Objective To discuss the clinical characteristics and treatment of upper cervical spine injuries in the elderly. Methods A retrospective study was done on clinical data of 28 elderly patients ( > 60 years old) with upper cervical spine injuries treated from January 2003 to December 2007. There were 20 males and 8 females, at age range of 60-86 years (mean 68.1 years). Injury causes included slip in 16 patients, traffic injury in eight and fall from height in four. Atlas fractures occurred in five patients and axis ones in 15,of which there were eight patients with odontoid fractures, six with C2 vertebral arch fractures and one with C2 body fractures. Upper cervical spine injury was combined with lower cervical spine injuries in five patients. There were combined atlantoaxial injuries including odontoid fractures combined with lateral atlas fracture in one and edontoid fractures combined with anterior atlas arch fracture in one. Atlantoaxial dislocation occurred in one patient and combined spinal injury in four. Of all, eight patients were treated conservatively, eight with open surgical operation and 12 with minimally invasive surgery. Results The average hospital stay was 16.5 days, with no statistical difference be-tween conservative treatment group and open surgical operation group ( P > 0.05 ). While the average hos-pital stay in minimally invasive surgery group was shorter than that in conservative treatment and open sur-gical operation groups ( P < 0.05 ). Of all, two patients in conservative treatment group and one in open surgical operation group died and the other 25 patients were followed up for average 16.8 months (9-56 months). The satisfaction rate was 50% in conservative treatment group, 72% in open surgical operation group and 75% in minimally invasive surgery group. Complications occurred in four patients in conserva-tive treatment group, three in open surgical operation group and two in minimally invasive surgery group. Conclusions With odontoid fracture the most common injury type, upper cervical spine injuries arema-inly caused by low-energy force and characterized by low mobidity of spinal cord injuries and high possi-bility of missed diagnosis in the elderly patients. The surgical treatment especially minimally invasive surgery can bring good results compared with conservative methods.

Objective To explore different treatment choices for unilateral cervical facet locking. Methods The study involved 32 patients with cervical unilateral facet locking. Successful reduction by the skull traction was done in eight patients, of whom three were fixated by the head and neck chest plas-ter after a month of traction. Five patients were treated with anterior decompression and internal fusion fixation. The other 23 patients resulted in failure of traction and then were treated with anterior reduction, discectomy and internal fusion fixation in 14 patients, subtotal vertebral decompression and bone graft fix-ation in three, posterior open reduction and anterior bone graft fixation in one, posterior reduction, fixation and internal fusion fixation in three and posterior reduction and decompression plus anterior discectomy decompression and bone graft fixation in two. Due to misdiagnosis, one patient was treated with anterior decompression and fusion eight months after injury. Results A follow-up for average 18 months showed cervical instability in two patients who were treated with only traction, without fusion. The patients treated with anterior cervical fusion obtained bone union after 12 weeks, with satisfactory cervical physiological curvature and vertebral height. There were no internal fixation complications or neurological complications. Conclusions The treatment of lower cervical unilateral facet locking needs a compre-hensive considerations on whether there associates with disc injury, posterior column fractures or spinal cord injuries. As for patients with lower cervical unilateral facet locking combined with traumatic cervical disc herniation, the anterior reduction and decompression is the choice of treatment. While for those with-out disc herniation, traction or posterior open reduction and fixation can be carried out directly.

Objective To study the feasibility and clinical effect of percutaneous C2 pedicle lag screw in treatment of Hangman's fracture and define the indications of the technique. Methods There were 9 patients including 5 males and 4 females at average age of 36 years (26-68 years). According to a Levine and Edwards System, there were 5 patients with type Ⅰ hangman' s fracture, 3 with type Ⅱ hangman' s fracture and 1 with type Ⅱ A hangman' s fracture. According to American spinal injury association (ASIA) system, the spinal cord function was ranked at Type D in 2 patients and Type E in 7. All patients achieved anatomic reduction by skull traction. Under general anesthesia, 9 patients were fixed with percutaneons C2 pedicle lag screw. The whole procedure was done under monitoring of "C"-arm fluoroscopy for safety and accuracy. Results All patients obtained bony fusion within 2-3 months, with no infection, neurological deficits, vertebra artery injury or other complications. CondusionsThe percutaneous C2 pedicle lag screw fixation is minimally invasive and effective for treatment of Hangman's fracture. During the course of treatment, the function of upper cervical spine remains unaffected.

