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Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a serious health problem affecting 3% of live births all over the world. Many loci associated with AIS have been identified by previous genome wide association studies, but their biological implication remains mostly unclear. In this study, we evaluated the AIS-associated variants in the 7p22.3 locus by combining in silico, in vitro, and in vivo analyses. rs78148157 was located in an enhancer of UNCX, a homeobox gene and its risk allele upregulated the UNCX expression. A transcription factor, early growth response 1 (EGR1), transactivated the rs78148157-located enhancer and showed a higher binding affinity for the risk allele of rs78148157. Furthermore, zebrafish larvae with UNCX messenger RNA (mRNA) injection developed body curvature and defective neurogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. rs78148157 confers the genetic susceptibility to AIS by enhancing the EGR1-regulated UNCX expression. © 2022 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Introduction: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a leading cause of disability, yet there is limited high-quality evidence to identify the most suitable pharmacological therapy. The purpose of this Japanese nationwide, multicenter, prospective study was to compare the effectiveness of four representative drug therapies―acetaminophen, celecoxib, loxoprofen, and a tramadol and acetaminophen (T+A) combination drug―to establish evidence for a drug of choice for CLBP. Methods: Patients with CLBP (N=471) received one of the four treatments and were evaluated, prospectively and comprehensively, once every month for six months using a visual analog scale (VAS) for LBP, the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, the JOA Back Pain Evaluation Questionnaire (JOABPEQ), the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RDQ), the EuroQol five-dimensions three-levels (EQ-5D-3L), and the Short Form-8 item health survey (SF-8). We conducted multivariable linear regression analyses of the four drugs at 1 and 6 months after drug allocation. Differences with P

Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is a common disease causing three-dimensional spinal deformity in as many as 3% of adolescents. Development of a method that can accurately predict the onset and progression of AIS is an immediate need for clinical practice. Because the heritability of AIS is estimated as high as 87.5% in twin studies, prediction of its onset and progression based on genetic data is a promising option. We show the usefulness of polygenic risk score (PRS) for the prediction of onset and progression of AIS. We used AIS genomewide association study (GWAS) data comprising 79,211 subjects in three cohorts and constructed a PRS based on association statistics in a discovery set including 31,999 female subjects. After calibration using a validation data set, we applied the PRS to a test data set. By integrating functional annotations showing heritability enrichment in the selection of variants, the PRS demonstrated an association with AIS susceptibility (p = 3.5 × 10-40 with area under the receiver-operating characteristic [AUROC] = 0.674, sensitivity = 0.644, and specificity = 0.622). The decile with the highest PRS showed an odds ratio of as high as 3.36 (p = 1.4 × 10-10 ) to develop AIS compared with the fifth in decile. The addition of a predictive model with only a single clinical parameter (body mass index) improved predictive ability for development of AIS (AUROC = 0.722, net reclassification improvement [NRI] 0.505 ± 0.054, p = 1.6 × 10-8 ), potentiating clinical use of the prediction model. Furthermore, we found the Cobb angle (CA), the severity measurement of AIS, to be a polygenic trait that showed a significant genetic correlation with AIS susceptibility (rg = 0.6, p = 3.0 × 10-4 ). The AIS PRS demonstrated a significant association with CA. These results indicate a shared polygenic architecture between onset and progression of AIS and the potential usefulness of PRS in clinical settings as a predictor to promote early intervention of AIS and avoid invasive surgery. © 2021 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR).

Grounding is a fundamental human practice for cooperation and collaboration in a joint activity, when more than two people interact. Emergency care is one such interactive situation, and whether a trauma team can efficiently establish and increment their common ground at an appropriate timing during the complex and fluid activity of emergency medical treatment is key to maximise collective competence to best perform as a trauma team. This article investigates recurrent patterns in the grounding process between the trauma team leader and the members, comparing the practices between Japan and the UK, using an eye-tracking device. The embodied practice of grounding was multimodally described, applying both quantitative multimodal corpus analytic and qualitative interactional linguistic approaches. The analysis has shown that five grounding episodes reoccurred, most of which were more ego-centric and one of them ba-centric interactions, drawing on intersubjectivity and the theory of ba in Western and Eastern philosophy respectively.

