The Effect of Paraspinal Fatty Muscle Infiltration and Cumulative Lumbar Spine Degeneration on the Outcome of Patients with Lumbar Spinal Canal Stenosis: Analysis of the Lumbar Stenosis Outcome Study (LSOS) Data

STUDY DESIGN - Prospective. OBJECTIVE To investigate the influence of paraspinal fatty muscle infiltration (FMI) and cumulative lumbar spine degeneration as assessed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on long-term clinical outcome measures in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS) of the Lumbar Stenosis Outcome Study (LSOS) cohort. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Past studies have tried to establish correlations of morphologic imaging findings in LSCS with clinical endpoints. However, the impact of FMI and overall lumbar spinal degeneration load has not been examined yet. METHODS Patients from the LSOS cohort with moderate to severe LSCS were included. Two radiologists assessed the degree of LSCS as well as cumulative degeneration of the lumbar spine. FMI was graded using the Goutallier scoring system. Spinal Stenosis Measure (SSM) was used to measure the severity level of symptoms and disability. European Quality of Life 5 Dimensions 3 Level Version (EQ-5D-3L) was used to measure health-related quality of life. RESULTS The non-surgically treated group consisted of 116 patients (age 74.8±8.5 y), whereas the surgically treated group included 300 patients (age 72.3±8.2 y). Paraspinal FMI was significantly different between the groups (54.3% vs. 32.0% for Goutallier grade ≥2; P0.05). CONCLUSION FMI is associated with higher disability and worse health-related quality of life of LSCS patients in the LSOS cohort. There was no significant association between total cumulative lumbar spine degeneration and the outcome of either surgically or non-surgically treated patients. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE - Level 3

Ungewöhnlicher pulmonaler Befund

Fallbericht Anamnese Ein 68-jähriger Patient stellte sich bei uns mit diffusen abdominellen Schmerzen seit einem Tag vor. Anamnestisch vorbekannt waren ein multifokales hepatozelluläres Karzinom (HCC) sowie eine arterielle Hypertonie, eine Hyperlipidämie, ein dietätisch eingestellter Diabetes mellitus Typ 2, ein Alkoholkonsum von 4 dl Whisky pro Tag (seit zehn Jahren) und ein Nikotinabusus mit 10 Packungsjahren. Die Familienanamnese ergab kardiovaskuläre Ereignisse bei Vater, Grossvater und Onkel. Die regelmässig eingenommene Medikation bestand aus Olmesartan, Amlodipin, Lorazepam, Acetylsalicylsäure, Esomeprazol und Levothyroxin. Vier Jahre vor der aktuellen Vorstellung waren im ­Rahmen einer allgemeinärztlichen Kontrolle in der Abdomensonographie mehrere tumorsuspekte Herde in der Leber entdeckt worden, die computertomographisch (CT) verdächtig für ein HCC waren. Die Diagnose konnte damals bioptisch gesichert und die Leber­zirrhose bestätigt werden, obwohl die Ätiologie der Zirrhose aufgrund der Spärlichkeit des nicht tumo­rösen Lebergewebes am bioptischen Material nicht ­definitiv ablesbar war...

Growth and yield of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea) under varying levels of gypsum and zinc application in Iran

A field study was carried out during spring season of 2021 and 2022 at Astaneh-ye Ashrafiyeh, Guilan, (Islamic Azad University, Lahijan, Iran) northern Iran to study the effect of natural gypsum (NG) and zinc (Zn) foliar application on peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) yield and quality. NG was applied at 4 levels [0 (NG0); 10 (NG10); 20 (NG20); and 30 (NG30) g/m2] and Zn nano-chelates were applied at 3 levels [0 (Zn0); 1 (Zn1); and 2 (Zn2) g/L)] as foliar application. The results showed that the interaction of NG × Zn was significant for leaf chlorophyll, kernel and pod number per plant, kernel protein, oil content and and kernel yield during both the years. The interaction of NG × Zn was also significant on the P, S and Fe of kernels. Leaf K and Fe contents were significantly influenced only by NG. The comparison between mean revealed that the highest kernel yield (5839 kg/ha), kernel number (93.5 kernels/plant), pod number (66.3 pods/plant) and kernel S (0.384%) were recorded from the plots applied with NG20 + Zn2. The highest leaf chlorophyll (3.83 mg/kg FW) and oil content (46.09%) were related to the treatment NG20 + Zn1. The plots applied with NG10 + Zn2 exhibited the highest kernel protein (17.92%). Based on the results, it can be stated that the NG and Zn as soil application and foliar spray respectively, improved peanut yield and qualitative traits hence can be recommended for similar climatic conditions