BACKGROUND:Percutaneous vertebroplasty has been extensively applied in treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures, and now it is also used in spinal metastatic tumor. OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the effectiveness of percutaneous vertebroplasty for metastatic tumor of thoracic lumbar vertebrae by bone cement perfusion at different times and temperature gradient. METHODS:A total of 24 cases (38 vertebrae) of metastatic tumor receiving percutaneous vertebroplasty and bone cement perfusion at different times and temperature gradient were reviewed retrospectively. Al patients were classified into group A (11 vertebrae in 9 cases) featured with apparent vertebral compression (≥ 1/4) and group B (27 vertebrae in 15 cases) of no obvious compression (<1/4). The percutaneous vertebroplasty was conducted with C-arm fluoroscopy positioning. Bone cement was injected by perfusion at different times and temperature gradient method. Visual Analogue Scales and Owestry Disability Index were recorded to assess pain al eviation and functional restoration before and after bone cement injection at different times and temperature gradient. The height of treated vertebrae was also analyzed. Fol ow-up was performed for 12 to 56 months. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:Al 24 patients successful y underwent percutaneous vertebroplasty and bone cement perfusion at different times and temperature gradient. Bone cement (4±1) mL was averagely injected into each thoracic vertebra. Bone cement (5±1) mL was injected into each lumbar vertebra. Postoperative recheck radiographs revealed good bone cement distribution, no nerve root injury or spinal compression occurred. Vertebral height was significantly higher posttreatment compared with pretreatment in both groups (P<0.05). Visual Analogue Scales and Owestry Disability Index scores were significantly lower at 1 day, 1 month after treatment and during final fol ow-up compared with preoperation in al patients (P<0.05). No significant difference in Visual Analogue Scales and Owestry Disability Index scores was detected between two groups at the same time point. Results suggested that percutaneous vertebroplasty and bone cement perfusion at different times and temperature gradient for metastatic tumor of thoracic lumbar vertebrae could reduce the occurrence of bone cement leakage, and could ease the pain quickly for apparent and non-apparent compressed tumor metastatic vertebrae. It is an effective method to treat metastatic tumor of vertebrae.

Objective To investigate the risk factors affecting Sandwich vertebral re-fracture after vertebral augmentation surgery for osteoporotic spine Sandwich fractures.Methods A retrospective case control study was conducted on the clinical data of 90 patients with osteoporotic spine Sandwich fractures treated with vertebral augmentation surgery from January 2004 to December 2015.There were 26 males and 64 females,aged (69.9 ± 7.4) years.The patients were divided into fracture group (n =15) and non fracture group (n =75) according to the incidence of re-fracture after operation during follow-up.Gender,age,height,weight,bone mineral density,cumulative number of cemented vertebrae,location of the Sandwich vertebrae in the thoracolumbar segment,the preoperative kyphosis angle of the Sandwich fracture segment,surgical approach,cement injection approach (unilateral or bilateral),cement injection volume,cement leakage between the Sandwich intervertebral spaces,the postoperative kyphosis angle of the Sandwich fracture segment,and follow-up duration were used as independent variables.Chi-square test and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the risk factors of vertebral Sandwich fracture.Results There were 97 Sandwich vertebrae in 90 patients,and 226 fractured vertebrae were treated with initial intensive treatment.The mean follow-up was 18.1 months.There were no significant differences in gender,age,height,weight,cumulative number of cemented vertebrae,whether the Sandwich vertebrae was located at the thoracolumbar segment,the preoperative kyphosis angle of the Sandwich fracture segment,the cement injection approach (unilateral or bilateral),the volume of cement injection,and the cement leakage between the Sandwich intervertebral spaces (P ＞ 0.05).There were significant differences in bone mineral density,surgical approach,and postoperative kyphosis angle of the Sandwich fracture segment between the two groups (P ＜ 0.05).Further logistic regression analysis showed that bone mineral density ≤ 3.5 SD and segmental kyphosis (≥ 10°) were risk factors for Sandwich fracture (P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The low bone mineral density (T value ≤-3.5 SD) and postoperative kyphotic angle (≥ 10°) are risk factors for re-fracture of Sandwich vertebrae.Vertebroplasty itself does not increase the risk of recurrent vertebral fractures.

