Clinical application of bone turnover markers in treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures and their role in predicting fracture progression.

This study aimed to investigate whether changes in the bone turnover markers (BTMs) during teriparatide therapy for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures could reflect therapeutic effects by analyzing the relationship between clinical and radiological features and BTMs. A total of 33 patients with 51 osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture segments were included. Plain radiographs and BTM levels were evaluated at the pretreatment and at 3 months after teriparatide treatment.

Risks and benefits of timely screw removal after thoracolumbar spine fractures treated with non-fusion technique.

Background: Percutaneous-short segment screw fixation (SSSF) without bone fusion has proven to be a safe and effective modality for thoracolumbar spine fractures (TLSFs). When fracture consolidation is confirmed, pedicle screws are no longer essential, but clear indications for screw removal following fracture consolidation have not been established.

Methods: In total, we enrolled 31 patients with TLSFs who underwent screw removal following treatment using percutaneous-SSSF without fusion.

Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Anterior Screw Fixation for Odontoid Fracture and Analysis of the Predictive Factors for Surgical Failure.

Objective: Anterior odontoid screw fixation (AOSF) is a safe and effective treatment for type II and rostral type III odontoid fracture. This study aimed to report the outcomes of the AOSF surgery and evaluate the potential risk factors of surgical failure.

Methods: We enrolled 63 patients who underwent AOSF.

Single-Stage Posterior Circumferential Stabilization Using Double Small Cages for the Treatment of Thoracic and Lumbar Spine Fractures.

Objective: Controversy remains regarding the optimal methods for resection of the vertebral body, reconstruction of the anterior column, and decompression of the spinal cord in patients who have severe vertebral body destruction of the thoracic or lumbar spine with associated neurologic impairment. We report an alternative technique for primary treatment and salvage involving single-stage corpectomy followed by reconstruction of the anterior column using double small mesh cages via the posterior-only approach.

Methods: Plain radiographs and computed tomography scans, taken at different intervals, were used to measure local kyphosis, segmental height, and fusion grade.

Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis Involving Second Cervical Vertebra and the Hypothalamus and Pituitary in an Adult.

Background: Adult-onset Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) with simultaneous involvement of the high cervical spine and the hypothalamus is rare.

Case Description: We have reported a case of adult-onset LCH in the second cervical vertebra with bony destruction and subsequent diabetes insipidus due to simultaneous involvement of the hypothalamus and pituitary stalk. Magnetic resonance imaging of the hypothalamus and pituitary lesion and immunohistochemistry of the cervical lesion revealed LCH.

Thoracolumbar burst fractures in patients with neurological deficit: Anterior approach versus posterior percutaneous fixation with laminotomy.

Background: Thoracolumbar burst fractures (TLBFs) are the most common spinal trauma; however, their appropriate management has not yet been determined. In this study, we aimed to compare the clinical and radiological results of percutaneous pedicle screw fixation (PPSF) following posterior decompression technique versus anterior corpectomy and fusion technique for the treatment of TLBFs.

Methods: A total of 46 patients (2002-2015) with TLBFs were included in this study.

Unexpected Intradural Lumbar Disk Herniation Found During Transforaminal Endoscopic Surgery.

Background: Intradural disk herniation (IDH) is defined as the displacement of the intervertebral disk nucleus pulposus into the dural sac. In this lumbar lesion, the affected level differs from that of a traditional extradural herniation: 55% of cases occur at the level of L4-5, 16% at L3-4, and 10% at L5-S1. Upper lumbar IDH is extremely rare.

Traumatic lumbar disc herniation mimicking epidural hematoma: A case report and literature review.

Rationale: We report a rare case of traumatic lumbar disc herniation mimicking epidural hematoma.

Patient Concerns: A 39-year old man presented with acute bilateral leg and back pain, following a crushing injury caused by a crane collapse.

Diagnosis: A computed tomography scan revealed multiple compression fractures of the thoracolumbar spine, including a burst fracture of the L4 vertebral body.

Pericranial Flap Anterior Skull Base Reconstruction With Gelfoam Intradural Compression.

