Lateral lumbar interbody fusion using a cellular allogeneic bone matrix in the treatment of symptomatic degenerative lumbar disc disease and lumbar spinal instability.

Background: Cellular allogeneic bone grafts are used as a biologic adjuvant in lumbar spinal fusions. The clinical use of a minimally invasive extreme lateral approach to the lumbar spine has been widely adopted; however, there are few clinical studies that have documented the clinical and radiographic outcomes associated with the use of cellular allografts as an adjunct to fusion in this advanced surgical approach.

Methods: A consecutive series of 67 patients (34 males and 33 females) with a mean age of 66.

VAST Clinical Trial: Safely Supplementing Tissue Lost to Degenerative Disc Disease.

Background: The function of the intervertebral disc is structural. Loss of tissue alters biomechanics, leads to subsequent disc degeneration, and is attributable to discogenic pain. A viable structural allograft was delivered into degenerate discs to determine whether intervention could safely stabilize anatomy, reduce pain, and improve function.

Transforaminal Lumbar Interbody Fusion With Viable Allograft: 75 Consecutive Cases at 12-Month Follow-up.

Background: When conservative treatments fail to alleviate the discomfort of abnormal motion, spinal fusion has been shown to provide symptomatic treatment for spinal instability, stenosis, spondylolisthesis, and symptomatic degenerative disc disease. The trend and rates of fusion over the past few years have been dramatic in the United States. Accompanying that higher incidence has been the shifting from traditional open surgery to minimally invasive techniques to reduce scar tissue formation, extent of muscle stripping, and muscle retraction which all have been shown to adversely affect outcomes.

Safety and feasibility of outpatient ACDF in an ambulatory setting: A retrospective chart review.

Background: Outpatient spinal surgery is becoming increasingly common and in some areas is now the preferred course for certain procedures. Many different procedures, including ACDF, have been examined in the outpatient setting in the past few years but to our knowledge none have included the ambulatory setting.

Methods: All ACDF procedures performed during the time frame of the study were included.

Spinal injuries after falls from hunting tree stands.

Background Context: Spinal injuries are common sequelae of falls from hunting tree stands. Significant neurological injury is not uncommon and can result in significant morbidity as well as enormous expenditure of health care dollars. Recent literature on the subject is limited.

Dietary Estrogens Act through Estrogen Receptor-Mediated Processes and Show No Antiestrogenicity in Cultured Breast Cancer Cells.

Dietary estrogens are believed to exert their estrogenic or antiestrogenic (chemopreventive) action in estrogen responsive cells by interacting with the estrogen receptor (ER). The present study was undertaken to evaluate a direct role of ER in estrogenic or antiestrogenic activities of three dietary estrogens (coumestrol, genistein and zearalenone). HeLa cells were transiently co-transfected with an expression vector for ER and an estrogen-responsive reporter gene construct.