[Evaluation of the individual tube current setting in electrocardiogram-gated cardiac computed tomography estimated from plain chest computed tomography using computed tomography automatic exposure control].

The aim of this study was to estimate the tube current on a cardiac computed tomography (CT) from a plain chest CT using CT-automatic exposure control (CT-AEC), to obtain consistent image noise, and to optimize the scan tube current by individualizing the tube current. Sixty-five patients (Group A) underwent cardiac CT at fixed tube current. The mAs value for plain chest CT using CT-AEC (AEC value) and cardiac CT image noise were measured.

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the cervical spine: etiology and natural history.

Study Design: Review article.

Objective: To review the etiology, natural history, measurement tools, and image diagnosis of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the cervical spine.

Summary Of Background Data: OPLL is a well-known disease that causes myelopathy.

Long-term result of combination of open reduction and femoral derotation varus osteotomy with shortening for developmental dislocation of the hip.

This study examined femoral derotation varus osteotomy with shortening performed on children with developmental dislocation of the hip. Each patient reached 14 years of age. Surgical outcomes were evaluated clinically and roentgenographically.

Clinical course of patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament: a minimum 10-year cohort study.

Object: Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) may produce quadriplegia. The course of future neurological deterioration in patients with radiographic evidence of OPLL, however, is not known. The authors conducted a long-term follow-up cohort study of more than 10 years to clarify the clinical course of this disease progression.

Occupational recovery after open-door type laminoplasty for patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Study Design: A cross-sectional survey of occupational recovery after surgery with patients who had ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Objectives: To evaluate occupational recovery after open-door type laminoplasty for patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Summary Of Background Data: The literature contains numerous reports on the surgical results of laminoplasty for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament, but very few reports are available on postoperative quality of life, and even fewer on occupational recovery after laminoplasty.

Prognosis of patients with upper cervical lesions caused by rheumatoid arthritis: comparison of occipitocervical fusion between c1 laminectomy and nonsurgical management.

Study Design: A matched controlled comparative study of patients with upper cervical lesions caused by rheumatoid arthritis was performed at two different hospitals to evaluate occipitocervical fusion associated with C1 laminectomy and nonsurgical treatment.

Objectives: To evaluate the long-term results and advantages of occipitocervical fusion associated with C1 laminectomy, and to compare these results with those of nonsurgical management of patients with myelopathy related to rheumatoid arthritis.

Summary Of Background Data: Few studies have reported the prognosis of patients with rheumatoid arthritis managed by occipitocervical fusion associated with C1 laminectomy.

Pathogenesis of myelopathy in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Object: The goal of this study was to clarify the pathogenesis of myelopathy in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) based on the relationship between static compression factors and dynamic factors.

Methods: There was a total of 247 patients, including 167 patients who were conservatively followed for a mean of 11 years and 2 months and 80 patients who had myelopathy at initial consultation and underwent surgery. The changes in clinical symptoms associated with OPLL in the cervical spine were examined periodically.

Trauma-induced myelopathy in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Object: In these prospective and retrospective studies the authors evaluated trauma-induced myelopathy in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) to determine the effectiveness of preventive surgery for this disease.

Methods: The authors studied 552 patients with cervical OPLL, including 184 with myelopathy at the time of initial consultation and 368 patients without myelopathy at that time. In the former group of 184 patients retrospective analysis was performed using an interview survey to ascertain the relationship between onset of myelopathy and trauma.

Traumatic injury-induced BMP7 expression in the adult rat spinal cord.

It has been reported that bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are involved in the generation of the central nervous system during development. However, the roles of BMPs in mature spinal cord have not been clarified. We examined the expression of BMP7 mRNA before and after traumatic injury of the adult rat spinal cord.

Functional impact of human collagen alpha2(XI) gene polymorphism in pathogenesis of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine.

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) of the spine is the leading cause of myelopathy in Japan. In earlier studies, we provided genetic linkage and allelic association evidence of distinct differences in the human collagen alpha2(XI) gene (COL11A2) that might constitute inherited predisposition to OPLL. In the present study, a strong allelic association with non-OPLL (p = 0.

Spondyloarthropathies in Japan: nationwide questionnaire survey performed by the Japan Ankylosing Spondylitis Society.

Objective: The Japan Ankylosing Spondylitis Society conducted a nationwide questionnaire survey of spondyloarthropathies (SpA) in 1990 and 1997, (1) to estimate the prevalence and incidence, and (2) to validate the criteria of Amor and the European Spondylarthropathy Study Group (ESSG) in Japan.

Methods: Japan was divided into 9 districts, to each of which a survey supervisor was assigned. According to unified criteria, each supervisor selected all the clinics and hospitals with potential for SpA patients in the district.

