Publications by authors named "Kei Ando"

Background: The choice of operative method for lumbar spinal stenosis with Meyerding grade I degenerative spondylolisthesis remains controversial. The purpose of this study was to identify the preoperative factors affecting the 2-year postoperative patient-reported outcome in Meyerding grade I degenerative spondylolisthesis.

Methods: Seventy-two consecutive patients who had minimally invasive decompression alone (D group; 28) or with fusion (DF group; 44) were enrolled.

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Study Design: Prospective multicenter study.

Objective: To investigate the validity of transcranial motor-evoked potentials (Tc-MEP) in thoracic spine surgery and evaluate the impact of specific factors associated with positive predictive value (PPV).

Methods: One thousand hundred and fifty-six cases of thoracic spine surgeries were examined by comparing patient backgrounds, disease type, preoperative motor status, and Tc-MEP alert timing.

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Background: Several studies have reported a relationship between elevated serum adiponectin levels and poor outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF). However, data on the activities of daily living (ADL) in elderly patients with HF are limited.

Methods: We evaluated 218 hospitalized elderly (≥65 years) patients with HF who underwent a comprehensive cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program during hospitalization.

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Article Synopsis
  • Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine (OPLL) is a disease that can cause serious neurological issues, and its causes are not fully understood, particularly in relation to type 2 diabetes and high body mass index (BMI).
  • A comprehensive meta-analysis involving 22,016 Japanese individuals identified 14 significant genetic markers linked to OPLL, with 8 being newly discovered, and further analyses pointed to specific genes associated with the disease.
  • The research revealed that increased BMI and high bone mineral density could have a causal relationship with OPLL, and different subtypes of the disease were identified, particularly highlighting a strong correlation between BMI and thoracic OPLL.
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Study Design: A retrospective comparative study of denosumab therapy adherence before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on denosumab therapy adherence in Japan.

Overview Of Literature: Denosumab is a monoclonal antibody for osteoporosis treatment.

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Study Design: A prospective multicenter study.

Objective: To investigate the effect of preoperative symptom duration on neurological recovery for the treatment of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL).

Summary Of Background Data: The optimal timing to perform surgery in the setting of cervical OPLL remains unknown.

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Study Design: A prospective multicenter study.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence of loss of cervical lordosis after laminoplasty for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). We also sought to determine associated risk factors and the relationship with patient-reported outcomes.

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Study Design: A prospective multicenter study.

Objective: The objective of this study is to compare the surgical outcomes of anterior and posterior fusion surgeries in patients with K-line (-) cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL).

Summary Of Background Data: Although laminoplasty is effective for patients with K-line (+) OPLL, fusion surgery is recommended for those with K-line (-) OPLL.

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Cervical laminoplasty is a safe and effective treatment for cervical myelopathy. However, it has a higher frequency of postoperative axial pain than other methods. A variety of causes of postoperative axial pain have been reported, but these have not been fully elucidated.

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Background: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) results in low back pain due to nerve root compression caused by nucleus pulposus degeneration. Chemonucleolysis of the nucleus pulposus by injection of condoliase is less invasive than surgery, but may cause disc degeneration. The purpose of the study was to examine outcomes of condoliase injection in patients in their teens and twenties using Pfirrmann criteria on MRI.

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Study Design: A prospective multi-institutional observational study.

Objective: To investigate and identify risk factors for residual neuropathic pain after surgery in patients with cervical ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (c-OPLL).

