Objective To study the long term results of thoracolumbar fractures treatment with AF (atlas fixator) pedicle system. Methods The clinical results of 60 cases of thoracolumbar fractures treated with AF pedicle system from 1996 2000 were analyzed retrospectively. Results The follow ups lasted from 3 to 6 years, averaging 4 years. The neurological function improved by at least 2 ASIA grades in 27 cases and by 1 ASIA grade in 33 cases. The correction of the vertebral body height averaged 95.1%, and the correction loss averaged 19.7%. Degeneration and narrowing of the disc space next to the fractured vertebrae were common, and correction loss was most evident at the upper disc spaces. Conclusions The AF pedicle system can achieve good long term clinical results for the recovery of neurological function and the vertebral body height. But the rates of implant failure and correction loss are still high probably due to deficiency of bone grafting and delayed implant removal.

Erythropoietin is a critical growth factor in development of erythrocyte. After binding to its receptor, eryhropoietin produces biological action through consequent activation of intracellular signal transduction systems, including JAK2-STAT5, sos-Ras-MAPK, IRS-2- PI 3-K + and Ca 2+ channel.

[Objective] To discuss the operation and clinical results about surgical treatment of scoliosis of thoracic hemivertebra and diastematomyelia of adolescent.[Methods]From Jan 2001 to June 2007,15 patients were treated with one-stage posterior hemivertebrae and osseous divide resection combined with transpedicular instrumentation and bone graft.There were 6 males and 9 females with an average age of 21.2 years(range 16 to 24 years).All cases were segmented hemivertebrae.Hemivertebrae were located at T11(n=3)and T12(n=12).The status of the spinal fusion,correction rate and instrumentation were evaluated after surgery.[Results]All cases were followed up for 19 to 45 months with an average of 34 months.Cobb's angles of the main curve were 52.3??3.8?before surgery,10.2??1.4? after surgery.At the final follow-up there was 1.6? loss of correction.The mean height was increased by 3.76 cm.The district of bone graft showed good bone fusion.The time of vertebra fusion was 3 to 5 months(mean 3.6 months).No instrumentation,spinal fusion failure or other severe complications were noted.[Conclusion]One-stage posterior hemivertebrae and osseous divide resection combined with transpedicular instrumentation and bone graft can achieve a satisfactory result for the treatment of scoliosis of thoracic hemivertebra and diastematomyelia of adolescent.It can be recommended in clinical practice because of a good stability of fixation and fine spinal fusion.

Through analyses of rare diseases management of several countries and regions , successful practice has been discussed .Legislation of rare diseases should be activated as soon as possible to release specific standard of rare diseases .Accelerating development of translational medicine is a feasible approach to improve the level of diag -nosis and treatment of rare diseases .Strengthening the orientation of management policy should be put into a more significant position to promote incentives of stakeholder in this area .Both enhancing the joint collaboration of differ-ent departments and perfecting medical insurance system could be forceful accelerants to create and optimize the management system of rare diseases in China .

Angiogenesis plays an important role in the development process of tumor,and related microRNA(miRNA) in tumor cells can regulate tumor angiogenesis via the pathway of vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF).Therefore,the further study of miRNA function will provide more effective targets to inhibit tumor angiogenesis,and provide more reliable basis for the clinical diagnosis and treatment of tumor.

BACKGROUND: Three-dimensional printing technology is a new technology which can quickly and accurately transform the virtual computer-aided design into the three-dimensional physical prototypes. Three-dimensional printing physical model method can replace the method of traditional preoperative planning and repair surgical simulation, with the characteristic of repeatable, which has been deepened day after day in clinical application of spine surgery. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the application status of three-dimensional printing technology in spine surgery and look forward to its future development directions. METHODS: The articles regarding the application of three-dimensional printing technology on clinical applications in spine surgery were retrieved from PubMed databases, Google Scholar, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang Database from January 2000 to July 2015. The key words were 3D printing technology, rapid prototyping technology, spine, vertebra, department of orthopedics, fracture, joint, hand and foot, bone tumor, trauma, cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, sacral vertebrae, pedicle of vertebral arch, vertebral body, intervertebral disc, and clinical application. A total of 50 articles with a good representation were selected and discussed after repetitive studies and reviews were excluded. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The three-dimensional printing technique has been applied in preoperative diagnosis, individualized orthosis customerization, the communication between doctors and patients, teaching, the formulation of individualized and high-accurate repairing plan, intraoperative navigation and individualized implant customization. These results suggest that with the rapid development of medical imaging, digital medicine and technologies of the cel and tissue culture and new materials, three-dimensional printing technology wil have a wide range of applications in spine surgery.

