Methods: The clinical data of 26 patients diagnosed with irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation complicated by atlantodental bony obstruction were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty, followed by posterior occipitocervical fusion. Details including surgical duration and blood loss volume were recorded. Radiographic data such as the anterior atlantodental interval, O–C2 angle, space available for the cord, clivus–canal angle, and cervical medullary angle, and clinical data including the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score were assessed. The fusion time of the grafted bone and the development of complications were examined. Results: In patients undergoing anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty, the surgical duration and blood loss volume were 120.1±16.4 minutes and 100.6±33.5 mL, respectively. The anterior atlantodental interval decreased significantly after the surgery (p <0.001). The O–C2 angle, space available for the cord, clivus–canal angle, and cervical medullary angle increased significantly after the surgery (p <0.001). The JOA score during the latest follow-up significantly increased compared with that before the surgery (p <0.001). The improvement rate of the JOA score was 80.8%±18.1%. The fusion time of the grafted bone was 3–8 months, with an average of 5.7±1.5 months. In total, 11 patients presented with postoperative dysphagia and three with irritating cough. However, none of them exhibited other major complications. Conclusions Anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty can anatomically reduce the atlantoaxial joint with a satisfactory clinical outcome in patients with irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with atlantodental bony obstruction.

Methods: The clinical data of 26 patients diagnosed with irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation complicated by atlantodental bony obstruction were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty, followed by posterior occipitocervical fusion. Details including surgical duration and blood loss volume were recorded. Radiographic data such as the anterior atlantodental interval, O–C2 angle, space available for the cord, clivus–canal angle, and cervical medullary angle, and clinical data including the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score were assessed. The fusion time of the grafted bone and the development of complications were examined. Results: In patients undergoing anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty, the surgical duration and blood loss volume were 120.1±16.4 minutes and 100.6±33.5 mL, respectively. The anterior atlantodental interval decreased significantly after the surgery (p <0.001). The O–C2 angle, space available for the cord, clivus–canal angle, and cervical medullary angle increased significantly after the surgery (p <0.001). The JOA score during the latest follow-up significantly increased compared with that before the surgery (p <0.001). The improvement rate of the JOA score was 80.8%±18.1%. The fusion time of the grafted bone was 3–8 months, with an average of 5.7±1.5 months. In total, 11 patients presented with postoperative dysphagia and three with irritating cough. However, none of them exhibited other major complications. Conclusions Anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty can anatomically reduce the atlantoaxial joint with a satisfactory clinical outcome in patients with irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with atlantodental bony obstruction.

Methods: The clinical data of 26 patients diagnosed with irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation complicated by atlantodental bony obstruction were analyzed retrospectively. All patients underwent anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty, followed by posterior occipitocervical fusion. Details including surgical duration and blood loss volume were recorded. Radiographic data such as the anterior atlantodental interval, O–C2 angle, space available for the cord, clivus–canal angle, and cervical medullary angle, and clinical data including the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score were assessed. The fusion time of the grafted bone and the development of complications were examined. Results: In patients undergoing anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty, the surgical duration and blood loss volume were 120.1±16.4 minutes and 100.6±33.5 mL, respectively. The anterior atlantodental interval decreased significantly after the surgery (p <0.001). The O–C2 angle, space available for the cord, clivus–canal angle, and cervical medullary angle increased significantly after the surgery (p <0.001). The JOA score during the latest follow-up significantly increased compared with that before the surgery (p <0.001). The improvement rate of the JOA score was 80.8%±18.1%. The fusion time of the grafted bone was 3–8 months, with an average of 5.7±1.5 months. In total, 11 patients presented with postoperative dysphagia and three with irritating cough. However, none of them exhibited other major complications. Conclusions Anterior retropharyngeal atlantodentoplasty can anatomically reduce the atlantoaxial joint with a satisfactory clinical outcome in patients with irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with atlantodental bony obstruction.

