BACKGROUND: Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy is one important cause of spinal stenosis. Ligamentum flavum thickness of more than 4 mm measured on computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging is considered hypertrophy, but causes of hypertrophy and distribution characteristics remain poorly understood. Previous studies showed that the ligamentum flavum thickness at the segments L2/3, L3/4, L4/5 and L5/S1 was positively correlated with age.It remains unclear whether ligamentum flavum thickness is associated with nationality, sex and obesity. OBJECTIVE: To retrospectively analyze the risk factors for ligamentum flavum hypertrophy in lumbar spinal stenosis patients from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China.METHODS: We conducted a retrospective, single-center, case analysis at the Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University, China. We collected lumbar CT imaging data of 104 patients diagnosed with lumbar spinal stenosis in the Sixth Affiliated Hospital, Xinjiang Medical University from May 2012 to May 2016. The primary outcome was the ligamentum flavum thickness of patients with different nationalities, sexes, heights, ages, and weights. The secondary outcomes were the morphology of lumbar vertebrae in patients with different nationalities, sexes, heights, ages, and weights; the correlation of nationality, sex, height, age, and weight with ligamentum flavum thickness; results of multiple linear regression analysis of relevant factors for ligamentum flavum hypertrophy. This trial has been registered at clinical Trials.gov (indentifier: NCT03057353). This protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Xinjiang Medical University and will be performed in accordance with the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, formulated by the World Medical Association. Signed informed consent regarding trial procedure and treatment will be obtained from each participant.DISCUSSION: This study will determine the variations in the ligamentum flavum thickness of lumbar spinal stenosis patients of different nationalities, sexes, heights, ages, and weights in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region by measuring the ligamentum flavum thickness using CT, and analyzing risk factors for ligamentum flavum hypertrophy; the findings will provide quantitative reference data for preventing lumbar spinal stenosis induced by ligamentum flavum hypertrophy in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

BACKGROUND: Whether horizontal and vertical impacts cause craniocerebral injury of the same degree, and whether serum myelin basic protein (MBP) changes is associated with the direction of impact have been scarcely addressed in previous studies.OBJECTIVE: To observe the change in the serum MBP levels and morphological changes of the brain tissue rabbits with craniocerebral injury resulting from impacts from different directions.DESIGN: A randomized controlled experiment.SETTING: Department of Neurosurgery of a hospital affiliated to a medical university.MATERIALS: This study was conducted in the Central Laboratory of Shenyang Medical College between October 2003 and January 2004. Totally 30 healthy rabbits of either sex were randomly divided into two equal groups to receive vertical and horizontal impact on the head.METHODS: All the rabbits were anesthetized and fixed in prone position onto a table equipped with a device for inducing impact on the head from different directions. Venous blood of 1 mL was taken from the edge of the ear of each rabbit for detecting MBP before injury. The rabbits in vertical impact group received the impact of a hammer falling directly on the parietal bone of the skull. In the horizontal group, the rabbits were subjected to horizontal impact on the lateral side of the skull. Forty-eight hours after the injury, venous blood were again taken for MBP measurement. The rabbits were then killed for pathological examination of the brain.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Changes in serum MBP and pathomorphology of the brain tissues in the two groups after the impact.RESULTS: ① According to intention to treat analysis, all the 30 animals were involved in the experiment. There was no significant difference in serum MBP levels between the two groups before the impact, nor 48 hours after the impact( P ＞ 0.05). In the vertical impact group, serum MBP levels before the impact was( 1.68 ± 0. 86) μg/L, which was significantly lower than that after the impact[ (5.25 ± 1.96) μg/L, t = 3. 226, P ＜ 0. 05]. ② In the horizontal strike group, serum MBP also significantly increased from the level of( 1.70 ± 0.91 ) μg/L before impact to(5.73 ± 2.07) μg/L after that( t = 3. 080, P ＜ 0.05) . ③ After the impact, vasodilation and congestion in the cortex near the midline of the bilateral parietal region and edema in the deep layer of the white matter were observed in the vertical impact group, along with significant enlargement of the extravascular and extracellular space. In the horizontal group, similar changes except those near the midline of the bilateral parietal region took place after the impact; the same pathological changes were also observed in the basal plane, with nearly identical pathological changes in the deep layer of the white matter.CONCLUSION: Vertical and horizontal impacts can both result in almost identical brain injuries demonstrated by similar changes in serum MBP and the pathomorphology of the brain tissues after the impacts.

