Adjacent Segment Degeneration after Short-Segment Lateral Lumbar Interbody Fusion (LLIF).

Purpose: To investigate the influence on the adjacent segment degeneration (ASD) of short-segment lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) at 2 years postoperatively.

Methods: Ninety-seven consecutive patients who underwent one- or two-level LLIF were included from two institutions. We diagnosed radiographical adjacent segment degeneration with the appearance of adjacent spondylolisthesis (>3 mm) or deterioration of adjacent disk height (>3 mm) on plain radiographs or decrease of the intervertebral angle (>5 degrees).

Associations Between Neck and Shoulder Pain and Neuropathic Pain in a Middle-aged Community-living Population.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence of NeP in subjects suffering from NSP to reveal the impact of NeP on the health-related QOL (HRQOL) in middle-aged and elderly people with NSP in a health checkup.

Summary Of Background Data: No previous studies have established the relationship between NSP and NeP as potential risk factors contributing to a decreased QOL in the general population.

Impact of Neck and Shoulder Pain on Health-Related Quality of Life in a Middle-Aged Community-Living Population.

Purpose: Neck and shoulder pain (NSP) is very common in the general population. However, scarce information exists on the relationship between NSP and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes in this population. The present study described NSP prevalence and its impact on the HRQOL of middle-aged and older persons undergoing a routine medical checkup.

The dual presence of frailty and locomotive syndrome is associated with a greater decrease in the EQ-5D-5L index.

Japan's aging society is facing an increase in the prevalence of frailty and locomotive syndrome (LS) among older adults. To evaluate the association of these age-related declines on health-related quality of life (QOL) in Japan, we investigated this relationship among Japanese middle-aged and older adults who underwent general checkups and examined whether LS or frailty has a stronger association with the Japanese version of EuroQol's five-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L) index. Participants were 231 middle-aged and older Japanese adults receiving routine health checkups.

Enoxaparin promotes functional recovery after spinal cord injury by antagonizing PTPRσ.

The receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase sigma (PTPRσ) regulates axonal regeneration/sprouting as a molecular switch in response to glycan ligands. Cell surface heparan sulfate oligomerizes PTPRσ and inactivates its enzymatic activity, which in turn promotes axonal growth. In contrast, matrix-associated chondroitin sulfate monomerizes PTPRσ and activates it.

Postoperative Syrinx Shrinkage in Spinal Ependymoma of WHO Grade II.

Study Design: A retrospective study of preoperative and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in spinal ependymoma.

Objective: The goal of the study was to examine MRI features, including the syrinx component volume, after surgical resection of spinal ependymoma, and to relate these features to extent of resection and improvement of postoperative neurological status.

Summary Of Background Data: Spinal ependymomas have a variety of MRI findings preoperatively, including a hemorrhage cap sign, gadolinium enhancement, and a spinal tumor cyst.

Dynapenia and physical performance in community-dwelling elderly people in Japan.

Aging of society has increased the incidence of physical disability. The goal of this study was to examine the physical ability of elderly people classified as having sarcopenia, presarcopenia, or dynapenia (a low muscle function without low muscle mass) in a community in Japan. The subjects were volunteers aged >60 years who were participants in a health checkup in Yakumo, Hokkaido and were in good general health.

Trends in Medical Costs for Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Surgery in Japan.

Study Design: A retrospective review of clinical data and costs was performed for surgeries for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) conducted from 2008 to 2017.

Objective: Cost containment and healthcare value have become focal points in Japanese health care policy. The purpose of the study was to investigate trends over time in medical costs for surgery for AIS.

Scoliosis Caused by Limb-Length Discrepancy in Children.

Study Design: Single-center retrospective study in pediatric patients.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of the presence and severity of leg-length discrepancy (LLD) on scoliosis in children.

Overview Of Literature: LLD is a common orthopedic problem that can result in standing imbalance, low back pain, and stress fractures.

Postoperative Kyphosis in Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy: Cut-off Preoperative Angle for Predicting the Postlaminoplasty Kyphosis.

Study Design: A prospective cohort study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between preoperative cervical sagittal alignment and postoperative kyphosis in patients with cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and to determine the cut-off angle for predicting the postlaminoplasty kyphosis.

Summary Of Background Data: There have been several reports describing a cervical kyphosis after laminoplasty.

Risk Factors for Neuropathic Pain in Middle-Aged and Elderly People: A Five-Year Longitudinal Cohort in the Yakumo Study.

Objective: To determine the risk factors for new neuropathic pain (NeP) after five years in healthy middle-aged and elderly volunteers.

Design: Prospective longitudinal cohort study (Yakumo study).

Setting: Clinical evaluation in a health checkup.

Association between locomotive syndrome and the Japanese version of the EQ-5D-5L in middle-aged and elderly people in Japan.

The Japanese version of the EuroQol 5 dimension, 5 level version (EQ-5D-5L) can now be used to quantitatively evaluate the health-related quality of life (QoL) in Japan. Locomotive syndrome (LS) is a concept advocated in Japan to describe a condition requiring care for musculoskeletal disorders. However, no detailed study on the relationship between this index and LS in Japanese health checkup has been reported.

Higher extracellular water-to-total body water ratio more strongly reflects the locomotive syndrome risk and frailty than sarcopenia.

