Association between Histological Composition and Clinical Symptoms in Lumbar Disc Herniation in Different Age Groups.

Study Design: Retrospective study of prospectively collected data.

Objective: To investigate the influence of cartilaginous endplates (CEs) in herniated discs on clinical symptoms and postoperative outcomes in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) in different age groups.

Summary Of Background Data: LDH involving CEs, which are hard and less resorptive, is frequently observed with increasing age and appears to affect the natural course and clinical outcomes following discectomy.

Physics-informed neural network for acoustic resonance analysis in a one-dimensional acoustic tube.

This study devised a physics-informed neural network (PINN) framework to solve the wave equation for acoustic resonance analysis. The proposed analytical model, ResoNet, minimizes the loss function for periodic solutions and conventional PINN loss functions, thereby effectively using the function approximation capability of neural networks while performing resonance analysis. Additionally, it can be easily applied to inverse problems.

Temporal dynamics of gait function in acute cervical spinal cord injury.

Background: Following spinal cord injury (SCI), gait function reaches a post-recovery plateau that depends on the paralysis severity. However, the plateau dynamics during the recovery period are not known. This study aimed to examine the gait function temporal dynamics after traumatic cervical SCI (CSCI) based on paralysis severity.

Changing trends in traumatic spinal cord injury in an aging society: Epidemiology of 1152 cases over 15 years from a single center in Japan.

Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) causes an insult to the central nervous system, often resulting in devastating temporary or permanent neurological impairment and disability, which places a substantial financial burden on the health-care system. This study aimed to clarify the up-to-date epidemiology and demographics of patients with TSCI treated at the largest SCI center in Japan. Data on all patients admitted to the Spinal Injuries Center with TSCI between May 2005 and December 2021 were prospectively collected using a customized, locally designed SCI database named the Japan Single Center Study for Spinal Cord Injury Database (JSSCI-DB).

Halo vest fixation effectively maintains cervical alignment through intraoperative repositioning in patients with cervical spine instability.

Introduction: The objective of this study was to examine if halo vest fixation provides sufficient stabilization of cervical spine alignment to endorse its use through intraoperative positional changes in patients with cervical spine instability.

Methods: The subjects of this study were 14 patients with cervical spine instability who were immobilized in halo vests until they underwent subsequent internal fixation surgery. After induction of anesthesia, the patients in halo vests were repositioned from the supine position to the prone position.

Zinc deficiency impairs axonal regeneration and functional recovery after spinal cord injury by modulating macrophage polarization via NF-κB pathway.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating disease that results in permanent paralysis. Currently, there is no effective treatment for SCI, and it is important to identify factors that can provide therapeutic intervention during the course of the disease. Zinc, an essential trace element, has attracted attention as a regulator of inflammatory responses.

Diaphragm pacing implantation in Japan for a patient with cervical spinal cord injury: A case report.

Rationale: Traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating condition leading to respiratory failure that requires permanent mechanical ventilation, which is the main driver of increased medical costs. There is a great demand for establishing therapeutic interventions to treat respiratory dysfunction following severe cervical SCI.

Patient Concerns And Diagnosis: We present a 24-year-old man who sustained a cervical displaced C2-C3 fracture with SCI due to a traffic accident.

Species-specific debromination of BDE99 in teleost fish: The relationship between debromination ability and bioaccumulation patterns of PBDEs.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are known to be broken down by debromination reactions in the natural environment, such as by photolysis, microbial and metabolic processes. Although species-specific debromination of PBDEs by fish has also been reported, it has only rarely been studied from the phylogenetic perspective. The objective of this study is to reveal the factors affecting species-specific debromination through validation between the bioaccumulation of PBDEs in muscle tissue and the ability to debrominate BDE99.

Significance of the neurological level of injury as a prognostic predictor for motor complete cervical spinal cord injury patients.

To investigate the usefulness of the combination of neurological findings and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a prognostic predictor in patients with motor complete cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) in the acute phase. A cross-sectional analysis Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Spinal Injuries Center Forty-two patients with an initial diagnosis of motor complete CSCI (AIS A,  = 29; AIS B,  = 13) within 72 h after injury were classified into the recovery group (Group R) and the non-recovery group (Group N), based on the presence or absence of motor recovery (conversion from AIS A/B to C/D) at three months after injury, respectively. The Neurological Level of Injury (NLI) at the initial diagnosis was investigated and the presumptive primary injured segment of the spinal cord was inferred from MRI performed at the initial diagnosis.

