Objective:To investigate associations of serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) with carotid plaque stability in elderly patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Methods:Elderly AIS patients with carotid plaque detected by carotid ultrasound in the First People's Hospital of Xianyang from April 2022 to April 2024 were selected, and they were further divided into stable plaque group and vulnerable plaque group. Multivariate logisitic regression analysis was used to determine the correlation between serum VEGF/VEGFR2 and carotid plaque stability. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the differential value of serum VEGF and VEGFR2 on plaque stability. Results:A total of 183 patients were enrolled, including 139 males (75.96%), aged 68.10±4.97 years. One hundred and one patients (55.19%) had vulnerable plaques, and 82 (44.81%) had stable plaques. There were significant differences in age, triglycerides, VEGF, VEGFR2, baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores, and the proportion of patients with hypertension, diabetes, smoking, and statins between the vulnerable plaque group and the stable plaque group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum VEGF (odds ratio [ OR] 1.021, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.004-1.037; P=0.015] and VEGFR2 ( OR 1.009, 95% CI 1.005-1.012; P<0.001) were independently associated with vulnerable plaques. ROC curve analysis showed that serum VEGF and VEGFR2 alone were effective in distinguishing plaque stability, and the areas under the curve were 0.744 (95% CI 0.673-0.815) and 0.809 (95% CI 0.749-0.870), respectively. The area under the curve of the combination of the two was 0.874 (95% CI 0.825-0.924). Conclusion:Serum VEGF and VEGFR2 are independently associated with vulnerable carotid plaques in elderly patients with AIS, and both alone or in combination have good discriminatory value for the stability of carotid plaques.

【Objective】 To study the clinical practice and early outcome of percutaneous full-endoscopic modified posterior lumbar interbody fusion（mPLIF）combined with pedicle screw fixation through paraspinal muscle clearance. 【Methods】 A retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of patients with lower lumbar spinal diseases treated from May 2019 to April 2020. All the enrolled patients received mPLIF combined with pedicle screw fixation through paraspinal muscle clearance. The follow-up period was more than 1 year； the general parameters included age， gender， duration of disease， diagnosis of disease， surgery segment， and postoperative hospitalization time. Operation parameters included operation time and blood loss. We obtained the clinical parameters such as visual analogue scale （VAS） score for back and lower extremity， Oswestry disability index （ODI） score， and Macnab satisfaction score at the last follow-up. We evaluated the imaging parameters including intervertebral disc height， segmental lordosis angle， lumbar lordosis angle， as well as fusion outcome of patients with single segmental lumbar disease. In addition， intraoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. 【Results】 Totally 18 patients met the inclusion criteria， among whom 8 were male and 10 were female， with the average age of （53.3±8.3） years old and the average duration of disease being （28.9±36.6） months. Among them 16 patients were diagnosed as lumbar degenerative disease and the other 2 had lumbar disc infection. One patient received L3-L4 and L4-L5 intervertebral fusion； the others had one-segmental fusion， among which 11 cases were L4-L5 and 6 cases were L5-S1. The average operation time was （207.8±31.7） min， and the average blood loss was （25.6±7.8） mL， and the mean postoperative hospitalization time was （6.56±2.30） days. VAS scores of back and lower extremities at postoperative 1 week， 6 months and the last follow-up were statistically significantly improved from the preoperative scores. ODI scores at postoperative 6 months and the last follow-up were also statistically significantly improved. The rate of excellent and good according to the Macnab criteria was 94.4%. For the 17 single-level fusion patients， intervertebral height was significantly higher postoperatively and at the last follow-up compared with that of the preoperative one （P<0.05）. Segmental lordosis angle was bigger postoperatively and at the last follow-up （P>0.05）， which was not statistically significant. Lumbar lordosis angle was significantly bigger postoperatively （P<0.05） and bigger at the last follow-up， but with no statistical significance （P>0.05）. The fusion rate at the last follow-up was 88.2%. The cage broke in the process of implantation in one patient. A cage retroposition occurred in one patient at the follow-up. 【Conclusion】 Percutaneous full-endoscopic modified posterior lumbar interbody fusion combined with pedicle screw fixation through bilateral paraspinal muscle clearance by one incision showed excellent clinical outcomes in treating many kinds of lower lumbar diseases. This operation should be an excellent option for lower lumbar fusion.

