World Neurosurg
December 2024
Objective: To identify the clinical and surgical characteristics and treatment options of patients suffering delayed (>1 month) screw back-out after anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).
Methods: A systematic review was performed searching Embase, Medline, and Scopus for relevant case studies and case series of delayed screw back-out after ACDF.
Results: A total of 25 studies encompassing 31 patients were identified and included.
Central cord syndrome (CCS) is the most common form of incomplete spinal cord injury, with an increasing incidence with the aging population. This is a clinical diagnosis defined by weakness greater in the upper than lower extremities and often prominent sensory complaints in the hands. CCS is typically seen in individuals with underlying cervical canal stenosis from spondylosis who experience sudden forceful movement of the neck, especially hyperextension, resulting in contusion of the spinal cord.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Thoracic dorsal arachnoid webs are intradural membranes that may cause obstruction of cerebrospinal fluid flow and spinal cord compression. Although well recognized, they are rare and there is a paucity of long-term data on their natural history and prognosis. We reviewed radiographic features, surgical indications, and pathologic specimens of patients diagnosed with focal thoracic dorsal arachnoid webs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Traumatic dural lacerations can be caused by thoracolumbar burst fractures and, infrequently, can be associated with the entrapment of neural elements within a laminar fracture. The diagnosis of both is difficult to make on preoperative imaging, as the conditions are typically appreciated during surgical exploration. The authors present a case of traumatic durotomy with entrapment of neural elements in a laminar fracture that they believed could be appreciated on preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground Context: Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has become an increasingly popular alternative to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, offering benefits such as motion preservation and reduced risk of adjacent segment disease. Despite its advantages, understanding the economic implications associated with varying patient and hospital factors remains critical.
Purpose: To evaluate how hospital size, geographic region, and patient-specific variables influence charges associated with the primary admission period following CDA.
Study Design: Level III evidence-retrospective cohort.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to (1) determine whether longer CDA operative time increases the risk of 30-day postoperative complications, (2) analyze the association between operative time and subsequent health care utilization, and (3) discharge disposition.
Background: Cervical disk arthroplasty (CDA) most commonly serves as an alternative to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) to treat cervical spine disease, however, with only 1600 CDAs performed annually relative to 132,000 ACDFs, it is a relatively novel procedure.
Background: Vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) are typically treated nonoperatively but can be treated with either kyphoplasty or vertebroplasty when indicated. The decision to treat patients with/without surgical intervention is dependent on the severity of deformity and patient risk profile. The aims of this study were to: 1) compare baseline patient demographics, 2) identify risk factors of patients undergoing operative vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Design: Observational Study.
Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the most searched types of questions and online resources implicated in the operative and nonoperative management of scoliosis.
Methods: Six terms related to operative and nonoperative scoliosis treatment were searched on Google's People Also Ask section on October 12, 2023.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
March 2024
Despite the known health benefits of sport, recent studies showed that parenthood is related to decreased sport participation. Changes in sport behaviour after becoming a parent have been explained by gender or with the rational resource perspective of limited time and energy. However, the latter is mostly theoretical, since empirical insights on resource mechanisms are scarce.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Schema therapy is effective for most outpatients with personality disorders (PDs). However, a subgroup does not sufficiently benefit from outpatient programmes. Despite its common clinical use, a thorough evaluation of day treatment group schema therapy (GST) is lacking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudy Design: Comparative study.
Objectives: This study aims to compare Google and GPT-4 in terms of (1) question types, (2) response readability, (3) source quality, and (4) numerical response accuracy for the top 10 most frequently asked questions (FAQs) about anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).
Methods: "Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion" was searched on Google and GPT-4 on December 18, 2023.
Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.
Objectives: The study aimed to (1) compare baseline demographics of patients undergoing surgery for SEA who were/were not readmitted; (2) identify risk factors for 90-day readmissions; and (3) quantify 90-day episode-of-care health care costs.
Background: Spinal epidural abscess (SEA), while rare, occurring ~2.
J Neurosurg Case Lessons
March 2024
Background: Chondrosarcoma is an uncommon spinal tumor that can present as an extraskeletal mass. Rarely, these tumors present as dumbbell tumors through the neural foramina, mimicking schwannomas or neurofibromas.