Objective To investigate the effect of simple vertebral canal decompression for treating degree 1 senile degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis .Methods 62 cases of degree 1 senile degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis from January 1998 to January 2012 were retrospectively analyzed .The patients were surgically treated by simple vertebral canal decompression and included 20 males and 42 females ,aged from 65-82 years(mean 68 years) ,with the disease history of 2-7 years(average 3 .3 years) .The clini-cal effects in average postoperative 2 years and 8 .2 years were evaluated by Japanese Orthopaedic Association Scores (JOA ) and Visual Analogue Scale/Score(VAS) .Results The preoperative JOA score was 9 .7 in average and the JOA scores in average post-operative 2 years and 8 .2 years were 11 .7 and 12 .8 respectively(P<0 .05);the preoperative VAS score averaged 7 .8 ,which after operation were 2 .3 and 2 .6 respectively(P<0 .05) .Complications were observed in 16 cases .4 cases accepted reoperation .Conclu-sion In the basis of the actively controlling other organ systems diseases in perioperative period ,simple vertebral canal decompression is an effective method for treating degenerative vertebral canal spondylolisthesis and can obtain the satisfactory therapeutic effect .

Objective: To investigate the effects of oral Lactobacillus Plantarum supplementation on apoptosis of liver and tight junction of hepatocytes in an experimental model of obstructive jaundice.Methods: Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: sham-operated;bile duct ligation;bile duct ligation +LP(0.2 g/5 mL/day);bile internal drainage;bile internal drainage+LP.Hepatocyte apoptosis was quantitated using TUNEL assay.Transmission electron microscopy,RT-PCR and Western blot were used to observe tight junction associated proteins.Results: Compared to the sham-operated,a significant increase in apoptosis(P

Objective: To explore the value of radiomics features and machine learning models based on T1WI and IDEAL-T2WI in differential diagnosis of parotid gland pleomorphic adenoma (PA) from adenolymphoma (AL). Methods: Clinical and imaging data of 58 patients with parotid tumors, including 33 with PA and 25 with AL were retrospectively analyzed. Axial T1WI and IDEAL-T2WI were manually segmented, and radiomics features were extracted using the radcloud software. Effective radiomics features were selected with the variance threshold method, SelectKBest and Lasso algorithm. The machine learning models were established by using random forest and Logistic regression algorithm, and the ROC curves were drawn to analyze the diagnostic performance. The ability of T1WI, IDEAL-T2WI and image combination in diagnosis of PA from AL were analyzed. Results: T1WI, IDEAL-T2WI and IDEAL-T2WI combined with T1WI obtained 6, 9 and 12 effective features. The random forest model based on IDEAL-T2WI combined with T1WI sequences had the highest diagnostic performance, with AUC of 0.87 (95%CI[0.59,1.00]) and accuracy of 0.83. Conclusion: Radiomics features and machine learning models based on T1WI and IDEAL-T2WI can provide important references for differentiation of PA and AL.

