Surgical Decompression of Thoracic Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament through Posterior Approach: A Case Report.

Thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) is a rare condition that is mainly accompanied by cervical OPLL or ossification of thoracic ligamentum flavum. In case of causing neurological manifestations, it is preferred to treat the condition surgically. Several surgical procedures were introduced, including anterior, posterior, or combined approaches. Laminectomy with instrumented fusion is the most popular procedure utilized via the posterior approach. A 32-year-old obese woman, who suffered from back pain and weakness in both lower extremities for one month, was referred to our spine outpatient clinic. Imaging revealed lower thoracic OPLL (T7/T8 & T8/T9 & T9/T10). The posterior longitudinal ligament had a mixed ossification pattern (beaked and continuing cylindrical). To maintain thoracic spine stability and prevent future kyphosis, we performed laminectomy and long segment fixation (T7 to T12). The post-operative neurological examination revealed a considerable increase in muscle strength and significant pain relief.

Establishment, characterization, and drug sensitivity of a new Ewing sarcoma cell line (SS-ES-1).

Ewing sarcoma (ES) is one of the most malignant tumors in children and young adults. We present here a new ES cell line, SS-ES-1, established from the left thoracic tumor of a 16-year-old female patient. The SS-ES-1 cells retained genotype, morphology, and growth rate for over 150 passages. Immunocytochemical staining showed the strong immunoreactivity for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, neurofilament, CD99, P53, Ki-67, platelet-derived growth factor receptor-ß, estrogen receptor-α (ER-α), and Bcl-2, but no reactivity for glial fibrillary acidic protein, epidermal growth factor receptor, and HER-2/neu. The presence of the type 1 EWS/FLI-1 fusion transcripts was confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. On the basis of the MTT assay results, GW2974, a dual inhibitor of epidermal growth factor receptor and HER-2/neu, exhibited only a weak cytotoxic response in SS-ES-1 cells. In contrast, tyrphostin A9, a specific inhibitor of platelet-derived growth factor receptor, had a high cytotoxic effect against these cells. Surprisingly, it was found that SS-ES-1 cells displayed a high sensitivity to 4OH-tamoxifen. In conclusion, the SS-ES-1 cell line shows unique cellular properties, which makes it a useful model for studying various aspects of the biology of ES. In addition, the results suggest that ER can be a good therapeutic target for ER + ES.