Navigation for Tubular Decompression of the L5 Nerve Root Ganglion after Cement Leakage via a Wiltse Approach.

Osteoporotic vertebral fractures are a widespread problem in the elderly population. In experienced hands, treatment procedures are safe and can be done in a minimally invasive fashion. Nevertheless, in rare cases, severe complications may occur.

Clinical and radiological effect of medialized cortical bone trajectory for lumbar pedicle screw fixation in patients with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial (mPACT).

Background: Spinal fusion with pedicle screw fixation represents the gold standard for lumbar degenerative disc disease with instability. Although it is an established technique, it is nevertheless an invasive intervention with high complication rates. Therefore, minimally invasive approaches have been developed, the medialized bilateral screw pedicel fixation (mPACT) being one of them.

Thoracic corpectomy for neoplastic vertebral bodies using a navigated lateral extracavitary approach-a single-center consecutive case series: technique and analysis.

Thoracic myelopathy is often caused by vertebral body fractures resulting from neoplastic conditions, traumatic events, or infectious diseases. One of the preferred procedures for treating it is the lateral extracavitary approach (LECA) with single-level or multilevel decompressive corpectomy and reconstruction. The aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the thoracic lateral extracavitary approach with corpectomy using vertebral body replacement systems (VBR-S) and dorsal reconstruction.

How I do it-optimizing radiofrequency ablation in spinal metastases using iCT and navigation.

Background: Exact positioning of the radiofrequency ablation (RFA) probe for tumor treatment under fluoroscopic guidance can be difficult because of potentially small inaccessible lesions and the radiation dose to the medical staff in RFA. In addition, vertebroplasty (VP) can be significantly high.

Method: Description and workflow of RFA in spinal metastasis using iCT (intraoperative computed tomography) and 3D-navigation-based probe placement followed by VP.

Transoral vertebroplasty of the lateral mass of C1 using image guidance.

Background: Osteolytic lesions of the anterior aspects of C1 (lateral mass) are difficult to address in a minimally invasive fashion and are often treated by craniocervical instrumentation.

Methods: We report the feasibility and technical method of transoral vertebroplasty of the lateral mass of the atlas using image guidance and describe the workflow of the procedure. To our knowledge, there has not yet been a technical description of a transoral vertebroplasty using image guidance.

Cement-augmented screws in a cervical two-level corpectomy with anterior titanium mesh cage reconstruction: a biomechanical study.

Study Design: Biomechanical investigation.

Purpose: Cervical two-level corpectomies with anterior-only instrumentation are associated with a high rate of implant-related complications. These procedures, therefore, often require an additional dorsal instrumentation to prevent screw loosening.

Intradural synovial cyst of the atlantoaxial joint: a case report.

Background: Intradural synovial cysts of the cervical spine represent a rare disease entity, causing stenosis of the spinal canal and thereby leading to progressive myelopathy. In particular, at the cranio-cervical junction early intervention is necessary to prevent permanent neurological dysfunction. We present the case of a 74-year-old man who presented with moderate cervicogenic headache, gait disturbance and progressive left-sided weakness.

Pedicle-Based Non-fusion Stabilization Devices: A Critical Review and Appraisal of Current Evidence.

Over the last decades, spinal fusion has become one of the most important principles in surgical treatment of spinal pathologies. Despite the undoubted benefits of fusion surgery, there are several drawbacks associated with this technique, including adjacent segment degeneration and pseudoarthrosis. Based on biomechanical data, dynamic stabilization of the spine is intended to ameliorate adjacent level degeneration by stabilizing vertebral motion in defined planes and mimicking natural spine movements.

Driving reaction time before and after surgery for disc herniation in patients with preoperative paresis.

Background Context: The effect of many types of surgeries on driving reaction time (DRT) has been reported. Although lumbar disc herniation is one of the most common spinal diseases, the effect on DRT has not been investigated.

Purpose: To assess the effect of left- and right-sided pareses caused by lumbar disc herniation on DRT before and after surgery.

Driving reaction time before and after surgery for lumbar disc herniation in patients with radiculopathy.

Purpose: Although patients scheduled to undergo lumbar disc surgery often ask when they are allowed to drive a motor vehicle again, there are no published recommendations on this subject.

Methods: We conducted a prospective study in 46 consecutive patients (mean age 48.9 years) to determine driving reaction time (DRT) before and after surgery in patients with lumbar disc herniation.

The N-end rule ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, HR6B, is up-regulated by nerve growth factor and required for neurite outgrowth.

Neurite outgrowth is accompanied by increased levels of high molecular weight ubiquitin conjugates and decreased levels of free ubiquitin. The search for enzymes responsible for increased utilization of ubiquitin revealed the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, HR6B (yeast UBC2/RAD6), increased on mRNA and protein level in rat pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells after treatment with nerve growth factor (NGF). HR6B participates in 'N-end rule degradation' that is implicated in the cleavage of proteins with destabilizing N-terminal residues (bulky hydrophobic or basic amino acids) and requires UBR1, the ubiquitin ligase binding N-end rule target proteins.