to suppress T cell activity and are implicated in multiple chronic diseases, which make them an attractive cell population for drug discovery. Here, we characterized the baseline proteomes and phospho-proteomes of mouse MDSC differentiated from a progenitor cell line to a depth of 7000 proteins and phosphorylation sites.

Surgical treatment of craniocervical instability: comparison of two constructs regarding clinical and radiological outcomes of 100 patients.

Purpose: There is an increased demand for surgical solutions to treat craniocervical instability. This retrospective study demonstrates the clinical and radiological outcomes of unstable craniocervical junction treated with occipitocervical fusion.

Material And Methods: The mean age of 52 females and 48 males was 56.

Long-term trends in grassland bird relative abundance on focal grassland landscapes in Missouri.

North American grassland birds have widely declined over the past 50 years, largely due to anthropogenic-driven loss of native prairie habitat. In response to these declines, many conservation programs have been implemented to help secure wildlife habitat on private and public lands. The Grasslands Coalition is one such initiative established to advance the conservation of grassland birds in Missouri.

Cement discoplasty for managing lumbar spine pseudarthrosis in elderly patients: a less invasive alternative approach for failed posterior lumbar spine interbody fusion.

Purpose: A retrospective cohort study was performed to evaluate pseudoarthrosis treatment results by injection of cement in disc space of failed fusion in posterior lumbar interbody fusion in patients above 65 years.

Methods: Forty-five patients above 65 years with symptomatic pseudarthrosis after lumbar spine fusion were treated by cement injection in the affected disc space.

Results: There were 30 females and 15 males.

T cell-mediated elimination of cancer cells by blocking CEACAM6-CEACAM1 interaction.

Carcinoembryonic antigen-related cell adhesion molecule 6 (CEACAM6), a cell surface receptor, is expressed on normal epithelial tissue and highly expressed in cancers of high unmet medical need, such as non-small cell lung, pancreatic, and colorectal cancer. CEACAM receptors undergo homo- and heterophilic interactions thereby regulating normal tissue homeostasis and angiogenesis, and in cancer, tumor invasion and metastasis. CEACAM6 expression on malignant plasma cells inhibits antitumor activity of T cells, and we hypothesize a similar function on epithelial cancer cells.

Management of Symptomatic Cervical Spine Pseudarthrosis: A Suggested Algorithm for Surgical Planning.

Background: The clinical outcome of anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF) correlates with fusion rates. There is a debate about how patients with symptomatic pseudarthrosis should be managed. In this study, a treatment plan is developed based on the surgical results of 95 patients and the recent literature.

Natural Presentation of Glycosaminoglycans in Synthetic Matrices for 3D Angiogenesis Models.

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are long, linear polysaccharides that occur in the extracellular matrix of higher organisms and are either covalently attached to protein cores, as proteoglycans or in free form. Dependent on their chemical composition and structure, GAGs orchestrate a wide range of essential functions in tissue homeostasis. Accordingly, GAG-based biomaterials play a major role in tissue engineering.

Glycan-Lectin Interactions in Cancer and Viral Infections and How to Disrupt Them.

Glycan-lectin interactions play an essential role in different cellular processes. One of their main functions is involvement in the immune response to pathogens or inflammation. However, cancer cells and viruses have adapted to avail themselves of these interactions.

Bottom-up assembly of biomedical relevant fully synthetic extracellular vesicles.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are fundamental for intercellular communication and influence nearly every process in cell physiology. However, because of their intricate molecular complexity, quantitative knowledge on their signaling mechanisms is missing, particularly impeding their therapeutic application. We used a complementary and quantitative engineering approach based on sequential synthetic bottom-up assembly of fully functional EVs with precisely controlled lipid, protein, and RNA composition.

Convolutional neural network-based automated segmentation and labeling of the lumbar spine X-ray.

Purpose: This study investigated the segmentation metrics of different segmentation networks trained on 730 manually annotated lateral lumbar spine X-rays to test the generalization ability and robustness which are the basis of clinical decision support algorithms.

Methods: Instance segmentation networks were compared to semantic segmentation networks based on different metrics. The study cohort comprised diseased spines and postoperative images with metallic implants.

Results of Four-Level Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Using Stand-Alone Interbody Titanium Cages.

Study Design: This is a retrospective study with a minimum follow-up of 2 years.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess the long-term outcomes after performing the four-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in the treatment of degenerative cervical spine disease using stand-alone titanium cages.

Overview Of Literature: Over the last decades, a rapid increase in the use of stand-alone cages for ACDF has been observed.

Symptomatic Intracranial Hemorrhage after Dural Tear in Spinal Surgery-A Series of 10 Cases and Review of the Literature.

Objective: Intracranial hemorrhage (IH) after spinal surgery is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication. Knowledge of predisposing factors and typical clinical signs is essential for early recognition, helping to prevent an unfavorable outcome.

Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed of patients with IH after spinal surgery treated in our institution between 2012 and 2018.