Gender-specific haplotype association of collagen alpha2 (XI) gene in ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine.

Among Japanese, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the spine (OPLL) is a leading cause of myelopathy, showing ectopic bone formation in the paravertebral ligament. We have provided genetic evidence that the collagen alpha2 (XI) (COL11A2) locus of chromosome 6 constitutes susceptibility for OPLL. Five distinct single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identified in COL11A2, were combined to construct possible haplotypes by the use of a maximum likelihood program.

Quality of life in elderly patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Study Design: A longitudinal cohort study of 216 elderly patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament for an average of 13 years was performed.

Objective: To know the quality of life experienced by patients after treatment.

Summary Of Background Data: No report is available on the quality of life experienced by elderly patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

Optimum duration of oral adjuvant chemotherapy of HCFU for colorectal cancer; review of 5-year follow-up.

Purpose: To investigate the optimal duration of oral HCFU administration for minimization of side effects induced by long-term administration.

Patients And Methods: In total, 155 patients allocated to two groups of different duration of the therapy were reviewed: twice or three times per day doses of oral HCFU (8 mg/Kg body weight/day) for 3 months vs. 12 months.

Significance of occipitoaxial angle in subaxial lesion after occipitocervical fusion.

Study Design: The significance of occipitoaxial angle in the development of subaxial subluxation after occipitocervical fusion was determined in a minimum 5-year follow-up study performed retrospectively.

Objective: To clarify the association between the position of the fixed occipital bone and axis and the development of subaxial subluxation.

Summary Of Background Data: There have been few reports describing the association between the position of fixation of the occipital bone and axis and subaxial lesion in occipitocervical fusion.

Recent progress in the study of pathogenesis of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament.

The pathogenesis of ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is still unknown. Gene analysis and molecular biology have been introduced in recent years, and etiologic and pathological clarifications are being achieved. An important role of the genetic background in the development of this disease was demonstrated by pedigree survey, twin survey, and HLA haplotype study.

Bone mineral density in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament in the cervical spine.

Bone mineral density (BMD) has not been clearly determined in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in the cervical spine. BMD in patients with OPLL was measured in the third vertebral body in the lateral projection and in the distal part of the radius in the anteroposterior projection using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Patients with OPLL had significantly higher BMD than healthy controls in both the lumbar spine and radius.

The effect of vitamin K and D supplementation on ovariectomy-induced bone loss.

This study was designed to assess the effect of vitamin K and D supplementation on ovariectomy-induced bone loss. Female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 8-9 months were ovariectomized (OVX) or sham operated and divided into five experimental groups: (1) ovariectomy (OVX), (2) OVX plus vitamin K supplementation, (3) OVX plus vitamin D supplementation, (4) OVX plus vitamin K and vitamin D supplementation, and (5) sham operation. The trabecular bone area was estimated by bone histomorphometry by microradiography and histological examination.

Immunolocalization of bone morphogenetic protein and its receptors in degeneration of intervertebral disc.

Study Design: Immunohistochemical study of expression and localization of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2/4 and type I and II receptors on intervertebral disc.

Objectives: To determine the biologic functions of BMPs and their receptors in the process of degeneration of the intervertebral disc.

Summary Of Background Data: Biologic and pathologic processes in the cell during the degeneration of the intervertebral disc are as yet poorly understood.

Apoptosis following spinal cord injury in rats and preventative effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist.

Object: The aims of this study were to clarify the histological and histochemical changes associated with cell death in the spinal cord after acute traumatic injury and to examine the role of excitatory amino acid release mediated by N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors.

Methods: Following laminectomy, the spinal cord in 70 rats was injured at the T-9 level by applying extradural static weight-compression, in which a cylindrical compressor was used to induce complete and irreversible transverse spinal cord injury (SCI) with paralysis of the lower extremities. The injured rats were killed between 30 minutes and 14 days after injury, and the injured cord was removed en bloc.

Localization of Smads, the TGF-beta family intracellular signaling components during endochondral ossification.

Members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) family transduce signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus via specific type I and type II receptors and Smad proteins. Smad1 and Smad5 mediate intracellular signaling of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), whereas Smad2 and Smad3 transduce TGF-beta signaling. Smad4 is a common mediator required for both pathways.

The effect of Lipo prostaglandin E1 on cauda equina blood flow in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis: myeloscopic observation.

Study Design: Myeloscopic examination was performed to observe the cauda equina in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis before and after treatment with Lipo prostaglandin E1, a strong peripheral vasodilator.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to clarify the effects of Lipo prostaglandin E1 on blood flow in the cauda equina in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis.

Setting: Japan, Kagoshima

Methods: We performed myeloscopic observations of morphological changes in blood vessels running along the cauda equina in 11 patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis before and after treatment with Lipo prostaglandin E1.