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Objective:To construct a classification and regression tree which can be used to guide the tracheostomy for traumatic cervical spinal cord injury (TCSCI) based on the identification of the risk factors for TCSCI.Methods:The 498 patients with TCSCI were retrospectively analyzed who had been treated at Department of Orthopedics, The Second Hospital Affiliated to Army Medical University from January 2009 to December 2018. There were 403 males and 86 females, with an age of (50.2±13.6) years. Of the patients, 69 received tracheostomy and 420 did not. The gender, age, smoking history, injury cause, neurological level of injury (NLI), American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) grade, injury severity score (ISS), thoracic injuries, prior pulmonary diseases, prior basic diseases, and operative approaches of the patients were statistically analyzed by single factor analysis. After the independent risk factors for tracheostomy were analyzed by binary logistic regression, the classification and regression tree was developed which could be used to guide the tracheostomy.Results:The logistic regression analysis showed age>50 years ( OR=4.744, 95% CI: 1.802 to 12.493, P=0.002), NLI at C 4 and above ( OR=23.662, 95% CI: 8.449 to 66.268, P<0.001), ASIA grade A ( OR=40.007, 95% CI: 12.992 to 123.193, P<0.001), and ISS score>16 ( OR=10.502, 95% CI: 3.909 to 28.211, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors for the tracheotomy. The classification and regression tree revealed that ASIA grade A and NLI at C 4 and above were the first and second decision nodes, which had a strong predictive effect on tracheostomy. 86.84% of the patients with ASIA grade A and NLI at C 4 and above underwent tracheostomy. Conclusion:Our classification and regression tree shows that NLI at C 4 and above and ASIA grade A have a strong guiding effect on tracheotomy for TCSCI.
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Objective:To investigate the risk factors of tracheotomy after cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) and the predictive role of key muscle strength in guiding bedside tracheotomy.Methods:A retrospective case-control study was used to analyze the clinical data of 294 patients with CSCI admitted to Xinqiao Hospital of Army Medical University from January 2009 to December 2013, including 243 males and 51 females, with the age range of 10-82 years [(48.9±14.7)years]. A total of 52 patients treated with tracheotomy (tracheotomy group), while 242 patients did receive tracheotomy (non-tracheotomy group). The indices were collected and compared between groups, including demographic data (gender, age, smoking history, cause of injury), injury severity data [level of injury, combined injury, cervical dislocation, American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) classification], and key muscle function strength [shrug (trapezius), shoulder abduction (deltoid) and elbow flexion (biceps)]. The risk factors affecting the tracheotomy were identified by the univariate logistic regression analysis and binary logistic regression analysis. The independent risk factor for tracheostomy and predictive role of key muscle strength was determined by the multiple logistic regression analysis.Results:Smoking history, falling injury, cervical dislocation, C 2-C 4 AISA scale A, shoulder-shrugging muscle strength, shoulder abduction muscle strength and elbow flexion strength were significantly different between groups ( P<0.05). Through the binary logistic regression analysis, it was preliminarily concluded that smoking history, traffic injury, falling injury, cervical dislocation, C 2-C 4 AISA scale A, and C 5-C 8 AISA scale A were statistically significant between groups ( P<0.05). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed smoking history( OR=2.27), cervical dislocation( OR=3.70) and C 2-C 4 AISA scale A ( OR=8.31) were significantly related to tracheostomy ( P<0.05). The multiple logistic regression analysis showed shoulder-shrugging muscle strength grade 3 and below and shoulder abduction muscle strength grade 2 and below had significant correlations with CSCI patients who required tracheotomy ( P<0.05). Conclusions:C 2-C 4 AISA scale A, cervical dislocation and smoking history are independent risk factors for determining whether the CSCI patients require tracheostomy. Shoulder-shrugging muscle strength grade 3 and below and shoulder abduction muscle strength grade 2 and below can be used to differentiate the bedside tracheotomy.
