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Intervertebral disc height in treated and untreated overweight post-menopausal women.

BACKGROUND: The effect of the menopause and HRT on the intervertebral discs has not been investigated. METHODS: One hundred women were recruited, comprising of 44 post-menopausal women on HRT, 33 untreated post-menopausal women and 23 pre-menopausal women. The height of the intervertebral discs between the 12th thoracic vertebra and the 3rd lumbar vertebra was measured by utilizing the bone densitometer height cursors. RESULTS: The untreated menopausal group of women had the lowest total disc height (D1-D3: 1.95 0.31 cm). This was significantly lower than the pre-menopausal group D1-D3: 2.16 0.24 cm) and the hormone-treated group (2.2 0.26 cm) (P > 0.02). The 2nd intervertebral disc consistently maintained a significant difference between the untreated menopausal group (D2: 0.63 0.13) and the other two groups (pre-menopausal group (D2: 0.72 0.09 cm) and treated menopausal group (D2: 0.73 0.12 cm) (P > 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Estrogen-replete women appear to maintain higher intervertebral discs compared to untreated post-menopausal women. The estrogenic milieu may be relevant because of the significant impact it has on the hydrophilic glycosaminoglycans, the water content, collagen and elastin of the intervertebral discs. The maintenance of adequate disc height may allow the intervertebral discs to retain their discoid shape and viscoelastic function, containing vertical forces which may threaten spinal architecture leading to vertebral body compression fractures.

Body Height↗

Methodology for treatment evaluation in patients with cancer metastatic to bone.

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer metastatic to bone experience several adverse and clinically important skeletal-related events, including pathologic fractures, vertebral compressions with fracture, the need for surgery to treat or prevent fractures, and the need for radiation therapy for the treatment of bone pain. We present appropriate methods for describing and modeling the clinical course of skeletal-related events and comparing treatments for such events. METHODS: On the basis of data from a recently completed randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving 380 breast cancer patients with bone metastases, we tested the validity of the "events-per-person-years" method, one of the most commonly used techniques, for the analysis of skeletal-related events. We then used more robust methods of analysis that are based on fewer assumptions, including a random-effects Poisson model, and contrasted the inferences about skeletal-related event rates and treatment effects for the different analytic methods. All statistical tests were two-sided. RESULTS: The events-per-person-years analysis underestimated substantially the variation in the data and is not appropriate to summarize the incidence rate of skeletal-related events. A random-effects Poisson model did provide a valid basis for analyzing such data. CONCLUSIONS: The underestimation of variability in data associated with the use of the events-per-person-years analysis leads to unduly narrow confidence intervals for complication rates and inflated false-positive error rates in treatment comparisons. A random-effects Poisson model provides a valid, robust basis for describing the clinical course of bone complications and evaluating treatment effects.

Bone Neoplasms↗

Loads on an internal spinal fixation device during physical therapy.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Modified internal spinal fixation devices allow the measurement of the forces and moments acting on the implants. The aim of this study was to measure the loads on internal fixation devices for selected body positions and movements during physical therapy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Loads on an internal spinal fixation device were measured in 10 patients with degenerative instability or compression fractures using a telemeterized implant. RESULTS: Relatively low implant loads were found in the recumbent body positions. Most exercises performed in a lying position caused implant loads less than that measured for standing and are therefore not likely to increase the risk of screw breakage. Fixation device loads were lower for sitting relaxed than for standing. The highest implant loads (128% of the value for standing) were measured during walking. Standing up, sitting down, and lateral bending and axial rotation of the upper body while standing led to fixation device loads between 111% and 120% related to the value for standing. Even higher fixation device loads were measured for ventral flexion and extension of the upper body while standing. Kneeling on hands and knees, and flexing and extending the back in this position, caused implant loads that were lower than for standing. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Standing up, sitting down, and lateral bending and axial rotation of the upper body while standing may slightly increase the risk of pedicle screw breakage, whereas ventral flexion and extension of the upper body while standing may increase this risk considerably if the region bridged by the implant is distracted (the distance between upper and lower screws was increased) during surgery. However, walking is the exercise that plays the major role concerning pedicle screw breakage because it causes the highest bending moments of all exercises studied and it loads the fixation devices most frequently.

