Twenty-three patients with pain from osteoporotic vertebral fractures,aged 65-90 yr,weighing 51-78 kg,received an image intensifier-assisted nerve-root block with a 6-8 ml mixture of 0.5 ％ lidocaine,mecobalamine 0.5 mg and betamethasone sodium phosphate injection 5.26 mg in a prone or lateral position.The VAS scores before operation,at 0,1 week,1 and 3 months after operation were 8.6 ± 0.9,1.5 ± 0.7,2.8 ± 0.9,1.6 ± 0.5 and 2.5 ± 0.7,respectively.VAS scores were significantly lower at each time pint after operation than before operation (P ＜ 0.05).According to modified MacNab standard,the effectiveness of treatment was rated as excellent/good in 87％ of the patients.No complication such as bleeding,hematoma,infection,pneumothorax,hemopneumothorax,headache was found during or after operation.Selective nerve-root block is effective in the treatment of pain resulting from osteoporotic vertebral fractures in patients.

Gonadotropin-releasing-hormone analogues (GnRHa) are widely used in the treatment of premenopausal breast cancer. The anti-tumor effect of GnRHa is similar to that of surgical castration or chemotherapy, through reversibly inhibiting ovarian function and downregulating the estrogen level in premenopausal female. At the same time, GnRHa can protect the ovarian function, avoiding premature ovarian failure. Also GnRHa can reduce the breast density and endometrial thickness, as a result of which GnRHa may be used to prevent breast cancer in the higher risk population and promote quality of life in breast cancer patients. We here review the clinical roles and research progress of GnRHa in breast cancer.