Summary Of Background Data: Patients with c-OPLL often require surgery for numbness and paralysis of the extremities; however, postoperative neuropathic pain can considerably deteriorate their quality of life.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study was conducted to investigate the current trends of intraoperative spinal neuromonitoring (IONM) usage among spine surgeons in Japan, as there are no established guidelines for its implementation.
  • A survey sent to 186 expert spine surgeons revealed a high response rate of 72%, with most surgeons using IONM routinely, particularly the Br(E)-MsEP method.
  • Despite its importance, one-third of surgeons reported complications, such as bite injuries, and two-thirds did not have plans for responding to alarm signals during surgeries, indicating a need for better protocols and cost-benefit analyses.
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Although the incidence of cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) has increased in older adults, its etiology and neurological outcomes remain unknown. We identified OPLL characteristics and determined whether they influence neurological severity and improvement of CSCI in older patients. This multicenter retrospective cohort study identified 1512 patients aged ≥ 65 years diagnosed with CSCI on admission during 2010-2020.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study is a retrospective analysis examining the link between postoperative neck pain and intraoperative transcranial motor-evoked potential (MEP) waveforms in patients undergoing cervical laminoplasty for cervical myelopathy.
  • A total of 79 patients were evaluated, comparing their trapezius muscle MEP latencies and amplitudes before and after the surgery, with specific focus on those who reported higher neck pain postoperatively.
  • Results indicated that patients experiencing neck pain had significantly shorter final waveform latencies and larger amplitudes compared to those without neck pain, suggesting potential intraoperative trapezius muscle abnormalities as a contributing factor to postoperative discomfort.
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Purpose: Postoperative complication prediction helps surgeons to inform and manage patient expectations. Deep learning, a model that finds patterns in large samples of data, outperform traditional statistical methods in making predictions. This study aimed to create a deep learning-based model (DLM) to predict postoperative complications in patients with cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL).

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Article Synopsis
  • * Findings show that while patients who had early surgery had worse baseline neurological conditions, they experienced a greater improvement in motor scores within six months of surgery.
  • * Factors like delirium, pneumonia, and diabetes negatively affected recovery, suggesting that early surgery may be beneficial but requires more research for confirmation.
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This study is nationwide retrospective multi-center study to investigate the incidence and characteristics of blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI) in elderly Japanese patients with traumatic cervical spine injuries (CSI) including spinal cord injury (SCI) without major bone injury. The study enrolled 1512 patients (average age: 75.8 ± 6.

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A prospective multicenter cohort study. To clarify the differences in the accuracy of transcranial motor-evoked potentials (TcE-MEPs) and procedures associated with the alarms between cervical anterior spinal fusion (ASF) and posterior spinal fusion (PSF). Neurological complications after TcE-MEP alarms have been prevented by appropriate interventions for cervical degenerative disorders.

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A retrospective multicenter study. Body mass index (BMI) is recognized as an important determinant of osteoporosis and spinal postoperative outcomes; however, the specific impact of BMI on surgery for osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs) remains inconclusive. This retrospective multicenter study investigated the impact of BMI on clinical outcomes following fusion surgery for OVFs.

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Background: Patients with locomotive syndrome (LS) are poor ambulatory status and a high risk of requiring nursing care. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between LS and fall risk among community-dwelling elderly individuals.

Methods: The subjects were Japanese elderly individuals aged 65 and over who participated in Yakumo study 2019 (N = 189).

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Background: There is little information on outcomes for spinal cord tumor treated surgically with instrumentation. Analysis of surgical outcomes and complications in such cases is needed to develop generalizable conclusions and to help inform patients.

Methods: The subjects were 41 patients treated with instrumentation surgery for dumbbell type tumor resection.

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The ideal surgical strategy for cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) remains controversial due to the lack of high-quality evidence. Herein, we prospectively investigated the surgical outcomes of anterior cervical decompression with fusion (ADF) and laminoplasty (LAMP) with cervical OPLL. Three hundred patients were included in this study (ADF: = 89; LAMP: = 211 patients), and propensity score matching yielded 67 pairs of patients with ADF and LAMP, in which clinical outcomes were compared.

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Background: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) is most common in men aged 20-40 at the L4/5 level; however, left-right differences have not been reported. Improving our understanding of left- and right-side LDH may facilitate the estimation of mechanical load on intervertebral discs. Here, we assessed left-right differences in LDH via a retrospective analysis of LDH cases.

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