Observations: A 46-year-old female presented with 2 years of worsening right-arm radiculopathy.
Study Design: Retrospective Observational Study.
Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the utility of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, in providing patient information for lumbar spinal fusion and lumbar laminectomy in comparison with the Google search engine.
Summary Of Background Data: ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot with seemingly unlimited functionality, may present an alternative to a Google web search for patients seeking information about medical questions.
Low-cost analytical assays enable accessible detection of clinically and environmentally important analytes; however, common enzyme-based assays suffer from high production and storage costs. Catalytically active synthetic materials serve as replacements for natural enzymes, but development of cost-effective, highly efficient synthetic strategies remains a challenge. Here, we utilized a facile synthesis for copper bipyridine coordination polymers (CuBpyCPs) and investigated structure-function relationships to achieve optimal catalytic properties for a glucose assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAcute neurological manifestations in patients with Behcet's syndrome are rare yet may lead to devastating outcomes. Distinguishing primary neurological deficits from spontaneous hemorrhagic insults is of particular importance for the prognosis of patients with Behcet's syndrome. Here, we investigate the clinical characteristics, management, and outcomes of nontraumatic hemorrhagic injury in patients with Bechet's syndrome.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Traumatic spondyloptosis (TS) with complete spinal cord transection and unrepairable durotomy is particularly rare and can lead to a difficult-to-manage cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak.
Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature on TS and discuss the management strategies and outcomes of TS with cord transection and significant dural tear. We also report a novel case of a 26-year-old female who presented with thoracic TS with complete spinal cord transection and unrepairable durotomy with high-flow CSF leak.
Study Design: Retrospective case series and systemic literature meta-analysis.
Background: Thoracolumbar junction region stenosis produces spinal cord compression just above the conus and may manifest with symptoms that are not typical of either thoracic myelopathy or neurogenic claudication from lumbar stenosis.
Objective: As few studies describe its specific pattern of presenting symptoms and neurological deficits, this investigation was designed to improve understanding of this pathology.
Study Design: Systemic review.
Objective: To understand the role of cervical disk arthroplasty in the treatment of cervical myelopathy.
Summary Of Background Data: The surgical management of degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) most frequently involves decompression and fusion, but stiffness introduced by the fusion and adjacent segment degeneration remain problems that can result in significant morbidity.
Tech Hand Up Extrem Surg
December 2023
Background: Disparities in neurosurgical care have emerged as an area of interest when considering the impact of social determinants on access to health care. Decompression via anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for cervical stenosis (CS) may prevent progression towards debilitating complications that may severely compromise one's quality of life. This retrospective database analysis aims to elucidate demographic and socioeconomic trends in ACDF provision and outcomes of CS-related pathologies.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review provides background and perspective for the articles contributing to the Special Issue of MDPI Micro-organisms on as a Modern Model Organism. The six articles cover a variety of topics, each taking advantage of an important aspect of biology: peripheral surface proteins that are developmentally regulated, endosymbiont algae and bacteria, ion channel regulation by calmodulin, regulation of cell mating reactivity and senescence, and the introns that dwell in the large genome. Each article highlights a significant aspect of and its versatility.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this chapter we provide some tools to study the ciliary proteins that make it possible for Paramecium cells to swim by beating their cilia. These proteins include many ion channels, accessory proteins, peripheral proteins, structural proteins, rootlets of cilia, and enzymes. Some of these proteins are also found in the soma membrane, but their distinct and critical functions are in the cilia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLanthanide-doped upconversion nanoparticles (UCNPs) possess the remarkable ability to convert multiple near-infrared (NIR) photons into higher energy ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) photons, making them a prime candidate for several advanced applications within the realm of nanotechnology. Compared to traditional organic fluorophores and quantum dots (QDs), UCNPs possess narrower emission bands (fwhm of 10-50 nm), large anti-Stokes shifts, low toxicity, high chemical stability, and resistance to photobleaching and blinking. In addition, unlike UV-vis excitation, NIR excitation is nondestructive at lower power intensities and has high tissue penetration depths (up to 2 mm) with low autofluorescence and scattering.
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