Objective To explore the effect of spinal sagittal balance on secondary vertebral fracture after percutaneous kyphoplasty (PKP) for osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF).Methods The data were reviewed of the patients with single segmental OVCF who had undergone PKP at Department of Spine Surgery,Second Hospital of Lanzhou University from March 2014 to December 2015.Of them,21 had secondary vertebral fracture after PKP.As an observational group,they were matched with another 21 patients without secondary vertebral fracture after PKP as a control group (ratio:1:1) for age,gender,body mass index (BMI) and bone mineral density (BMD).Their standard standing plain radiographs of the whole spine were used to measure the parameters of spine-pelvis sagittal balance.The 2 groups were compared in sagittal balance parameters.Results The sagittal vertical axis (26.86 ± 33.55 mm) and thoracic kyphosis (47.62° ± 10.73°) in the observational group were significantly larger than those (4.05 ± 31.93 mm and 41.10 °±8.17°) in the control group (P ＜0.05);the lumbar lordosis (35.29°±8.77 °),sacral slope (22.71 ° ± 5.80°) and pelvic incidence (45.38° ± 7.49°) in the former were significantly smaller than those in the control group (41.71°±9.19°,27.43°±5.29° and 51.19°±8.44°) (P ＜0.05);there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in pelvic tilt or thoracolumbar kyphosis (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions The OVCF patients with larger sagittal vertical axis,larger thoracic kyphosis and smaller lumbar lordosis may be more likely to suffer secondary vertebral fracture after PKP.A larger pelvic incidence may be a protective factor against secondary vertebral fracture after PKP for OVCF patients.

Objective To investigate the clinical value of 18 F?FDG PET/CT in staging multiple myeloma ( MM) and evaluating the glucose metabolic activity of MM. Methods A total of 25 MM patients ( 13 males, 12 females, age:39-67 years) from May 2010 to April 2015 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The SUVmax of each patient was recorded. D?S plus staging according to 18 F?FDG PET/CT was com?pared with the traditional D?S staging. The SUVmax and the percentage of plasmacytes of bone marrow of phase Ⅲ and non?phase Ⅲ ( phaseⅠand Ⅱ) according to D?S plus staging were compared. Two?sample t test and Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to analyze the data. Results In 25 MM patients, the range of SUVmax of lesions was 1.8-12?0 and the mean value was 5.15±2.74. According to D?S staging, the numbers of patients with phase Ⅰ,Ⅱ andⅢwere 7, 4 and 14, respectively. While the numbers were 3, 1 and 21 by D?S plus staging. Based on the D?S plus staging system, stages of 7 patients ( 28%, 7/25 ) were changed. According to the D?S plus staging system, the SUVmax between phaseⅢand non?phaseⅢpatients was significantly different (5.75±2.54 vs 3.00±0?70; t=2.12, P<0.05), while the percentage of plasma?cytes of bone marrow between the 2 groups had no significant difference ( 17. 50%( 4. 25%-41. 75%) vs 11?15%(10.25%-36.57%);z=0.05, P>0.05). Conclusion 18F?FDG PET/CT is of clinical importance for MM staging and metabolic activity assessment of MM.

This study was aimed to design a new, accurate and easy-to-use water bath cryo-jaw, and try to solve the problems met in small animals achilles tendon mechanical testing. The muscle-tendon-bony units were fixed in the clamps. SD rats achilles tendon were randomly divided into group A and B. Group A was tested by the newly designed water bath cryo-jaw, while group B was treated by non-water bath cryo-jaw. The mechanical tests revealed that non of the samples of the newly-designed water bath cryo-jaw in group A slipped and fell off, and the achilles tendons were in a physiologically active state, but one of the group B samples slipped and fell off, and the others had the frozen phenomenon obviously. The maximum stress, fracture displacement and Young's modulus of the rats in group A were significantly different compared to those in group B (P < 0.05). In conclusion, the new water bath cryo-jaw has more advantages than traditional ones. It exhibits a good simulation in vivo in the environmental conditions for testing the mechanical properties of the achilles tendon.
Achilles Tendon ; physiology ; Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Elastic Modulus ; Equipment Design ; In Vitro Techniques ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley