Clinical Characteristics, Imaging Findings and Surgical Outcomes of Chiari Malformation Type I in Pediatric and Adult Patients.

A growing number of children and adolescents are being diagnosed as Chiari malformation type I (CM-I) for behavioral disorders, developmental delay, seizures, or abnormal orpharyngeal function. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics, imaging findings and surgical outcomes of CM-I in pediatric and adult patients. Between January 2014 and June 2017, 84 patients with CM-I underwent surgical treatment in our department. We divided the patients into two groups: pediatric group (n=11, age <18 years) and adult group (n=73, age ≥18 years). Data on clinical characteristics, imaging findings, surgical outcomes, and prognosis were retrospectively reviewed and compared between these two groups. For clinical presentation, scoliosis (36.4%) and developmental delay (36.4%) were more common in pediatric patients, whereas, sensory disturbance (58.9%) and motor weakness (41.1%) were more common in adult patients. Imaging findings showed that the incidence of hydrocephalus and craniovertebral junctional abnormalities was significantly higher in pediatric group than in adult group (P<0.05). Compared to adult group, pediatric group showed a better improvement or resolution of syrinx and tonsillar herniation after surgical treatments (P<0.05). The total Chicago Chiari Outcome Scale (CCOS) score in pediatric patients at the last followup was significantly higher than that in adult patients (P=0.002). In conclusion, the clinical characteristics and imaging findings appeared to be different in pediatric and adult patients with CM-I. The surgical outcomes of pediatric patients were shown to be significantly better than those of adult patients.

Association between ABCB1 genetic polymorphism and the effect on epilepsy following phenytoin treatment.

The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of ABCB1 genetic polymorphisms on the efficacy of phenytoin (PHT) treatment in epilepsy patients. In total, 200 epilepsy patients who were administered PHT were divided into the responsive and pharmaco-resistance groups depending on the clinical data of PHT treatment in epilepsy patients. The serum concentration of PHT was detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). ABCB1 polymorphisms were analyzed by the polymerase chain reaction restriction-fragment length polymorphism method. The C1236T, C3435T and G2677T/A haplotypes were reconstructed for the ABCB1 gene using SHEsis programs. One-way analysis of variance was used for data analysis. In ABCB1 C1236T, the rate of the CC genotype in pharmaco-resistance (17.5%) was higher than that of the responsive group (2.1%), while the rate of the TT genotype in pharmaco-resistance (41.6%) was lower than that of the responsive group (55.4%) (P<0.05). In ABCB1 G2677T/A, the rate of the GG genotype in pharmaco-resistance (29.6%) was higher than that of the responsive group (9.7%), while the rate of the TT genotype in pharmaco-resistance (4.6%) was lower than that of the responsive group (30.4%) (P<0.05). The rate of the TTC haploid in pharmaco-resistance (24.1%) was higher than that of the responsive group (8.8%) (P<0.05). The PHT serum concentration had no statistical significance in the patients with different genotypes. In conclusion, there was no association between ABCB1 genetic polymorphism and PHT serum concentration, although the polymorphisms affected the efficacy of PHT treatment in patients with epilepsy.

Anterior and posterior fixation for delayed treatment of posterior atlantoaxial dislocation without fracture.

Posterior atlantoaxial dislocation (PAAD) without fracture of the odontoid process is a rare injury. Authors have variously reported closed or open reduction, followed by either anterior or posterior fixation, but there is no consensus on best treatment. We present a particularly unstable case of PAAD. Open reduction through a retropharyngeal approach with odontoidectomy was required for reduction. Anterior fixation with transarticular lag screws was required prior to posterior fixation with pedicle screws. Despite non-compliance with postoperative immobilisation, imaging at 20-month follow-up confirmed solid fusion. The patient is pain-free with a good range of movement of the neck and has returned to a manual job. Our case had a greater degree of instability than was previously reported, which necessitated 360° fixation. This is the first reported case of this treatment strategy, which provided a very stable fixation allowing fusion despite early movement and without causing undue stiffness.

Subcutaneous Versus Submuscular Anterior Transposition of the Ulnar Nerve for Cubital Tunnel Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials and Observational Studies.

