早期宫颈癌组织中ATG-12表达与HPV16-E6/E7-DNA病毒载量及预后的关系

目的探讨早期宫颈癌组织中自噬相关蛋白-12(ATG-12)与人乳头瘤病毒(HPV)16-E6/E7-DNA病毒载量及预后的关系。方法选取2015年1月至2017年12月期间在安徽皖北煤电集团总医院保存的宫颈活检或手术切除宫颈组织203例,包括30例慢性宫颈炎、18例宫颈上皮内瘤变(CIN)Ⅰ、23例CINⅡ、26例CINⅢ和106例早期(ⅠA2~ⅡB期)宫颈鳞状上皮癌(CSCC)。采用巢式多重聚合酶链式反应(NM-PCR)和免疫组化染色SP法检测组织中HPV 16-E6/E7-DNA病毒载量和ATG-12蛋白表达。分析ATG-12蛋白表达与早期CSCC临床病理特征的关系。随访CSCC患者无瘤生存时间(DFS)。采用Cox风险比例回归模型分析影响CSCC预后的因素。结果CSCC组织ATG-12蛋白阳性表达率为26.42%(28/106),低于慢性宫颈炎和CIN组织(P<0.05)。ATG-12蛋白表达与HPV16-E6/E7-DNA病毒载量呈负相关(r=-0.306,P=0.001;r=-0.436,P=0.001)。ATG-12蛋白表达与FIGO分期、间质浸润、淋巴脉管间隙浸润、淋巴结转移有关(P<0.05)。随访11~64个月,ATG-12蛋白阳性表达患者5年无瘤生存率为78.57%(22/28),ATG-12蛋白表达阴性患者5年无瘤生存率为60.26%(47/78)。多因素Cox风险回归模型结果显示,HPV16-E6/E7-DNA病毒载量和ATG-12蛋白表达是影响患者DFS的独立预后因素(P<0.05)。结论早期宫颈鳞状上皮癌组织中ATG-12阳性表达率低,与HPV16-E6/E7-DNA病毒载量呈负相关,有望成为评估HPV阳性早期宫颈癌患者预后的重要指标。     

Is it necessary to place screws in the intervening vertebrae in two-level anterior cervical discectomy with fusion and plating?

ObjectiveThe clinical outcomes, radiological parameters, complication rate and the cost of implants in two-level ACDF with and without screws in the intervening segment were compared.MethodsA retrospective study of 68 patients who underwent 2-level ACDF from January 2014 to June 2016 was performed. The patients were divided into two groups: ACDF with screws in the intervening vertebra and those without screws in the intervening vertebra. Perioperative factors, clinical outcomes, postoperative complications, radiological parameters, and cost of the implants were evaluated in both groups.ResultsNo statistical differences in clinical outcomes, operative blood loss, hospital stay, restoration of cervical lordosis or segment height, postoperative complications, and fusion rate were found between the ACDF (middle vertebra with screw) and ACDF (middle vertebra without screw) groups (P > 0.05). But the operative time of added screw placement and cost of implants in the ACDF (middle vertebra without screw) group were significantly less than the ACDF (middle vertebra with screw) group (P < 0.05).ConclusionTwo kinds of screw placement with ACDF were found to be similar in terms of clinical outcomes. However, ACDF (middle vertebra without screw) was found to be superior to ACDF (middle vertebra with screw) in terms of the screw placement time and cost of implants.     

How common is repeat surgery and multi-level treatment in Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy? Findings from a patient perspective survey

Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy (DCM) is a common condition which causes significant disability and reduces health-related quality of life. The only evidence-based treatment and current management guidance is surgery to decompress the spinal cord and stop further damage in moderate to severe cases. However, this guidance is mainly informed by studies that only include first time surgery and/or single level disease, but DCM can reoccur after primary surgery and affect multiple levels of the spine. It is unclear whether patients in these subgroups; repeat surgery and multi-level DCM, differ significantly in their baseline and disease characteristics from those with single-level, single-operation disease. To investigate this, we conducted an online survey of people with DCM looking at key demographic, disease (e.g. mJOA) and treatment characteristics. We received a total of 778 respondents, of which 159 (20%) had undergone surgery for DCM. Around 75% of these respondents had a single operation and 65% at a single level. We found no statistically significant difference in key participant and disease characteristics between respondents with single-level or single-operation and those with multi-level DCM or multiple operations. These data support generalisability of research to these subgroups but also warrants further investigations as these subgroups are underrepresented in current research.     