Adult↗

Pregnancy-associated osteoporosis: report of two cases with long-term bone density follow-up.

Pregnancy-associated osteoporosis is a rare and poorly characterized clinical entity. We describe two women, aged 28 and 31 yr, who developed vertebral osteopaenia with non-traumatic compression fractures within a few months after delivery. In both women secondary causes of osteoporosis were excluded and routine laboratory data including indices of calcium metabolism were normal. In one patient (Patient 1) spontaneous secretion of IL-1 by cultured blood monocytes was elevated 6 months after delivery and a bone biopsy revealed histomorphometric indices consistent with accelerated bone remodelling. BMD was measured by quantitative computed tomography (QCT) and/or dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). In Patient 1, BMD, measured with QCT, 6 months after delivery was 3.32 Z-score units below the predicted value for age and sex-matched subjects. At that time treatment (phosphate followed by sodium etidronate) was instituted, and QCT measurements obtained 24 and 30 months after delivery revealed a BMD of -2.98 and -2.67 Z-score units, respectively. The treatment was discontinued just before she became pregnant again, and 3 months after the second delivery QCT showed a BMD of -3.06 Z-score units. Further BMD assessments were obtained with DXA at 15 and 18 months after the second delivery, and the BMD values were -1.41 and -1.08, respectively. In Patient 2, spine BMD, measured with QCT, 4 and 10 months after delivery were -1.68 and -1.59 Z-score units, respectively. At 10, 16 and 22 months after delivery, BMD was assessed with DXA. The initial measurement with this technique disclosed a BMD of 0.52 Z-score units.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Case report: adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma associated with recurrent strongyloides hyperinfection.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) was demonstrated postmortem in a 47-year-old woman initially manifesting severe hypercalcemia and a vertebral compression fracture. Hyperinfection with Strongyloides stercoralis preceded the appearance of ATLL by several months and ultimately dominated the terminal course. Although HTLV-I and S. stercoralis commonly infect the same host, only three other cases of concomitant ATLL and hyperinfection have been reported in English. The apparent rarity of this association suggests that immunologic sequelae of ATLL do not predispose to dissemination and multiplication of Strongyloides. Observations pertinent to this conclusion are reviewed.

Animals↗

Rehabilitation after cardiac transplantation. Case series and literature review.

Twelve heart transplant recipients were admitted to the rehabilitation unit (RU) of a tertiary general hospital during a five-year period. Demographic, medical, and functional data were collected on these patients in a prospective and retrospective chart review. Functional status of each patient was assessed at both admission and discharge by means of the Modified Barthel Index (MBI). All transplant patients admitted to the RU were male, with an average age of 58 (range, 48-64) years. The mean MBI at admission was 57 (range, 31-75), and mean MBI at discharge was 86.5 (range, 55-100). The difference between the mean MBI admission score and that at discharge was demonstrated to be statistically significant (P < 0.001) using the paired t test. The average length of stay on the RU for the 12 patient cohort was 26 (range, 10-63) days. Ten of the 12 patients (83%) were discharged from the RU to the community. Two patients had to be transferred back to the acute care units after developing significant medical problems. Of the patients who returned to the community, the average number of medications at discharge was nine (range, 7-13), with all patients taking prednisone and cyclosporine. At the time of admission, all patients presented with numerous secondary medical problems. Six patients (50%) had hypertension, which required a medical regimen for control. Five patients had either inadequate oral intake or swallowing problems, thus requiring a feeding tube. In four of the five patients, the feeding tube was able to be removed during the RU course. Seven patients had associated neuromuscular deficits, which included hemiparesis (2 patients), paraparesis (1 patient), and myopathy (1 patient). Four patients were found to have pressure sores on admission to the RU, three of whom were completely healed by the time of discharge. Two of the patients had affective disorders that required follow-up by the psychiatry service during their stay on the RU. One patient was found to have radiographic evidence of a vertebral compression fracture but no other recipients had known fractures, osteoporosis, or osteopenia. As well as discussing the above data, the authors will also review basic exercise guidelines for cardiac transplantation patients.

