Multiple bilateral and symmetric C1-2 ganglioneuromas: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Ganglioneuromas are rare tumors of the sympathetic nervous system that originate from neural crest sympathogonia. Since the cervical spine has rarely been reported as a site for ganglioneuroma, we present a case report on this uncommon manifestation. CASE SUMMARY: A 34-year-old male presented with a 4-month history of progressive paralysis of both upper limbs along with an unsteady gait. The touch sensitivity of both hands was reduced, and there was conspicuously high muscle tonus in his upper and lower limbs, along with hyperactive physiological reflection and deep reflexes. Magnetic resonance imaging showed several nodules around the C2-7 intervertebral foramena, among which the masses lying between C1 and C2 were obviously bilaterally compressing the spinal cord. Successful posterior decompression was performed without fixation and the tumors in the upper cervical spine were removed intact, with rapid relief of symptoms. The pathological diagnosis was ganglioneuroma. CONCLUSION: Multiple and bilateral ganglioneuroams are a rare occurrence in the cervical spine. In this case report, timely resection of the neoplasms around C1 and C2 resulted in spinal cord decompression, with rapid relief of symptoms and a good prognosis. Including the current case, we are aware of only seven such cases in the literature, of which four arose from Japan, one from China, and one from Spain. We suppose that ethnicity and geographic associations with this rare disease presentation may be an aspect for future consideration and investigation.

Analysis of the most influential publications on vertebral augmentation for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture: A review.

This study aimed to analyze the most influential publications on vertebral augmentation for treating osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture. The Web of Science database was searched using the key words "percutaneous vertebroplasty," "percutaneous kyphoplasty," "balloon kyphoplasty," "vertebroplasty," "kyphoplasty," and "vertebral augmentation." The top 100 publications were arranged by citations per year and descriptively and visually analyzed. The top 100 publications were cited 25,482 times, with an average of 14.4 citations per paper per year. The corresponding authors of the publications represented 17 nations, with most authors being American (46 authors). Thirty-two journals were involved, with SPINE issuing the most publications (24 papers of the 100). Clinical research (73 of the 100 papers) outnumbered basic studies (14 papers) and systematic reviews (13 papers), and the most publications were published between 2000 and 2004. Co-citation analysis of the key words indicated that the top 5 focus areas were "complication," "balloon kyphoplasty," "vertebral compression fracture," "biomechanics," and "calcium phosphate cement." The top 3 keywords with the strongest citation bursts were "compression fracture," "cement," and "balloon kyphoplasty." The keywords with persistent strong citation bursts are "balloon kyphoplasty" and "augmentation." There are still contrary opinions about vertebral augmentation; new research should be conducted with more deliberate design and longer follow-up.

Anatomical Variations of the Vertebral Artery: Analysis by Three-Dimensional Computed Tomography Angiography in Chinese Population.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the anatomical variations of V3 and V2 segments of the vertebral artery in the Chinese population. METHODS: The current retrospective study was an observational, anatomical, radiological research. Between 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2019, the data of 589 continuous head-and-neck three-dimensional computed tomography angiography were observed and analyzed using the open-source software of Horos. There were 415 males and 174 females with an average age of 44.63 ± 2.5(18-74) years. The variations of the V3 segment were defined as persistent first intersegmental artery (PFIA) and paracondylar processes (PP). The variations of V2 segments were unusual vertebral artery entrance transverse foreman (UE-V2S) and midline migration (MM). The incidences of all variations were summarized and the gender, side characters were compared. RESULTS: Among the patients, 4.34% (18/415) males and 4.60% (8/174) females were with the variation of PFIA. Meanwhile, 12.29% (51/415) males and 10.92% (19/174) females were with the variation of PP. Then 18.80% (78/415) males and 16.67% (29/174) females were with UE-V2S. All the variations above were not different in genders. As for the variation of MM, 3.86% (16/415) males and 8.62% (15/174) females were identified, and the difference of genders was significant for this type of variation (P < 0.05). The differences between each side were also observed and analyzed for all variations and no differences were found. CONCLUSION: There are several variations of V3 and V2 segments of the vertebral artery are associated with the cervical surgeries, most were without differences in genders and sides, except the variation of MM.