Could self-locking stand-alone cage reduce adjacent-level ossification development after aneterior cervical discectomy and fusion?

Numerous studies have shown that cervical arthrodesis is associated with the adjacent-segment pathology (ASP), such as adjacent-level ossification development (ALOD). However, it still remains largely unclear whether the self-locking stand-alone implant system can reduce the incidence of ALOD. In the present study, we prospectively recruited 120 patients with cervical degenerative disc disease (CDDD) who were treated by anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). These patients were randomly and evenly divided into the ROI-C group and plate group. Clinical and radiologic follow-up was performed at 3, 6, 12, 24 and 36 months after surgery. Clinical evaluation included preoperative and postoperative assessments of Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and Neck Disability Index (NDI) score. The presence and severity of ALOD, as well as the C2-7 Cobb angle, were assessed on the lateral cervical films during follow-up. There were no significant differences in JOA and NDI scores at each time point during the follow-up period between the two groups. ALOD occurred in 8.8% of 58 patients and 6.7% of 104 levels in the cage group. Moreover, ALOD occurred in 20.1% of 57 patients and 17.8% of 101 levels in the plate group. The ALOD was more serious in the plate group compared with the cage group. The C2-7 Cobb angle was significantly improved compared with that before the operation and could be maintained during the follow-up in both groups. The self-locking stand-alone cage was efficacious for ACDF, and it could reduce the incidence of ALOD compared with anterior plate and cage.     

Longitudinal diffusion tensor imaging of patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy following decompression surgery

Previous studies have reported the utility of diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) as an imaging biomarker for the severity of myelopathy and subsequent surgical outcome in patients with degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM). We hypothesized that DTI may reflect neurological recovery following surgery. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of DTI to assess the post-operative alteration of neural status in patients with DCM as well as to predict post-operative recovery. We enrolled 15 patients with DCM who underwent decompression surgery. The Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was evaluated before and 1 year after surgery. The participants were examined using DTI on a 3.0 T magnetic resonance scanner before, and 1 year after surgery. Fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) were assessed for both time points. The correlations between the pre- and post-operative FA and MD values and the pre- and post-operative JOA scores were analyzed. Although the JOA score improved significantly after surgery from 8.9 to 12.3, there was no significant change between the pre- and post-operative FA and MD values. The post-operative outcomes after 1 year moderately correlated with the pre-operative FA values (Spearman’s ρ = 0.55, p = 0.03 and Spearman’s ρ = 0.56, p = 0.03 for change and recovery rate of the JOA score, respectively). However, there was no correlation between the post-operative FA and post-operative JOA scores nor between MD and clinical outcomes. DTI cannot be utilized as a biomarker for post-operative alterations of neural status of the spinal cord; however, pre-operative DTI may be useful as a predictor of surgical outcomes.     

Quantitative evaluation for cervical foraminal bony stenosis based on angled sagittal slices along a nerve root on computed tomography

Cervical foraminal canal stenosis is a common disease, but any relationships between the measurement values of cervical foraminal canals and clinical symptoms have yet to be explored. We aim to determine a numerical cutoff point of cervical foraminal bony canal size that does not lead to radiculopathy so as to establish criteria for the surgical indication. We reconstructed angled sagittal slices along a nerve root on computed tomography (CT) on a workstation from pre-operative CT data and measured 1152 cervical foraminal canals (144 patients) from Cervical (C) 4/5 to C7/Thoracic (Th) 1. We evaluated the relationship between the size of foraminal canals and clinical manifestations. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to calculate cutoff points of each foraminal canal size with positive neurologic manifestations. Of the 144 patients’ 1152 nerve roots, 286 nerve roots (24.8%) were diagnosed as radiculopathy by neurological examinations. The mean measured value of all foraminal canals on angled sagittal CT imagery was 3.39 ± 1.37 mm. The cutoff point of foraminal canal sizes without radiculopathy was 2.7 mm (sensitivity 0.680, specificity 0.591) overall. A cutoff point ascertained by quantitative evaluation of cervical foraminal canal size is useful for making diagnosis of cervical foraminal canal bony stenosis.     

