Allogeneic MSC therapy may be a valid alternative for the treatment of degenerative disc disease that is more logistically convenient than the autologous MSC treatment. The intervention is simple, does not require surgery, provides pain relief, and significantly improves disc quality.

This pilot monocenter study in 30 patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures compared two vertebral augmentation procedures. Over a 3-year post-surgery follow-up, pain/disability/quality of life remained significantly improved with both balloon kyphoplasty and SpineJack® techniques, but the latter allowed better vertebral body height restoration/kyphosis correction. Introduction Patient follow-up rarely exceed 2 years in trials comparing vertebral augmentation procedures for the treatment of painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs). This pilot, investigator-initiated, prospective study aimed to compare long-term results of SpineJack® (SJ) and balloon kyphoplasty (BKP). Preliminary results showed that SJ resulted in a better restoration of vertebral heights and angles, maintained over 12 months. Methods Thirty patients were randomized to SJ (n = 15) or BKP (n = 15). Clinical endpoints were analgesic consumption, back pain intensity (visual analog scale (VAS)), the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), and quality of life (EQ-VAS score). They were recorded preoperatively, at 5 days (except EQ-VAS), 1, 3, 6, 12, and 36 months post-surgery. Spine X-rays were taken 48 h prior to the procedure and 5 days, 6, 12, and 36 months after. Results Clinical improvements were observed with both procedures over the 3-year period without significant inter-group differences, but the final mean EQ-5D index score was significantly in favor of the SJ group (0.93 ± 0.11 vs 0.81 ± 0.09; p = 0.007). Vertebral height restoration/kyphotic correction was still evident at 36 months with a greater mean correction of anterior (10 ± 13% vs 2 ± 8% for BKP, p = 0.007) and central height (10 ± 11% vs 3 ± 7% for BKP, p = 0.034) and a larger correction of the vertebral body angle (− 5.0°± 5.1°vs 0.4°± 3.4°; p = 0.003) for SJ group. Conclusions In this study, both techniques displayed very good long-term clinical efficiency and safety in patients with osteoporotic VCFs. Over the 3-year follow-up, vertebral body height restoration/kyphosis correction was better with the SpineJack® procedure.

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summary Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) mainly affects overweight prepubertal children. It is usually idiopathic, but endocrinological diseases are proposed as the main cause. SCFE occurs before the closing of the femoral physis, which generally occurs at 18 years in males and 16 years in females, therefore it is considered a children's disease. However, there have been several reports of adults with SCFE and some familial cases. We present a case of bilateral SCFE in a 47 years old female with possible relationship with inhaled corticosteroids, and for the first time we collect and analyze all published cases in adults.

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