Cervical disk degeneration

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective study. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to compare the fusion order between the cranial and caudal levels in two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with a zero-profile device in the treatment of cervical spondylopathy. Fusion is the standard used to judge the success of ACDF. However, the fusion order in two-level ACDF remains uncertain. The mechanical environment of different levels is different, which may affect the fusion rate or fusion order...

PURPOSE: Dropped head syndrome (DHS) is presumably caused by focal myopathy in the cervical posterior muscles; however, distinguishable radiological features of the cervical spine in DHS remain unidentified. This study investigated the radiological features of the cervical spine in dropped head syndrome. METHODS: The records of DHS patients and age- and sex-matched cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) patients were reviewed. Cervical spinal parameters (C2-7, C2-4, and C5-7 angles) were assessed on lateral cervical spine radiographs...

BACKGROUND:  Cervical arthroplasty with artificial cervical disks has gained popularity as an alternative to anterior discectomy and fusion. The main advantages of disk arthroplasty include maintenance of the range of movement, restitution of disk height and spinal alignment, and reduction of adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). In this article, we aimed to assess the outcomes of the use of a keel-less prosthesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS:  We included all the patients who underwent single-level cervical arthroplasties with the Discocerv Cervidisc Evolution for "soft" disk herniation...

BACKGROUND:  Anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF) has been providing good surgical, clinical, and radiologic outcomes in patients suffering from cervical degenerative disk disease (DDD). However, the role of anterior plating is still debated, especially in three-level procedures. This study aimed to investigate long-term clinical and radiologic outcomes and complications after three-level contiguous ACDF without plating for cervical DDD. METHODS:  Two institutional databases were retrieved (January 2009-December 2014) for patients treated with three-level contiguous ACDF without plating...

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective case series. PURPOSE: To assess the corporal morphology of the fused body and adjacent segment conditions. OVERVIEW OF LITERATURE: It is known that two fused vertebral bodies take the similar shape of the single body with inwaisting, with or without caudal flaring of the fused body, and that the fused body can cause the fusion disease at the adjacent segment that can be a risk factor for potential neurological compromise...

CASE DESCRIPTION: 4 dogs, 7.5 to 10 years of age, were presented for evaluation of signs of chronic cervical pain and forelimb lameness secondary to cervical foraminal intervertebral disk protrusion (IVDP). All dogs were refractory to ≥ 2 weeks of conservative management including strict rest and pain management with anti-inflammatory drugs, methocarbamol, and gabapentin. CLINICAL FINDINGS: The MRI findings included left foraminal IVDP at C2-3 causing mild C3 nerve root compression (dog 1), multifocal degenerative disk disease with mild focal left-sided disk protrusion at C6-7 without associated spinal cord or nerve root compression (dog 2), left foraminal C6-7 IVDP with suspected focal spinal cord atrophy or mild compression (dog 3), and right foraminal C6-7 IVDP and multifocal cervical intervertebral disk degeneration with annulus fibrosus protrusion (dog 4)...

STUDY DESIGN: This study employed a retrospective study design. OBJECTIVE: This retrospective cohort study aimed to compare the outcomes of anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), and those of conservative treatment for patients with cervical angina. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Cervical angina is typically characterized by intolerable and paroxysmal angina-like precordial pain, which is caused by cervical disk degeneration in patients without definitive cardiovascular abnormalities...

Objective: To investigate parameters related to quantifying the amount of degeneration in preoperative patients to identify ideal indication of artificial cervical disc replacement (ACDR) in patient with a minimum of 10 years of follow-up data. Methods: From January 2004 to August 2008, a total of 44 patients underwent single level Bryan cervical disk replacement performed by the same group of surgeons were involved in this retrospective study, and all of the patients in this group had at least 10 years of follow-up data...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This article reviews the neuroimaging of disorders of the spinal cord and cauda equina, with a focus on MRI. An anatomic approach is used; diseases of the extradural, intradural-extramedullary, and intramedullary (parenchymal) compartments are considered, and both neoplastic and non-neoplastic conditions are covered. Differentiating imaging features are highlighted. RECENT FINDINGS: Although T2-hyperintense signal abnormality of the spinal cord can have myriad etiologies, neuroimaging can provide specific diagnoses or considerably narrow the differential diagnosis in many cases...

Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) is an approved surgical treatment option in selected patients with cervical spinal disc degeneration. Even though CDA is a standard procedure since 20 years, there is a lack of information about long term performance. The published reoperation rates after CDA are low and comparable to anterior cervical fusion. The authors describe a severe failure and dysfunction with a partial core dislocation of a cervical prosthesis into the spinal canal (M6-C, Spinal Kinetics, Sunnyvale, CA, USA)...

