Timing of Recovery After Surgery for Patients With Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy: An Observational Study From the Canadian Spine Outcomes and Research Network.

Background: The time course over which postoperative neurological recovery occurs after surgery for degenerative cervical myelopathy occurs is poorly understood.

Objective: To determine the time point at which patients experience significant neurological improvement.

Methods: We reviewed data from an ongoing prospective multicenter cohort study.

Spinal pathology and outcome post-THA: does segment of arthrodesis matter?

Introduction: The presence of lumbar spine arthrodesis (SA) is associated with abnormal spinopelvic characteristics and inferior outcome post total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, whether patients with upper segment SA are also at increased risk of complications is unknown. This study aims to (1) determine if upper segment SA is associated with inferior THA outcomes; (2) assess spino-pelvic characteristics; and (3) test whether static or dynamic spinopelvic characteristics correlate with outcome post-THA.

The Use of a Self-Administered Questionnaire to Reduce Consultation Wait Times for Potential Elective Lumbar Spinal Surgical Candidates: A Prospective, Pragmatic, Blinded, Randomized Controlled Quality Improvement Study.

Background: In a public health-care system, patients often experience lengthy wait times to see a spine surgeon for consultation, and most patients are found not to be surgical candidates, thereby prolonging the wait time for those who are. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether a self-administered 3-item questionnaire (3IQ) could reprioritize consultation appointments and reduce wait times for lumbar spinal surgical candidates.

Methods: This prospective, pragmatic, blinded, randomized controlled quality improvement study was conducted at a single Canadian academic health-care center.

2018 Frank Stinchfield Award: Spinopelvic Hypermobility Is Associated With an Inferior Outcome After THA: Examining the Effect of Spinal Arthrodesis.

Background: Many patients undergo both THA and spinal arthrodesis, and those patients may not fare as well as those who undergo one procedure but not the other. The mechanisms of how spinal arthrodesis affects patient function after THA remain unclear.

Questions/purposes: The aims of our study were to (1) determine how patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs), including the Oxford hip score as well as dislocations and complications compare after THA between patients with and without spinal arthrodesis; (2) characterize sagittal pelvic changes in these patients that occur when moving between different functional positions and test for differences between patients with and without spinal arthrodesis; and (3) assess whether differences in sagittal pelvic dynamics are associated with PROMs, complications, and dislocations after THA.

Activities performed and treatments conducted before consultation with a spine surgeon: are patients and clinicians following evidence-based clinical practice guidelines?

Background Context: Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are designed to ensure that evidence-based treatment is easily put into action. Whether patients and clinicians follow these guidelines is equivocal.

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to examine how many patients complaining of low back pain (LBP) underwent evidence-based medical interventional treatment in line with CPG recommendations before consultation with a spine surgeon, and to evaluate any associations between adherence to CPG recommendations and baseline factors.

Host-selected mutations converging on a global regulator drive an adaptive leap towards symbiosis in bacteria.

Host immune and physical barriers protect against pathogens but also impede the establishment of essential symbiotic partnerships. To reveal mechanisms by which beneficial organisms adapt to circumvent host defenses, we experimentally evolved ecologically distinct bioluminescent by colonization and growth within the light organs of the squid . Serial squid passaging of bacteria produced eight distinct mutations in the sensor kinase gene, which conferred an exceptional selective advantage that could be demonstrated through both empirical and theoretical analysis.

Precise control of miR-125b levels is required to create a regeneration-permissive environment after spinal cord injury: a cross-species comparison between salamander and rat.

Most spinal cord injuries lead to permanent paralysis in mammals. By contrast, the remarkable regenerative abilities of salamanders enable full functional recovery even from complete spinal cord transections. The molecular differences underlying this evolutionary divergence between mammals and amphibians are poorly understood.