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Background: To explore the relationship between paraspinal muscle degeneration and changes in spine-pelvic sagittal parameters in patients with degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (DLSS). Method: Twenty-eight patients with DLSS and complete imaging data from January 2020 to January 2022 were included. The relative cross-sectional area (RCSA) and fatty infiltration ratio (FIR) of the multifidus (MF) and erector spinae (ES) were obtained on lumbar magnetic resonance imaging. The sagittal vertical axis, thoracic kyphosis (TK), lumbar lordosis (LL), pelvic incidence, sacral slope and pelvic tilt were analysed by Spearman rank correlation analysis, and the relationship between paraspinal muscle parameters and spine–pelvic sagittal imbalance in patients with DLSS was determined. Correlation analysis of state parameters. Result: In the DLSS (L4-5) group, the right ES FIR was negatively correlated with the TK angle (r = −0.536, P < 0.05) and the left side had no significance. The left MF RCSA was associated with the TK angle. In the DLSS (L5-S1) group, the right MF RCSA and right ES RCSA were significantly positively correlated with the TK angle (r = 0. 502, P < 0.05, r = 0. 685, r = 0. 615, P < 0.05), and the left side has no meaning. Conclusion: A correlation was found between paraspinal muscle parameters and spine–pelvic sagittal parameters in patients with DLSS.

Objective. The convolutional neural network (CNN) was used to improve the accuracy of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in diagnosing moyamoya disease (MMD), providing a new method for clinical diagnosis of MMD. Methods. A total of 40 diagnosed with MMD by DSA in the neurosurgery department of our hospital were included. At the same time, 40 age-matched and sex-matched patients were selected as the control group. The 80 included patients were divided into training set ( n = 56 ) and validation set ( n = 24 ). The DSA image was preprocessed, and the CNN was used to extract features from the preprocessed image. The precision and accuracy of the preprocessed image results were evaluated. Results. There was no significant difference in baseline data between the training set and validation set ( P > 0.05 ). The precision and accuracy of the images before processing were 79.68% and 81.45%, respectively. After image processing, the precision and accuracy of the model are 96.38% and 97.59%, respectively. The area under the curve of the CNN algorithm model was 0.813 (95% CI: 0.718-0.826). Conclusion. This diagnostic method based on CNN performs well in MMD detection.

Purpose The clinical outcomes of using a zero-profile for anterior cervical decompression and fusion were evaluated by comparison with anterior cervical plates. Methods All of the comparative studies published in the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Medline, Web of Science, EBSOChost, and EMBASE databases as of 1 October 2021 were included. All outcomes were analysed using Review Manager 5.4. Results Seven randomized controlled studies were included with a total of 528 patients, and all studies were randomized controlled studies. The meta-analysis outcomes indicated that the use of zero-profile fixation for anterior cervical decompression and fusion was better than anterior cervical plate fixation regarding the incidence of postoperative dysphagia (P P P P > 0.05) between the zero-profile and anterior cervical plate groups. Conclusions The systematic review and meta-analysis indicated that zero-profile and anterior cervical plates could result in good postoperative outcomes in anterior cervical decompression and fusion. No significant differences were found in intraoperative blood loss, Visual Analogue Scale, Neck Disability Index, or Japanese Orthopaedic Association scale. However, the zero-profile is superior to the anterior cervical plate in the following measures: incidence of postoperative dysphagia, adjacent-level ossification, and operational time. PROSPERO registration CRD42021278214.