Subcutaneous and submuscular anterior ulnar nerve transposition have been widely used in patients with cubital tunnel syndrome. However, the reliable evidence in favor of 1 of 2 surgical options on clinical improvement remains controversial. To maximize the value of the available literature, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to compare subcutaneous versus submuscular anterior ulnar nerve transposition in patients with ulnar neuropathy at the elbow. PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched for randomized and observational studies that compared subcutaneous transposition with submuscular transposition of ulnar nerve for cubital tunnel syndrome. The primary outcome was clinically relevant improvement in function compared to the baseline. Randomized and observational studies were separately analyzed with relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and 7 observational studies, involving 605 patients, were included. Our meta-analysis suggested that no significant differences in the primary outcomes were observed between comparison groups, both in RCT (RR, 1.16; 95% CI 0.68-1.98; P = 0.60; I2= 81%) and observational studies (RR, 1.01; 95% CI 0.95-1.08; P = 0.69; I2 = 0%). These findings were also consistent with all subgroup analyses for observational studies. In the secondary outcomes, the incidence of adverse events was significantly lower in subcutaneous group than in submuscular group (RR, 0.54; 95% CI 0.33-0.87; P = 0.01; I2 = 0%), whereas subcutaneous transposition failed to reveal more superiority than submuscular transposition in static two-point discrimination (MD, 0.04; 95% CI -0.18-0.25; P = 0.74; I = 0%). The available evidence is not adequately powered to identify the best anterior ulnar nerve transposition technique for cubital tunnel syndrome on the basis of clinical outcomes, that is, suggests that subcutaneous and submuscular anterior transposition might be equally effective in terms of postoperative clinical improvement. However, differences in clinical outcomes metrics should be noted, and these findings largely rely on the outcomes data from observational studies that are potentially subject to a high risk of selection bias. Therefore, more high-quality and adequately powered RCTs with standardized clinical outcomes metrics are necessary for proper comparison of these techniques.

[Study on the Supercontinuum Generation with Femtosecond Pulse in Photonic Crystal Fiber].

Physical mechanism of supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber by femtosecond laser pulse has been investigated experimentally. In this study, we used the tunable output wavelength Ti: sapphire optical parametric amplifier as the pump source and the fiber spectrometer acquired the spectrogram of supercontinuum generation in photonic crystal fiber under different power and wavelength conditions, then we normalized the spectrograms and make a comparison of them. PCF supercontinuum differences affected by physical mechanisms were analyzed. We found that when increasing the incident pump pulse power, the spectral width will be gradually widened, there are more peaks, part of the energy will transfer in to the short-wave- length region; as long as it reaches a certain intensity, width of supercontinuum finally saturated, the shape of supercontinuum was also stabilized. As the incident power was settled at 300 milliwatt and the length of PCF was settled at 105 millimeter, experimental results show that width and shape of supercontinuum are affected by the wavelength of pump pulse, in the range of 760 to 840 nm, there appears more and more peaks with the increase of incident wavelength; at anomalous dispersion the spectrogram of supercontinuum generation will be more flat and more wider as the wavelength of pump pulse closer to zero point.

[Case-control study on suture-assisted locking plate for the treatment of proximal humeral fractures in elderly].

OBJECTIVE: To explore clinical effects of suturing-assisted locking plate in treating elderly proximal humeral fractures. METHODS: From January 2005 to January 2013, 55 elderly patients with three- and four-part fractures of proximal humeral fractures were divided into treatment group and control group. In treatment group, there were 31 patients including 12 males, and 19 females aged from 65 to 85 with an average of (74.00±5.42) years old, and treated with suturing-assisted locking plates; 19 patients were Neer 3-part fractures, and 12 patients were Neer 4-part fractures of proximal humerus; 23 patients were suffered from low-energy injuries and 8 patients were caused by high-energy injuries. In control group, there were 24 patients including 7 males, and 17 females aged from 65 to 85 with an average of (72.79±5.34) years old, and treated with locking plates; 16 patients were Neer 3-part fractures, and 8 patients were Neer 4-part fractures of proximal humerus; 17 patients were suffered from low-energy injuries and 7 patients were caused by high-energy injuries. Operative time, blood loss during operation, and bone healing time between two groups were observed and compared. Postoperative Neer scoring were used to evaluate recovery of shoulder joint function. RESULTS: All patients were followed up from 6 to 24 months with an average of 16.1 months. In treatment group, blood loss was (495.806±143.150) ml, function of Neer scoring was 22.645±2.443, range of action was 18.194±2.613, anatomy was 7.935±1.504 and total score of Neer scoring was 77.161±8.335; while in control group, blood loss was (641.667±169.851) ml, function of Neer scoring was 13.958±1.989, range of action was 13.083±2.165, anatomy was 5.500±1.978 and total score of Neer scoring was 58.792±7.313. There were sigificant difference between two groups in these indexes. CONCLUSION: Suturing-assisted locking plate for the treatment of proximal humerus fractures in elderly, has advantages of less blood loss, simple fracture reduction and rapid recovery of shoulder joint, and is a effective method.