Objective To investigate the expression of CXCR4 and CXCL12 in the labial gland of patients with primary Sj?gren's syndrome (pSS), and to explore their role in the pathogenesis of pSS. Methods The expression of CXCR4 and CXCL12 in labial gland tissues was detected by immunohistochemistry in 32 cases of newly diagnosed pSS and 30 cases of oral mucosa cysts or trauma patients. The expression level, intensity and location were analyzed and compared statistically. χ2 test and Spearman correlation analysis were used for statistical analysis. Results The positive rate of CXCR4 in the test group was 91%(n=29), which was significantly higher than that in the control group (33%, n=10, χ2=21.77, P=0.001). The positive rate of CXCL12 in the test group was 97%(n=31), which was significantly higher than that in the control group 40%(n=12), and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=23.57, P=0.001). Conclusion CXCR4 and CXCL12 are highly expressed in labial gland of pSS patients, this suggests that they participate in the pathological process of pSS local inflammatory response and play an important role in pSS pathogenesis.

Purpose To investigate the expression of C-C chemokine receptor 9 (CCR9) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and to explore its prognostic value. Methods The expression of CCR9 was detected by immunohistochemistry in tumor tissues and corre-sponding adjacent normal tissues from 119 NSCLC patients. Additionally, the correlation between CCR9 expression and the clinicopath-ologic features of NSCLC and the relationship between prognostic factors and overall survival rate were analyzed by statistical methods. Results The positive expression rate of CCR9 was significantly higher in NSCLC tissues (54. 6%) than that in adjacent normal lung tissues (10. 1%) (P<0. 05). The expression of CCR9 in NSCLC was correlated with histopathologic type, lymph node status and p-TNM stage (P<0. 05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis suggested that the positive expression of CCR9 was negatively correlated with the overall survival rate (Log-rank=9. 917, P=0. 002). Univariate analysis showed that the lymph node status, p-TNM stage and the positive expression of CCR9 made great difference to postoperative overall survival (P<0. 05). Multivariate analysis showed that CCR9 expression was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival of NSCLC patients ( RR=0. 447, 95%CI:0. 201 ~0. 993, P<0. 05). Conclusion The expression of CCR9 may predict a poor prognosis in the patients with NSCLC, so it can be used as a novel NSCLC biomarker.

Objective To investigate complications associated with Coflex interspinous process device for degenerative lumbar disc diseases and methods to treat.Methods Clinical data of 121 patients with degenerative lumbar disc diseases,who had undergone surgical decompression and additional fixation of Coflex between November 2007 and June 2011,was analyzed retrospectively.There were 76 males and 45 females,aged from 37 to 75 years (average,54.6 years).Surgery-related complications and sequelae were recorded and analyzed.Results Surgery-related complications occurred in 10 patients,and the incidence was 8.3％ (10/121).There were 3 cases of device-related complications,including wing break in 1 case,prosthetic loosening in 1 case and spinal process fracture in 1 case; all 3 cases were treated conservatively and received good results.There were 7 cases of non-device-related complications,including dura mater dilaceration in 2 cases,superficial wound infection in 1 case,insufficient decompression of spinal canal in 2 cases,recurrence of disc herniation in 1 case,and intraspinal hematoma in 1 case; the former 3 patients recovered after corresponding treatment,and the latter 4 patients also recovered after re-operation.Conclusion The incidences of complications and re-operation associated with application of Coflex are low,and the incidence of device-related complications is also low.The precise intraoperative manipulation is the key to reduce incidence of device-related complications.It's absolutely necessary to strictly master surgical indications and perform sufficient decompression in order to receive good surgical results and avoid non-device-related complications.