Objective To evaluate the clinical effects of minimally invasive percutaneous new C2transpedicular lag-screw fixation for management of Hangman's fractures.Methods From October 2015 to June 2017,25 patients who had Hang-man's fracture were operated with minimally invasive percutaneous new C2transpedicular lag-screw fixation assisted by infrared navigation,among them there were 18 male and 7 female,aged from 28 to 70 years[average(46.1±13.3)years].According to the Levine-Edwards classification:16 patients were TypeⅠ,6 patients were TypeⅡand 3 patients were TypeⅡA.The cause of the in-jury was road traffic accident in 20 patients and fall from height in 5 patients.19 patients were simple Hangman's fracture and oth-er associated lesions included odontoid fracture of TypeⅡ(2 patients),atlas fracture of TypeⅠ(2 patients),rupture of spleen(1 pa-tient),and rib fractures(1 patient).According to American Association for spinal cord injury,graded as spinal cord injury D in 3 cases and E in 22 cases.The clinical outcomes were evaluated by visual analog scale(VAS)scores and related indicators,such as operation time,the range of motion(ROM)of cervical spine and ratio of bony union were recorded.The pre-and post-operative VAS scores of neck pain were compared with repeated measures analysis of variance. Results The mean follow-up time was (12.5±6.0)months,ranging from 3 to 24 months.Satisfactory reduction was obtained in all cases(minimal translation≤2 mm with-out obvious C2,3angulation).The average operation time was(65.9±12.1)min.At first day,one month,three months and the last fol-low-up, VAS scores of neck pain decreased comparing with preoperational measurements. There was significant difference be-tween the pre-and post-operative VAS scores of neck pain(t=24.7,25.8,23.1,24.1,P<0.001).According to American Associa-tion for spinal cord injury,three cases restored from D to E.There was no spinal cord or vertebral artery injury during operation and there was no screw loosing or breakage and cervical malformation happened during follow-up period. Bony fusion was achieved in all of these cases and the range of neck rotation was stored normal at the last follow-up.The average time of Bony fu-sion was(3.4±0.8)months.Conclusion The primary clinical efficacies of minimally invasive percutaneous new C2transpedicu-lar lag-screw fixation for treatment of Hangman's fracture were satisfactory,which carries precision and safety,immediate stability and more reliable.So it could be considered as a new choice for management of Hangman's fractures.

Objective: To evaluate the clinical efficacy of percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) in the treatment of stage Ⅲ Kümmell＇s disease with no neurological symptom. Methods: From January 2009 to June 2018, 45 patients underwent PKP for stage Ⅲ Kümmell＇s disease with no neurological symptom at Department of Orthopaedics, The First Hospital Affiliated to Soochow University. They were 12 males and 33 females, aged from 61 to 85 years (average, 70.9 years). Their visual analog scale (VAS) scores for back pain, Oswestry disability indexes (ODI), heights of fractured vertebrae and kyphosis cob angles were recorded and compared between preoperation, one day, 3 months and final follow-up after operation. Results: All the 45 patients were followed up for 12 to 48 months (average, 28.0 months). Their VAS scores (2.4±0.7, 2.2±0.7 and 2.3±0.6), ODI sores (34.7±6.8, 34.2±6.5 and 34.1±6.6) and cobb angles (15.7°±2.2°, 15.8°±2.2° and 15.9°±2.4°) at one day, 3 months and final follow-up after operation were significantly lower than those (8.2±1.1, 75.3±9.0 and 25.2°±3.9°) before operation (P<0.001). Their anterior height ratios of the fractured vertebra (54.0%±4.3%, 53.7%±4.2% and 53.6%±4.0%) and median height ratios of the fractured vertebra (56.8%±4.0%, 56.5%±3.9% and 56.6%±3.9%) at one day, 3 months and final follow-up after operation were significantly higher than those (25.8%±3.9% and 27.2%±3.1%) before operation (P<0.001). The rate of cement leakage was 13.3%(6/45). No patients had neurological symptoms after operation. Conclusion PKP is a minimally invasive, safe and effective treatment for stage Ⅲ Kümmell's disease with no neurological symptom, because it can relieve the symptoms of the patients, restore the height of the fractured vertebral body and reduce the local kyphosis cobb angle.

Vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) migration plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases. We recently showed that TMEM16A is involved in hypertension-induced cerebrovascular remodeling. However, it is unclear whether this effect is related to the regulation of VSMC migration. Here, we investigated whether and how TMEM16A contributes to migration in basilar artery smooth muscle cells (BASMCs). We observed that AngII increased the migration of cultured BASMCs, which was markedly inhibited by overexpression of TMEM16A. TMEM16A overexpression inhibited AngII-induced RhoA/ROCK2 activation, and myosin light chain phosphatase (MLCP) and myosin light chain (MLC20) phosphorylation. But AngII-induced myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) activation was not affected by TMEM16A. Furthermore, a suppressed activation of integrin

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.04.013.].

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2021.04.013.].