Prospective and Multicenter Evaluation of Outcomes for Quality of Life and Activities of Daily Living for Balloon Kyphoplasty in the Treatment of Vertebral Compression Fractures: The EVOLVE Trial.

Background: Osteoporotic and neoplastic vertebral compression fractures (VCF) are common and painful, threatening quality of life and increasing risk of morbidity and mortality. Balloon kyphoplasty is a percutaneous option for treating painful cancer- and osteoporosis-related VCFs, supported by 2 randomized trials demonstrating efficacy benefits of BKP over nonsurgical care.

Objective: To investigate 12-mo disability, quality of life, and safety outcomes specifically in a Medicare-eligible population, representing characteristic patients seen in routine clinical practice.

Developmental venous anomalies and cavernous angiomas: a review of the concurrence, imaging, and treatment of these vascular malformations.

Deep venous anomalies and cavernous angiomas are two distinct intracranial lesions. Although these lesions can be found in association with each other, they have different pathologic characteristics and developmental mechanisms. These lesions can produce a variety of clinical symptoms or in some cases can be asymptomatic.

Are brook trout streams in western Virginia and Shenandoah National Park recovering from acidification?

Streamwater composition data obtained through periodic sampling of streams that support brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the mountains of western Virginia were examined for evidence of recovery from acidification during the 1988-2001 period. Measurements of sulfate deposition in precipitation indicate that sulfate deposition in the region declined approximately 40% between 1985 and 2000. While no significant regional trends in acid-base constituents were observed for the set (n = 65) of western Virginia study streams, significant regional trends were observed for a subset (n = 14) of streams in Shenandoah National Park (SNP).