Off-Label Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2 Use Results in Successful Posterolateral Lumbar Fusion in a Veteran Population.

Introduction: Patients within the US Veterans Health Administration (VA) system have higher rates of comorbidities and chronic pain, increasing risks of complications/poor outcomes following spine surgery. Although the use of bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP-2) is established for anterior lumbar interbody fusion, its indications for off-label use in posterolateral fusion are unclear. The objective of this study was to evaluate safety and utility of BMP-2 in posterolateral fusion through a 15-year experience at the VA.

Surgical Parameters During Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty Predict Post-Surgical Kinematics During the Hand-to-Head Motion.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify surgical parameters during reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) that predict post-surgical kinematics during the hand-to-head motion (H2H) and to identify associations between kinematics and outcomes. We hypothesized that greater humeral retroversion and lateralization predict kinematics, and that more scapular upward rotation is associated with better PROs and more range of motion (ROM).

Methods: Thirty-five post-RSA patients consented to participate.

Focused Perioperative Nutritional Supplementation Reduces Wound Complications in Patients Undergoing Spinal Fusion Surgery.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: To evaluate intensive postoperative nutritional supplementation on wound healing complications and outcomes after spinal fusion surgery.

Background: Poor nutritional status leads to inferior postoperative outcomes by increasing mortality and predisposing patients to infection and wound healing complications.

Formal Radiologist Interpretations of Intraoperative Spine Radiographs Have Low Clinical Value.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical relevance, usefulness, and financial implications of intraoperative radiograph interpretation by radiologists in spine surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Due to rising health care costs, spine surgery is under scrutiny to maximize value-based care.

Characterizing Negative Online Reviews of Spine Surgeons.

Design: Retrospective review.

Objective: Characterize negative reviews of spine surgeons in the United States.

Summary: Physician rating websites significantly influence the selection of doctors by other patients.

Margin convergence vs. superior capsular reconstruction for massive irreparable rotator cuff tears: outcomes are equivalent unless there is preoperative pseudoparesis.

Background: Margin convergence (MC) and superior capsular reconstruction (SCR) are common treatment options for irreparable rotator cuff tears in younger patients, although they differ in associated costs and operative times. The purpose of this study was to compare range of motion, patient-reported outcomes (PROs), and reoperation rates following MC and SCR. We hypothesized superior outcomes after SCR relative to MC regarding functional outcomes, subjective measures, and reoperation rates.

Criteria-based return to sport testing after open Latarjet reveals residual deficits and can be utilized for sports clearance with excellent outcomes at mean 3.6 year follow-up: A small case series of competitive athletes.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the use of a criteria-based return to sport (CBRTS) test to evaluate readiness for return to play (RTP) in competitive athletes that underwent open Latarjet.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Methods: Ten competitive athletes (mean age 19.

Pseudoparesis and pseudoparalysis in the setting of massive irreparable rotator cuff tear: demographic, anatomic, and radiographic risk factors.

Background: The primary purpose of this study was to identify demographic, anatomic, and radiographic risk factors for active forward elevation (AFE) <90° in the setting of massive, irreparable rotator cuff tear (miRCT). The secondary purpose was to identify characteristics differentiating between patients with pseudoparalysis (AFE <45°) and pseudoparesis (AFE >45° but <90°).

Methods: This was a retrospective case-control study reviewing patients with miRCTs at a single institution between January 12, 2016 and November 26, 2020.

Criteria-based return-to-sport testing helps identify functional deficits in young athletes following posterior labral repair but may not reduce recurrence or increase return to play.

Background: The purpose of this study was to compare recurrent instability and return to play (RTP) in young athletes who underwent clearance to full activity based on a validated return-to-sport (RTS) test to those who underwent time-based clearance following primary posterior labral repair.

Methods: This was a retrospective review of athletes with posterior shoulder instability who underwent primary arthroscopic posterior labral repair from 2012 to 2021 with minimum 1-year follow-up. Patients who underwent RTS testing at a minimum of 5 months postoperatively were compared to a historic control cohort of patients who underwent time-based clearance.

Formation and function of the meningeal arachnoid barrier around the developing mouse brain.

The arachnoid barrier, a component of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (B-CSFB) in the meninges, is composed of epithelial-like, tight-junction-expressing cells. Unlike other central nervous system (CNS) barriers, its' developmental mechanisms and timing are largely unknown. Here, we show that mouse arachnoid barrier cell specification requires the repression of Wnt-β-catenin signaling and that constitutively active β-catenin can prevent its formation.

Stuck on you: Meninges cellular crosstalk in development.

The spatial and temporal development of the brain, overlying meninges (fibroblasts, vasculature and immune cells) and calvarium are highly coordinated. In particular, the timing of meningeal fibroblasts into molecularly distinct pia, arachnoid and dura subtypes coincides with key developmental events in the brain and calvarium. Further, the meninges are positioned to influence development of adjacent structures and do so via depositing basement membrane and producing molecular cues to regulate brain and calvarial development.