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Objective:To explore the possible mechanism of Bcl-2/adenovirus E1B 19kDa-interacting protein 3-like (also known as NIX) mediating mitophagy in PC12 cells.Methods:The PC12 cells (rat adrenal pheochromocytoma cells) were cultured in a hypoxic incubator with a volume fraction of 1% O 2 to establish hypoxic injury models. The cells were divided into normoxia group and hypoxia groups at 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours after cells were exposed to hypoxic conditions. Afterwards, the expression levels of NIX, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), translocase of outer mitochondrial membrane 20 (TOMM20), and cyclooxegenase 4 (COX4) were determined by Western blot analysis. Electron microscopy was used to observe the formation of autophagosomes after 24 hours of hypoxia. The mitochondria-NIX-LC3-autophagosome complexes were detected by confocal microscopy after the overexpression of NIX for 48 hours. The interaction between NIX and LC3 was verified by Co-immunoprecipitation (CoIP). After downregulation of NIX, the changes in mitochondria morphology were detected by confocal microscopy. The PC12 cells were divided into normoxia group, normoxia+ NIXshRNA group, hypoxia group and hypoxia+ NIXshRNA group, then the expression levels of NIX, LC3, TOMM20 and COX4 in each group were detected via Western blotting. Results:Compared to normoxia group, hypoxia group showed up-regulated expressions of NIX and LC3 [(0.44±0.03)∶(0.21±0.01), (1.04±0.03)∶(0.32±0.01)], and down-regulated expressions of TOMM20 and COX4 [(0.78±0.07)∶(1.46±0.08), (0.52±0.04)∶(0.98±0.06)] after 24 hours of hypoxia ( P<0.05). Autophagosomes containing mitochondria were detected by electron microscopy after 24 hours of hypoxia. The formation of the mitochondria-NIX-LC3-autophagosome complex were detected by confocal microscopy after the overexpression of NIX for 48 hours. CoIP demonstrated an interaction between NIX and LC3. Furthermore, inhibition of NIX preserved the integrity of the mitochondria compared with hypoxia group. Western blot analysis showed decreased expressions of NIX and LC3 in hypoxia+ NIXshRNA group [(0.90±0.04)∶ (1.30±0.19), (0.55±0.03)∶(0.75±0.03)] and increased expressions of TOMM20 and COX4 [(0.78±0.06)∶( 0.69±0.08), (0.81±0.07)∶( 0.81±0.07) in comparison to hypoxia group ( P<0.05). Conclusions:NIX can interact with LC3 to mediate mitophagy in PC12 cells. Therefore, the inhibition of NIX can preserve the integrity of the mitochondria and decrease the level of mitophagy, thus provide a protective effect.
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The subaxial cervical facet dislocation is an important and common cause of cervical spinal cord injury, which often leads to the destruction of the three column structure of the cervical spine. At present, the treatment principle of the subaxial cervical facet dislocation is generally reduction as soon as possible, complete decompression, restoration of the intervertebral height and the normal sequence of the cervical spine and reconstruction of the stability of the cervical spine. Early reduction is particularly important for patients with spinal cord injury. Although there are many ways of reduction, the best way to achieve reduction and stability is still controversial. The authors review related literatures and summarize the reduction methods of the subaxial cervical facet dislocation, so as to provide reference for the clinical treatment of the subaxial cervical facet dislocation.
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Objective To observe the mid-and long-term clinical efficacy of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion for the treatment of single-segment lumbar degenerative diseases. Methods Retrospective analysis of the clin-ical data of 832 patients with lumbar degenerative disease treated with single-segment MIS-TLIF surgery from 2007 to 2013, 443 males and 389 females; aged 23-82 years, mean 56.4±18.7 years old. All cases were divided into revision surgery group, severe lumbar spinal stenosis group, moderate to severe lumbar spondylolisthesis group and general case groups (as a control) for comparative analysis. Efficacy evaluation indicators include Oswestry disability index (ODI), visual analog scale (VAS), in-tervertebral fusion rate, and complications. Results All patients were followed up for 62 to 93 months, with an average of 79.2±18.6 months. One month after operation, the VAS score of low back pain in the severe spinal stenosis group 2.9±0.5 and the moderate to severe spondylolisthesis group 3.8±1.1 were both significantly higher than the general case group 1.6±0.6, and the difference was statistically significant. The VAS score of leg pain was high in the moderate to severe slip group 2.6 ± 0.7, but the difference was not statistically significant. The ODI value was significantly higher in the moderate to severe spoiler group 28.8±6.9％ than in the general case group 22.1±6.4％. In the 2 years after the operation, the vas of lower back pain was divided into 2.4 ± 0.9, compared with the general case group 1.7 ± 0.5, and the difference was statistically significant; the ODI group of severe spinal stenosis and moderate-severe spondylolisthesis were 17.9％± 3.4％ and 19.4％± 4.9％, respectively, which was higher than the general case group 11.3％±3.3％, and the difference was statistically significant. In the last follow-up, the VAS scores 2.3±0.8 and 2.6±1.1 of the severe vertebral canal stenosis group and the moderate-severe spondylolisthesis group were respectively higher than that of the general case group 1.6±0.7, and the difference was statistically significant; the ODI group of severe vertebral canal stenosis and moderate-severe spondylolisthesis were 18.3％±11.1％ and 19.6％±12.1, high-er than the general case group 11.8％± 9.7％, the difference was statistically significant. The incidence of mid- and long-term complications (intervertebral non-fusion, adjacent segment disease) was not statistically significant among the four groups. Con-clusion MIS-TLIF treatment of lumbar degenerative diseases can obtain good medium and long-term clinically effect. For complex diseases such as revision, severe degeneration and moderate to severe spondylolisthesis, MIS-TLIF did not increase the incidence of medium and long-term complications.