Enteral Nutrition↗

Diffusion imaging of the human spinal cord and the vertebral column.

During the last decade, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) has matured from an experimental tool to a clinically useful modality that has not only significantly impacted the diagnosis of (acute) cerebral stroke but has also shown utility in other abnormalities of the brain. Although DWI should be equally sensitive to changes in the spine, it has been used far less frequently in this region of the body. This is mainly because of the inhomogeneous magnetic environment, the small size of the spinal cord, and increased motion in and around the spine. However, once these limitations are overcome, a whole range of applications can be envisioned. Already now, DWI promises to be able to differentiate between benign and malignant vertebral compression fractures. As in the brain, the immediate reduction of diffusivity following ischemic damage in the spinal cord may provide an early identification of patients with infarction. The study of diffusion anisotropy may open new avenues for the detection and better understanding of damage to the long fiber tracts with important clinical implications for disorders like multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. It may also be possible to address, in a more refined manner, mechanisms of damage such as occur with spondylotic myelopathy. To lay the basis for future research in these areas, we will discuss the most appropriate DWI methods for the spine. Following an overview of the basic principles of DWI and associated pitfalls, the most commonly used imaging methods are addressed. Finally, experimental and clinical applications in the spinal cord and the vertebral column and their clinical relevance thus far are reviewed.

Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging↗

Value of cervical spine radiographs as a screening tool.

A review of the reports of 848 cervical spine radiographs was done to assess the yield of useful and critical information in a group of patients without trauma. In 470 of these patients the clinical record also was reviewed; 54.2% of the radiographs were read as having degenerative change, 35% were read as normal, and 8.5% were read as being consistent with muscle spasm. The remaining 2.3% included diagnoses of anatomic or congenital variants, soft tissue calcification, or old compression fractures. There were no serious diagnoses such as acute fracture, dislocation, or neoplasm that, had they not been identified, would have put the patient in jeopardy. Thus, for most outpatients with nontraumatic symptoms of a nonspecific or nonlocalizing nature, the use of cervical spine radiographs as a screening tool is not justified.

Adolescent↗

Lumbar spinal stenosis assessment with computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and myelography.

Degenerative spinal stenosis of the lumbar spine is caused by many factors, some of which include: disc herniation, ligamentum flavum and facet hypertrophy, spondylolisthesis, and compression fracture. Most often the stenosis is caused by a combination of these factors. The imaging modalities in routine use to evaluate these conditions are computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography-myelogram. They each have their advantages and disadvantages although any one of these modalities can adequately diagnose lumbar stenosis. The overall accuracy rate of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed tomography-myelogram has been reported to be similar and even complimentary. It is recommended that the least invasive modality be performed first. Magnetic resonance imaging should be the first choice because it does not require ionizing radiation or contrast injection. The aim of the current study is to present the common causes of lumbar stenosis. Where appropriate, each case is shown with images from each modality so that their similarities and differences can be highlighted.

Fractures, Spontaneous↗

Rupture of the liver and right hemidiaphragm presenting as right hemothorax.

A young man hit by a car while riding his motorcycle presented with reversible hypotension, a compression fracture of C6, fractures of the left femur and of ribs 9-12 on the right, and right hemothorax. A falsely negative peritoneal lavage delayed laparotomy, which, when done, demonstrated two right diaphragmatic rents with bleeding into the right chest from a severe liver injury. Presentation of this case demonstrates that while peritoneal lavage is an excellent way to exclude intraperitoneal hemorrhage following blunt abdominal trauma, false-negative results may occur in the setting of hemorrhage with diaphragmatic rupture.

Abdominal Injuries↗

Sufentanil citrate and morphine/bupivacaine as alternative agents in chronic epidural infusions for intractable non-cancer pain.

