Degenerative low-grade lumbar spondylolisthesis is the most common form of spondylolisthesis.The majority of patients are asymptomatic and do not require surgical intervention.Symptomatic patients present with a combination of lower back pain, radiculopathy and/or neurogenic claudication and may warrant surgery if non-operative measures fail.There is widespread controversy regarding the indications for surgery and appropriate treatment strategies for patients with this type of spondylolisthesis.This article provides a comprehensive evidence-based review of the available literature to support the management of degenerative low-grade spondylolisthesis.Cite this article: EFORT Open Rev 2018;3:620-631. DOI: 10.1302/2058-5241.3.180020.
Uneventful phacoemulsification with implantation of a foldable, acrylic posterior chamber intraocular lens was performed in the right eye of a 73-year-old white man. Postoperatively, the patient developed a chronic, low-grade intraocular inflammation. Cultures from the aqueous specimen grew Actinomyces neuii, an unusual gram-positive bacillus. The low-grade intraocular inflammation persisted with intensive topical steroid-antibiotic medication and systemic antibiotics. A diagnostic, 3-port, pars plana vitrectomy was performed, and aqueous aspirate specimens were sent for culture and sensitivity and to look for abnormal cells. Intracameral antibiotics were not injected. The specimens were sterile to culture, and chronic inflammatory cells were reported on the vitreous specimen. On examination 6 months later, inflammation had not recurred and the best corrected visual acuity was 6/18.
Skeletal disorders requiring the regeneration or de novo production of bone present considerable reconstructive challenges and are one of the main driving forces for the development of skeletal tissue engineering strategies. The skeletal or mesenchymal stem cell is a fundamental requirement for osteogenesis and plays a pivotal role in the design and application of these strategies. Research activity has focused on incorporating the biological role of the mesenchymal stem cell with the developing fields of material science and gene therapy in order to create a construct that is not only capable of inducing host osteoblasts to produce bone, but is also osteogenic in its own right. This review explores the clinical need for reparative approaches in spinal arthrodesis, identifying recent tissue engineering strategies employed to promote spinal fusion, and considers the ongoing challenges to successful clinical translation.
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