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Objective To analyze the risk factors of respiratory failure after cervical spinal cord injury ( SCI) . Methods A total of 294 patients with cervical spinal cord injury from January 2009 and December 2013 were analyzed. 52 cases were rolled into the respiratory failure group, 242 cases were rolled into group without respiratory failure. The epidemiological factors in two groups were analyzed to find the the factors of respiratory failure. Results The differences in indexes of smoking, injury reason, injury level, grade of ASIA, fracture dislo-cation were significant (P<0. 05), which suggested the above factors were associated with the occurrence of respiratory failure. The multi-factor regression analysis in respiratory group found that factors such as aged over 60 years, smoking, multiple trauma, fracture dislocation, spinal cord injury above C4 level and pamplegia were of statistically significance (P<0. 10). Conclusion Advanced age, smoking, pample-gia, spinal cord injury above C4 leve, multiple trauma and fracture dislocation are the high risk factors of the respiratory failure after cervical spinal cord injury.
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Objective To establish a method for limit test of camphor in Shujin Huoxue pills. Methods A DB-WAX (30 m×0. 32 mm,0. 25 μm) capillary column was used with a programmed temperature. Results The linear range of camphor was 1. 05-210. 00 μg·mL-1(r=1. 0). The average recovery was 101. 7%(n=9, RSD=1. 2%). Conclusion The proposed method is simple, sensitive, accurate and reproducible, which is suitable for quality control of Shujin Huoxue Pills.
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OBJECTIVE:To establish a method for the contents determination of volatile components in Huodan pill and study the effects of 60Co irradiation with different doses on the volatile components in Huodan pill. METHODS:GC-MS was used to de-termine the contents of patchouli alcohol and the ralative contents of β-patchouliene,α-guaiacene,seychellesene,α-patchouliene,α-bulnesene,5,11-diene guaiacyl,and unidentified objects in Huodan pill after 60Co irradiation with different doses. Column was HP-5MS by programmed temperature,volume temperature was 250℃,split ratio was 50:1,detector was triple quadrupole mass spectrometer detector,MS1 quadrupole temperature was 150℃,MS2 was 150℃,carrier gas was helium,flow rate of column was 1.2 ml/min,and the volume injection was 1 μl;ion source was EI,bombarding energy was 70 eV,temperature of ion source was 230℃,temperature of transmission line was 280℃ and scan range was 50-500 amu. RESULTS:The linear range of patchouli alcohol was 0.103 1-2.062 0μg(r=0.999 4);RSDs of precision,reproducibility and stability tests were lower than 1.0%;recovery was 98.05%-102.32%(RSD=1.8%,n=9). 60Co irradiation with different doses had little effects on the 8 volatile components in Huodan pill. CONCLUSIONS:60Co irradiation can be used for sterilization on Huodan pill,but irradiation dose should be controlled. The method is simple,good reproducibility,and can be used for the contents determination of volatile components in Huodan pill.