Intraspinal narcotic (usually intrathecal morphine) infusions with implanted pumps are increasingly used in patients with intractable chronic pain not caused by cancer. In some patients, pain control is difficult with infusions of morphine. Seven patients with diagnoses of arachnoiditis, epidural scarring, and/or vertebral body compression fracture were treated with alternative solutions in an epidural route. For maximal flexibility, Medtronic implanted programmable infusion pumps with catheters to T6-T10 were used, and pain was monitored by verbal pain scales. In three patients, epidural infusions of morphine in 0.5% bupivacaine (MS-MARC) resulted in little or no pain relief without significant side effects (e.g., headache, nausea, or vomiting). In these same patients, epidural infusions of sufentanil citrate resulted in pain scale reductions of 92%, 82%, and 40%, respectively, with no side effects. Four other patients found more effective pain relief when switched from initial sufentanil citrate infusions to MS-MARC. Pain scale reductions (with no side effects) were 92%, 76%, 59%, and 47% in these patients. Pain relief and minimal side effects with sufentanil citrate is theorized to result from its higher lipophilicity promoting local transdural diffusion to spinal cord and limiting upward diffusion to the brain stem. Sufentanil citrate is also advantageous for programmable pumps because it is 100 times more potent than morphine and therefore allows longer pump refill times and higher infusion doses. Although this study was done on a limited number of patients, sufentanil citrate and MS-MARC in epidural infusions using programmable infusion pumps for non-cancer patients provide significant alternative drug combinations and routes.

Analgesia, Epidural↗

Thoracic vertebrectomy and reconstruction using a microsurgical thoracoscopic approach.

A video-assisted thoracoscopic microsurgical approach was developed in the laboratory and subsequently used clinically to resect abnormalities of the thoracic vertebrae, to decompress the thoracic spinal cord, and to reconstruct the thoracic vertebral bodies. This report describes the development of the clinical operative techniques for microsurgical thoracoscopic vertebrectomy, neural decompression, and spinal reconstruction. This minimally incisional approach was clinically used in 17 patients to treat vertebral osteomyelitis, tumors, and compression fractures. Microsurgical thoracoscopic techniques were performed using several narrow, flexible, working portals placed in small incisions in the intercostal spaces. Access to the thoracic spine was achieved through the pleural cavity after temporary deflation of one lung using a double-lumen endotracheal tube. The parietal pleura, segmental vessels, and rib heads were dissected off the surfaces of the involved vertebrae to expose the region of interest. Long narrow spine dissection tools were used to perform the spinal decommpression and reconstruction. This technique achieved the same amount of spinal dissection as that achieved with conventional open spinal procedures and used microsurgical visualization techniques. The small incisions with reduced soft tissue dissection may reduce postoperative pain, shorten the length of hospitalization, and have cosmetic and functional advantages. Thoracoscopic vertebrectomies and reconstruction of the spine were technically feasilble procedures that were performed with excellent clinical results. This minimally incisional technique provides a viable alternative to thoracotomy or to posterolateral approaches for thoracic vertebrectomy and vertebral body reconstruction.

Adult↗

Diseases of the spine in South American mummies.

OBJECTIVE: The skulls and spinal columns of people from ancient civilizations, which frequently are found in a preserved state at archeological sites, can provide a large amount of information about these individuals' physical condition through paleopathological investigation. METHODS: This study represents the examination of more than 700 human remains dating back more than 8000 years that were recovered from archaeological excavations in the Andean region of southern Peru and northern Chile. RESULTS: Examples of congenital malformations, degenerative processes, infectious diseases, neoplasias, and traumatic diseases were discovered. Congenital anomalies such as spina bifida occulta were relatively common in these populations. No cases of meningomyelocele were discovered. The most common pathological findings were degenerative changes of the vertebral bodies. Large cervical and lumbar osteophytes were identified in some remains. Several cases of cervical spondylosis were determined to be the result of an occupational disease resulting from carrying heavy loads on the back. These heavy loads were supported by wearing around the forehead a tumpline, known as a capacho. The most common infectious disease process in the spine was due to tuberculosis. The diagnosis was made by radiological and histopathological studies, and in several cases the organism Mycobacterium tuberculosis was identified in the soft tissues. Metastatic lesions on the vertebral bodies were identified in a single case. Examples of traumatic spinal injury were rare. Compression fractures were noted infrequently. CONCLUSION: Diseases of the spinal column in the ancient inhabitants of the Andean region of South America were similar to those that affect the present-day population of that area.

