Total disc replacement for chronic discogenic low back pain: a Cochrane review.

Study Design: Systematic literature review.

Objective: To assess the effect of total disc replacement for chronic low back pain due to lumbar degenerative disc disease compared with fusion or other treatment options.

Summary Of Background Data: There is an increasing use in disc replacement devices for degenerative disc disease, but their effectiveness compared with other interventions such as fusion of the motion segment or conservative treatment remains unclear.

Total disc replacement for chronic back pain in the presence of disc degeneration.

Background: In the search for better surgical treatment of chronic low-back pain (LBP) in the presence of disc degeneration, total disc replacement has received increasing attention in recent years. A possible advantage of total disc replacement compared with fusion is maintained mobility at the operated level, which has been suggested to reduce the chance of adjacent segment degeneration.

Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effect of total disc replacement for chronic low-back pain in the presence of lumbar disc degeneration compared with other treatment options in terms of patient-centred improvement, motion preservation and adjacent segment degeneration.

Evaluation of corneal thickness, anterior chamber depth, and iridocorneal angle following scleral buckling surgery with AS-OCT.

Background And Objective: To evaluate the changes in central corneal thickness (CCT), anterior chamber depth (ACD), and iridocorneal angle (ICA) with anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) following scleral buckling surgery.

Patients And Methods: Thirty-one eyes with rhegmatogenous retinal detachment that underwent scleral buckling were included in this prospective study. Changes in CCT, ACD, and ICA were measured with AS-OCT.

The effects of 5-fluorouracil on flexor tendon healing by using a biodegradable gelatin, slow releasing system: experimental study in a hen model.

This study investigated the effects of 5-fluorouracil in a slow-release biodegradable gelatin system on tendon healing. Gelatin blocks prepared in a size of 10 × 20 × 1 mm were loaded with 10, 20, and 30 mg of 5-fluorouracil, and 30 adult white Leghorn chickens were used. The tendons to the third and fourth toes were severed and repaired.

Evaluation of oxidative stress, the activities of paraoxonase and arylesterase in patients with subclinic hypothyroidism.

Introduction: In subclinical hypothyroidism (SH), serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations are frequently changed. Compared to the normal population, the levels of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol are higher and the levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol are lower. In SH patients, the mechanism of atherosclerosis may be attributed to the lipid abnormalities.

Effect of silicone oil removal on central corneal thickness.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of silicone oil removal(SOR) on central corneal thickness(CCT) in aphakic and pseudophakic eyes prospectively.

Methods: Patients who underwent SOR surgery between June 2005 - August 2007 were included in this study. Silicon oil was actively removed behind the posterior capsule through the pars plana sclerotomy site (posterior approach) in pseudophakic eyes and through the pupil and the corneal tunnel incision (anterior approach) in aphakic eyes with the 18-gauge cannula.

Cervical spine injury in the young child.

This grand rounds is about the clinical and radiological presentation, treatment and outcome of pediatric cervical spine injury. A 15-month-old girl suffers from a motor vehicle accident and is intubated on-site because of progressive agitation. Whole body trauma CT was read as normal.

A differential effect of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and vascular endothelial growth factor release timing on osteogenesis at ectopic and orthotopic sites in a large-animal model.

In bone tissue engineering, growth factors are widely used. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) are the most well-known regulators of osteogenesis and angiogenesis. We investigated whether the timing of dual release of VEGF and BMP-2 influences the amount of bone formation in a large-animal model.

Sparing the posterior surgical site when planning radiation therapy for thoracic metastatic spinal disease.

Background Context: Most patients with painful spinal metastases are sufficiently palliated by hypofractionated radiotherapy. However, a small group of patients will need surgical intervention to treat symptomatic spinal cord compression and/or gross mechanical instability. Irradiation of a (prospective) surgical area may lead to postsurgery complications, including wound dehiscence, infection, and chronic wound ulcers.

Effect of methodological quality measures in spinal surgery research: a metaepidemiological study.

Background Context: Methodological quality measures of trials in meta-analyses have been shown to influence the pooled effect sizes in several medical fields. However, for spinal surgery, influence of quality measures has not been assessed.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to analyze the influence of quality measures in studies on effectiveness in spinal surgery.

A new concept in treatment of burn injury: controlled slow-release granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor chitosan gel system.

Objective: The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of the controlled slow-release granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) system in burn wound healing.

Material And Methods: In vivo effect of controlled slow-release GM-CSF from chitosan gel on burn wound healing was evaluated on 18 Wistar-Albino rats, weighing between 250 and 300 g. They were randomly divided into 3 groups; (1) burned only group (n = 6), (2) burned + chitosan group (n = 6), (3) burned + chitosan + GM-CSF group (n = 6).

[Unexpected back pain in the elderly ankylosing spondylitis patient].

