Safety of Lumbar Interbody Fusion Procedures for Degenerative Disc Disease: A Systematic Review With Network Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies.

Study Design: A network meta-analysis.

Objectives: Lumbar degenerative disc disease (LDDD) is an important issue in aging population, for which lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is a feasible management in cases refractory to conservative therapy. There are various techniques available to perform LIF, including posterior (PLIF), transforaminal (TLIF), and anterior (ALIF) approaches.

Effects of Anti-Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide for Migraines: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.

We aimed to evaluate the response rate of migraines by using anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (anti-CGRP) for patients with migraines. We searched three main medical databases up to 29 March 2019. No restriction on language and publication time were applied.

Effects of three common lumbar interbody fusion procedures for degenerative disc disease: A network meta-analysis of prospective studies.

Objectives: Lumbar interbody fusion (LIF) is a treatment option for patients with degenerative disc disease (DDD). However, the effects of the most common LIF procedures-posterior LIF, transforaminal LIF, and anterior LIF-for the treatment of patients with DDD remain controversial. This study evaluated the pain and function caused by the LIF procedures for the treatment of patients with DDD.

Hepatoprotective Activity of the Ethanolic Extract of Thunb. against Oxidative Stress-Induced Liver Injury.

Oxidative stress is an important pathological mechanism in various liver diseases. Thunb. (PM) can be used for the treatment of diseases associated with aging, hyperlipidemia, and oxidative stress in traditional Chinese medicine.

Trajectory of health-related quality of life and its determinants in patients who underwent lumbar spine surgery: a 1-year longitudinal study.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the trajectory and determinants of changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the first year after lumbar spine surgery.

Methods: A total of 154 consecutive patients who underwent lumbar spine surgery were included in this prospective longitudinal observational study. All participants were asked to complete a battery of questionnaires (Taiwanese version of World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF, Numerical Rating Scale for leg and back pain, Mandarin Chinese version of the Clinically Useful Depression Outcome Scale, and Chinese version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index).

Measurement properties of the Chinese version of the Mental Fatigue Scale for patients with traumatic brain injury.

Objectives: To translate the Mental Fatigue Scale into a Chinese version (CMFS), to develop a more valid and precise CMFS by using an item response theory-based model, and to examine the reliability and validity of the CMFS.

Methods: One hundred and fifty adults having traumatic brain injury for at least 6 months were included. Each participant completed a battery of questionnaires (i.

A Feasibility Randomized Controlled Crossover Trial of Home-Based Warm Footbath to Improve Sleep in the Chronic Phase of Traumatic Brain Injury.

Introduction: Sleep disturbance is a common complaint after traumatic brain injury (TBI). The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a home-based warm footbath intervention on sleep in patients with TBI.

Methods: This was a randomized controlled crossover study, and 23 adults with TBI were recruited and randomized to receive first a 30-minute, 41°C warm footbath and then a usual care, or vice versa, with each lasting 3 days and separated by a 3-day washout.

The natural compound 2,3,5,4'-tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-d glucoside protects against adriamycin-induced nephropathy through activating the Nrf2-Keap1 antioxidant pathway.

2,3,5,4'-Tetrahydroxystilbene-2-O-β-d-glucoside (THSG) is an active compound extracted from Polygonum multiflorum Thunb. This herb and radix Polygoni Multiflori preparata have been used to treat arteriosclerosis, hyperlipidemia, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes for thousands of years. This study aimed to investigate the protective effects of THSG in an Adriamycin (AD)-induced focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) mouse model and the underlying mechanisms in an in vitro system.

Baicalin Scavenged Reactive Oxygen Species and Protected Human Keratinocytes Against UVB-induced Cytotoxicity.

Ultraviolet B (UVB), with a wavelength of 280-320 nm, represents one of the most important environmental factors for skin disorders, including sunburn, hyperpigmentation, solar keratosis, solar elastosis and skin cancer. Therefore, protection against excessive UVA-induced damage is useful for prevention of sunburn and other human diseases. Baicalin, a major component of traditional Chinese medicine Scutellaria baicalensis, has been reported to possess antioxidant and cytostatic capacities.

Contribution of Matrix Metallopeptidase-1 Genotypes, Smoking, Alcohol Drinking and Areca Chewing to Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Susceptibility.

Background/aim: The up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) has been demonstrated to be correlated with lymph node metastasis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC); however, the genotypic role of MMP-1 is not well understand. The present study aimed to assess the contribution of MMP-1 promoter -1607 genotypes, combined with environmental carcinogens, on the predisposition to NPC tumorigenesis.

Materials And Methods: The MMP-1 promoter -1607 genotypes were examined for 352 age- and gender-matched controls and 176 NPC patients by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) methodology.