Retinoic acid signaling in mouse retina endothelial cells is required for early angiogenic growth.

The development of the retinal vasculature is essential to maintain health of the tissue, but the developmental mechanisms are not completely understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the cell-autonomous role of retinoic acid signaling in endothelial cells during retina vascular development. Using a temporal and cell-specific mouse model to disrupt retinoic acid signaling in endothelial cells in the postnatal retina (PdgfbdnRAR403 mutants), we discovered that angiogenesis in the retina is significantly decreased with a reduction in retina vascularization, endothelial tip cell number and filipodia, and endothelial 'crowding' of stalk cells.

Validation of dynamic biplane radiography and three-dimensional model-based tracking for evaluation of dynamic thumb kinematics.

Dynamic biplane radiography (DBR) in conjunction with model-based tracking (MBT) has provided a suitable mechanism for biomechanical assessment of many joints but has not yet achieved widespread use at the thumb and wrist. The purpose of this work is to determine the accuracy of DBR with markerless MBT for the evaluation of thumb and wrist joint kinematics. Three 0.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Measured Cross-Sectional Area of the Median Nerve.

Purpose: The size of the median nerve may serve as a useful parameter to predict carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in a subset of patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate magnetic resonance imaging-based measurements of median nerve cross-sectional area (CSA) to examine trends between patient subgroups and CSA that may assist in predicting the individuals who are most likely to develop CTS symptoms.

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 1,273 wrist magnetic resonance images was performed, and the images were analyzed to evaluate the median nerve CSA at the level of the pisiform and the hook of hamate.

Implant characteristics affect in vivo shoulder kinematics during multiplanar functional motions after reverse shoulder arthroplasty.

The purpose of this study was to determine how implant characteristics affect in vivo shoulder kinematics after reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). Kinematics of the affected upper limb were measured in 32 participants during five motions (scapular plane abduction, hand-to-head, hand-to-back, internal/external rotation at 90° abduction, and circumduction) using optical motion capture. Shoulder abduction, plane of elevation, and internal/external rotation range of motion (ROM), peak angles, and continuous kinematics waveforms were calculated for each motion.

Targeted RNA Sequencing of VZV-Infected Brain Vascular Adventitial Fibroblasts Indicates That Amyloid May Be Involved in VZV Vasculopathy.

Background And Objectives: Compared with stroke controls, patients with varicella zoster virus (VZV) vasculopathy have increased amyloid in CSF, along with increased amylin (islet amyloid polypeptide [IAPP]) and anti-VZV antibodies. Thus, we examined the gene expression profiles of VZV-infected primary human brain vascular adventitial fibroblasts (HBVAFs), one of the initial arterial cells infected in VZV vasculopathy, to determine whether they are a potential source of amyloid that can disrupt vasculature and potentiate inflammation.

Methods: Mock- and VZV-infected quiescent HBVAFs were harvested at 3 days postinfection.

Corrigendum: Living on the Edge of the CNS: Meninges Cell Diversity in Health and Disease.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.

Targeted RNA Sequencing of Formalin-Fixed, Paraffin-Embedded Temporal Arteries From Giant Cell Arteritis Cases Reveals Viral Signatures.

Background And Objectives: Varicella zoster virus (VZV) antigen has been detected in temporal arteries (TAs) of individuals with giant cell arteritis (GCA), the most common systemic vasculitis in older adults. Thus, we explored the contribution of VZV to GCA pathogenesis.

Methods: Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded TA sections from biopsy-positive GCA participants with VZV antigen (GCA/VZV-positive; n = 20) and without (GCA/VZV-negative, n = 20) and from normal participants with VZV antigen (control/VZV-positive, n = 11) and without (control/VZV-negative, n = 20) were analyzed by targeted RNA sequencing of the whole human transcriptome (BioSpyder TempO-Seq).

Not just a 'drain': venules sprout brain capillaries.

The cerebral cortex requires a dense, highly organized network of vasculature that ensures high-volume and continuous oxygen delivery to metabolically active neuronal circuits. In a recent paper, Coelho-Santos et al. used in vivo two-photon microscopy to reveal how this precise network is constructed during a short window of mouse postnatal development.

Living on the Edge of the CNS: Meninges Cell Diversity in Health and Disease.

The meninges are the fibrous covering of the central nervous system (CNS) which contain vastly heterogeneous cell types within its three layers (dura, arachnoid, and pia). The dural compartment of the meninges, closest to the skull, is predominantly composed of fibroblasts, but also includes fenestrated blood vasculature, an elaborate lymphatic system, as well as immune cells which are distinct from the CNS. Segregating the outer and inner meningeal compartments is the epithelial-like arachnoid barrier cells, connected by tight and adherens junctions, which regulate the movement of pathogens, molecules, and cells into and out of the cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) and brain parenchyma.