Immune imbalance is believed to play a dominant role in the pathogenesis of chronic urticaria.While Th1/Th2 imbalance used to be considered as the main contributing factor of the development of chronic urticaria.Recently,Th17/Treg imbalance is found to be an important immune mechanism leading to the development of chronic urticaria.To be more specific,according to traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)'s comprehensive understanding of the etiology of chronic urticaria.it is generally believed that the pathogenesis of chronic urticaria is due to a lack of innate endowment,a lack of solidity of the body surface,and repeated exposure to six pathogenic factors.Another possible reason lies with dietary disorders that generate heat and wind or chronic illness and weakness and loss of nourishment of qi and blood.Therefore,in terms of the treatment,from the perspective of sthenia syndrome,it is advisable to remove the wind and disperse the pathogenic factors and clear the dampness and heat.From the perspective of asthenia syndrome,it is advisable to nourish the qi and blood and support the righteousness.As for mixed excess and deficiency,both support the healthy atmosphere and dispel the pathogenic factors are important.Regarding the effects of TCM on the balance of Th17/Treg in chronic urticaria and immune diseases,it mainly involved herbal compounding,herbal active ingredients and single herbs.However,the research attention has been drawn to investigating the role of TCM in the treatment of chronic urticaria and various immune diseases based on the research outcomes in modern pharmacological research.This can not only provide scientific evidence for TCM treatment of chronic urticaria,but also bring benefits to more patients with immune diseases.Therefore,the author reviews the recent research progress of TCM on the effects of Th17/Treg immune imbalance in chronic urticaria and other immune diseases by explaining the effects of Th17 and Treg cells in chronic urticaria.

Objective To explore the clinical efficacy of two procedures in thoracoscopic anterior mediastinal tumor resection. Methods A retrospective study was conducted on patients who underwent thoracoscopic anterior mediastinal tumor resection at the Department of Thoracic Surgery, the 910th Hospital of Joint Logistics Support Force from October 2016 to January 2024. Patients were divided into two groups according to the surgical approach: a modified approach group (bilateral intercostal ports+two subcostal ports) and a classic subxiphoid approach group (one subxiphoid port+two subcostal ports). Perioperative data and postoperative improvement of myasthenia gravis (MG) subgroup were compared between the two groups. Results A total of 55 patients were included, including 27 males and 28 females with a mean age of (49.4±15.1) years. There were 23 patients in the modified approach group and 32 patients in the classic subxiphoid approach group. The modified approach group had shorter operation time [(129.0±20.5) min vs. (148.9±16.7) min, P<0.001], less intraoperative blood loss [(63.0±16.6) mL vs. (75.0±10.8) mL, P<0.001], shorter postoperative drainage tube removal time [(3.1±0.4) d vs. (3.9±0.6) d, P<0.001] and shorter postoperative hospital stay [(4.2±0.4) d vs. (5.0±0.6) d, P<0.001), and lower proportion of intraoperative cardiac dysfunction [4 (17.4%) vs. 14 (43.8%), P=0.040]. There was no statistical difference in maximum diameter of tumor resected [(4.5±1.7) cm vs. (4.0±0.9) cm, P=0.193] and postoperative drainage volume [(396.4±121.5) mL vs. (399.9±161.3) mL, P=0.932]. There was 1 patient of perioperative collateral injury in the modified approach group (pericardial injury), and 6 patients in the classic subxiphoid approach group (1 patient of diaphragm injury, 1 patient of liver contusion, 4 patients of pericardial injury). There was no statistical difference in pain scores at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after surgery (P>0.05). The postoperative improvement of MG symptoms in the modified approach group was better than that in the classic subxiphoid approach group at 1 year after surgery (complete stable remission rate: 77.8% vs. 50.0%; effective rate: 100.0% vs. 91.6%). No conversion to open chest surgery occurred in either group, and there were no postoperative rehospitalizations or deaths related to surgery within 30 days after surgery in both groups. Conclusion The modified approach is safe and controllable with more open surgical field and more reliable complete resection range than the classic subxiphoid approach group.