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Objective To retrospectively analyze the effect of interventional embolization for hepatocelluar carcinoma (HCC) associated with arteriovenous shunting (AVS), and to discuss the factors influencing the therapeutic results. Methods The clinical data of 62 cases with HCC associated with AVS , who were treated with interventional chemoembolization , were retrospectively analyzed. Based on the type and extent of AVS identified by angiographic manifestations, appropriate obstruction of the shunt and Lipiodol chemoembolization of HCC were conducted. The curative effect of the shunt embolization was assessed by DSA at one or two months after the treatment. The relevant factors influencing the prognosis of embolization were analyzed by using univariate and multivariate Cox regression analysis methods. Results Of the 62 patients, arterioportal shunting (APS) was detected in 44, hepatic arterio-venous shunting (HAVS) in 11, APS together with HAVS in 4, and hepatic artery-pulmonary artery shunting (HAPAS) in 3. Re-examination with DSA was carried out in 53 patients at 1 - 2 months after the treatment , which showed that the shunting disappeared in 18 cases, obvious reduction of the shunt flow was seen in 19 cases, the lesion remained stable in 9 cases and the disease became worse in 7 cases. Univariate analysis indicated that the kind of embolic material and the presence of tumor thrombus could affect the obstructive result of the shunt , while multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that portal tumoral thrombus was an independent risk factor. The embolization effect of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) particles and Lipiodol-ethanol mixture, used as the embolic agents, was better than that of gelatin sponge particles. Conclusion To ensure a successful interventional chemoembolization for HCC combined with AVS the procedure should be individualized according to the type and extent of the arteriovenous shunting. The type of embolic materials used for embolization can affect the results to a certain degree.
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Based on the analysis of the current status and limited factors of MISS at home and aboard,this paper discussed on the importance of MISS training base construction and explored the construction from the aspects of infrastructure constructing,teaching staff training,teaching materials compiling and teaching practice(teaching forms,contents and evaluation)researching.
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ObjectiveTo evaluate the technical feasibility of animal model of avascular necrosis of femoral head (ANFH)with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE).MethodsTwenty experimental pigs were randomly divided into experimental group and control group (each n= 10).Experimental group:A 5F Cobra catheter was inserted into left femoral artery,and the feeding arteries of femoral head were superselectively inserted.The feeding arteries were embolismed through transcatheter arterial injecting the segments of silk measuring about 500μm.Control group:The arterial embolization was not performed,and the other treatment was identical to experimental group.The articulation of hip in all pigs underwent plain X-ray examination,CT and MR scanning 2 weeks and 4 weeks after treatment,respectively.Histological examination was made in 4 weeks to evaluate volume of bone trabecula (TBV) and percentage of bone lacuna (PBL) at unit area under microscope.The data were compared between the two groups.Results In experimental group,CT and MRI showed swolling in hip soft tissue and high T1 in hip joint cavity,while no obvious abnormalities were found in plain X-ray film 2 weeks after feeding arteries were embolized.Four weeks after feeding arteries embolization,plain X-ray film,CT and MR showed typical necrosis of femoral head in the experimental group,while no obvious abnormalities were found in control group.The histology examination revealed there were obvious karyopyknosis and anachromasis in the bone cells.The quantity of bone cells decreased obviously or disappeared.PBL increased and TBV decreased significantly compared with those of control group (P＜0.05).ConclusionThe animal model of ANFH in pigs can be induced by TAE.It can preferably mimic the pathological situation of ANFH.
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Objective To explore a safe and effective posterior surgical operation for correction of the horacolumbar kyphotic deformity. Methods The study involved 16 patients with thoracolumbar kyphotic deformity treated with the modified posterior transpedicular-intervertebral disc wedge resection osteotomy and screws-rods internal fixation apparatus.There were 11 males and 5 females at an average age of 26.5 years(13-53 years).The kyphosis deformity was caused by ankylosing spondylit in four patients,old lumbothoracic fracture in nine,vertebral dysplasia in two and vertebral body in one.The preoperative kyphosis Cobb angle was 58.1(45°-85°),with the kyphosis deformity at T10 in two patients,at Thin two,at T12in six,at L1 in three and at L2 in three.The main clinical manifestations were different degrees of lower back pain and progressive aggravation of the deformity,influencing the work and living.The course of disease was 8.5 years(4-17 years).All patients underwent pesteriortotal vertebral osteotomy on the apex vertebra,trails-pedicular fixation combined with correction and fusion,after which the patients stayed in bed for four weeks and received orthosis fixation for three months after operation. Resuits The operation lasted for average 190 minutes(125-240 minutes),with average blood loss of 750 ml(450-1 900 m1).All patients were with single segment cut bone,with no spinal cord injury,neurological injury or hardware failure.The post-operative vertical plane facial deformity was corrected for average 55(44°-76°),wit average correction rate of 83%.The follow-up for 10-24 months showed firm internal fixation on the X-ray film and good fusion ofthe vertebral column,with no pseudoarticulation formation,loosening internal fixation or loss of correction.All the patients obtained obvious improvement in appearance of the deformity,with disappearance of the lower back pain and improvement of the quality of life. Conclusion One stage posterior transpedicular-interverte-bral disc wedge resection osteotomy is all effect and safe surgical technique for correction of horacolumbar kyphotic deformity.