Objective To observe the therapeutic effect and mechanism of electroacupuncture at Jiaji(EX-B2)points for lumbar disc degeneration in rats.Methods Thirty SD rats were randomly divided into the sham-operation group,model group and electroacupuncture group,with 10 rats in each group.The rats in the model group and electroacupuncture group were constructed a lumbar disc degeneration model by annulus fibrosus puncture method,and the sham-operation group was only given separation of intervertebral discs without other treatments.After successful modeling,the electroacupuncture group was treated with electroacupuncture at the L4 and L5 bilateral Jiaji points.No treatment was given to the sham-operation group and the model group.At the end of the intervention,the paw withdrawal mechanical threshold(PMWT)was detected by electronic Von Frey filaments,the changes of the structure of lumbar disc in rats were observed by hematoxylin-eosin(HE)staining,the levels of interleukin 1β(IL-1β)and tumor necrosis factor α(TNF-α)in the supernatant of lumbar intervertebral disc tissues were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA),and the ratio of nucleus pulposus cell cycle was detected by flow cytometry,real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction(RT-PCR)method was used to detect the mRNA expression levels of Fas-associated death domain protein(FADD),cysteinyl aspartate specific protease 8(Caspase-8),B-cell lymphoma/leukemia 2(Bcl-2)-associated X protein(Bax)and Bcl-2 in the nucleus pulposus of lumbar intervertebral disc,the protein expression levels of FADD,Caspase-8,Bax,and Bcl-2 in the nucleus pulposus of lumbar intervertebral disc were detected by Western Blot.Results The overall structure of the intervertebral disc in rats of the model group was abnormal and obvious degeneration was seen;the degeneration of intervertebral disc tissue in the electroacupuncture group was significantly improved compared with that of the model group.Compared with the sham-operation group,the model group showed lower PWMT,and the higher levels of IL-1β and TNF-α,the increased proportion of G0/G1 nucleus pulposus cells and decreased proportion of G2/M nucleus pulposus cells,and the increased mRNA and protein expression levels of FADD,Caspase-8 and Bax and the decreased mRNA and protein levels of Bcl-2,the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.05).Compared with the model group,the electroacupuncture group showed higher PWMT,the lower levels of IL-1β and TNF-α,the decreased proportion of G0/G1 nucleus pulposus cells and the increased proportion of G2/M nucleus pulposus cells,and the decreased mRNA and protein expression levels of FADD,Caspase-8 and Bax and the increased mRNA and protein levels of Bcl-2,the differences being statistically significant(P＜0.05).Conclusion Electroacupuncture at the Jiaji points can alleviate inflammatory reaction,regulate nucleus pulposus cell cycle to improve the structural changes of lumbar disc through regulating the FADD/Caspase-8 signaling pathway to inhibit apoptosis,thereby slowing down rat lumbar disc degeneration.

Objective To study the stress change characteristics of the cervical disc after removing different ranges of the uncinate process by establishing a three⁃dimensional finite element model of the C

Rare diseases still lack effective treatments, and the development of drugs for rare diseases (known as orphan drugs) is an urgent medical problem. As natural active ingredients in living organisms, some biomacromolecule drugs have good biocompatibility, low immunogenicity, and high targeting. They have become one of the most promising fields in drug research and development in the 21st century. However, there are still many obstacles in terms of in vivo delivery. In view of the unique advantages of nanocarriers prepared from polymers, lipids, organic biomimetic and inorganic materials in drug delivery, researchers are committed to building an efficient delivery system with versatility and synergy to solve the bottleneck issues in treating rare diseases with biomacromolecule drugs. Therefore, this article reviews the research progress of nanocarrier delivering proteins, peptides and nucleic acids in the field of rare disease treatment in the past ten years, which provides ideas for researches on biomacromolecule drug nanosystems in the field of treatment of rare diseases.

