Beneficial compaction of spinal cord lesion by migrating astrocytes through glycogen synthase kinase-3 inhibition.

The migratory response of astrocytes is essential for restricting inflammation and preserving tissue function after spinal cord injury (SCI), but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. Here, we observed stimulation of in vitro astrocyte migration by the new potent glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) inhibitor Ro3303544 and investigated the effect of Ro3303544 administration for 5 days following SCI in mice. This treatment resulted in accelerated migration of reactive astrocytes to sequester inflammatory cells that spared myelinated fibres and significantly promoted functional recovery.

Repair of foveal detachment of the triangular fibrocartilage complex: open and arthroscopic transosseous techniques.

Because the radioulnar ligament attaches to the ulnar fovea and base of the ulnar styloid, foveal detachment of the triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) induces severe distal radioulnar joint instability. This article describes both an arthroscopic and open repair technique to reattach the TFCC to the fovea. Both techniques reanchor the detached TFCC to the fovea.

Changes in the cross-sectional area of deep posterior extensor muscles of the cervical spine after anterior decompression and fusion: 10-year follow-up study using MRI.

Purpose: To evaluate changes in the transverse area of deep posterior muscles of the cervical spine 10 years after anterior cervical decompression and fusion (ACDF), in comparison with healthy volunteers.

Methods: Thirty-one patients (22 males, 9 females, mean age at follow-up 59.3 years, mean follow-up 12.

Matrix metalloproteinase 13 in the ligamentum flavum from lumbar spinal canal stenosis patients with and without diabetes mellitus.

Background: Lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) is one of the most common spinal disorders in the elderly, and ligamentum flavum (LF) hypertrophy is an important cause of LSCS. Matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP13) can degrade fibrillar collagens and elastic microfibrils, and is involved in inflammation and fibrosis. The purpose of this study was to compare the expression of MMP13 in the LF from LSCS patients with diabetes mellitus [DM (+)] with that in the LF from patients without DM [DM (-)] and to analyze the relationship among DM, MMP13 expression, and LF hypertrophy.

Anatomic double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using bone-patellar tendon-bone and gracilis tendon graft: a comparative study with 2-year follow-up results of semitendinosus tendon grafts alone or semitendinosus-gracilis tendon grafts.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the clinical results of anatomic double-bundle anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction by use of bone-patellar tendon-bone and gracilis tendon (BPTB-G) grafts and to compare them with the results of double-bundle ACL reconstruction by use of semitendinosus tendon (ST) or semitendinosus-gracilis tendon (ST-G) grafts, with particular emphasis on the postoperative incidence of anterior knee pain.

Methods: The study comprised 144 patients who underwent unilateral anatomic double-bundle ACL reconstruction with 3 graft types, including 55 BPTB-G, 56 ST, and 33 ST-G grafts. A traumatic graft rupture occurred within 2 years postoperatively in 5 patients (1 BPTB-G, 3 ST, and 1 ST-G).

Outcomes of fusion surgery for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament of the thoracic spine: a multicenter retrospective survey: clinical article.

Object: The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of fusion surgery in patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament in the thoracic spine (T-OPLL) and to identify factors significantly related to surgical outcomes.

Methods: The study included 76 patients (34 men and 42 women with a mean age of 56.3 years) who underwent fusion surgery for T-OPLL at 7 spine centers during the 5-year period from 2003 to 2007.

Morphologic evaluation of the thoracic vertebrae for safe free-hand pedicle screw placement in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a CT-based anatomical study.

Objective: To evaluate the morphologic characteristics of the thoracic pedicle with regard to safe free-hand thoracic pedicle screw placement, based on multi-planar reconstruction CT images.

Methods: Thirty adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients who had undergone posterior corrective surgery for major thoracic curve were included in this study. Reconstructed CT axial images at each thoracic vertebra were used to measure: (1) the shortest distance from an entry point to the ventral cortex of the lamina (critical distance), and (2) the distance from the entry point to the tangent of the spinal canal at the medial wall of the pedicle (safe distance).

Schwann-spheres derived from injured peripheral nerves in adult mice--their in vitro characterization and therapeutic potential.

Multipotent somatic stem cells have been identified in various adult tissues. However, the stem/progenitor cells of the peripheral nerves have been isolated only from fetal tissues. Here, we isolated Schwann-cell precursors/immature Schwann cells from the injured peripheral nerves of adult mice using a floating culture technique that we call "Schwann-spheres.

Mimicking the neurotrophic factor profile of embryonic spinal cord controls the differentiation potential of spinal progenitors into neuronal cells.

Recent studies have indicated that the choice of lineage of neural progenitor cells is determined, at least in part, by environmental factors, such as neurotrophic factors. Despite extensive studies using exogenous neurotrophic factors, the effect of endogenous neurotrophic factors on the differentiation of progenitor cells remains obscure. Here we show that embryonic spinal cord derived-progenitor cells express both ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA before differentiation.

Prevalence and characteristics of chronic musculoskeletal pain in Japan.

Background: This cross-sectional study was conducted to obtain epidemiologic data on chronic musculoskeletal pain in the Japanese people, and with it a better understanding of the actual conditions and problems involved.

Methods: A questionnaire covering basic information, chronic musculoskeletal pain, daily life, quality of life, and social loss was prepared and mailed to 11507 individuals aged 18 years or older. Subjects were selected randomly nationwide in accordance with the demographic composition of Japan.

