We report herein the case of an 18-year-old man who underwent endoscopic resection for an osteoid osteoma in the seventh cervical facet joint. The patient had experienced right neck pain for approximately one year, but no neurological abnormalities were noted. Cervical magnetic resonance imaging suggested an osteoid osteoma in the superior articular process of the seventh cervical vertebra. The tumor was resected microendoscopically. Operative time was 1 hour 29 minutes, and blood loss was 5 mL. During the two years since surgery, the patient has remained pain free with no cervical spine instability. We thus propose microendoscopic surgery for osteoid osteoma developing in a posterior element of the cervical spine is a potentially effective operative procedure.
Diskectomy ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neck Pain ; Operative Time ; Osteoma, Osteoid ; Spine ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Zygapophyseal Joint

The inhibitory effects of ginseng on the development of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced aberrant crypt foci (ACF) in the colon were investigated in rats. Male, 6-week-old rats were injected with DMH once a week for 4 weeks. Rats in Groups 1 and 2 were fed diets containing red and white ginseng, rerspectively, at a dose of 1% for 5 weeks, starting one week before the first treatment of DMH. Animals in Groups 3 and 4 received red or white ginseng for 8 weeks starting after DMH treatment. Group 5 served as a carcinogen control group. Numbers of ACF with at least four crypts were significantly reduced in the colon of Group 2 treated with red ginseng combined with DMH. Moreover, rats were injected with DMH 4 times at one-week intervals. They were also fed diets containing 1% red or white ginseng or the control diet throughout 30 days of the experiment. Treatment with red ginseng resulted in a significant decrease of 5- bromo-2'-deoxyuridine labeling indices in colonic crypts comprising ACF. These findings suggest that dietary administration of red ginseng in combination with DMH suppresses colon carcinogenesis in rats, and the inhibition may be associated, in part, with inhibition of cell proliferation, acting on ACF in the colonic mucosa.
1,2-Dimethylhydrazine/adverse effects ; Animal ; Anticarcinogenic Agents/*pharmacology ; Carcinogenicity Tests ; Carcinogens/adverse effects ; Colonic Neoplasms/pathology/*prevention & control ; Male ; *Panax ; Plant Roots ; Precancerous Conditions/pathology/*prevention & control ; Rats ; Rats, Inbred F344

STUDY DESIGN: Observational cohort study. PURPOSE: To assess the surgical outcomes of posterior decompression and fusion for cervical myelopathy in patients with athetoid cerebral palsy. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: Patients with athetoid cerebral palsy demonstrate involuntary movements and develop severe cervical spondylosis with kyphosis. In these patients, surgery is often performed at an early age because of myelopathy. A few studies have reported about the long-term outcomes of surgical treatment; however, they contain insufficient information. METHODS: From 2003 to 2008, 13 patients with cervical myelopathy due to athetoid cerebral palsy underwent posterior fusion surgery and were included in this study. The Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score, neck disability index (NDI), C2–7 angle on radiography, and need for additional surgical treatment were examined at 1 and 5 years postoperatively. RESULTS: The mean C2–7 angle was −10.5°±21.1° preoperatively and was corrected to −2.9°±13.5° immediately postoperatively. This improvement was maintained for 5 years. The JOA score was 9.5±2.5 preoperatively and 12.2±1.7 at the 5-year follow-up. NDI was 17±6.9 preoperatively and 16±7.5 at the 5-year follow-up. Patient satisfaction with surgery on a 100-point scale was 62.2±22.5 at the 5-year follow-up. Three patients needed additional surgery for loosening of screws. These results demonstrate good surgical outcomes for posterior fusion at 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Posterior decompression and fusion should be considered a viable option for cervical myelopathy in patients with athetoid cerebral palsy.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cerebral Palsy* ; Cohort Studies ; Decompression ; Dyskinesias ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Kyphosis ; Neck ; Patient Satisfaction ; Radiography ; Spinal Cord Diseases* ; Spine ; Spondylosis

