ABSTRACT
@#Reversible cerebral vasoconstriction syndrome (RCVS) presents with characteristic clinical, brain imaging, and angiographic findings. The most common clinical feature of RCVS is a severe acute headache, which is often referred to as a thunderclap headache owing to the nature of its presentation. It may occur spontaneously or may be provoked by various precipitating factors. We present two cases of RCVS concomitant with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST). Patient 1 was a 42-yearold woman admitted to our hospital with severe headache radiating to the neck, with associated vomitting. She had a history of ovarian cancer and underwent an operation for resection of the tumor a month prior to presentation. After resection, her estradiol (E2) levels were reduced from 288 pg/ ml to 31 pg/ml (normal range, 0-49 pg/ml). Initial imaging upon admission to our hospital revealed left posterior convexity subarachnoid hemorrhage. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) showed findings consistent with RCVS affecting the left posterior cerebral artery. Magnetic resonance venography (MRV) showed CVST of the left transverse and sigmoid sinuses. Single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) showed a left posterior ischemic lesion. These findings improved following treatment with nimodipine and anticoagulant. Patient 2 was a 39-year-old woman presented with holocranial headache associated with vomiting. She was diagnosed with an ovarian tumor. She underwent an operation three months prior to presentation. After tumor resection, her E2 level decrease from 193 pg/ml to 19 pg/ml (normal range, 0-49 pg/ml). MRA confirmed the presence of a vasospasm involving the right anterior cerebral artery. MRV confirmed the presence of thrombosis involving the superior sagittal sinus. She was discharged on postpartum day 31 without neurological deficits after treatment with anticoagulants. At 3 month follow-up, both MRA and MRV were within the normal limits. In conclusion, this is the first report of two women diagnosed with RCVS with concomitant CVST following ovarian tumor resection. The rapid change of perioperative E2 levels may have contributed to the development of CVST and RCVS.
ABSTRACT
STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PURPOSE: The aim of our study is to evaluate the extent of posterior spinal dural shift following spinous process splitting multi-level intervertebral lumbar laminectomies, and determine the relationship between posterior spinal dural shift and preoperative parameters. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: There are no existing studies on the posterior spinal dural shift after spinous process-splitting multi-leveled lumbar laminectomies. METHODS: We examined 37 patients who underwent spinous process-splitting laminectomies in at least two intervertebral levels, including at the L5/S level. We defined the distance between the vertebral bodies and the anterior edge of the dural sac in the magnetic resonance images at the L5 vertebral level as the anterior dural space (ADS) and detected the difference (d-ADS) between preoperative ADS (pre-ADS) and postoperative ADS (post-ADS). We assessed the relationship between ADS or d-ADS, and preoperative parameters, including age, sex, lumbar lordosis, focal lordosis (FL), and number of decompression levels. RESULTS: Post-ADS was significantly greater than pre-ADS (p<0.001). Pre-ADS was significantly correlated with FL (p=0.44, p<0.01) and also with post-ADS (p=0.43, p<0.01). d-ADS was negatively correlated with pre-ADS (p=−0.37, p<0.05). A single regression analysis revealed that the relationship between d-ADS and pre-ADS was described as d-ADS=3.67−0.46×pre-ADS. In one of three patients whose d-ADS was above the range of two standard errors, reoperation was performed because of impingement of the nerve root caused by the excessive posterior dural shift. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior dural shifts occur after spinous process-splitting multi-level lumbar laminectomies, including at the L5/S level. FL and pre-ADS are good predictive factors for posterior dural shift. Excessive posterior dural shift may lead to stretching and impingement of nerve roots and thus require attention.
ABSTRACT
Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury often occurs as a result of knee valgus collapse during landing or pivoting in sports activity. Previous studies reported that the risk of ACL injuries was reduced by jump and balance training, and those training can be effective as the prevention program for the ACL injuries. But those studies often focused on only adult athletes, and there are few studies focused on junior athletes. The purpose of this study is to investigate the pattern of landing movement in junior athletes, and to verify the effect of the prevention program. One-hundred and ten junior basketball players (boys; 61, girls;49, age ranging 12 to 15) were subjected in this study. We measured the knee flexion, valgus angles and jump height during continuous vertical jump. After measuring, they executed a prevention program for 12 weeks. The motion pattern of the knee during jump test were compaired between before and after prevention program. Female athletes showed greater knee valgus angle at initial landing phase and grater maximum knee valgus angle than those of males. As a result of the prevention program, maximum knee valgus angle was significantly decreased in female athletes. The greater angle of knee valgus in female may increase the risk of ACL injuries. Present study suggests that the prevention program is useful for reducing the risk of ACL injury. Increment of jump height in male players after this program might be considered that this training program has also an effect of performance improvement.