Comparison of the effectiveness and safety of bioactive glass ceramic to allograft bone for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion with anterior plate fixation.

Recently, a bioactive glass ceramic (BGC) has been developed for use as intervertebral cages for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). However, the effectiveness and safety of BGC cages remain to be evaluated. We completed a retrospective comparison of the radiological and clinical outcomes of 36 patients (52 levels) who underwent ACDF with a BGC cage and 35 patients (54 levels) using allograft bone. The following variables were compared between the two groups: the visual analog (VAS) neck and arm pain score and the neck disability index (NDI), measured before surgery and 1 year after; the change in Cobb's angle, between the C2 and C7 vertebrae, the global sagittal angle, and disc height compared from before surgery to 1 year after; and the rate of spinal fusion and cage subsidence at 1 and 2 years after surgery. The VAS and NDI scores were not different between the two groups. Similarly, the spinal fusion rate was not different between the BGC and allograft bone group at 1 year (73% and 87%, respectively; p = 0.07) and 2 years (94% and 91%, respectively; p = 0.54) after surgery. However, the rate of cage subsidence was higher in the allograft bone (43%) than the BGC (19%) group (p = 0.03), as was the rate of instrument-related failure (p = 0.028), with a specifically higher incidence of implant fracture or failure in the allograft bone group (p = 0.025). Overall, our findings indicate that BGC cages provide a feasible and safe alternative to allograft bone for ACDF.

Impact of H3.3 K27M Mutation on Prognosis and Survival of Grade IV Spinal Cord Glioma on the Basis of New 2016 World Health Organization Classification of the Central Nervous System.

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord glioma grade IV is a rare, diffuse midline glioma. H3 K27M-mutant was classified in a different entity in the 2016 World Health Organization (WHO) classification recently. No reports about prognosis of spinal cord glioma grade IV are available yet. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the prognostic factors for spinal cord glioma grade IV. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with spinal cord glioma of grade IV who underwent surgery in a single institute were selected. All grade IV spinal cord glioma histologically confirmed as glioblastoma or "diffuse midline glioma with H3 K27M-mutant" by the 2016 WHO classification of the central nervous system were included. Basic demographics, treatment modalities, and pathological tumor molecular profiles were investigated for prognosis. RESULTS: Mean age was 39.1 yr; male to female ratio was 18 : 7. Tumor was located in thoracic cord (53.3%), cervical cord (40%), and lumbar area (6.7%). Median overall survival was 37.1 mo; median disease-free survival was 18.5 mo. Treatment modality showed no statistical difference. Only K27M profile showed significant prognostic value, 20 patients (80%) showed K27M mutation positive, K27M mutation patients showed longer overall survival (40.07 mo) than K27M negative patients (11.63 mo, P < .0001), and disease-free survival (20.85 vs 8.72 mo, P = .0241). CONCLUSION: This study is the first and largest report of the prognosis of primary spinal cord grade IV glioma using the new WHO classification. This study reported survival analysis and prognostic factors, and revealed that H3.3 K27M mutation is not a major poor prognostic factor. Further studies to explore K27M mutations needed for risk stratification and therapy optimization.

The usefulness of brain magnetic resonance imaging with mild head injury and the negative findings of brain computed tomography.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the cases of intracranial abnormal brain MRI findings even in the negative brain CT scan after mild head injury. METHODS: During a 2-year period (January 2009-December 2010), we prospectively evaluated both brain CT and brain MRI of 180 patients with mild head injury. Patients were classified into two groups according to presence or absence of abnormal brain MRI finding even in the negative brain CT scan after mild head injury. Two neurosurgeons and one neuroradiologist validated the images from both brain CT scan and brain MRI double blindly. RESULTS: Intracranial injury with negative brain CT scan after mild head injury occurred in 18 patients (10.0%). Headache (51.7%) without neurologic signs was the most common symptom. Locations of intracranial lesions showing abnormal brain MRI were as follows; temporal base (n=8), frontal pole (n=5), falx cerebri (n=2), basal ganglia (n=1), tentorium (n=1), and sylvian fissure (n=1). Intracranial injury was common in patients with a loss of consciousness, symptom duration >2 weeks, or in cases of patients with linear skull fracture (p=0.00013), and also more frequent in multiple associated injury than simple one (35.7%>8.6%) (p=0.105). CONCLUSION: Our investigation showed that patients with mild head injury even in the negative brain CT scan had a few cases of intracranial injury. These findings indicate that even though the brain CT does not show abnormal findings, they should be thoroughly watched in further study including brain MRI in cases of multiple injuries and when their complaints are sustained.