Endoscopic osteosynthesis after thoracic spine trauma: a report of two cases.

Modern concepts of treating thoracic diseases suggest more and more the use of minimally invasive thoracoscopic techniques to reduce morbidity and save costs. For treatment of specific lesions at the thoracic spine, several thoracoscopic procedures have been performed successfully. The present report examines the feasibility of thoracoscopic osteosynthesis in two patients with ventral hyperextension injuries and anterior instability of the thoracic spine.

Thoracoscopic repair of thoracic spine trauma.

Modern concepts of treating thoracic and lumbar spinal trauma are based on posterior transpedicular fixation techniques which confer angular stability and instrument only a few levels of the spine. In addition, to prevent secondary losses in postoperative reduction of kyphotic deformities, transpedicular resection of torn discs, and inter- and intracorporeal bone grafting are included in the repair procedures for the entire damaged motion segment. However, due to the small size of the pedicles, a transpedicular approach to the injured vertebral body is not possible in the upper thoracic spine.

IgE-binding molecules on human Langerhans cells.

We have recently demonstrated that normal human Langerhans cells are able to bind IgE. The study of IgE-binding molecules on normal LC led to the characterization of three distinct structures able to bind IgE, viz. the low affinity receptor for IgE, Fc epsilon R2/CD23, the so-called IgE-binding protein epsilon BP which is the human homologous of the murine Mac-2 antigen, and finally the high affinity receptor for IgE, Fc epsilon RI.