Background:Transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) has been preferred to posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for different spinal disorders but there had been no study comparing their outcome in lumbar instability. A comparative retrospective analysis of the early results of TLIF and PLIF in symptomatic lumbar instability was conducted between 2005 and 2011.Materials and Methods:Review of the records of 102 operated cases of lumbar instability with minimum 1 year followup was done. A total of 52 cases (11 men and 41 women, mean age 46 years SD 05.88, range 40-59 years) underwent PLIF and 50 cases (14 men and 36 women, mean age 49 years SD 06.88, range 40-59 years) underwent TLIF. The surgical time, duration of hospital stay, intraoperative blood loss were compared. Self-evaluated low back pain and leg pain status (using Visual Analog Score), disability outcome (using Oswestry disability questionnaire) was analyzed. Radiological structural restoration (e.g., disc height, foraminal height, lordotic angle, and slip reduction), stability (using Posner criteria), fusion (using Hackenberg criteria), and overall functional outcome (using MacNab's criteria) were compared.Results:Pain, disability, neurology, and overall functional status were significantly improved in both groups but PLIF required more operative time and caused more blood loss. Postoperative hospital stay, structural restoration, stability, and fusion had no significant difference but neural complications were relatively more with PLIF.Conclusions:Both methods were effective in relieving symptoms, achieving structural restoration, stability, and fusion, but TLIF had been associated with shorter operative time, less blood loss, and lesser complication rates for which it can be preferred for symptomatic lumbar instability.

purpose. To reviewed 416 patients who underwent discectomy for primary or recurrent prolapse of lumbar intervertebral discs (PLID). Methods. Records of 296 men and 102 women aged 19 to 60 (mean, 39) years who underwent discectomy for a primary PLID, and 14 men and 4 women aged 28 to 50 (mean, 40) years who underwent revision discectomy for a recurrent ipsilateral (n=14) or contralateral (n=4) PLID at L4-5 (n=14), L5-S1 (n=3), or L3-4 (n=1) were reviewed. The pain-free interval, side and degree of herniation, operating time, length of hospital stay, and pre-and post-operative visual analogue score (VAS) for pain were recorded. Clinical outcomes were evaluated using the modified Macnab criteria and the Oswestry Disability Index. results. Patients were followed up for one to 4 years. The mean operating time was significantly longer in revision discectomy (65 vs. 141 minutes, p<0.001, unpaired t-test).

No abstract

A 40-year-old Japanese man with psoriatic arthritis (PA) involving the spine, sacroiliac and peripheral joints presented with dyspnoea and ankle oedema. Blood pressure was 180/110 and 114/80 mmHg in the right and left upper arms, respectively. Examinations showed left ventricular dilatation and diffuse hypokinesis of the left ventricle, with no involvement of the coronary arteries. Aortography detected total occlusion of the left subclavian artery and stenosis of the origin at the right renal artery. Dilated cardiomyopathy and Takayasu's arteritis associated with PA was diagnosed. A few cases of PA have been reported in association with cardiovascular diseases, but the association of these three diseases has not been documented in the literature to date. Dermatologists need to be aware of cardiovascular manifestations in patients with PA, because cardiovascular diseases are not rare in other seronegative spondyloarthropathies.

Abstract:The genotypic variability and correlation coefficients were studied in thirty five hybrid populations for five egg characters. Variations among genotypes were highly significant (P<0.001). Phenotypic coefficient of variation was higher than genotypic coefficient of variation for all the characters. Of them unfertilized and dead egg percentage showed highest difference between genotypic and phenotypic coefficient of variation suggesting most influence of environment on these characters. Majority of the characters showed high heritability except hatching percentage. Furthermore total number of egg laying per female showed high genetic advance together with high heritability, which indicates the importance of additive gene effect of this character. The genotypic correlations were higher than phenotypic correlation for majority of the characters under study except DEP Vs TEL and DEP Vs UEP. These low phenotypic correlations could be due to a modifying effect of environment and the association of characters at genotypic level. Hatching percentage, blue egg percentage and unfertilized egg percentage showed both positive and negative significant correlation to each other. Therefore, proper attention should be given to these characters specially total number of egg laid by female and hatching percentage in selection programme for genetic gain in Bombyx. mori.

Our method may be useful for deriving CIE-L*a*b* values of the skin from its video microscopic image.

Background: Recurrent lumbar disc herniation (RLDH) is a common complication following primary microdiscectomy. Notably, revision surgery for recurrent disc herniation typically warrants “aggressive discectomy (AD)” rather than microdiscectomy due to the marked changes in anatomy, including postoperative scar. Here, we prospectively evaluated clinical outcomes of 22 RLDH patients following secondary aggressive discectomy (AD). Methods: Records of 15 males and seven females averaging 41.7 years of age (range 21–60) who developed RLDH following primary microdiscectomy at the L4-5 (n = 12) and L5-S1 (n = 10) levels were studied. All patients underwent secondary AD for recurrent lesions (2014–2019). Multiple clinical parameters were assessed for these 22 patients. Outcomes were evaluated an average of 28.8 months postoperatively and included assessment of visual analog scales (VASs) and Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) Scores. Results: The VAS scores for back and radicular pain significantly improved, as did the JOA scores following surgery in all 22 patients after secondary AD. Conclusion: The authors concluded that secondary conventional revision discectomy (e.g., AD) effectively and safely managed RLDH.

Background: Treatment option of postoperative discitis (POD) is either conservative or operative, but till date, there are no established validated protocols of the treatment of postoperative lumbar discitis. Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of conservative versus operative management of POD following single-level lumbar discectomy. Methods: We prospectively studied a total of 38 cases of POD. The patients were diagnosed clinically, radiologically, and by laboratory investigations and followed up with serial erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein, X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging. Demographic data, clinical variables, length of hospital stay, duration of antibiotic treatment, and posttreatment complications were collected, and pre- and postoperative assessment was done using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score. Functional outcome of the study was measured by the modified criteria of Kirkaldy–Willis. Results: VAS score for pain was significantly decreased in both groups after treatment. However, posttreatment differences were not statistically significant. In posttreatment mean JOA score, differences were not statistically significant in both groups except the mean difference (−0.47) of restriction of daily activities, which was statistically significant (95% confidence interval: −0.88–−0.07, P = 0.025, unpaired t -test). About 73.7% and 84.2% of the patients had a satisfactory functional outcome in conservative and operative management groups, respectively, at the end of 12-month follow-up. Conclusions: Operative management yielded better outcomes than traditional conservative treatment in terms of functional outcomes, length of hospital stays, and duration of antibiotic treatment as determined by both the pain and daily activity levels.