Better Height Restoration, Greater Kyphosis Correction, and Fewer Refractures of Cemented Vertebrae by Using an Intravertebral Reduction Device: a 1-Year Follow-up Study.

Purpose: This study compared the radiologic and clinical outcomes of kyphoplasty with intravertebral reduction device (IRD) and vertebroplasty (VP) in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs).

Materials And Methods: We enrolled 75 patients with OVCFs who were aged >60 years and treated them through VP or kyphoplasty with IRD. The radiologic outcomes, namely the anterior and middle body heights (ABH and MBH, respectively) and kyphotic angle (KA), were measured preoperatively and at postoperative 1 week, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year.

Hypnotics use but not insomnia increased the risk of dementia in traumatic brain injury patients.

This study was intended to determine whether the use of hypnotics is associated with dementia in traumatic-brain-injury (TBI) patients. Data retrieved from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2000. TBI patients who received a diagnosis of insomnia at 2 or more independent examinations after the index date of TBI were included.

A Prospective Randomized Study of Brain Tissue Oxygen Pressure-Guided Management in Moderate and Severe Traumatic Brain Injury Patients.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of PbtO2-guided therapy with traditional intracranial pressure- (ICP-) guided treatment on the management of cerebral variables, therapeutic interventions, survival rates, and neurological outcomes of moderate and severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients. From 2009 to 2010, TBI patients with a Glasgow coma scale <12 were recruited from 6 collaborative hospitals in northern Taiwan, excluding patients with severe systemic injuries, fixed and dilated pupils, and other major diseases. In total, 23 patients were treated with PbtO2-guided management (PbtO2 > 20 mmHg), and 27 patients were treated with ICP-guided therapy (ICP < 20 mmHg and CPP > 60 mmHg) in the neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU); demographic characteristics were similar across groups.

Fluoxetine, an antidepressant, suppresses glioblastoma by evoking AMPAR-mediated calcium-dependent apoptosis.

The efficacy of glioblastoma chemotherapy is not satisfactory; therefore, a new medication is expected to improve outcomes. As much evidence shows that antidepressants decrease cancer incidence and improve patients' quality of life, we therefore attempted to explore the potential for fluoxetine to be used to treat GBM and its possible underlying mechanism. The expression level of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptor (AMPAR) was determined using immunohistochemical staining and PCR analysis.

The effects of mind-body interventions on sleep in cancer patients: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Objective: To examine the effect of mind-body interventions (MBIs) on sleep quality among cancer patients, the moderating effects of the intervention components, subject characteristics, and methodological features of the relationship between MBIs and sleep.

Data Sources: Electronic databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, PsycINFO, and CINAHL, containing data with English-language restriction recorded up to September 15, 2013 were searched thoroughly using keywords related to various types of MBI and sleep.

Study Selection: Of the 114 identified citations, 99 were ineligible.

Occipital interhemispheric approach without excision of tentorium for the tumor in the medial temporal region: technical note.

Background: An occipital interhemispheric approach for the lesions in the middle part of the medial temporal region has been reported. However, this approach usually requires the excision of the tentorium to provide satisfactory exposure. In this case, we used this approach without the excision of the tentorium to remove the parahippocampal gyrus tumor, which was located superolateral to tentorial edge in the middle part of the medial temporal region.

Transarterial embolization in the management of life-threatening hemorrhage after maxillofacial trauma: a case report and review of literature.

There are many reasons for hypotension in trauma patients. Life-threatening hemorrhage associated with maxillofacial trauma is considered rare. Here, we present a 25-year-old patient with maxillofacial trauma complicated by life-threatening hemorrhage after a traffic accident.

Double aggressive osteoblastomas of calvarium.

A 55-year-old female presented with a painful protruding mass in right parietal skull for 7 months. Interestingly, another smaller bony lesion, separated from the symptomatic one, was disclosed in right frontal skull on imaging study. The larger one was completely excised, first with a picture of an aggressive osteoblastoma in the pathology.

Delayed rupture of pre-existing cerebral aneurysm in a young patient with minor head trauma.

An intracranial saccular aneurysm is not commonly diagnosed in a patient with head injury. We present a patient with a history of minor head trauma and a CT scan of the brain revealing minimal subarachnoid hemorrhage 17 days prior to admission, complaining of severe headache, dysarthria and focal right limb seizures 3 hours prior to admission. A traumatic aneurysm was suspected based on clinical history and radiological findings including hematoma in the falx region on a CT scan of the brain and an aneurysm of the pericallosal artery on magnetic resonance angiography and four-vessel cerebral angiography.