Musculoskeletal System Commons^™

Sexually Dimorphic Effects Of Gpnmb Modulation On Vertebral Bone Mass Regulation And Intravertebral Disc Health, Hakem Altawil, Fayez Safadi

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Osteoporosis and vertebral degeneration are major contributors to musculoskeletal morbidity, yet the molecular mechanisms regulating vertebral bone and intervertebral disc (IVD) homeostasis remain incompletely understood. GPNMB (osteoactivin) has been identified as a regulator of bone remodeling, though its role in spine health is unclear. This study evaluated the effects of GPNMB deficiency on lumbar vertebral bone microarchitecture and IVD integrity in a sex-dependent context.

Six-month-old male and female wild-type (WT) and GPNMB knockout (KO) mice were analyzed using micro–computed tomography (µCT) of lumbar vertebrae (L4–L6) and histological assessment of the L5–L6 IVD. KO males exhibited increased bone volume fraction, bone …

The Evolvement Of The 100 Most Cited Articles In Spine Surgery In The Last Decade Compared To All-Time, Mark Miller, Matthew Meade, Ruchir Nanavati, William T Diciurcio, Maneesha Palakurthi, Adam Kohring, Justin Le, Christopher Giuditta, Christopher Kepler, Barrett Woods

Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine Departmental Research

BACKGROUND: Decision-making in spine surgery is continuously shaped by advancements in the field through evidence-based medicine. This is demonstrated through the evolution of the quality and impact of scientific research within the field of spine surgery. To date, there is limited literature investigating interval changes in methodological rigor of scientific investigation within the field of spine surgery.

METHODS: The top 100 cited articles were recorded for manuscripts from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2023, and the top 100 most cited manuscripts of all time for spine surgery, via the Scopus abstract and citation database. Data collected included year of …

The Evolution Of Body Posture In The Sagittal Plane In The Sensitive Growth Period Of Children And Adolescents Undergoing Individual Scoliosis Therapy: A Pilot Study, Barbara Rosołek, Katarzyna Smółka, Diana Celebańska, Monika Szarajew, Anna Zwierzchowska

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Introduction: The shape of the spine in the sagittal plane undergoes evolution, which occurs specifically in children and adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis (IS). The aim of the study was to verify the variability of body features and indicators in relation to the features and parameters of body posture in children and adolescents with IS. Materials and Methods: 61 measurements of children and adolescents (three age groups) with IS were collected. Body height, body weight, waist circumference, hip circumference, scoliosis major curve angle, thoracic kyphosis angle, lumbar lordosis angle, spine length, and pelvic tilt were measured. BMI and WHtR were calculated. …

Utilizing Microwave Ablation In Combination With Vertebroplasty Is An Effective Method In Reducing Cancer Related Back Pain, Disability, And Opioid Use: A Systematic Review And Meta-Analysis, Jonathan Elias, Lothar Vidal, Richard Jermyn

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: It is estimated that metastases from primary malignant neoplasms affect the spine around 30%-70% of the time. Many times, these osteolytic tumors will cause the degradation of the vertebrae, leaving patients in a tremendous amount of pain, disability, and dependence on opioids as analgesics. Microwave ablation (MWA) followed by vertebroplasties (VP) has been a developing treatment for such a condition; however, there are no systematic reviews or meta-analyses examining the method’s effectiveness thus far.

Purpose: This systematic review and meta-analysis analyzes the 4-week and 12-week outcomes of patients with metastatic spinal cancer treated with the combinatorial treatment …

Complications Following Hemivertebrectomy For Congenital Scoliosis, Sanjana Davuluri, Taemin Oh, Kyrillos Akhnoukh, Zachary Weingrad, Michael Lesgart, Terrence Ishmael, Joshua Pahys, Amer Samdani, Steven Hwang

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Introduction:

Hemivertebrae are rare congenital anomalies that can cause severe scoliosis requiring surgical correction. We aimed to determine whether severity of deformities is associated with more long-term surgical complications following surgical correction.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective, single-institution review on patients who underwent hemivertebrectomy and spinal fusion for congenital scoliosis between 2008-2020. We extracted pertinent data on demographics, radiographic parameters, operative details, and complication rates. Subgroup analyses were also done by complication severity, deformity complexity, and construct length.

Results:

In our series, 30 patients underwent hemivertebrectomy and fusion. Mean age was 9±4.2 years and there was 2:1 male preponderance, with …

Analysis Of Time-Dependent Adaptations Of Lumbar Intervertebral Disc Morphology During Standing-Induced Symptoms Of Low Back Pain, Donald Aboytes

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Low back pain (LBP) is a traumatic impairment for individuals with staggering socioeconomic burden. The etiology of LBP is exceedingly complex and confounded by comorbidities. The source of pain is difficult to pin-point because the offending stimuli are not always known. One promising avenue is to investigate the progression of LBP symptoms in young and otherwise healthy individuals. The population that exhibits preclinical LBP in prolonged standing may be particularly suitable for understanding the anatomical changes that occur during the progression of the symptoms. Since the pain symptoms subside upon exiting the standing position, they are an ideal demographic to …

Deformable Multisurface Segmentation Of The Spine For Orthopedic Surgery Planning And Simulation, Rabia Haq, Jérôme Schmid, Roderick Borgie, Joshua Cates, Michel Audette

Computational Modeling & Simulation Engineering Faculty Publications

Purpose: We describe a shape-aware multisurface simplex deformable model for the segmentation of healthy as well as pathological lumbar spine in medical image data.

Approach: This model provides an accurate and robust segmentation scheme for the identification of intervertebral disc pathologies to enable the minimally supervised planning and patient-specific simulation of spine surgery, in a manner that combines multisurface and shape statistics-based variants of the deformable simplex model. Statistical shape variation within the dataset has been captured by application of principal component analysis and incorporated during the segmentation process to refine results. In the case where shape statistics hinder detection …

Approximation Of Anterolateral Curvature Of Lumbar Vertebra, Ben A. Friesem

Biomedical Engineering

The study of lateral interbody lumbar spinal surgery and designing an optimal intervetebral device is a complex endeavor. Interbody spinal fusion is performed for a variety of clinical situations, including back pain, vertebral fractures, and tumor conditions that require stabilization of the vertebral segments. The fundamental goal of spinal fusion is to attain a solid fixation at the implant-vertebral interface.
            Replacement of a degenerated vertebral disc with an artificial intervertebral disc (AID) is currently possible, but poses problems mainly in the force distribution through the vertebral column. Data on the intervertebral disc space geometry will provide a better fit of …