Design of Lamifuse: a randomised, multi-centre controlled trial comparing laminectomy without or with dorsal fusion for cervical myeloradiculopathy

Contains fulltext : 52342.pdf ( ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: laminectomy is a valuable surgical treatment for some patients with a cervical radiculomyelopathy due to cervical spinal stenosis. More recently attention has been given to motion of the spinal cord over spondylotic spurs as a cause of myelopathic changes. Immobilisation by fusion could have a positive effect on the recovery of myelopathic signs or changes. This has never been investigated in a prospective, randomised trial. Lamifuse is an acronyme for laminectomy and fusion. METHODS/DESIGN: Lamifuse is a multicentre, randomised controlled trial comparing laminectomy with and without fusion in patients with a symptomatic cervical canal stenosis. The study population will be enrolled from patients that are 60 years or older with myelopathic signs and/or symptoms due to a cervical canal stenosis. A kyphotis shape of the cervical spine is an exclusion criterium. Each treatment arm needs 30 patients. DISCUSSION: This study will contribute to the discussion whether additional fusion after a cervical laminectomy results in a better clinical outcome. ISRCT NUMBER: ISRCTN72800446

Infant Motor Milestones and Childhood Overweight::trends over Two Decades in A Large Twin Cohort

BACKGROUND: Poor motor skill competence may influence energy balance with childhood overweight as a result. Our aim was to investigate whether the age of motor milestone achievement has changed over the past decades and whether this change may contribute to the increasing trend observed in childhood overweight. METHODS: Motor skill competence was assessed in children from the Young Netherlands Twin Register born between 1987 and 2007. Follow-up ranged from 4 up to 10 years. Weight and height were assessed at birth, 6 months, 14 months, and 2, 4, 7, and 10 years. RESULTS: Babies born in later cohorts achieved their motor milestones 'crawling', 'standing', and 'walking unassisted' later compared to babies born in earlier cohorts (N = 18,514, p < 0.001). The prevalence of overweight at age 10 was higher in later cohorts (p = 0.033). The increase in overweight at age 10 was not explained by achieving motor milestones at a later age and this persisted after adjusting for gestational age, sex, and socioeconomic status. CONCLUSION: Comparing children born in 1987 to those born in 2007, we conclude that children nowadays achieve their motor milestones at a later age. This does not however, explain the increasing trend in childhood overweight

Are autistic traits in the general population stable across development?

There is accumulating evidence that autistic traits (AT) are on a continuum in the general population, with clinical autism representing the extreme end of a quantitative distribution. While the nature and severity of symptoms in clinical autism are known to persist over time, no study has examined the long-term stability of AT among typically developing toddlers. The current investigation measured AT in 360 males and 400 males from the general population close to two decades apart, using the Pervasive Developmental Disorder subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist in early childhood (M = 2.14 years; SD = 0.15), and the Autism-Spectrum Quotient in early adulthood (M = 19.50 years; SD = 0.70). Items from each scale were further divided into social (difficulties with social interaction and communication) and non-social (restricted and repetitive behaviours and interests) AT. The association between child and adult measurements of AT as well the influence of potentially confounding sociodemographic, antenatal and obstetric variables were assessed using Pearson's correlations and linear regression. For males, Total AT in early childhood were positively correlated with total AT (r = .16, p = .002) and social AT (r = .16, p = .002) in adulthood. There was also a positive correlation for males between social AT measured in early childhood and Total (r = .17, p = .001) and social AT (r = .16, p = .002) measured in adulthood. Correlations for non-social AT did not achieve significance in males. Furthermore, there was no significant longitudinal association in AT observed for males or females. Despite the constraints of using different measures and different raters at the two ages, this study found modest developmental stability of social AT from early childhood to adulthood in boys

