Establishment of a New Model of Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Degeneration With Pathological Characteristics.

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. OBJECTIVES: Intervertebral disc degenerative disease is a common and frequently-occurring disease in adults and is the main cause of lower back pain. However, there is a lack of universal animal models to study disc degeneration. METHODS: Forty-two male New Zealand white rabbits aged 12 months were used in this study. We established an endplate ischemic disc degeneration model though surgical ligation of rabbit lumbar vertebral body segment arteries. Two weeks after surgery, 6 experimental animals were randomly selected for follow-up tests. First, ischemia and lumbar disc degeneration were confirmed using imaging techniques. Then, immunohistochemical staining was performed to observe the growth of the annulus fibrosus. Finally, quantitative polymerase chain reaction, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and western blotting were used to detect mRNA expression and protein content of IL-1α, TNFα, collagen II, MMP-3, aggrecan, and PLA2 in the nucleus pulposus of the disc. RESULTS: Imaging examination confirmed the successful construction of a lumbar disc degeneration model. Histological analysis and biochemical analysis showed a damaged intervertebral disc structure, and collagen II and aggrecan, the key extracellular matrix components of intervertebral discs, were reduced in synthesis and content. The synthesis and expression of IL-1α, TNFα, PLA2, and MMP-3 related to disc catabolism and inflammatory response were enhanced. CONCLUSIONS: We successfully constructed a lumbar disc degeneration ischemia model, which provides a novel approach to study the pathological mechanisms involved in discogenic low back pain and to prevent and treat discogenic low back pain.

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Anterior Cervical Decompression versus Segmental Fusion and Posterior Expansive Canal Plasty in the Treatment of Multilevel Cervical Spondylotic Myelopathy.

Objective: To compare the clinical efficacy and safety of anterior cervical decompression and segmental fusion and posterior expansive canal plasty in the treatment of multisegment cervical myelopathy. Methods: Retrospective analysis was performed of 56 cases of multisegment cervical myelopathy patients admitted from July 2018 to June 2021, 32 male patients and 24 females, aged 56.9 ± 12.8 years with an average duration of 10.6 ± 3.2 years. All patients' preoperative imaging examination revealed multiple-segmented cervical disc herniation and had clinical manifestations of cervical myelopathy. Results: No neurovascular complications occurred in both groups, and 24 to 36 months of follow-up (mean 28.6 months) were obtained. The height of the cervical spondylosis segment was higher than that 2 weeks after surgery (p < 0.05), and the curvature of the cervical spine was significantly lower than that before surgery. There was no statistical significance in the height of the anterior column and curvature of the cervical vertebra at 2 weeks after surgery and at the last follow-up (p > 0.05). There were statistically significant differences in anterior curvature of the cervical spine between the two groups at 2 weeks after surgery and the last follow-up (p < 0.05). Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores in both groups recovered significantly after surgery. At 3 months and the last follow-up, the improvement rate of JOA score in the anterior approach group was significantly higher than that in the posterior approach group (p < 0.05), and the improvement rate of JOA score in the anterior approach group was also better than that in the posterior approach group (p < 0.05). Conclusion: This segmented anterior fusion procedure can effectively restore the anterior cervical column height and can significantly improve spinal cord function compared with posterior spinal canal enlargement plasty, thus could be considered an effective option for the treatment of multisegment cervical myelopathy.

Extracorporeal Shock Wave Combined with Teriparatide-Loaded Hydrogel Injection Promotes Segmental Bone Defects Healing in Osteoporosis.

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease characterized by decreased bone density and deterioration of bone microstructure, leading to an increased probability of fragility fractures. Once segmental bone defect occurs, it is easy to cause delayed union and nonunion. METHODS: The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of extracorporeal shock wave (ESW) and teriparatide-loaded hydrogel (T-Gel) combined strategy on the cell activity and differentiation of osteoporosis derived bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (OP-BMSCs) in vitro and bone regeneration in osteoporotic segmental bone defects in vivo. RESULTS: In vitro, the strategy of combining ESW and T-Gel significantly enhanced OP-BMSCs proliferation, survival, migration, and osteogenic differentiation by up-regulating the alkaline phosphatase activity, mineralization, and expression of runt-related transcription factor-2, type I collagen, osteocalcin, and osteopontin. In the segmental bone defect models of osteoporotic rabbits, Micro-CT evaluation and histological observation demonstrated this ESW-combined with T-Gel injection significantly induced bone healing by enhancing the osteogenic activity of the local microenvironment in osteoporotic defects. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, ESW-combined with T-Gel injection could regulate the poor osteogenic microenvironment in osteoporotic defects and show potential for enhancing fragility fractures healing.

Clinical Research and Technique Note of TLIF by Wiltse Approach for the Treatment of Degenerative Lumbar.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the clinical efficacy and share the technique notes of Wiltse Approach TLIF for the treating single segment degenerative lumbar spinal disease. METHOD: In this retrospective controlled study, 780 patients with single segment degenerative lumbar disease who were operated in our hospital from January 2016 to December 2020 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were randomly assigned to Wiltse approach group (group A, 410 cases) and conventional open approach group (group B, 370 cases). Patient's assessment of pain and disability were evaluated by the visual analogue scale (VAS) and the Oswestry disability index (ODI) before and after surgery. The incision length, operative time, exposure time, intraoperative blood loss, hidden blood loss, time to ambulation, total length of hospitalization, serum creatine kinase, X-rays, CT and MRI were also evaluated. RESULTS: There were no differences in sex, age, pre-operative ODI score, VAS score between the two groups (P > 0.05). The Wiltse approach group had a shorter incision length with 7.69 ± 0.44 cm compared to the conventional group with 11.13 ± 0.36 cm (P < 0.01). The average operative time was 119.20 ± 14.64 min with exposure time of 16.20 ± 3.42 min in the Wiltse approach group and 145.65 ± 16.98 min with 29.20 ± 3.42 min in the conventional group (P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Comparing the intraoperative blood loss, hidden blood loss, serum creatine kinase, time to ambulation, total length of hospitalization, the Wiltse approach group was less than the conventional open approach group (P < 0.05). The VAS score of the two groups decreased significantly with time, and the VAS score of the Wiltse group was significantly lower than that of the conventional open approach group (P < 0.05). At last investigation after operation, ODI scores of the two groups were significantly decreased compared with that before operation. Wiltse approach group was significantly lower than that of the conventional open approach group (P < 0.05). The multifidus of the two groups of patients had a certain degree of atrophy. But the Wiltse approach group multifidus muscle atrophy rate is significantly lower than the conventional open approach group. CONCLUSION: The Wiltse approach TLIF significantly reduces the damage to the paravertebral muscles and the postoperative incidence of chronic low back pain.