Pitfalls and complications in the treatment of cervical spine fractures in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Patients with ankylosing spondylitis are at significant risk for sustaining cervical spine injuries following trauma predisposed by kyphosis, stiffness and osteoporotic bone quality of the spine. The risk of sustaining neurological deficits in this patient population is higher than average. The present review article provides an outline on the specific injury patterns in the cervical spine, diagnostic algorithms and specific treatment modalities dictated by the underlying disease in patients with ankylosing spondylitis. An emphasis is placed on the risks and complication patterns in the treatment of these rare, but challenging injuries

Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Risk of Epithelial Ovarian Cancer: Cohort Consortium Vitamin D Pooling Project of Rarer Cancers

A role for vitamin D in ovarian cancer etiology is supported by ecologic studies of sunlight exposure, experimental mechanism studies, and some studies of dietary vitamin D intake and genetic polymorphisms in the vitamin D receptor. However, few studies have examined the association of circulating 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), an integrated measure of vitamin D status, with ovarian cancer risk. A nested case-control study was conducted among 7 prospective studies to evaluate the circulating 25(OH)D concentration in relation to epithelial ovarian cancer risk. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals among 516 cases and 770 matched controls. Compared with 25(OH)D concentrations of 50–<75 nmol/L, no statistically significant associations were observed for <37.5 (odds ratio (OR) = 1.21, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.87, 1.70), 37.5–<50 (OR = 1.03, 95% CI: 0.75, 1.41), or ≥75 (OR = 1.11, 95% CI: 0.79, 1.55) nmol/L. Analyses stratified by tumor subtype, age, body mass index, and other variables were generally null but suggested an inverse association between 25(OH)D and ovarian cancer risk among women with a body mass index of ≥25 kg/m2 (Pinteraction < 0.01). In conclusion, this large pooled analysis did not support an overall association between circulating 25(OH)D and ovarian cancer risk, except possibly among overweight women

Hypercalcemia in Coccidioidomycosis

Two patients with disseminated Coccidioidomycosis and hypercalcemia are presented. One patient studied showed normal levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with depressed levels of 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. The serum calcitonin level was appropriate for the level of serum calcium, and the serum parathyroid hormone level was suppressed with elevation of the nephrogenous cAMP level. Intestinal absorption of calcium was elevated at 63 percent. Hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria persisted despite a 300 mg calcium diet. An osteotropic substance similar to the humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy is postulated