Adult↗

A study of bone mineral density versus age in Omani women and a comparison with normal British women.

Dual photon absorptiometry (DPA) of the lumbar spine (2nd, 3rd and 4th lumbar vertebrae) was carried out using a Norland 2600 bone densitometer on 194 Omani women (OW). The exclusion criteria were (1) any medical treatment known to affect calcium metabolism or bone mass, (2) osteomalacia or secondary osteoporosis, (3) the presence of osteophytes or compression fractures of the lumbar vertebrae and (4) the presence of aortic calcifications. The bone mineral density (BMD) results showed a peak value occurring in the 30-35 year old age range (mean 1.1 g cm-2, standard deviation 0.1). The data were compared with a group of 165 normal British women (BW) with a similar age distribution whose peak BMD (obtained with dual X-ray absorptiometry) occurred in the 40-45 year old age range. The two groups were compared in each 10 year age range and the BMD of the OW group was found to be significantly lower in the 40-49 year old age range (P < 0.01) as well as the 50-59 and 60-69 year old age ranges (P < 0.001).

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Vertebral osteomyelitis as a complication of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia.

A patient with Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia treated with gentamicin subsequently developed thoracovertebral osteomyelitis over the area of a preexisting compression fracture. Increasing back pain and progressive destruction with sclerosis of the involved vertebrae led to a needle biopsy examination of the vertebrae which showed evidence of chronic osteomyelitis and grew P aeruginosa on culture. P aeruginosa bacteremia was documented six months before the demonstration of the organism in the vertebrae. Treatment with a combination of gentamicin and carbenicillin coupled with bed rest cured the vertebral osteomyelitis.

Carbenicillin↗

Microcalluses of the trabeculae in lumbar vertebrae and their relation to the bone mineral content.

The bone mineral content of 109 lumbar vertebrae was related to the number of trabecular microcalluses in the vertebral bodies. The appearance and location of the calluses were also investigated. Microcalluses were found in 87 of the vertebral bodies. The incidences of calluses varied in the different groups (31-79 years) between 60 and 90%. The number of calluses increased with decreasing bone mineral content. The location of the calluses corresponded to the location of experimental in vitro compression fractures of the vertebral bodies.

Adult↗

Injury of the annulus fibrosus and disc protrusions. An in vitro investigation on human lumbar discs.

Discs of 25 specimens of human lumbar motion segments were subjected to an internal division of the annulus fibrosus, sparing only a peripheral layer 1 mm thick. Thus an attempt was made to simulate an internal disruption of the annulus caused by a traumatic episode or a degenerative process. The disc bulge that developed at the site of the injury was observed under axial loads in the physiologic load range, after axial compression fracture and after intradiscal injection. Under 1,000-N load, the bulge amounted to less than 0.5 mm; typically it increased to less than 1.0 mm after fracture. An extrusion of disc material at the site of the annulus injury was never observed. The results suggest that a radial division of the annulus is not sufficient to produce a clinically relevant disc herniation; further prerequisites are a fragmentation of the disc material and a separation from the endplates.

Adolescent↗

The injudicious laminectomy.

This report is an attempt to point out a hazard of what would be otherwise competent treatment of acquired spinal stenosis, namely laminectomy and facetectomy, in a small group of patients who are osteoporotic and who also have a "minor" compression fracture in the area in which the surgery is contemplated. Three patients who had such laminectomies, with disastrous results, are presented, along with one patient who, instead, had internal fixation and fusion at the time of laminectomy with an excellent result. The latter approach is recommended in such cases.

Aged↗