Objective To perform digital 3D measurement of anatomic parameters associated with vertebral units fixed by ribs and pedicle fixation of T4-T10,providing evidence for clinical application.Methods Spiral CT scan of T4-T10 vertebrae was conducted in 15 normal adults without spinal disorder.The data were imported into computer to establish units and disc models of thoracic and rib vertebrae T4-T10 using Mimics 16.0 software and Ansys 11.0 finite element software.The following data were measured in the vertebral pedicle-rib unit fixation group (group A) by software:transverse diameter of vertebral pedicle-rib unit,length of the outside pedicle screw,inclination angle of pedicle screw,and maximum and minimum inclination angles of pedicle screw;the following data were also measured in the pedicle fixation group (group B) by software:pedicle transverse diameter,length of pedicle screw,inclination angle of pedicle screw,and maximum and minimum inclination angles of pedicle screw.The corresponding parameters were compared between groups A and B.Results In both groups,the transverse diameters and screw lengths gradually increased with the increase in the vertebral sequence while the inclination angle of pedicle screw,and maximum and minimum inclination angles of pedicle screw decreased with the increase in the vertebral sequence.All the parameters in groups A were significantly larger than the corresponding ones in group B (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions Of the spinal segment of T4-T10,the rib vertebral unit fixation can provide greater safe screw angles and screw diameters for clinical surgery.This is of vital significance for reducing the surgical complexity and improving screw prehension.

This study was aimed to establish a high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method coupled with Evaporative Light-scattering Detector (ELSD) in order to develop the determination of fingerprint of terpene lactones in Ginkgo biloba tablets. An Agilent Extend-C18 (4.6 mm í 250 mm, 5 μm) was employed as the analysis column and the normal propyl alcohol-tetrahydrofuran-water (1:15:84) as mobile phase. The column temperature was 30℃. And the flow rate was 1.0 mL·min-1. HPLC coupled with electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (Q-TOF MS) was used to identify the common peaks. The fingerprint was further evaluated by chemometrics methods including principal component analysis (PCA), similarity analysis (SA) and hierarchical clus-tering analysis (HCA). The results showed that the precision, stability and repeatability of this method were favorable. Five common peaks were identified by LC/Q-TOF MS as ginkgolide J ( M ) , C , A , B and bilobalide , respectively . Fourteen batches of Ginkgo biloba tablets were determined. With the aid of PCA, SA and HCA, the common pattern of the fingerprint of terpene lactones was established. Samples were divided into 4 clusters by their quality differ-ence. It was concluded that the method established in this paper can be used for quality evaluation of terpene lac-tones in G ink go b ilob a tablets.

Objective To investigate whether physical training can activate the PI3K/Akt (phosphatidyli-nositol 3-kinase/Protein Kinase B) signal transduction pathway after focal brain isehemia, leading to the reduction ofendothelial cell apoptosis. Methods Twenty-four male adult Sprague-Dawley rats (2 ～ 3 month old, n = 24) weresubjected to 60-min right middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). All rats were randomly assigned to one of thethree groups: physical training group, control group and sham operation group. 24 hours after MCAO ,physical train-ing group underwent 30 min treadmill training per day for 2 weeks. Results After two weeks, the phosphorylationlevel of PI3K/Akt in the physical training group was significantly higher when compared with that in the control group(P <0.05), while the expression level of Bax in physical training group was lower when compared with that in thecontrol group( P < 0.05 ). Conclusion Physical training can activate PI3K/Akt signal transduction pathway,which may be associated with the neurological recovery.

Objective To examine the association of urinary neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin(NGAL) and interleukin 18(IL-18) with acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients after cardiac surgery. Methods Thirty-three patients undergone cardiac surgery were divided into AKI group and non-AKI group according to the AKI criteria. The Scr, urinary NGAL and IL-18 were measured at different time points. Results Nine of 33 patients (27.27%)developed postoperative AKI, and Scr concentration in AKI group reached its peak within 12-48 hours after cardiac surgery. Urinary concentrations of NGAL and IL-18 at 2 h and 4 h after cardiac surgery were significantly higher than those before operation in AKI patients (P<0.01). The urinary concentrations of NGAL at each time point and that of IL-18 at 2 h and 4 h after cardiac surgery in AKI patients were significantly higher than those in non-AKI patients. After correction by urinary creatinine, the differences of NGAL/Ucr and IL-18/Ucr ratios were still significant (P< 0.01). For concentrations of urinary NGAL, IL-18 and ratios of NGAL/Ucr, IL-18/Ucr at 2 h after surgery, sensitivities and specificities were good with cutoff values at 250 μg/L, 250 μg/mmol and 1800 ng/L, 1800 ng/mmol, respectively. Urinary concentration of NGAL at 2 h after cardiac surgery was positively correlated with Scr at 12 h postoperation in AKI group (r=0.638, P<0.05).Conclusions The incidence of AKI in patients after cardiac surgery is quite high. Urinary concentrations of NGAL, IL-18 and ratios of NGAL/Ucr, IL-18/Ucr at 2 h after cardiac surgery are the early diagnostic markers for AKI, among which urinary NGAL/Ucr is the most sensitive one.