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Objective to research into the essential status of teachers in bilingual teaching for clinical coulses and its effects on the fields.Methods we have investigated the 46 teachers in resent three years for their interesting,attitude,reasons of negative,methods of the teaching and level of English in bilingual teaching Results 6 teachers expressed their interesting in bilingual teaching,which accounts for 13%.and 100% of the teachers hold the negative attitude because it has nothing to do with the evaluation of their professional title,43 teachers think it is not related to bonus(93.47%),and to Periodical Evaluation(45,97.82%)Conclusion The status of bilingual teaching is not satisfiing and improving the level of Enghsh of teaehers is essential for it.
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ObjectiveTo retrospectively analyze the treatment of odontoid fractures using percutaneous and open anterior screw fixation,and compare the clinical and radiographic results of the two techniques.MethodsFrom March 2003 to May 2010,115 patients with odontoid fracture were treated with anterior screw fixation,and all patients were followed up.The mean age of the patients was 43.5 years (range,16-71).Forty-seven patients who underwent percutaneous anterior screw fixation were set as the percutaneous fixation group,including 42 cases of type Ⅱ odontoid fracture and 5 of rostral type Ⅲ fracture.Sixtyeight patients who received open anterior screw fixation were set as the open fixation group,composing of 61cases of type Ⅱ odontoid fracture and 7 of rostral type Ⅲ fracture.We compared the operative time,intraoperative blood loss,X-ray exposure time,fracture union and complications between the two groups.Results The average follow-up duration was 37.6 months with a range of 12-70 months.The gender,age,classification of odontoid fractures,time after the injuries and concomitant spinal injuries showed a similar pattern in both groups.The operating time and intra-operative blood loss in percutaneous fixation group were (40.3±9.5)min and (5.6±4.1) ml respectively,and in open fixation group were (62.9±15.3) min and (47.1±28.6) ml respectively,both of them were significantly superior in percutaneous fixation group than in open fixation group (P＜0.05).There was no statistical difference in radiation exposure time,fracture union and incidence of complication between the two groups.ConclusionComparing with open screw fixation,percutaneous anterior screw fixation is a safe and reliable procedure for treatment of type Ⅱ and rostral type Ⅲ odontoid fractures with potential advantages.
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@#Recent advances in endogenous neural stem cells have made regeneration-based therapies feasible as therapeutic strategies for spinal cord injuries. Endogenous neural stem cells of the intact adult spinal cord reside not only in the ependymal layer of the central canal but also in the parenchyma, followed by responses of the activation and migration in the injured spinal cord. The most endogenous neural stem cells differentiate scar forming astrocytes and myelin-forming oligodendrocytes, but not neurogenic neurons. Thus the knowledge in intrinsic program of endogenous neural stem cells differentiation is obviously difficult and crucial for the recovery of spinal cord injury in the present.
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Objective To explore feasibility and therapeutic effect of posterior decompression by vertebral body resection, interbody bone fusion and transpedicular screw internal fixation in treatment of severe rotational throracolumar fracture and dislocation. Methods From October 2007 to July 2008, nine patients with severe rotational throracolumar fracture and dislocation classified as AO C types under-went decompression by vertebral boby resection, intervertebral bone fusion and transpedicular screw inter-nal fixation via a posterior midline small incision. There were eight males and one female, at age range from 23 to 54 years. All patients involved levels at T_(11)-L_2. According to AO classification, there were three patients with type C1 bursting fractures with rotational dislocation, five with distraction fracture com-bined with rotational dislocation and one with rotational distraction shear fracture/dislocation. The preop-erative Frankel Grading was Grade A in three patients, Grade B in one, Grade C in four and Grade D in one. Postoperative neurological status, the correction and loss of dislocation and the location and union of bone graft were reviewed. Results All patients received successful operation, with operation time of 3.5-5.8 hours (mean 4.4 hours), blood loss of 1 200-3 500 ml (mean 1 800 ml). The follow- up period in nine patients was 3-12 months (mean seven months). Postoperative X-ray photographs showed that the dislocation in all patients was reduced, the spine curvature was recovered to normal and the intervertebral bone graft was well fixed. Three patients at Frankel Grade A had no improvement, one at Grade B was improved to Grade C. Of four patients at Grade C, three patients were improved to Grade D. The follow-up showed bony fusion in all patients, with no loosening, dislocation or breakage of the internal fixation or implants. Conclusions For severe rotational throracolumar fracture and dislocation, decompression, reduction, fusion and fixation are rather difficult, while sufficient posterior decompression by vertebral body resection, rigid interbody bone fusion and transpadicular screw internal fixation can be an effective alternative measure.
