Does fracture-extension into the pars interarticularis alter outcomes in odontoid failure? a technical note on pars interarticularis osteotomy and atlantoaxial distraction arthrodesis.

Purpose: Odontoid process fractures can extend rostral into the C2 arch. We investigated the clinical impact of a concurrent fracture of the pars interarticularis on odontoid failure. To overcome the surgical challenges related to the morphology of these fractures, we describe a novel surgical strategy using atlantoaxial joint distraction arthrodesis.

Posttraumatic C5 Palsy After Application of Hard Collar in Ankylosing Spondylitis.

Background: Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a systemic enthesopathy. In its presence, spinal fractures are often unstable. Acknowledging the preinjury level of kyphosis is key in the management of cervical fractures, and placement into a hard collar has been shown to result in life-threatening spinal cord complications.

Vertebral compression fractures.

This review gives a practical guide to the investigation and management of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures. With an ageing population, the burden of disease and health system costs attributable to this common injury continue to rise. This article outlines the epidemiology, clinical and radiological assessment of vertebral compression fractures, and key decisions that must be made in their management.

Mesenchymal stem cells in regenerative medicine: Focus on articular cartilage and intervertebral disc regeneration.

Musculoskeletal disorders represent a major cause of disability and morbidity globally and result in enormous costs for health and social care systems. Development of cell-based therapies is rapidly proliferating in a number of disease areas, including musculoskeletal disorders. Novel biological therapies that can effectively treat joint and spine degeneration are high priorities in regenerative medicine.

Mesenchymal stem cells in regenerative medicine: opportunities and challenges for articular cartilage and intervertebral disc tissue engineering.

Defects of load-bearing connective tissues such as articular cartilage and intervertebral disc (IVD) can result from trauma, degenerative, endocrine, or age-related disease. Current surgical and pharmacological options for the treatment of arthritic rheumatic conditions in the joints and spine are ineffective. Cell-based surgical therapies such as autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) have been in clinical use for cartilage repair for over a decade but this approach has shown mixed results.