Fatty infiltration of the cervical extensor musculature,cervical sagittal balance,and clinical outcomes: An analysis of operative adult cervical deformity patients

PurposeTo assess preliminary associations between fatty-infiltration (FI) of cervical spine extensor musculature, cervical sagittal balance, and clinical outcomes in cervical deformity (CD) patients.MethodsOperative CD patients (C2-C7 Cobb > 10°, CL > 10°, cSVA > 4 cm, or CBVA > 25°) with pre-operative (BL) MRIs and 1-year (1Y) post-operative MRIs or CTs were assessed for fatty-infiltration of cervical extensor musculature, using dedicated imaging software at each C2-C7 intervertebral level and the apex of deformity (apex). FI was gauged as a ratio of fat-free-muscle-cross-sectional-area (FCSA) over total-muscle-CSA (TCSA), with lower ratio values indicating greater FI. BL-1Y associations between FI, sagittal alignment, and clinical outcomes were assessed using appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests.Results22 patients were included (Age 59.22, 71.4%F, BMI 29.2, CCI:0.75, Frailty: 0.43). BL deformity presentation: TS-CL: 29.0°, C2-C7 Sagittal Cobb:-1.6°, cSVA:30.4 mm. No correlations were observed between BL fatty-infiltration, sagittal alignment, frailty, or clinical outcomes (p > 0.05). Following surgical correction, C2-C7 (BL: 0.59 vs 1Y:0.67, p = 0.005) and apex (BL: 0.59 vs. 1Y: 0.66, p = 0.33) fatty-infiltration decreased. Achievement of lordotic curvature correlated with C2-C7 fatty infiltration reduction (R_s: 0.495, p < 0.05), and patients with residual postoperative TS-CL and cSVA malalignment were associated with greater apex fatty-infiltration (R_s: −0.565, −0.561; p < 0.05). C2-C7 FI improvement was associated with NRS back pain reduction (R_s: −0.630, p < 0.05), and greater apex fatty-infiltration at BL was associated with minor perioperative complication occurrence (R_s: 0.551, p = 0.014).ConclusionsDeformity correction and sagittal balance appear to influence the reestablishment of cervical muscle tone from C2-C7 and reduction of back pain for severely frail CD patients. This analysis helps to understand cervical extensor musculature’s role amongst CD patients.     

Establishment of a novel rehabilitation program for patients with dropped head syndrome: Short and intensive rehabilitation (SHAiR) program

The pathophysiology of dropped head syndrome (DHS) remains unknown, and its treatment algorithm and indication are not standardized. Here, we established a novel rehabilitation program, short and intensive rehabilitation program for DHS (SHAiR program), consisting of cervical paraspinal muscles exercise, range of motion exercise, cervical and thoracic mobilization, deep cervical flexor muscle exercise, hip lift exercise, anterior pelvic tilt exercise, and walking exercise. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of this program. We reviewed clinical outcomes for five consecutive patients with DHS who underwent the SHAiR program (SHAiR group). The outcomes were compared with those of other five patients with DHS who received exercise instruction (control group). Demographic data, the duration from onset of DHS, the apex of sagittal kyphosis on the lateral radiographs, and clinical outcomes including the ability to maintain normal horizontal gaze, chin brow vertical angle, and numerical rating scale (NRS) were evaluated at the initial visit and final follow-up at 7.5 months. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of demographic and radiographic data. The ability of horizontal gaze and NRS of cervical pain improved rapidly for all five patients in the SHAiR group as compared to no improvement for all patients in the control group. Rehabilitation for DHS was considered effective not only for localized rehabilitation such as exercise for training cervical extensor muscle function but also exercises for thoracolumbar posture improvement and the psoas muscle.