Objective: Among body composition parameters measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis, the extracellular water-to-total body water (ECW/TBW) ratio is a known prognostic or related factor for various diseases. While concepts such as locomotive syndrome risk, frailty, and sarcopenia are gaining popularity in Japan, their relationship with the ECW/TBW ratio has not been examined in detail. This study aimed to investigate the relationships between them.

Impact of pelvic incidence on lumbar osteophyte formation and disc degeneration in middle-aged and elderly people in a prospective cross-sectional cohort.

Purpose: Pelvic incidence (PI) is unique to each individual and does not change throughout life. High PI is related to lumbar spondylolisthesis, but associations of PI with lumbar osteophyte formation and disc degeneration are unclear. The objective was to evaluate relationships of PI with lumbar osteophyte formation and disc degeneration, as well as spinal sagittal alignment and geriatric diseases, in middle-aged and elderly people.

A Study of Risk Factors for Early-Onset Adjacent Vertebral Fractures After Kyphoplasty.

Study Design: Retrospective study.

Objectives: To elucidate risk factors for early-onset (2 months after initial kyphoplasty) adjacent vertebral fracture (EO-AVF) after kyphoplasty.

Methods: A total of 108 vertebral bodies (95 patients) were included in this study.

Differences of lumbopelvic sagittal parameters among community-dwelling middle-age and elderly individuals: Relations with locomotor physical function.

This study aims to establish radiographic parameters of lumbopelvic sagittal alignment, gender related differences, and age-related changes in a middle-aged community, to investigate whether age-related changes of lumbopelvic alignment reflect the risk of locomotive syndrome (LS). This study included 448 healthy Japanese volunteers who attended a basic health checkup supported by the local government. The subjects (184 males and 264 females, mean age: 62.

Persistence of Denosumab Therapy among Patients with Osteoporosis.

Study Design: Retrospective study in a single center.

Purpose: To examine denosumab persistence in patients of different ages with severe osteoporosis in Japan.

Overview Of Literature: Denosumab is an antibody drug used for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Musculoskeletal Factors and Geriatric Syndromes Related to the Absence of Musculoskeletal Degenerative Disease in Elderly People Aged over 70 Years.

Purpose: To investigate factors with a significant relationship with the absence of musculoskeletal disease (MSD: osteoporosis, knee osteoarthritis (K-OA), and lumbar spondylosis (L-OA)) in elderly people ≥70 years old.

Methods: The subjects were 279 people (134 males, 145 females, mean age: 75.2 years) who attended an annual health checkup and were prospectively included in the study.

Clinical Features of Thoracic Myelopathy: A Single-Center Study.

Unlabelled: Thoracic myelopathy is relatively uncommon because few degenerative changes occur as a result of the restricted range of motion surrounding the rib cage.

Methods: A retrospective study was performed in 300 consecutive surgical cases of thoracic disorders with myelopathy treated in our department from 2000 to 2015. Girdle pain, back pain, low back pain, leg numbness, leg pain, gait disturbance, leg paresis, and bowel bladder disturbance as initial and preoperative symptoms; patellar tendon reflex, ankle tendon reflex, and ankle clonus as preoperative neurologic findings; MRI and CT findings; and surgical procedure, intraoperative findings, and postoperative recovery were investigated.

Natural reduction in acute intratumoral hemorrhage of spinal schwannoma in the cauda equina.

A 58-year-old woman presented with acute pain in her back and her left leg. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed an intradural schwannoma with an intratumoral hemorrhage between the lower L4 vertebra and L5/S1 disk level. A follow-up MRI after one month revealed that the tumor had regressed from the middle of L5 to the L5/S1 disk level.

Relationship between lumbopelvic discordance and locomotive syndrome in a middle-aged community-living population: The Yakumo study.

Background: Locomotive syndrome (LS) affects the quality and activities of daily living. Although spinal sagittal balance influences LS, no report elucidated the relationship between LS risk and lumbopelvic discordance. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between lumbopelvic discordance and LS in a middle-aged community.

Multivariate analysis of factors related to the absence of musculoskeletal degenerative disease in middle-aged and older people.

Aim: Musculoskeletal degenerative disease (MSD; osteoporosis, knee arthritis and lumbar spondylosis) decreases the quality of life (QOL) of older people. The objective of the present study was to identify the factors related to the absence of MSD in multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Methods: The participants were 1034 volunteers (444 men, 590 women, mean age 63.

Connection of discontinuous segments in early functional recovery from thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament treated with posterior instrumented surgery.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between morphological changes in thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (T-OPLL) and postoperative neurological recovery after thoracic posterior fusion surgery. Changes of OPLL morphology and postoperative recovery in cases with T-OPLL have not been examined.

Methods: In this prospective study, the authors evaluated data from 44 patients (23 male and 21 female) who underwent posterior decompression and fusion surgery with instrumentation for the treatment of T-OPLL at our hospital.

Locomotive Syndrome Stage 1 Predicts Significant Worsening of Future Motor Performance: The Prospective Yakumo Study.

Purpose: Aging of society has increased the need for prolongation of a healthy lifespan through maintenance of physical function. Prediction of future physical function may be possible by screening for stage 1 locomotive syndrome (LS). In this prospective study, we examined the influence of LS stage 1 at baseline (2011) on physical performance after 5 years (2016) in a community-dwelling cohort.