A 63-year-old man with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) presented with persistent pain in his back after minor trauma. Radiographs revealed no acute pathology. Six weeks later an MRI scan was performed which showed a vertebral fracture at level Tiii with kyphotic deformity.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis of the cervical spine: an underestimated cause of dysphagia and airway obstruction.

Background Context: Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a common but underdiagnosed condition relating to ossification of spinal ligaments that can cause compression of the esophagus and trachea. According to case reports, dysphagia or airway obstruction resulting from DISH is a rare occurrence.

Purpose: This study was intended to identify all published cases of dysphagia and/or airway obstruction resulting from DISH to increase the epidemiologic/clinical knowledge of these related conditions.

Organ printing: the future of bone regeneration?

In engineered bone grafts, the combined actions of bone-forming cells, matrix and bioactive stimuli determine the eventual performance of the implant. The current notion is that well-built 3D constructs include the biological elements that recapitulate native bone tissue structure to achieve bone formation once implanted. The relatively new technology of organ/tissue printing now enables the accurate 3D organization of the components that are important for bone formation and also addresses issues, such as graft porosity and vascularization.

Vascular endothelial function assessed by a noninvasive ultrasound method and serum asymmetric dimethylarginine concentrations in mild-to-moderate plaque-type psoriatic patients.

Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate vascular endothelial function assessed by serum asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) concentrations and noninvasive ultrasonographic parameters such as flow-mediated dilatation (FMD) and nitroglycerin-induced dilatation (NID) in mild-to-moderate plaque-type psoriatic patients, as rated by the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index.

Design And Methods: Plaque-type psoriatic patients (n = 29) diagnosed with clinical and/or histopathological findings and control subjects (n = 25) without skin and systemic metabolic diseases were included in the study.

Results: There was no statistically significant difference between patients and control subjects in respect to FMD (p = 0.

An injectable calcium phosphate cement for the local delivery of paclitaxel to bone.

Bone metastases are usually treated by surgical removal, fixation and chemotherapeutic treatment. Bone cement is used to fill the resection voids. The aim of this study was to develop a local drug delivery system using a calcium phosphate cement (CPC) as carrier for chemotherapeutic agents.

Evaluation of the effect of L-thyroxin therapy on cardiac functions by using novel tissue Doppler-derived indices in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.

Objectives: Subclinical hypothyroidism (SH) is characterized by normal serum free T4 (fT4), free T3 (fT3) levels and increased serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) levels.The aim of this study was to assess the validity of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in evaluating cardiac effects of SH and to demonstrate the improving effects of L-thyroxin(L-T4) on TDI parameters.

Methods: Twenty-seven patients with SH and 22 healthy controls were evaluated by standard echocardiography and TDI.

Evaluation of ventricular functions using tissue Doppler echocardiography in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism.

Objectives: We evaluated right (RV) and left (LV) ventricle functions by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism (SH).

Study Design: Twenty-seven patients (24 women, 3 men; mean age 35.4±11.

Orthopaedic management of Hurler's disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: a systematic review.

Objective: The introduction of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has significantly improved the life-span of Hurler patients (mucopolysaccharidosis type I-H, MPS I-H). Yet, the musculoskeletal manifestations seem largely unresponsive to HSCT. In order to facilitate evidence based management, the aim of the current study was to give a systematic overview of the orthopaedic complications and motor functioning of Hurler's patients after HSCT.

Osteogenic differentiation as a result of BMP-2 plasmid DNA based gene therapy in vitro and in vivo.

Bone regeneration is one of the major focus points in the field of regenerative medicine. A well-known stimulus of bone formation is bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2), which has already been extensively used in clinical applications. We investigated the possibility of achieving osteogenic differentiation both in vitro and in vivo as a result of prolonged presence of BMP-2 using plasmid DNA-based gene therapy.

Quantitative analysis of the anterolateral ossification mass in diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis of the thoracic spine.

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a systemic condition leading to ossification of spinal ligaments and has been shown to behave similarly to ankylosing spondylitis (AS) often leading to unstable hyperextension fractures. Currently, no quantitative data are available on the spatial relationship between the bridging anterolateral ossification mass (ALOM) and the vertebral body/intervertebral disc to explain the propensity in DISH to fracture through the vertebral body instead of through the intervertebral disc as more often seen in AS. Furthermore, no reasonable explanation is available for the typical flowing wax morphology observed in DISH.

Are existing outcome instruments suitable for assessment of spinal trauma patients?

Object: Valid outcome assessment tools specific for spinal trauma patients are necessary to establish the efficacy of different treatment options. So far, no validated specific outcome measures are available for this patient population. The purpose of this study was to assess the current state of outcome measurement in spinal trauma patients and to address the question of whether this group is adequately served by current disease-specific and generic health-related quality-of-life instruments.