Proposed Definition of Experimental Secondary Ischemia for Mouse Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Inconsistency in outcome parameters for delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) makes it difficult to compare results between mouse studies, in the same way inconsistency in outcome parameters in human studies has for long obstructed adequate comparison. The absence of an established definition may in part be responsible for the failed translational results. The present article proposes a standardized definition for DCI in experimental mouse models, which can be used as outcome measure in future animal studies. We used a consensus-building approach to propose a definition for "experimental secondary ischemia" (ESI) in experimental mouse subarachnoid hemorrhage that can be used as an outcome measure in preclinical studies. We propose that the outcome measure should be as follows: occurrence of focal neurological impairment or a general neurological impairment compared with a control group and that neurological impairment should occur secondarily following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) induction compared with an initial assessment following SAH induction. ESI should not be used if the condition can be explained by general anesthesia or if other means of assessments sufficiently explain function impairment. If neurological impairment cannot reliably be evaluated, due to scientific setup. Verification of a significant secondary impairment of the cerebral perfusion compared with a control group is mandatory. This requires longitudinal examination in the same animal. The primary aim is that ESI should be distinguished from intervention-related ischemia or neurological deficits, in order establish a uniform definition for experimental SAH in mice that is in alignment with outcome measures in human studies

Design of the PROCON trial: a prospective, randomized multi – center study comparing cervical anterior discectomy without fusion, with fusion or with arthroplasty

BACKGROUND: PROCON was designed to assess the clinical outcome, development of adjacent disc disease and costs of cervical anterior discectomy without fusion, with fusion using a stand alone cage and implantation of a Bryan's disc prosthesis. Description of rationale and design of PROCON trial and discussion of its strengths and limitations. METHODS/DESIGN: Since proof justifying the use of implants or arthroplasty after cervical anterior discectomy is lacking, PROCON was designed. PROCON is a multicenter, randomized controlled trial comparing cervical anterior discectomy without fusion, with fusion with a stand alone cage or with implantation of a disc. The study population will be enrolled from patients with a single level cervical disc disease without myelopathic signs. Each treatment arm will need 90 patients. The patients will be followed for a minimum of five years, with visits scheduled at 6 weeks, 3 months, 12 months, and then yearly. At one year postoperatively, clinical outcome and self reported outcomes will be evaluated. At five years, the development of adjacent disc disease will be investigated. DISCUSSION: The results of this study will contribute to the discussion whether additional fusion or arthroplasty is needed and cost effective. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN4168184

Dynamic Computed Tomography Angiography for capturing vessel wall motion:A phantom study for optimal image reconstruction

Background Reliably capturing sub-millimeter vessel wall motion over time, using dynamic Computed Tomography Angiography (4D CTA), might provide insight in biomechanical properties of these vessels. This may improve diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment decision making in vascular pathologies. Purpose The aim of this study is to determine the most suitable image reconstruction method for 4D CTA to accurately assess harmonic diameter changes of vessels. Methods An elastic tube (inner diameter 6 mm, wall thickness 2 mm) was exposed to sinusoidal pressure waves with a frequency of 70 beats-per-minute. Five flow amplitudes were set, resulting in increasing sinusoidal diameter changes of the elastic tube, measured during three simulated pulsation cycles, using ECG-gated 4D CTA on a 320-detector row CT system. Tomographic images were reconstructed using one of the following three reconstruction methods: hybrid iterative (Hybrid-IR), model-based iterative (MBIR) and deep-learning based (DLR) reconstruction. The three reconstruction methods where based on 180 degrees (half reconstruction mode) and 360 degrees (full reconstruction mode) raw data. The diameter change, captured by 4D CTA, was computed based on image registration. As a reference metric for diameter change measurement, a 9 MHz linear ultrasound transducer was used. The sum of relative absolute differences (SRAD) between the ultrasound and 4D CTA measurements was calculated for each reconstruction method. The standard deviation was computed across the three pulsation cycles. Results MBIR and DLR resulted in a decreased SRAD and standard deviation compared to Hybrid-IR. Full reconstruction mode resulted in a decreased SRAD and standard deviations, compared to half reconstruction mode. Conclusions 4D CTA can capture a diameter change pattern comparable to the pattern captured by US. DLR and MBIR algorithms show more accurate results than Hybrid-IR. Reconstruction with DLR is &gt;3 times faster, compared to reconstruction with MBIR. Full reconstruction mode is more accurate than half reconstruction mode.</p