Anterior cranial base reconstruction is occasionally necessary following severe trauma. Several methods for reconstruction have been described and some authors have described their experiences regarding the use of a pericranial flap for anterior skull base reconstruction after trauma. A 26-year-old woman was admitted to our department with multiple facial bone fractures identified using facial bone computed tomography.

Retropharyngeal Granulation: Delayed Complication of Anterior Cervical Diskectomy and Fusion in C2-3.

Background: A 26-year-old man presented with acute quadriparesis owing to a traffic accident. A computed tomography scan revealed a hangman fracture and locking of the left facet joint at C2-3. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a high signal change of the spinal cord on T2-weighted image and hemorrhage in the C2-3 level.

Outcomes of Anterior Cervical Fusion Using Polyetheretherketone Cage with Demineralized Bone Matrix and Plate for Management of Subaxial Cervical Spine Injuries.

Objective: We evaluated the usefulness of a polyetheretherketone (PEEK) cage filled with demineralized bone matrix (DBM) and plate fixation in anterior interbody fusions for subaxial cervical spine injuries.

Methods: A retrospective review of 98 patients (58 women, 40 men; mean age, 49.7 years; range, 17-78 years) who underwent single-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) using a PEEK cage filled with DBM and plate fixation for subaxial cervical spine injuries from March 2005 to June 2018 was conducted.

An outbreak of toxoplasmosis in squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) in South Korea.

Background: Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an intracellular protozoan parasite that can infect warm-blooded animals including humans. New World monkeys, such as squirrel monkeys, are more susceptible to T.

Traumatic pericarditis caused by a bamboo twig in captive waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus).

A 19-year-old captive male waterbuck (Kobus ellipsiprymnus) exhibited traumatic pericarditis at necropsy. The animal weighed 182 kg at necropsy and revealed no remarkable findings in external observation. Severe pericardial adhesions with fibrosis, hepato-diaphragmatic adhesions, straw-colored ascites and hepatosplenomegaly were observed upon examining the internal organs.

Induction of antibody and interferon-γ production in mice immunized with virus-like particles of swine hepatitis E virus.

Virus-like particles (VLPs) composed of the truncated capsid protein of swine hepatitis E virus (HEV) were developed and immune responses of mice immunized with the VLPs were evaluated. IgG titers specific for the capsid protein of swine HEV were significantly higher for all groups of mice immunized with the VLPs than those of the negative control mice. Splenocytes from mice immunized with the VLPs also produced significantly greater quantities of interferon (IFN)-γ than interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-10.

Collision tumor with inflammatory breast carcinoma and malignant phyllodes tumor: a case report and literature review.

There have been some reports of coincidental presentation of breast carcinoma and phyllodes tumor in the same breast. Most of the cases were carcinoma that arose from a phyllodes tumor with a histologically identified transitional area, and they behaved less aggressively than the usually encountered carcinoma. Collision tumors are rare clinical entities in which two histologically distinct tumor types show involvement at the same site.

Cystic Abducens Schwannoma without Abducens Paresis : Possible Role of Cisternal Structures in Clinical Manifestation.

The abducens nerve paresis generally can aid in the presumptive diagnosis of abducens schwannoma along with the typical radiological features of schwannomas. The authors present a case of a 76-year-old male patient with a abducens schwannoma without abducens nerve paresis. Peroperatively, abducens nerve located in the cerebellopontine cistern had normal in contour and diameter, despite the mass originated from this nerve.

Solitary Langerhans cell histocytosis of skull and spine in pediatric and adult patients.

Purpose: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare neoplasm and has heterogeneous clinical presentation and behavior. We analyzed solitary lytic lesions of the skull and spine in pediatric and adult patients.

Methods: Between 2001 and 2011, 42 patients underwent surgery for LCH.

Destructive radiologic development of intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia on skull bone.

Intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH) is a rare vascular benign lesion that rarely involves the central nervous system with or without skull invasion. We report a rare case of IPEH on the skull bone, which displayed destructive radiologic development associated with hemorrhage. A 14-year-old male presented with an incidentally detected a small enhancing, left frontal osteolytic lesion.