Middle-term surgical outcomes of microscopic posterior decompression for far-out syndrome.

Objective: Far-out syndrome (FOS) is a rare incident caused by L5 nerve root entrapment in the far-out area, the L5-S1 extraforaminal area between the transverse process and the sacral ala. The purpose of this study is to disclose the middle-term surgical outcomes of microscopic posterior decompression in the far-out area (MPDFA).

Material And Methods: From June 2008 to November 2010, eight patients with FOS (six men and two women, mean age 65.

Microscopic bilateral decompression through unilateral laminotomy for lumbar canal stenosis in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Object: Microscopic bilateral decompression through a unilateral laminotomy (MBDUL) is a minimally invasive technique used to treat lumbar canal stenosis (LCS). In the present study, MBDUL was performed to treat LCS in eight patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Methods: Surgical outcomes were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale (highest possible score 29).

The effect of laser irradiation for nucleus pulposus: an experimental study.

Background: The radicular pain caused by disc herniation can be explained by two mechanisms: the compression of the nerve root by the herniated disc or the irritation of the nerve root due to chemical factors. Percutaneous laser disc decompression (PLDD) was introduced for the treatment of lumbar disc hernias in the 1980s. Decompression of the nerve root is assumed to be an effective therapeutic mechanism for PLDD.

Src family kinase inhibitor PP1 reduces secondary damage after spinal cord compression in rats.

The synthetic pyrazolopyrimidine, 4-amino-5-(4-methylphenyl)-7-(t-butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine (PP1) is a novel, potent, and selective inhibitor of Src family tyrosine kinases. Vascular permeability appears to be mediated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), which requires the activation of downstream Src family kinases to exert its function. This study investigates the effects of PP1 on vascular permeability and inflammatory response in a rat spinal cord compression model.

Neuronal apolipoprotein E is not synthesized in neuron after focal ischemia in rat brain.

Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) is a major apolipoprotein in the central nervous system (CNS) that plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease. It may also be involved in other CNS disorders including ischemic injury. We investigated the changes of ApoE protein and mRNA expression in the brain with middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) to clarify its origin after focal ischemia in rats.

Posterior microendoscopic surgical approach for the degenerative cervical spine.

We describe the advantages and clarify the technical key points of a microendoscopic, minimally invasive technique to the posterior surgical approach for cervical degenerative disease. The authors studied the microendoscopic posterior approach using the METRx system in both cadaver models and in clinical cases. This new technique needs only a small surgical route thus reducing damage to the paraspinous muscles.