BACKGROUND:Spinal canal decompression reduction fixation combined with bone graft fusion has been extensively applied in the clinic. Bilateral pedicle screw assisted interbody fusion and unilateral pedicle screw assisted interbody fusion are main methods to treat degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis and lumbar spondylolisthesis. OBJECTIVE:To compare early clinical therapeutic effects of bilateral and unilateral pedicle screw assisted interbody fusion in elderly patients with spinal stenosis and degenerative spondylolisthesis. METHODS:A total of 60 elderly patients with spinal stenosis with degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis were selected, including 37 males and 23 females, at the age of 60 to 78 years old. They were divided into two groups, and subjected to decompression of spinal canal. In the treatment group (n=30), patients received unilateral pedicle screw assisted interbody fusion. In the control group (n=30), patients received bilateral pedicle screw assisted interbody fusion. After treatment, they were folowed up for 1 year. The recovery of joint function was assessed using Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores in both groups. Simultaneously, complications were recorded. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores were 25.7±1.9 and 25.8±1.8 in the treatment and control groups, respectively, and no significant difference was found between groups. In the treatment group, three cases affected lower limb numbness and two cases suffered from dural tear, with the incidence of complication of 17%. In the control group, three cases affected lower limb numbness and three cases suffered from dural tear, with the incidence of complication of 20%; no significant difference was detected between the two groups. No adverse reaction related to bone graft was found in the two groups. These results confirm that bilateral or unilateral pedicle screw assisted interbody fusion in treatment of degenerative lumbar spondylolisthesis with spinal stenosis obtained good therapeutic effects.

BACKGROUND:Traumatic or iatrogenic dural defects can cause persistent cerebrospinal fluid leakage, even progressing to life-threatening purulent meningitis. In patients with meningitis combined with cerebrospinal fluid leakage, most antibiotics are unable to enter the cerebrospinal fluid, as the cerebrospinal fluid is a good medium for bacteria and there is the presence of blood-brain barrier. So meningitis presents with acute onset, rapid development and infection difficult to control. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the outcome of continuous lumbar subarachnoid drainage plus intrathecal administration of antibiotics for postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage combined with meningitis after biomaterial repair of dural defects. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out to review the 12 cases of cerebrospinal fluid leakage combined with meningitis among 126 of 2 266 cases who developed cerebrospinal fluid leakage (5.56%) undergoing spinal surgery from June 2008 to June 2013. During the operation, dural defects were directly sutured or repaired with autologous fascial sheet. Al cases underwent thorough debridement and intravenous injection of sensitive antibiotics folowed by continuous lumbar drainage and intrathecal administration of sensitive antibiotics (usualy vancomycin), and then the incision was closed at stage I. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:The cerebrospinal fluid leakage was found in the 12 cases at 24-72 hours after surgery, averagely 48 hours; the infection was found at 812 days days after surgery, averagely 9.5 days. Headache and fever were significantly relieved at the 2nd day of intrathecal administration of antibiotics, and intracranial infection disappeared at 7-14 days after continuous lumbar drainage. Biochemical test of the cerebrospinal fluid and routine examination were done thrice, and the results were al normal. No bacterial growth was found in bacterial culture test, and the drainage tube was removed. There was no intraspinal infection, intracranial hypotension headache and hernia caused by the drainage tube. These findings indicate that autologous fascia repair combined with continuous lumbar subarachnoid drainage plus intrathecal administration of antibiotics is an effective method in the treatment of cerebrospinal fluid leakage with meningitis.

Objective To discuss the levels of evidence provided by different study designs.Methods Websites of N Engl J Med, JAMA, Lancet, and BMJ were accessed to identify research articles (systematic review and meta-analysis included) published in 2009. A standardized data collection form was established using Epidata 3. 1 software to extract the "title", "country of lead author", "clinical problem" (such as treatment, diagnosis, etc. ) and "study design" of eligible studies. Descriptive statistics was conducted with SPSS 13.0. Results Over all, 844 studies were included, among which 35.7% were RCT,9. 4% systematic review and Meta-analysis, and 54. 9% other types of studies. Regarding clinical problems,34. 2%, 19. 7%, 13.7%, 6. 0% and 5. 1% of the included researches addressed the issues of treatment,etiology/risk factors, prevention, disease frequency and prognosis, respectively. The study designs that were most frequently adopted to explore these problems were RCT (70.6%), cohort study (44. 6% ), RCT (68. 1% ), cross-sectional study ( 56. 9% ), and cohort study ( 93.0% ), respectively. Conclusions High-level evidence does not come exclusively from RCT and systematic review, as each type of study may have its unique value in health related research. The clinical problem of interest, the previous work that has been done to approach the same issue, as well as other factors should be taken into account when deciding whether the selected study design is appropriate.