In the research on cancer theranostics, most environment-sensitive drug delivery systems can only achieve unidirectional and irreversible responsive changes under pathological conditions, thereby improving the targeting effect and drug release performance of the delivery system. However, such irreversible changes pose potential safety hazards when the dynamically distributed delivery system returns to the blood circulation or transports to the normal physiological environment. Intelligent reversible drug delivery systems can respond to normal physiological and pathological microenvironments to achieve bidirectional and reversible structural changes. This feature will help to precisely control the drug release of the delivery system, prolong the blood circulation time, improve the targeting efficiency, and avoid the potential safety hazards of the irreversible drug delivery system. In this review, we describe the research progress of intelligent reversible drug delivery system from two main aspects: controlled drug release and prolonged blood circulation time/enhanced cellular internalization of drug.

Malignant tumor is a major disease affecting human health. The nano-delivery system itself has a unique size effect and it can achieve tumor-targeted distribution of drug molecules, improve the therapeutic effect, and reduce the toxic and side effects on normal tissues and cells after functional modification. Patient-derived xenografts (PDX) models can be established by transplanting patient-derived cancer cells or small tumor tissue into immunodeficient mice directly. Compared with the tumor cell line model, this model can preserve the key features of the primary tumor such as histomorphology, heterogeneity, and genetic abnormalities, and keep them stable between generations. PDX models are widely used in drug evaluation, target discovery and biomarker development, especially providing a reliable research platform for the diagnosis and treatment evaluation of nano-delivery systems. This review summarizes the application of several common cancer PDX models in the evaluation of nano-delivery systems, in order to provide references for researchers to perform related research.

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of the classified reduction based on CT two-dimensional images for the surgical treatment of single segment facet joint dislocation in subaxial cervical spine.Methods:A retrospective case series study was made on 105 patients with single segment facet joint dislocation in subaxial cervical spine admitted to Zhengzhou Orthopedic Hospital from January 2015 to October 2022. There were 63 males and 42 females, with the age range of 22-78 years [(47.5±3.6)years]. Preoperative American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA) classification was grade A in 23 patients, grade B in 45, grade C in 22, grade D in 15 and grade E in 0. The classification of surgical approach was based on the presence or not of continuity between anterior and posterior subaxial cervical structures and the movability of the posterior cervical facet joint on CT two-dimensional images, including anterior cervical surgery if both were presented and posterior facet joint resection plus anterior cervical surgery if there was discontinuity between anterior and posterior subaxial cervical structures or posterior facet joint fusion. Reduction procedures were applied in accordance with the type of facet joint dislocation classified based on the position of the lower upper corner of facet joint, including skull traction or manipulative reduction for the dislocation locating at the dorsal side (type A), intraoperative skull traction and leverage technique for the dislocation locating at the top (type B) and intraoperative skull traction and leverage technique with boosting for the dislocation locating at the ventral side (type C). If the dislocation of two facet joints in the same patient was different, the priority of management followed the order of type C, type B and type A. The reduction success rate, operation time and intraoperative blood loss were recorded. The cervical physiological curvature was evaluated by comparing the intervertebral space height and Cobb angle before operation, at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up. The fusion rate of intervertebral bone grafting was evaluated by Lenke grading at 3 months after operation. The spinal cord nerve injury was assessed with ASIA classification before operation and at 3 months after operation. Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score was applied to measure the degree of cervical spinal cord dysfunction before operation and at 3 months after operation, and the final follow-up score was used to calculate the rate of spinal cord functional recovery. The occurrence of complications was observed.Results:All patients were followed up for 3-9 months [(6.0±2.5)months]. The reduction success rate was 100%. The operation time was 40-95 minutes [(58.6±9.3)minutes]. The intraoperative blood loss was 40 to 120 ml [(55.7±6.8)ml]. The intervertebral space height was (4.7±0.3)mm and (4.7±0.2)mm at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up, significantly decreased from preoperative (3.1±0.5)mm (all P<0.01), but there was no significant difference in intervertebral space height at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up ( P>0.05). The Cobb angle was (6.5±1.3)° and (6.3±1.2)° at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up, significantly increased from preoperative (-5.4±2.2)° (all P<0.01), but there was no significant difference in Cobb angle at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up ( P>0.05). The fusion rate of intervertebral bone grafting evaluated by Lenke grading was 100% at 3 months after operation. The ASIA grading was grade A in 15 patients, grade B in 42, grade C in 29, grade D in 12 and grade E in 7 at 3 months after operation. The patients showed varying degrees of improvement in postoperative ASIA grade except that 15 patients with preoperative ASIA grade A had partial recovery of limb sensation but no improvement in ASIA grade. The JOA score was (13.3±0.6)points and (13.1±0.6)points at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up, significantly improved from preoperative (6.8±1.4)points (all P<0.01), but there was no significant difference in JOA score at 3 months after operation and at the last follow-up ( P>0.05). The rate of spinal cord functional recovery was (66.3±2.5)% at the last follow-up. All patients had no complications such as increased nerve damage or vascular damage. Conclusion:The classified reduction based on CT two-dimensional images for the surgical treatment of single segment facet joint dislocation in subaxial cervical spine has advantages of reduced facet joint dislocation, recovered intervertebral space height and physiological curvature, good intervertebral fusion and improved spinal cord function.

