Reportedly, ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) usually involves the cervical spine and often accompanies other ligamentous ossification such as diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). It is considered serious because it sometimes causes severe radiculomyelopathy; however, the present study, based on a fixed population sample, revealed that OPLL of the thoracic spine is nearly always asymptomatic. The prevalence of thoracic OPLL was 0.6%, with three times as many women as men being affected, compared with cervical OPLL which occurs predominantly among men. No marked radiculomyelopathy was observed, nor definite evidence of neurological involvement due to thoracic OPLL. DISH was rare, especially among women.
We describe magnetic resonance imaging findings in a 37-year-old man with a rare entity of isolated polyarteritis nodosa of the epididymis, which correlated well with the histopathologic findings.
Of 235 unresectable non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with chemotherapy at Matsudo National Hospital between 1983 and 1986, 34 (14%) patients survived more than 2 years. Nine patients (4%) were disease-free, and the other 25 (10%) were alive even with disease. The common characteristics observed in the 9 disease-free survivors were as follows; (1) Their performance status was 1 or 2, and all were localized stage III patients. (2) They could receive more than three cycles of chemotherapy, resulting in partial response. They also received additional radiation therapy. (3) The disease recurred in 3 of the 9 patients after 2 years of follow-up. Therefore, it takes more than 2 years to declare cure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.