BACKGROUND: Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy results from spine degenerations narrowing the spinal canal and inducing cord compressions. Prognosis is challenging. This study aimed at simulating typical spinal cord compressions observed in patients with a realistic model to better understand pathogenesis for later prediction of patients' evolution. METHODS: A 30% reduction in cord cross-sectional area at C5-C6 was defined as myelopathy threshold based on Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy features from literature and MRI measurements in 20 patients...

Cervical discogenic pain (CDP) is a clinically common pain syndrome caused by cervical disk degeneration. A large number of studies have reported that CDP results in brain functional impairments. However, the detailed dynamic brain functional abnormalities in CDP are still unclear. In this study, using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, we explored the neural basis of CDP with 40 CDP patients and 40 age-, gender-matched healthy controls to delineate the changes of the voxel-level static and dynamic amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF)...

Intervertebral disk (IVD) degeneration is associated with most cases of cervical and lumbar spine pathologies, amongst which chronic low back pain has become the primary cause for loss of quality-adjusted life years. Biomaterials science and tissue engineering have made significant progress in the replacement, repair and regeneration of IVD tissue, wherein hydrogel has been recognized as an ideal biomaterial to promote IVD regeneration in recent years. Aspects such as ease of use, mechanical properties, regenerative capacity, and their applicability as carriers for regenerative and anti-degenerative factors determine their suitability for IVD regeneration...

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective multicenter study. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether laminoplasty (LP) is comparable for myelopathy caused by cervical disk herniation (CDH). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Anterior decompression and fusion (ADF) has conventionally been used for myelopathy caused by CDH with stable outcomes. However, recurrence of myelopathy due to adjacent segment degeneration are its drawbacks. The efficacy of LP without discectomy has been sporadically reported, but no long-term prospective study has been conducted to verify it...

STUDY DESIGN: This study was a meta-analysis of published randomized controlled trials (RCTs). OBJECTIVE: We investigated the mid-term to long-term outcomes of cervical disk arthroplasty (CDA) versus anterior cervical diskectomy and fusion (ACDF) for the surgical treatment of symptomatic cervical disk degenerative disease. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: ACDF has been widely performed for the surgical treatment of symptomatic cervical disk degenerative disease...

INTRODUCTION: Obesity is associated with acceleration of musculoskeletal degenerative diseases and functional impairment secondary to spinal disorders. Bariatric surgery (BS) is an increasingly common treatment for severe obesity but can affect bone and mineral metabolism. The effect of BS on degenerative spinal disorders is yet to be fully described. The aim of our study was to analyze changes in bariatric patients' risk for spinal degenerative diseases and spinal surgery. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of the prospectively collected New York State Inpatient Database (NYSID) years (2004-2013) using patient linkage codes...

To investigate the outcomes and reliability of hybrid surgery (HS) versus anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylosis and disc diseases.Hybrid surgery, combining cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) with fusion, is a novel treatment to multilevel cervical degenerated disc disease in recent years. However, the effect and reliability of HS are still unclear compared with ACDF.To investigate the studies of HS versus ACDF in patients with multilevel cervical disease, electronic databases (Medline, Embase, Pubmed, Cochrane library, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) were searched...

STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective study. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to analyze risk factors of heterotopic ossification (HO) after cervical disk replacement (CDR) and evaluate the effect of footprint mismatch on HO. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Incidence of HO after CDR is high, but the exact related factors have not been fully elucidated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Radiographic data of patients who had undergone CDR with Prestige LP or Discover prosthesis in Tongji Hospital from July 2012 to December 2015 were reviewed...

Odontoidectomy is a standard procedure employed in the treatment of irreducible, compressive ventral pathologies of the craniovertebral junction (CVJ). The traditionally used transoral route is often challenging due to the increased depth of the surgical corridor and risk of injuries to the soft tissues in the oral cavity. The emergence of endoscopic endonasal (EE) surgery has provided an attractive alternative route to the traditional treatment algorithm, and it has the advantages of avoiding complications related to tongue swelling, tracheal swelling, prolonged intubation, velopharyngeal insufficiency, dysphagia, and dysphonia...

BACKGROUND: Cervical spondylomyelopathy (CSM) occurs because of compression of the cervical spinal cord, nerve roots, or both, usually affecting young adult to older large and giant breed dogs. Juvenile dogs are affected infrequently. OBJECTIVE: To describe clinical and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in juvenile dogs (≤ 12 months) with cervical spondylomyelopathy. ANIMALS: Twenty CSM-affected juvenile dogs. METHODS: Medical and imaging records for juvenile dogs with CSM were reviewed...