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Objective To discuss the time-dependent changes of facet joint asymmetry in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH). Methods A total of 54 patients with LDH were prospectively analyzed. CT was used to judge whether there existed small joint facet asymmetry and to measure the facet joints. The present results were compared with the results that would be investigated two years later. Results The sagittal process of small facet plane accounted the majority in patients with LDH after two years, with no statistical difference compared with the results before two years (P ＞ 0.05). During 2-year period, the facet joint asymmetry disappeared in seven patients, while the facet joint asymmetry occurred in other seven patients, with no statistical difference (P ＞ 0.05). Conclusions Facet plane and the asymmetry will change with time. Observation of the relationship between facet joint asymmetry and LDH should be carried out in a period of time rather than at a time point.
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Objective To determine the safety and efficacy of minimally invasive surgical treatment for post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis. Methods A retrospective review was performed on seven patients with post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis admitted from April 2009 to February 2010.There were four males and three females, at average age of 45.3 years. After general anesthesia, minimally invasive transarticular osteotomy and multi-level SextantTM percutaneous reduction and internal fixation were performed under QuadrantTM working tube system. The status of pain and ability was evaluated by using visual analogue scale (VAS) and Oswestry disability index (ODI). The kyphotic deformity was evaluated by using the Cobb's angle. Results The operation lasted for mean 135 minutes, with mean perioperative blood loss of 106 ml but with no any complications occurred. The mean follow -up period was 5.5 months ( range 4 -16 months ). The mean VAS score was improved from preoperative ( 7.6 ±3.5) points to postoperative (2.5 ± 1.3) points, with statistical difference (P ＜0.01 ). The mean ODI was improved from preoperative 53.6 ± 24.2 to postoperative 20.6 ± 6.3, with statistical difference ( P ＜0.01 ). The Cobb angle was also improved from preoperative ( 32. 1 ± 4.5 ) ° to postoperative ( 7.3 ±2.9 ) °, with statistical difference ( P ＜ 0. 01 ). Conclusion Minimally invasive transarticular osteotomy under QuadrantTM working tube system is a safe and effective alternative for dealing with post-traumatic thoracolumbar kyphosis.
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@#Axonal regeneration is very important for the optimalization of therapies to repair the injured spinal cord. Axonal tract tracing Methods have revolutionized including cell culture and tissue slice culture system in vitro, and neuroanatomical tract system such as corticospinal tract and rubrospinal tract, etc. Anterograde and retrograde tracers are most frequently used for the axonal regeneration after spinal cord injury.
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Objective To evaluate surgical techniques and clinical results of percutaneous transforam-inal endoscopic discectomy in the treatment of far lateral lumbar disc herniation. Methods Thirty-sev-en patients (24 males and 13 females) with far-lateral lumbar disc herniation were treated by percutane-ous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy from September 2005 to October 2008. The mean age of the pa-tients was 40.6 years. There were 19 patients (51.4%) with foraminal lumbar disc herniation, 11 (29.7%) with extraforaminal lumbar disc herniation and 7 (18.9%) with mixed lumbar disc herniation. The mean operation time, stay-in-bed time, postoperative hospital stay were 70 minutes, 9 hours and 5.0 days respectively. The mean operation costed mean 9 800 ￥ RMB. Results All the patients were fol-lowed up for an average period of 11.5 months. The efficacy of percutaneous transforaminal endoscopic discectomy was determined by Visual Analog Score (VAS), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and Nakai criteria. The mean value of VAS was significantly decreased from preoperative 8.3±2.3 to 3.1±1.6 at postoperative month 3, and to 2.9±1.9 at postoperative month 6 (P < 0.01). The mean value of ODI was significantly decreased from preoperative 64.5±23 to 23.6±12.0 at postoperative month 3, and to 12.9±7.0 at postoperative month 6 (P < 0.01). According to the Nakai criteria, the outcome of the op-eration was excellent in 19 patients (51%), good in 13 (35%), fair in 2 (5%) and poor in 3 (8%), with overall excellence rate of 87%. Conclusions Transforaminal percutaneous endoscopic discecto-my is safe and efficacious in the treatment of far lateral lumbar disc herniations, and proper selection of patients is the key factor to ensure the outcome of the operation.