BACKGROUND Moyamoya disease (MMD) is an idiopathic disease caused by progressive steno-occlusion of the distal internal carotid artery. Ideal surgical treatment for adult patients with ischemic-type MMD has not been achieved. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of single-barrel superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) bypass in treatment for adult patients with ischemic-type MMD by analyzing clinical and radiological data retrospectively. MATERIAL AND METHODS The present study included 37 patients with non-hemorrhagic MMD, including 21 women and 16 men (21~55 years old, mean age 38.1 years). The bypass surgery was performed on 56 sides in the 37 patients. The clinical charts, angiographic revascularization, and hemodynamic changes were reviewed at 6-60 months after surgery. RESULTS Among the 37 patients, the clinical symptoms and signs of 32 patients were improved or stabilized. Five patients had complications, including 2 cases of acute cerebral infarction, 1 case of epidural hematoma, and 1 case of transient speech disturbance, and 1 patient died. Follow-up computed tomography perfusion (CTP) revealed that cerebral blood flow (CBF) was markedly improved after surgery (P0.05). Time to peek (TTP) and mean transit time (MTT) were significantly decreased after surgery (P0.05). No significant change in cerebral blood volume (CBV) was found after surgery (P0.05). Postoperative patency was clearly verified in 52 bypasses (92.8%) of 56 bypasses on follow-up DSA imaging. CONCLUSIONS Single-barrel STA-MCA bypass can be considered as an effective surgical treatment, which exhibits satisfactory clinical efficacy in ischemic-type MMD patients.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the most common primary malignancy of the liver with a worldwide increasing incidence. Although the risk factors for HCC are well characterized, the molecular mechanisms responsible for malignant transformation of hepatocytes are not well understood. In this study, a case–control study including 291 HCC patients and 294 healthy controls was conducted to investigate the association between HCC susceptibility and with a 4-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism (rs66465034) in the proximal promoter of CD3G. Logistic regression analysis showed that the heterozygote and the homozygote 4-bp ins/ins confer a significantly increased risk of HCC after controlling for other covariates (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=1.51, 95% confidence interval [C.I.] 1.01–2.27, p=0.040; OR=1.71, 95% C.I. 1.07–2.89, p=0.025, respectively). Carriage of the 4-bp insertion allele was associated with a greatly increased risk of developing the disease (OR=1.30, 95% C.I. 1.02–1.64, p=0.027). Moreover, hepatitis B virus (HBV) stratification analysis showed that the differences between cases and controls were more obvious in HBV-positive than in the HBV-negative population, suggesting a possible role of this polymorphism in the immune regulation during HBV infection. Further, luciferase-based transient transfection assays revealed that rs66465034 can affect promoter activity of CD3G, indicating its possible functional significance. Our data suggested that common genetic polymorphisms in CD3G may influence HCC risk in Chinese population. Considering the relative small sample size, replication in other populations with larger sample size and further functional analysis are required for fully understanding the roles of CD3G polymorphisms in predisposition for HCC.

Delayed reendothelialization and intimal hyper-plasia (IH) contribute to the failure of vascular interventions. Curcumin (Cur) has been used for various types of diseases with antioxidant, antiproliferative and anti‑inflammatory effects. However, investigations involving the application of Cur in inhibiting IH are limited. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the potential therapeutic effects of Cur and its underlying mechanisms on a rat model of carotid artery (CA) intimal injury. In vitro, an endothelial cell (EC) migration assay was conducted using cultured primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) that were exposed to Cur. In vivo, CA angioplasty injury was used to generate a rat model of intimal injury. CAs were collected at 3 days, and 1 and 4 weeks after injury, respectively, for western blot analysis and double-immunofluorescence analyses, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling staining, oxidative stress indicator analysis and hematoxylin and eosin staining of the neointima. In vivo, Cur significantly enhanced the migration and healing of HUVECs and simultaneously promoted microtubule-associated protein light chain 3-II (LC3-II) expression when HUVECs were subjected to an artificial scratch. In vitro, endangium from the Cur-treated rats exhibited a significantly reduced number of apoptotic ECs and oxidative stress level compared to that of the sham group. In addition, Cur treatment markedly improved quantification of the LC3-II concomitant with the downregulation of p62 in the injured CA. At 1 week following injury, sizable neointimal lesions had developed, although prominent intima thickening was not observed. At 4 weeks, apparent hemadostenosis occurred resulting from the exorbitance IH. Cur treatment markedly reduced the thickness of the neointimal lesion. It is noteworthy that high-dose Cur may have exerted more significant effects than low-dose Cur. Cur can potentially become a therapeutic drug for angiostenosis by imparting a protective effect that accelerates reendothelialization and ameliorates IH and was mediated by its pro-autophagic effect.