Objective: Adjacent vertebral fractures (AVFs) are frequent in the early postoperative period following balloon kyphoplasty (BKP) for osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVFs); however, the mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism of AVF by comparing early radiographic changes in patients with and without AVF. Methods: Sixty-three patients who underwent BKP within 60 days of OVF onset and were followed for at least 3 months postoperatively were included. Patients were divided into AVF and non-AVF groups. Comparative analyses were conducted for demographics, volume of bone cement injected, and radiological assessments presurgery, postsurgery, 1 and 2 weeks postoperatively, and at final follow-up. Key radiographic parameters, including vertebral kyphotic angle (VKA) and anteroposterior vertebral height ratio (A/P ratio), were evaluated between the groups. Results: AVF occurred in 8 out of 63 patients (12.7%). Demographics and bone cement volume showed no significant differences between groups. Radiographic analysis revealed earlier VKA deterioration in the non-AVF group, with significant differences at 2 weeks postoperatively. In the AVF group, VKA and the A/P ratio showed more pronounced changes from preoperative to postoperative measurements. The change in the A/P ratio was significantly greater in the AVF group than in the non-AVF group. Conclusions Vertebral correction deteriorated earlier in the non-AVF group, while BKP resulted in a more substantial correction of vertebral bodies in the AVF group. These findings suggest that the mechanical stability achieved by BKP may contribute to the differential progression of AVF, highlighting the need for tailored postoperative management.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Seattle Angina Questionnaire, Japanese version (SAQ-J) as a disease-specific health outcome scale in patients with coronary artery disease. METHODS: Patients with coronary artery disease were recruited from a university hospital in Tokyo. The patients completed self-administered questionnaires, and medical information was obtained from the subjects' medical records. Face validity, concurrent validity evaluated using Short Form 36 (SF-36), known group differences, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability were statistically analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 354 patients gave informed consent, and 331 of them responded (93.5%). The concurrent validity was mostly supported by the pattern of association between SAQ-J and SF-36. The patients without chest symptoms showed significantly higher SAQ-J scores than did the patients with chest symptoms in 4 domains. Cronbach's alpha ranged from .51 to .96, meaning that internal consistency was confirmed to a certain extent. The intraclass correlation coefficient of most domains was higher than the recommended value of 0.70. The weighted kappa ranged from .24 to .57, and it was greater than .4 for 14 of the 19 items. CONCLUSIONS: The SAQ-J could be a valid and reliable disease-specific scale in some part for measuring health outcomes in patients with coronary artery disease, and requires cautious use.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Medical Records ; Reproducibility of Results ; Thorax ; Tokyo ; Surveys and Questionnaires

There have been very few studies on the expression of Centromere proteins in human salivary gland carcinomas. The purpose of this study was to clarify the correlation between Centromere protein H (CENP-H) expression and clinicopathologic factors in salivary gland carcinomas. The expression of CENP-H mRNA was investigated in 28 human salivary gland tumors (7 pleomorphic adenomas, 3 Warthin tumors, 6 mucoepidermoid carcinomas, 6 adenoid cystic carcinomas, 5 acinic cell carcinomas and 1 malignant myoepithelioma) and 8 normal submandibular glands using real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The labeling index of PCNA and Ki-67 were also investigated immunohistochemically in 16 salivary gland carcinomas. The mean expression level of CENP-H mRNA was significantly higher in malignant tumors (0.55 ± 0.68) than normal submandibular glands (0.10 ± 0.029). A significant correlation between the PCNA labeling index and CENP-H mRNA expression was also found (Spearman's correlation coefficient by rank test, P=0.033). We also found a significant correlation between the Ki-67 labeling index and CENP-H mRNA expression in malignant tumors (Spearman's correlation coefficient by rank test, P=0.040). These results indicate that human CENP-H mRNA is closely linked to increased or abnormal cell proliferation in malignant salivary gland tumors.