Neurospine最新文献

Objective: To examine the factors influencing cervical sagittal alignment (CSA) after posterior correction and fusion surgery (PSF) for patients with Lenke type 2 adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Methods: A total of 102 female patients with Lenke 2 AIS and a minimum 2-year follow-up were included. The upper instrumented vertebra was T2 in all patients. Sagittal and coronal parameters were measured before and 2 years after surgery. Patients were categorized into cervical malalignment (CM) and noncervical malalignment (NCM) groups following Passias' criteria. Radiographic factors influencing CSA were analyzed.

Results: Preoperatively, 57 patients (55.9%) were assigned to the CM group and 45 patients (44.1%) to the NCM groups. The cervical lordosis (CL) in CM group was more kyphotic (19.3° vs. 3.3°), smaller proximal thoracic kyphosis (PTK; 9.7° vs. 15.4°), and smaller T1 slope (7.1° vs. 14.0°) than those in the NCM group. Main thoracic kyphosis (MTK) did not show significantly difference between the 2 groups (11.3° vs. 14.4°). Two years after surgery, the CM group demonstrated significant improvements in CSA. PTK increased from 9.7° to 13.5°, T1 slope increased from 7.1° to 10.5°, and cervical kyphosis improved from -19.3° to -8.8°, while MTK remained unchanged (11.3° vs. 11.6°).

Conclusion: PSF significantly improved CSA in patients with preoperative CM. Increased PTK, correlated with improved CL, suggests that PSF-induced PTK enhancement, rather than MTK, drives T1 slope and subsequent CSA improvement.

Objective: This study compared the efficacy of posterior pedicle screw fixation with 5.5-mm rods (PPSF5.5) with anterior corpectomy (AC) for metastatic cervicothoracic junction (CTJ) tumors.

Methods: This retrospective analysis included patients with CTJ tumors who underwent PPSF5.5 or AC from January 2000 to December 2023. Data collected included demographics, surgical details, clinical outcomes (visual analogue scale scores for neck or back pain, Spinal Instability Neoplastic Scale score, McCormick scale, Nurick grade, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group score), radiologic results (cervical segmental Cobb angle), and surgical complications (instrumentation failure, tumor regrowth, and wound infection).

Results: The AC group showed a tendency for short-level fusion. Patients in this group had tumors primarily located near C7 and generally confined to the vertebral body. AC was associated with more significant postoperative kyphotic changes in the index vertebra during follow-up than PPSF5.5. Moreover, AC was associated with a higher incidence of instrumentation failure, necessitating revision surgeries. Conversely, patients in the PPSF5.5 group tended to require revision surgery due to tumor regrowth.

Conclusion: For CTJ metastatic tumors, PPSF5.5 provides superior resistance to forward bending and collapse prevention and minimizes instrumentation failure rate compared to AC. Moreover, AC may reduce the risk of tumor recurrence, but this approach is recommended only if the tumor is confined to the vertebral body and located at the upper level of the CTJ.

Objective: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) are a major public health concern. While percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) is an effective treatment for OVCF, adjacent vertebral fractures (AVF) often occur post-PVA, adversely affecting treatment outcomes. This study aims to develop a nomogram for predicting AVF risk using multicenter data to aid clinical decision-making for OVCF patients.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed patients who underwent PVA at 3 hospitals between 2017 and 2022. The cohort was divided into a training set (80%) and a validation set (20%). Independent risk factors for AVF were identified using LASSO (least absolute shrinkage and selection operator) and logistic regression. Seven significant factors were: bone mineral density, diabetes, total fractured vertebrae, intravertebral vacuum cleft sign, recovery of local kyphosis angle, regular aerobic exercise, and lumbar brace use.

Results: Among the 483 patients, 52 (10.76%) developed adjacent vertebral refractures within 2 years. The nomogram demonstrated high predictive accuracy, with area under the curves of 89.21% in the training set and 98.33% in the validation set.

Conclusion: This pioneering nomogram, incorporating baseline, surgical, and postoperative factors, provides valuable guidance for spine surgeons in preoperative planning and postoperative management, enabling personalized prognosis and rehabilitation for OVCF patients.

Objective: Facet joint injections (FJIs) and medial branch blocks (MBBs) are commonly used interventions for chronic spinal pain, but their comparative effectiveness remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to compare the pain relief, functional improvement, complications, and patient satisfaction associated with FJI and MBB.

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies were conducted. Primary outcomes included pain relief (numerical rating scale) and functional improvement (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI]/Neck Disability Index). Secondary outcomes assessed adverse effects and patient satisfaction. The differences in characteristics between patients who were readmitted and those who were not were identified and analyzed using the Review Manager software.

Results: FJI resulted in lower pain and ODI scores compared to MBB, but the differences were not statistically significant. However, patient satisfaction was significantly higher in the FJI group (odds ratio, 1.81; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-3.24; p=0.04). Additionally, FJI had fewer adverse effects than MBB.

Conclusion: Both FJI and MBB are effective for chronic spinal pain, but FJI may be preferred for patients seeking immediate pain relief with fewer complications. Further high-quality studies are needed to refine treatment guidelines.

Neuropathic pain remains a significant clinical challenge due to the limited efficacy and sustainability of existing pharmacological treatments, underscoring the urgent need for mechanism-based therapeutic strategies. In recent years, gene-targeted interventions have emerged as promising modalities capable of modulating key molecular pathways implicated in chronic pain. Approaches such as antisense oligonucleotides and RNA interference have demonstrated encouraging preclinical results by selectively downregulating pain-associated genes. Based on these developments, genome-editing technologies-particularly the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) system-have enabled more precise and long-lasting modifications at both the DNA and RNA levels. This review highlights how CRISPR-based approaches in addressing the critical issues of specificity and long-term efficacy in pain gene therapy and exploring the functional roles of key gene targets and regulatory elements. Although challenges such as off-target activity and immunogenic responses remain, growing preclinical evidence supports the feasibility of CRISPR-based approaches in neuropathic pain. Collectively, these developments position CRISPR as a transformative tool to innovate the standard care for persistent pain syndromes and contribute to broader biomedical and pharmaceutical developments through continued refinement of targeting strategies and safety profiles.