BACKGROUND: Over the past few decades, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment has been biomonitoring dioxins in the general Japanese population and, in response to public concerns, has taken measures to reduce dioxin exposure. The objectives of this study were to assess the current dioxin dietary intake and corresponding body burden in the Japanese and compare Japanese dioxin data from 2011 to 2016 and 2002-2010 surveys. We also examined the relationship between blood dioxins and health parameters/clinical biomarkers. METHODS: From 2011 to 2016, cross-sectional dioxin surveys were conducted on 490 Japanese (242 males and 248 females, aged 49.9 ± 7.6 years) from 15 Japanese prefectures. Blood (n = 490) and food samples (n = 90) were measured for 29 dioxin congeners including polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins (PCDDs), polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (Co-PCBs) using gas chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry. Using the 2006 World Health Organization toxic equivalence factors, the toxic equivalents (TEQs) were calculated. Clinical biomarkers and anthropometric parameters were also measured and information on lifestyle behaviours collected. Data imputations were applied to account for blood dioxins below the detection limit. RESULTS: The median (95% confidence interval or CI) blood levels and dioxin dietary intake was respectively 9.4 (8.8-9.9) pg TEQ/g lipid and 0.3 (0.2-0.4) pg TEQ/kg body weight/day. The median blood dioxin level in the 2011-2016 survey was found to have decreased by 41.3% compared to the 2002-2010 surveys. Participants who were older were found to be more likely to have higher dioxin levels. Blood dioxins were also significantly associated with body mass index, triglycerides, docosahexaenoic acid, eicosapentaenoic acid, and dihomo-gamma-linoleic acid levels in blood. Furthermore, associations between blood dioxin and dietary dioxin intake were evident in the unadjusted models. However, after adjusting for confounders, blood dioxins were not found to be associated with dietary dioxin intake. CONCLUSIONS Blood dioxin levels declined over the past decade. This study showed that the measures and actions undertaken in Japan have possibly contributed to these reductions in the body burden of dioxins in the Japanese population.
Adult ; Aged ; Analysis of Variance ; Biomarkers ; blood ; Body Mass Index ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Diet ; Dioxins ; analysis ; Environmental Exposure ; analysis ; Environmental Monitoring ; methods ; Female ; Food ; Food Analysis ; Food Contamination ; analysis ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Humans ; Japan ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: This study estimated the effects of weekend and off-hour childbirth and the size of perinatal medical care center on the incidence of cerebral palsy. METHODS: The cases were all children with severe cerebral palsy born in Japan from 2009 to 2012 whose data were stored at the Japan Obstetric Compensation System for Cerebral Palsy database, a nationally representative database. The inclusion criteria were the following: neonates born between January 2009 and December 2012 who had a birth weight of at least 2000 g and gestational age of at least 33 weeks and who had severe disability resulting from cerebral palsy independent of congenital causes or factors during the neonatal period or thereafter. Study participants were restricted to singletons and controls without report of death, scheduled cesarean section, or ambulance transportation. The controls were newborns, randomly selected by year and type of delivery (normal spontaneous delivery without cesarean section and emergency cesarean section) using a 1:10 case to control ratio sampled from the nationwide Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology database. RESULTS: A total of 90 cerebral palsy cases and 900 controls having normal spontaneous delivery without cesarean section were selected, as were 92 cerebral palsy cases and 920 controls with emergent cesarean section. A significantly higher risk for cerebral palsy was found among cases that underwent emergent cesarean section on weekends (odds ratio [OR] 1.72, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-2.81) and during the night shift (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.30-4.02). No significant risk was found among normal spontaneous deliveries on weekends (OR 1.63, 95% CI 0.97-2.73) or during the quasi-night shift (OR 1.26, 95% CI 0.70-2.27). Regional perinatal care centers showed significantly higher risk for cerebral palsy in both emergent cesarean section (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.47-3.77) and normal spontaneous delivery (OR 2.92, 95% CI 1.76-4.84). CONCLUSION Labor on weekends, during the night shift, and at regional perinatal medical care centers was associated with significantly elevated risk for cerebral palsy in emergency cesarean section.
Case-Control Studies ; Cerebral Palsy ; epidemiology ; etiology ; Delivery, Obstetric ; statistics & numerical data ; Health Facilities ; statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn ; Japan ; epidemiology ; Parturition ; Perinatal Care ; statistics & numerical data ; Retrospective Studies ; Time Factors