Long-term outcomes of spinal meningioma resection with outer layer of dura preservation technique.

Spinal meningioma is a common benign intradural spinal tumor. It has been reported that the local recurrence rate after surgical resection increases with longer follow-up duration. Simpson grade 1 resection could reduce the risk of recurrence, but this procedure needs dural reconstruction, which would cause cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage or iatrogenic spinal cord injury.

Acute spinal subdural hematoma: A case report of spontaneous recovery from paraplegia.

Rationale: Spontaneous spinal subdural hematoma (SSDH) is a rare disease that can cause severe permanent neurological dysfunction. Here we present a case of spontaneous SSDH, in which a series of magnetic resonance images (MRIs) taken through the course of the disease facilitated understanding of the resolution process of the hematoma and the diagnosis of SSDH.

Patient Concerns: A 59-year-old male presented with sudden severe back pain and rapid onset of paraplegia.

The beneficial aspects of spasticity in relation to ambulatory ability in mice with spinal cord injury.

Study Design: Experimental study with mice.

Objectives: Spasticity is a common complication after spinal cord injury (SCI) and has detrimental aspects, such as persistent pain and involuntary muscle spasms. This study aimed to assess the influence of antispastic therapy on locomotor function after SCI.

Regeneration of Spinal Cord Connectivity Through Stem Cell Transplantation and Biomaterial Scaffolds.

Significant progress has been made in the treatment of spinal cord injury (SCI). Advances in post-trauma management and intensive rehabilitation have significantly improved the prognosis of SCI and converted what was once an "ailment not to be treated" into a survivable injury, but the cold hard fact is that we still do not have a validated method to improve the paralysis of SCI. The irreversible functional impairment of the injured spinal cord is caused by the disruption of neuronal transduction across the injury lesion, which is brought about by demyelination, axonal degeneration, and loss of synapses.

Macrophage centripetal migration drives spontaneous healing process after spinal cord injury.

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) brings numerous inflammatory cells, including macrophages, from the circulating blood to lesions, but pathophysiological impact resulting from spatiotemporal dynamics of macrophages is unknown. Here, we show that macrophages centripetally migrate toward the lesion epicenter after infiltrating into the wide range of spinal cord, depending on the gradient of chemoattractant C5a. However, macrophages lacking interferon regulatory factor 8 (IRF8) cannot migrate toward the epicenter and remain widely scattered in the injured cord with profound axonal loss and little remyelination, resulting in a poor functional outcome after SCI.

Progression of local kyphosis after conservative treatment for compressive cervical spine fracture with spinal cord injury.

Introduction: Compressive-flexion type cervical spine fracture is typically accompanied by apparent dislocation of the facet joints, undesirable cervical alignment, and devastating neurological dysfunction, which provides strong rationale for rendering prompt operative treatment. However, the validity of conservative treatment for compressive-flexion cervical spine injury in cases with preserved congruity of the facet joints has yet to be elucidated. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the long-term outcome of cervical alignment following conservative treatment for compressive-flexion cervical spine injury with preserved congruity of the facet joints.

The acute phase serum zinc concentration is a reliable biomarker for predicting the functional outcome after spinal cord injury.

Background: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a devastating disorder for which the accurate prediction of the functional prognosis is urgently needed. Due to the lack of reliable prediction methods, the acute evaluation of SCI severity and therapeutic intervention efficacy is extremely difficult, presenting major obstacles to the development of acute SCI treatment. We herein report a novel method for accurately predicting the functional prognosis using the acute-phase serum zinc concentration after SCI.

Pathological changes of distal motor neurons after complete spinal cord injury.

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes serious disruption of neuronal circuits that leads to motor functional deficits. Regeneration of disrupted circuits back to their original target is necessary for the restoration of function after SCI, but the pathophysiological condition of the caudal spinal cord has not been sufficiently studied. Here we investigated the histological and biological changes in the distal part of the injured spinal cord, using a mice model of complete thoracic SCI in the chronic stage (3 months after injury).