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of anterior cervical release and posterior fixation in the treatment of irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with retropharyngeal internal carotid artery.Methods:Thirteen patients with irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation of retropharyngeal internal carotid artery from January 2015 to July 2019 were treated with anterior cervical release and posterior fixation. There were 8 males and 5 females, aged from 34 to 65 years with an average of 46.1±12.6 years. Positive, lateral and dynamic X-ray films, MR and CTA were performed before operation. There were 4 cases with bilateral retropharyngeal internal carotid artery and 9 cases with unilateral retropharyngeal internal pharyngeal artery. The time of operation, the amount of bleeding and intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. The main observations were Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, atlantodental interval (ADI), Chamberlain line (CL), and changes in the morphology of the retropharyngeal internal carotid artery and implant fusion.Results:All the operations completed successfully. The operation time was 210-260 min, the average was 245±21 min; the blood loss was 350-600 ml, the average blood loss was 490±107 ml. There was no injury of internal carotid artery, vertebral artery, spinal cord or nerve root during the operation. All patients were followed up for 9 to 24 months, with an average of 15.1±6.2 months. Preoperative JOA score was 6.9±2.3 points, 1 month after operation was 13.5±2.5 points, and the last follow-up was 14.3±2.1 points. The difference was statistically significant ( F=30.91, P<0.001). The difference between 1 month after operation and before operation was statistically significant ( P<0.001), and the improvement rate of JOA score was 75.6%±15.2%. There was no significant difference between the last follow-up and 1 month after operation ( P>0.05). The preoperative ADI was 8.9±2.2 mm, 1 month after operation was 1.1±0.8 mm, and the last follow-up was 1.2±0.9 mm. The difference was statistically significant ( F=114.69, P<0.001). The difference between 1 month after operation and before operation was statistically significant ( P<0.001), and ADI had returned to normal level. There was no significant difference between the last follow-up and 1 month after operation ( P>0.05). The preoperative CL was 11.7±4.8 mm, 1 month after operation was 1.6±2.1 mm, and the last follow-up was 1.8±2.3 mm. The difference was statistically significant ( F=34.19, P<0.001). The difference between 1 month after operation and before operation was statistically significant ( P<0.001), and the position of odontoid process returned to normal level. There was no significant difference between the last follow-up and 1 month after operation ( P>0.05). Bone graft fusion was received at 6 to 12 months after operation, with an average of 10.2 months. Conclusion:CTA examination should be performed before anterior release of atlantoaxial dislocation to understand the position and shape of internal carotid artery. Anterior cervical release combined with posterior bone graft fusion is an effective method for the treatment of irreducible atlantoaxial dislocation with retropharyngeal internal carotid artery without increasing the risk of internal carotid artery injury.