OBJECTIVE Issues with spinopelvic fixation for adult spinal deformity (ASD) include loss of the physiological mobility of the entire lumbar spine, perioperative complications, and medical costs. Little is known about the factors associated with successful short fusion for ASD. The authors evaluated radiographic and clinical outcomes after shorter fusion for different subtypes of ASD at 2 years postoperatively and examined factors associated with successful short fusion. METHODS This was a single-center study of 37 patients who underwent short fusion and a minimum 2 years of follow-up for ASD in which lumbar kyphosis was the main deformity. The exclusion criteria were 1) age < 40 years, 2) previous lumbar vertebral fracture, 3) severe osteoporosis, 4) T10–L2 kyphosis > 20°, 5) scoliotic deformity with an upper end vertebra (UEV) above T12, and 6) concomitant Parkinson’s disease or neurological disease. The surgical procedures, radiographic course, and Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) were assessed, and correlations between radiographic parameters and postoperative ODI at 2 years were analyzed. RESULTS A mean of 3.5 levels were fused. The mean radiographic parameters preoperatively, at 2 weeks, and at 2 years, respectively, were as follows: coronal Cobb angle: 22.9°, 11.5°, and 12.6°; lumbar lordosis (LL): 12.9°, 35.8°, and 32.2°; pelvic incidence (PI) minus LL: 35.5°, 14.7°, and 19.2°; pelvic tilt: 29.4°, 23.1°, and 25.0°; and sagittal vertical axis 85.3, 36.7, and 59.2 mm. Abnormal proximal junctional kyphosis occurred in 8 cases. Revision surgery was performed to extend the length of fusion from a lower thoracic vertebra to the pelvis in 2 cases. The mean ODI scores preoperatively and at 2 years were 50.7% and 24.1%, respectively. Patient age, number of fused intervertebral segments, and radiographic parameters were analyzed by the stepwise method to identify factors contributing to the ODI score at 2 years, preoperative PI, and sagittal vertical axis at 2 years. On receiver operating characteristic curve analysis of the minimal clinically important difference of ODI (15%) and preoperative PI, the cutoff value of the preoperative PI was 47° (area under the curve 0.75). CONCLUSIONS In terms of subtypes of ASD in which lumbar kyphosis is the main deformity, if the PI is < 47°, then the use of short fusion preserving mobile intervertebral segments can produce adequate LL for the PI, improving both postoperative global spinal alignment and quality of life.

OBJECTIVEFacet cysts may represent a sign of intrinsic facet disease and instability, increasing the importance of less-invasive approaches that limit tissue dissection and improve visualization. The authors developed an intraoperative cyst-dyeing technique, involving the injection of indigo carmine from the facet joint into the cyst, as an adjunct during decompression. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes and perioperative complication rates of microendoscopic spinal decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and lumbar foraminal stenosis (LFS), caused by facet cysts and to elucidate the efficacy of the cyst-dyeing method in microendoscopic surgery for facet cysts.METHODSForty-eight consecutive patients who underwent surgical treatment with microendoscopic decompression for symptomatic LSS or LFS caused by facet cysts from 2011 to 2018 were reviewed. These patients were divided into two groups: a group that did not receive dye (N), with the patients undergoing surgery from April 2011 to May 2015; and a group that received dye (D), with patients undergoing surgery from June 2015 to March 2018. The authors evaluated the operative time, blood loss, perioperative complications, visual analog scale scores for low-back and leg pain, and Japanese Orthopaedic Association scores. Surgical outcome was evaluated 2 years postoperatively and was compared between groups D and N.RESULTSThe clinical outcomes were generally excellent or good. Group N consisted of 36 patients and group D of 12 patients. Comparing the clinical results, it was found that the cyst-dyeing method reduced the perioperative complication rate, including reduction in dural tears to 0%, and shortened the average operative time by approximately 40 minutes.CONCLUSIONSIn this study, the authors demonstrated that the clinical outcomes of microendoscopic spinal decompression in patients with LSS or LFS caused by facet-joint cysts are generally favorable. Additionally, the adjunctive cyst-dyeing method effectively delineated the cystic and dural boundaries, facilitating safer and more effective cyst separation and neural decompression. Microendoscopic surgery combined with this novel facet cyst-dyeing method is a safe and effective minimally invasive technique for facet-joint cysts.

[目的] 公立・公的医療機関のうち，東北6県の再検証要請対象医療機関の割合は，宮城県が40病院中19病院(47.5％)と高く，秋田県では23病院中5病院(21.7％)と低かった。本研究は，東北6県の再検証要請対象医療機関の割合の違いについて，その背景要因を明らかにすることを目的とする。[方法] 厚生労働省が2019年9月に公表した「第二十四回地域医療構想に関するワーキンググループ参考資料1-2」を資料に用いた。そのPDF データをエクセルに変換し，残差分析など統計的分析を行った。[結果] 秋田県の回復期病床数の割合が12.1％と有意に高かった(p, [Objective] In the Tohoku region, the percentage of public hospitals judged to be in need of realignment is as follows; highest in Miyagi Prefecture ( 19 out of 40 hospitals (47.5%)), while 5 out of 23 hospitals (21.7%) being in Akita Prefecture. The purpose of this study is to identify determinant factors for the differences in the proportion of medical institutions judged to be in need of realignment discussions.[Methods] We used the "24th Working Group on the Regional Healthcare Concept, Reference 1-2" published in September 2019 by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) as a material.Data on the PDF were converted to EXCEL and a statistical analysis was performed by an χ2 test (including residual analysis) and Kruskal-Wallis test.[Results] The percentage of recovery beds in Akita was significantly higher at 12.1%(p