Objective:In this study, the feasibility of this method was evaluated in children with large distance femoral lengthening cases, and the acute correction and staging surgeries were compared at healing speed. At the same time the key points of surgical techniques would be summarized, so as to clarify the application value of this technology in children patients.Methods:Since July 7 of 2014 to January 16 of 2018, a total of 10 cases of Lengthening Over Retrograde Nail (LORN) surgery have been formulated and carried out, including 9 males and 1 females.The average age of the operation was 13.10±2.18 y. In all cases, the osteotomy point was located in the metaphysis of the distal femur, and the records from the first meeting to the end of follow-up included gender, date of birth, reason of discrepancy and treatment history, age at surgery, lengthing distance, the length of duration with frame, healing time, ROM of the knee joint, complications, et al. To compare the healing time of acute correction and staging surgery. Statistical analysis was made by SPSS 22.0 software, and then reasonable treatment strategies were proposed.Results:The average lengthing distance of 7.07±1.01 cm. The median time of the duration with frame was 8.5 (4,16) months, and the median follow-up time was 39 (34, 54) months. All cases obtained good clinical and imaging healing (1.70±1.10 month/cm vs. 1.16±0.54 month/cm), and all regained to normal walking function (136.67°±20.82° vs. 125.71°±26.37°), without the occurrence of fracture after therapy. There were no statistically significant differences in the speed of healing, range of joint motion or complication rate between acute correction and staging treatment. Conclusion:It is feasible for femoral lengthening surgery assisted by retrograde intramedullary nail in the treatment of femoral shortening deformityin children. The correction of mild angular deformity and lengthening surgery can be performed simultaneously. The osteotomy site was proposed at distal metaphysealof the femur for better quality of osteogenesis and shorter duration for fixator. It is safe to osteotomy and lengthening in the area of enchondroma.

BACKGROUND: Thoracolumbar segments (T11-L2) prone to damage due to its special anatomical and biomechanical characteristics. Therefore, fully understanding the shape of pedicle of vertebral arch and finding the visible, constant, and the point of insertion of the pedicle axis is very important to the safety of pedicle screw placement.OBJECTIVE: To measure the surgically relevant parameters of thoracolumbar pedicles between Han and Uygur males using computed tomography (CT) scan to provide some anatomic reference data for pedicle screw fixation.METHODS: The vertebral bodies and pedicles of adult males were scanned (60 cases of Han people and 60 cases of Uygur people) from T10-L3 with CT. The parameters were processed by three-dimensional reconstruction. Transverse pedicle width, pedicle axis length, transverse pedicle angle, and sagittal pedicle angle were measured by using length and angle measurement tool of browser in bone-window CT images. The age and stature information were recorded. All the data above were processed by SPSS 13.0 software.RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: (1) The mean transverse pedicle width of T12 and L1 in Han was bigger than that in the Uygur. (2) The mean transverse pedicle angle of T12 and L2 in Han was bigger than that in the Uygur. (3) The mean pedicle axis length and sagittal pedicle angle of T11 and L1 in Han were bigger than that in the Uygur (P < 0.05). (4) There were some differences among some parameters of the thoracolumbar pedicles between the Han and Uygur people.Data from any study only can be used as a guide for pedicle screw fixation. Preoperative CT evaluation may provide an individualized strategy to reduce the incidence of postoperative complications caused by misplacement.