Spine News and Research

RSS

New human organoid mimics the earliest developmental steps of the nervous system in embryos

The progression from a round ball of cells to an embryo with a head and a tail is one of the most critical steps in an organism's development. But just how cells first start organizing themselves with directionality along this head-to-tail axis is hard to study because it happens in the earliest days of embryonic development, in the confines of a mammal's uterus.

22 Jun 2021

Study details health risks, growth patterns, and treatment outcomes of people with achondroplasia

In a retrospective study believed to be one of the largest of its kind, researchers say they have successfully charted the health risks, growth patterns, and medical and surgical outcomes of 1,374 people with the most common form of dwarfism, called achondroplasia, seen over a 60-year period at four academic medical centers, including Johns Hopkins Medicine.

21 Jun 2021

Device makers have funneled billions to orthopedic surgeons who use their products

Dr. Kingsley R. Chin was little more than a decade out of Harvard Medical School when sales of his spine surgical implants took off.

17 Jun 2021

New consensus statement on sport-related concussion aims to help doctors provide optimal medical care

Strict rest after a sports related concussion slows recovery and may prolong symptoms, says a consensus statement drawn up by a US expert panel on how best to treat and manage the condition, and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

17 Jun 2021

Research identifies distinctive inflammatory signature in a genetic form of ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that strikes nearly 5,000 people in the U.S. every year. About 10% of ALS cases are inherited or familial, often caused by an error in the C9orf72 gene.

16 Jun 2021

Study provides treatment options for children with average risk medulloblastoma

Medulloblastoma is a rare but devastating childhood brain cancer. This cancer can spread through the spinal fluid and be deposited elsewhere in the brain or spine.

11 Jun 2021

Study examines brain scans of COVID-19 patients

In a Journal of Neuroimaging analysis of data obtained from 193 patients with COVID-19 who had brain and/or spine imaging and a lumbar puncture because of neurologic symptoms, investigators found that imaging results were related to the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the cerebrospinal fluid.

9 Jun 2021

New project aims to validate digital biomarkers for better treatment of Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease affects seven to ten million patients in Western societies - with an upward trend. Patients suffer from symptoms such as tremors, gait and speech disorders, and memory loss.

31 May 2021

Enough to wreck their rest: $10,322 for a sleep study

José Mendoza's snoring was bad — but the silence when he stopped breathing was even worse for his wife, Nancy.

27 May 2021

Women with osteoporosis and low bone density have higher risk of hearing loss

Hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition in the United States. Previous studies of people with hearing loss have uncovered higher prevalence of osteoporosis -- a disease in which the bones become weak and brittle -- and low bone density (LBD).

25 May 2021

$Proper seatbelt use can help reduce pediatric spinal fractures$

Proper seatbelt use can help reduce pediatric spinal fractures

Two thirds of all pediatric spinal fractures, especially in the adolescent population, occur in motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) where seatbelts are not utilized, reports a study in Spine. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

14 May 2021

3D-printed fetus models allow surgeons to identify potential obstacles, reduce risks of surgery

A state-of-the-art in-utero procedure allows surgeons to correct a birth defect on developing babies inside the womb. But operating on a mother and her unborn child at the same time can be challenging and unpredictable.

7 May 2021

Thin, weakened bones associated with heightened risk of heart attack or stroke in women

Thin and brittle bones are strongly linked to women’s heart disease risk, with thinning of the lower (lumbar) spine, top of the thigh bone (femoral neck), and hip especially predictive of a heightened heart attack and stroke risk, suggests research in the journal Heart.

6 May 2021

Regular exercise improves vascular function in patients with autoimmune rheumatic diseases

The risk of developing atherosclerosis - a narrowing of the arteries as cholesterol plaque builds up, leading to obstruction of blood flow - is higher for people with autoimmune rheumatic diseases than for the general population.

27 Apr 2021

Football Fitness improves balance, muscle strength and bone density in women treated for breast cancer

The University of Southern Denmark, Rigshospitalet and the University of Copenhagen have come together to study the effects of Football Fitness on various health parameters and self-rated health following treatment for breast cancer.

26 Apr 2021

Research could inform therapeutic approaches to ameliorate the effects of fetal immobility

Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have discovered that some skeletal defects associated with a lack of movement in the womb during early development may still be ameliorated after such periods of immobility if movement resumes.

23 Apr 2021

Despite advances, childbirth is not likely to become easier for women from a biological perspective

Despite advances in medicine and technology, childbirth isn't likely to get much easier on women from a biological perspective.

23 Apr 2021

After accident, patient crashes into $700,000 bill for spine surgery

Mark Gottlieb's life changed in an instant when another driver crashed into his car, damaging four vertebrae in his upper spine and smashing six teeth.

22 Apr 2021

Spinal fusion procedures have unacceptably low hospital “rankability"

Routinely collected data on patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery do not provide a valid basis for assessing and comparing hospital performance on patient safety outcomes, reports a study in Spine. The journal is published in the Lippincott portfolio by Wolters Kluwer.

9 Apr 2021

Memory and executive function symptoms are valuable for predicting CTE pathology, suggests study

Diagnosing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) during life is crucial for developing therapies and for determining how common the disease is among individuals exposed to repetitive head impacts from contact sports, military service and physical violence.

7 Apr 2021