ABSTRACT
We performed cordectomy, a surgical technique that is infrequently used at present, for a patient with post-traumatic syringomyelia (following complete paraplegia of both lower limbs due to dislocation fracture of the 9th thoracic vertebra), yielding a favourable result. We recommend cordectomy as a surgical technique to which spinal surgeons should give utmost consideration for patients with post-traumatic syringomyelia demonstrating progressive symptoms assumed to be attributable to the syrinx and with an anatomically transected spinal cord of the mid-to-lower thoracic vertebral level.
Subject(s)
Spinal Cord Injuries/complications , Spinal Cord Injuries/surgery , Spinal Fractures/complications , Syringomyelia/surgery , Thoracic Vertebrae/injuries , Adult , Humans , Laminectomy , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Paraplegia/etiology , Spinal Cord Injuries/diagnosis , Spinal Fractures/diagnosis , Spinal Fractures/surgery , Spinal Fusion , Syringomyelia/diagnosis , Syringomyelia/etiology , Thoracic Vertebrae/surgeryABSTRACT
Patients with breast or thyroid cancer with metastatic spinal tumours are expected to survive relatively longer than patients with other cancers with metastatic spinal tumours. The purpose of this study was to determine the clinical characteristics of long-term survivors of breast or thyroid cancer with metastatic spinal tumours. We studied the clinical profile of long-term survivors by comparing the characteristics of nine patients who had survived for at least 5 years after a spinal operation with the characteristics of 16 patients who had not. Our results showed that the longer the time from the diagnosis of the primary cancer to the spinal operation, the longer patients with breast or thyroid cancer and metastatic spinal tumours would survive. Six of the eight patients (75.0%) who had undergone the spinal operation at least 5 years after the diagnosis of the primary cancer survived especially long. In conclusion, the duration from the diagnosis of the primary cancer to the spinal operation is very useful for predicting a prognosis in patients with breast or thyroid cancer and metastatic spinal tumours.
Subject(s)
Breast Neoplasms/pathology , Spinal Neoplasms/mortality , Spinal Neoplasms/secondary , Survivors , Thyroid Neoplasms/pathology , Adenocarcinoma, Follicular/secondary , Adult , Aged , Breast Neoplasms/mortality , Carcinoma, Ductal, Breast/secondary , Carcinoma, Papillary , Combined Modality Therapy , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Prognosis , Spinal Neoplasms/radiotherapyABSTRACT
Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3), one of the main structural lipids in the mammalian brain, plays crucial roles in the development and function of brain neurons. We examined the effect of docosahexaenoic acid on neuronal differentiation of neural stem cells in vitro and in vivo. Neural stem cells obtained from 15.5-day-old rat embryos were propagated as neurospheres and cultured under differential conditions with or without docosahexaenoic acid for 4 and 7 days. Docosahexaenoic acid significantly increased the number of Tuj1-positive neurons compared with the control on both culture days, and the newborn neurons in the docosahexaenoic acid group were morphologically more mature than in the control. Docosahexaenoic acid significantly decreased the incorporation ratio of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine, the mitotic division marker, during the first 24 h period; it also significantly decreased the number of pyknotic cells on day 7. Thus, docosahexaenoic acid promotes the differentiation of neural stem cells into neurons by promoting cell cycle exit and suppressing cell death. Furthermore, dietary administration of docosahexaenoic acid significantly increased the number of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine(+)/NeuN(+) newborn neurons in the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus in adult rats. These results demonstrate that docosahexaenoic acid effectively promotes neurogenesis both in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that it has the new property of modulating hippocampal function regulated by neurogenesis.