Evaluation of Spinal Fusion in Thoracic and Thoracolumbar Spine on Standard X-Rays: A New Grading System for Spinal Interbody Fusion.

Study Design: Retrospective evaluation of prospectively collected data.

Objective: Analyzing time course and stages of interbody fusion of a uniformly operated cohort, defining a grading system and establishing diagnosis-dependent periods of bone healing.

Methods: Sequential lateral radiographs of 238 patients (313 levels) with interbody fusion operated thoracoscopically were analyzed.

Vertebral Body Replacement With an Anchored Expandable Titanium Cage in the Cervical Spine: A Clinical and Radiological Evaluation.

Background: Expandable cervical cages have been used successfully to reconstruct the anterior spinal column.

Objective: To perform clinical and radiological evaluation of vertebral body replacement with an anchored expandable titanium cage in the cervical spine after single-level and 2-level corpectomies.

Methods: Between 2011 and 2017, 40 patients underwent a single-level (N = 32) or 2-level (N = 8) anterior corpectomy and fusion using an anchored expandable vertebral body replacement cage.

Small Physical Cross-Linker Facilitates Hyaluronan Hydrogels.

In this study, we demonstrate that small charged molecules (NH, GluA, dHA) can form physical cross-links between hyaluronan chains, facilitating polymerization reactions between synthetically introduced thiol groups (HA-DTPH). These hybrid hydrogels can be obtained under physiological conditions ideally suited for 3D cell culture systems. The type and concentration of a physical crosslinker can be adjusted to precisely tune mechanical properties as well as degradability of the desired hydrogel system.

Haematogenous Spondylodiscitis in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis: Case Series of 36 Patients.

Study Design: A retrospective study of 36 liver cirrhosis patients presenting with spondylodiscitis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze the characteristics of spondylodiscitis in the presence of liver cirrhosis and furthermore, to evaluate the outcome of surgery in this specific group of patients.

Summary Of Background Data: The incidence of haematogenous spondylodiscitis is increasing.

Development of a Pediatric PICC Team Under an Existing Sedation Service: A 5-Year Experience.

Objective: To examine our institutional experiences with ultrasound-guided peripherally inserted central catheter (US-PICC) placement by a dedicated US-PICC team under the umbrella of an existing pediatric sedation service.

Methods: Retrospective review of quality data examining 968 US-PICC encounters over a 5-year period from 2012 to 2016. Data for each encounter included line indications, success rate, dwelling time, need for sedation, and incidence of complications including venous thrombosis, infection, and accidental removal.

Effects of Polymethylmethacrylate Cement Viscosity and Bone Porosity on Cement Leakage and New Vertebral Fractures After Percutaneous Vertebroplasty: A Prospective Study.

Study Design: A prospective randomized study.

Objectives: To evaluate the effect of bone cement viscosity as well as of bone porosity on cement leakage during vertebroplasty and to analyze the occurrence of new vertebral fractures after the procedure.

Methods: Between April 2012 and December 2013, 60 patients suffering from osteoporotic vertebral fractures underwent vertebroplasty.

Reoperation rate after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion using standalone cages in degenerative disease: a study of 2,078 cases.

Background Context: Over the last two decades, there has been a rapid increase in the use of cervical spine interbody fusion cages. Reoperation rate remains an important determinant of procedural efficacy and safety.

Purpose: To evaluate the rate and reasons for reoperations in cervical spondylosis patients undergoing anterior decompression and fusion using stand-alone cervical interbody fusion cages.

What constitutes the fat signal detected by MRI in the spine of patients with ankylosing spondylitis? A prospective study based on biopsies obtained during planned spinal osteotomy to correct hyperkyphosis or spinal stenosis.

Objective: Study the MRI signal of fatty lesions (FL) by immunohistological analysis of vertebral body biopsies of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) compared with degenerative disc disease (DDD).

Methods: Biopsies obtained during planned surgery from vertebral edges where MRI signals of FL was detected were stained with H&E. Immunofluorescence (IF) staining was performed to quantify osteoblasts and osteoclasts.

Surgical treatment of type II odontoid fractures in elderly patients: a comparison of anterior odontoid screw fixation and posterior atlantoaxial fusion using the Magerl-Gallie technique.

Purpose: This single-centre retrospective study compared anterior odontoid screw fixation and posterior atlantoaxial fusion in the surgical treatment of type II B odontoid fractures according to Grauer in elderly patients.

Methods: Between 1994 and 2014, 133 consecutive patients above 60 years presenting with type II B odontoid fracture were treated surgically in our department. They were divided retrospectively into two groups.

Tuning RGD Motif and Hyaluronan Density to Study Integrin Binding.

Well-controlled surfaces with immobilized substrates enable novel approaches to investigate specific aspects of biological processes related to cell adhesion or motility. A subset of integrins, cellular transmembrane glycoproteins, recognize the evolutionarily conserved tripeptide sequence RGD, and anchor cells to their surrounding proteins as well as mediate bidirectional signaling. In this study, the main question was how co-presentation of hyaluronan (HA), an essential component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), and the RGD motif affect integrin binding.