Spatiotemporal and anatomical analyses of P2X receptor-mediated neuronal and glial processing of sensory signals in the rat dorsal horn.

Extracellularly released adenosine triphosphate (ATP) modulates sensory signaling in the spinal cord. We analyzed the spatiotemporal profiles of P2X receptor-mediated neuronal and glial processing of sensory signals and the distribution of P2X receptor subunits in the rat dorsal horn. Voltage imaging of spinal cord slices revealed that extracellularly applied ATP (5-500 μM), which was degraded to adenosine and acting on P1 receptors, inhibited depolarizing signals and that it also enhanced long-lasting slow depolarization, which was potentiated after ATP was washed out.

Mechanism of osteoporosis in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: experimental scoliosis in pinealectomized chickens.

To clarify the mechanism of osteoporosis in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), we investigated radiological and histological changes in the cervical vertebrae of a chicken thoracic scoliosis model. Forty newly hatched broiler chicks were randomly divided into four equal groups: sham-operated chickens serving as control (CON), pinealectomized chickens (PNX), sham-operated (CON + MLT) and pinealectomized chickens (PNX + MLT) that received intraperitoneal administration of melatonin. Pinealectomy was performed at the age of 3 days, and the chickens were killed at 2 months of age.

Late instrumentation failure after total en bloc spondylectomy.

Object: The object of this study was to investigate failures after spinal reconstruction following total en bloc spondylectomy (TES), related factors, and sequelae arising from such failures in patients with malignant spinal tumors.

Methods: Fifteen patients (12 males and 3 females, with a mean age of 46.5 years) with malignant spinal tumors who underwent TES and survived for more than 1 year were included in this analysis (mean follow-up 41.

Sterility of posterior elements of the spine in posterior correction surgery.

Study Design: Prospective clinical series.

Objective: To investigate the sterility of the posterior elements of the spine during posterior correction surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: Bacterial growth in the operating field is considered one of the causes of surgical-site infection.

Treatment of collagen-induced arthritis with recombinant plasminogen-related protein B: a novel inhibitor of angiogenesis.

Background: We have previously reported that recombinant human plasminogen-related protein B (rPRP-B), a putative 9-kDa protein that closely resembles the activation peptide of plasminogen, has shown significant inhibition of tumor growth through inhibition of angiogenesis. Based on recent reports suggesting a close relationship between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and angiogenesis, we hypothesized that this compound would regulate inflammatory conditions in RA. The present study therefore tested the effects of rPRP-B in the treatment of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) to elucidate the mechanisms underlying these effects.

Long-term surgical outcomes of idiopathic spinal cord herniation.

Background: Because of the lack of long-term postoperative follow-up studies of idiopathic spinal cord herniation (ISCH), there is little information about the long-term effectiveness and complications of the dural defect enlargement in patients with ISCH. The purpose of this study is to determine the long-term effectiveness of this procedure.

Methods: Sixteen patients with ISCH were treated surgically by enlargement of the dural defect.

Steroid-induced osteonecrosis of bilateral distal humerus treated by arthroplasty using costal osteochondral graft: case report.

We report the case of a 43-year-old man with steroid-induced osteonecrosis of the distal humerus in both arms. Costal osteochondral autografts were used to restore both joints with satisfactory outcomes.

Replication study of the association between adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and two estrogen receptor genes.

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a common disorder with a strong genetic predisposition. Associations between AIS and common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in estrogen receptor genes have been reported. rs9340799 in the gene for estrogen receptor α (ESR1) is reported to be associated with curve severity in Japanese and with AIS predisposition and curve severity in Chinese.

Kyphectomy for severe kyphosis with pyogenic spondylitis associated with myelomeningocele: a case report.

A 32-year-old woman was referred to our hospital for a refractory ulcer on her back. She had a history of myelomeningocele with spina bifida that was treated surgically at birth. The ulcer was located at the apex of the kyphosis.

Natural evolution of desmoplastic fibroblastoma on magnetic resonance imaging: a case report.

Introduction: Desmoplastic fibroblastoma (collagenous fibroma) is a recently described tumor thought to arise predominantly from subcutaneous tissue or skeletal muscle. The natural evolution of this tumor on magnetic resonance imaging has never been described, to the best of our knowledge. We herein report a case of desmoplastic fibroblastoma arising in the thigh and show the longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging findings.

Cross-sectional area of posterior extensor muscles of the cervical spine in asymptomatic subjects: a 10-year longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging study.

There has been no prospective study on age-related changes of the extensor muscles of the cervical spine in healthy subjects. This study was conducted to elucidate any association between the changes in cross-sectional area of the extensor muscles of the cervical spine on MRIs and cervical disc degeneration or the development of clinical symptoms. Sixty-two subjects who underwent MR imaging by a 1.

The IRE1α-XBP1 pathway is essential for osteoblast differentiation through promoting transcription of Osterix.

During skeletal development, osteoblasts produce large amounts of extracellular matrix proteins and must therefore increase their secretory machinery to handle the deposition. The accumulation of unfolded protein in the endoplasmic reticulum induces an adoptive mechanism called the unfolded protein response (UPR). We show that one of the most crucial UPR mediators, inositol-requiring protein 1α (IRE1α), and its target transcription factor X-box binding protein 1 (XBP1), are essential for bone morphogenic protein 2-induced osteoblast differentiation.