Bionate® nucleus disc replacement: bench testing comparing two different designs.

BACKGROUND: Intervertebral disc nucleus degeneration initiates a degenerative cascade and can induce chronic low back pain. Nucleus replacement aims to replace the nucleus while the annulus is still intact. Over time, several designs have been introduced, but the definitive solution continues to be elusive. Therefore, we aimed to create a new nucleus replacement that replicates intact intervertebral disc biomechanics, and thus has the potential for clinical applications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two implants with an outer ring and one (D2) with an additional midline strut were compared. Static and fatigue tests were performed with an INSTRON 8874 following the American Society for Testing and Materials F2267-04, F2346-05, 2077-03, D2990-01, and WK4863. Implant stiffness was analyzed at 0-300 N, 500-2000 N, and 2000-6000 N and implant compression at 300 N, 1000 N, 2000 N, and 6000 N. Wear tests were performed following ISO 18192-1:2008 and 18192-2:2010. GNU Octave software was used to calculate movement angles and parameters. The statistical analysis package R was used with the Deducer user interface. Statistically significant differences between the two designs were analyzed with ANOVA, followed by a post hoc analysis. RESULTS: D1 had better behavior in unconfined compression tests, while D2 showed a "jump." D2 deformed 1 mm more than D1. Sterilized implants were more rigid and deformed less. Both designs showed similar behavior under confined compression and when adding shear. A silicone annulus minimized differences between the designs. Wear under compression fatigue was negligible for D1 but permanent for D2. D1 suffered permanent height deformation but kept its width. D2 suffered less height loss than D1 but underwent a permanent width deformation. Both designs showed excellent responses to compression fatigue with no breaks, cracks, or delamination. At 10 million cycles, D2 showed 3-times higher wear than D1. D1 had better and more homogeneous behavior, and its wear was relatively low. It showed good mechanical endurance under dynamic loading conditions, with excellent response to axial compression fatigue loading without functional failure after long-term testing. CONCLUSION: D1 performed better than D2. Further studies in cadaveric specimens, and eventually in a clinical setting, are recommended. Level of evidence 2c.

Finite Element Analysis of a Bionate Ring-Shaped Customized Lumbar Disc Nucleus Prosthesis.

Study design: Biomechanical study of a nucleus replacement with a finite element model. Objective: To validate a Bionate 80A ring-shaped nucleus replacement. Methods: The ANSYS lumbar spine model made from lumbar spine X-rays and magnetic resonance images obtained from cadaveric spine specimens were used. All materials were assumed homogeneous, isotropic, and linearly elastic. We studied three options: intact spine, nucleotomy, and nucleus implant. Two loading conditions were evaluated at L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 discs: a 1000 N axial compression load and this load after the addition of 8 Nm flexion moment in the sagittal plane plus 8 Nm axial rotation torque. Results: Maximum nucleus implant axial compression stresses in the range of 16-34 MPa and tensile stress in the range of 5-16 MPa, below Bionate 80A resistance were obtained. Therefore, there is little risk of permanent implant deformation or severe damage under normal loading conditions. Nucleotomy increased segment mobility, zygapophyseal joint and end plate pressures, and annulus stresses and strains. All these parameters were restored satisfactorily by nucleus replacement but never reached the intact status. In addition, annulus stresses and strains were lower with the nucleus implant than in the intact spine under axial compression and higher under complex loading conditions. Conclusions: Under normal loading conditions, there is a negligible risk of nucleus replacement, permanent deformation or severe damage. Nucleotomy increased segmental mobility, zygapophyseal joint pressures, and annulus stresses and strains. Nucleus replacement restored segmental mobility and zygapophyseal joint pressures close to the intact spine. End plate pressures were similar for the intact and nucleus implant conditions under both loading modes. Manufacturing customized nucleus implants is considered feasible, as satisfactory biomechanical performance is confirmed.

Bionate Lumbar Disc Nucleus Prosthesis: Biomechanical Studies in Cadaveric Human Spines.

DESIGN: cadaveric spine nucleus replacement study. OBJECTIVE: determining Bionate 80A nucleus replacement biomechanics in cadaveric spines. METHODS: in cold preserved spines, with ligaments and discs intact, and no muscles, L3-L4, L4-L5, and L5-S1 nucleus implantation was done. Differences between customized and overdimensioned implants were compared. Flexion, extension, lateral bending, and torsion were measured in the intact spine, nucleotomy, and nucleus implantation specimens. Increasing load or bending moment was applied four times at 2, 4, 6, and 8 Nm, twice in increasing mode and twice in decreasing mode. Spine motion was recorded using stereophotogrammetry. Expulsion tests: cyclic compression of 50-550 N for 50,000 cycles, increasing the load until there was extreme flexion, implant extrusion, or anatomical structure collapse. Subsidence tests were done by increasing the compression to 6000 N load. RESULTS: nucleotomy increased the disc mobility, which remained unchanged for the adjacent upper level but increased for the lower adjacent one, particularly in lateral bending and torsion. Nucleus implantation, compared to nucleotomy, reduced disc mobility except in flexion-extension and torsion, but intact mobility was no longer recovered, with no effect on upper or lower adjacent segments. The overdimensioned implant, compared to the customized implant, provided equal or sometimes higher mobility. Lamina, facet joint, and annulus removal during nucleotomy caused more damaged than that restored by nucleus implantation. No implant extrusion was observed under compression loads of 925-1068 N as anatomical structures collapsed before. No subsidence or vertebral body fractures were observed under compression loads of 6697.8-6812.3 N. CONCLUSIONS: nucleotomized disc and L1-S1 mobility increased moderately after cadaveric spine nucleus implantation compared to the intact status, partly due to operative anatomical damage. Our implant had shallow expulsion and subsidence risks.

Distribution Patterns of Invasive Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) in Mexico Estimated with Climate Niche Models under the Current and Future Climate.

In Mexico, buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) was introduced in the middle of the 20th century. Currently, buffelgrass has become an invasive species and has colonized various ecosystems in the country. In addition to its invasive capacity, climate change is a factor that has to be taken into account when considering how to effectively manage and control this species. The climatic niche models (CNM) and their projections for climate change scenarios allow for estimating the extent of biological invasions. Our study aimed to calibrate a CNM for buffelgrass in Mexico under the current climatic conditions and to project the extent of its biological invasion under climate change scenarios. For that, we used MaxEnt to generate the current CNM and to detect if climate change could cause future changes, we then evaluated the distribution patterns over the periods of 2041-2060, 2061-2080, and 2081-2100 for all the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). Linear regressions were used to compare the outputs between current and future scenarios. Under the current climate, the CNM estimated that 42.2% of the continental surface of Mexico is highly suitable for buffelgrass. The regression analyses indicated no effects from climate change on the distribution of buffelgrass. Moreover, when the projected period is further in the future, and when the SSPs intensify, the surface of suitable areas for the species increases. These analyses clearly suggest Mexico is facing a biological invasion from buffelgrass, which may represent a threat to native biodiversity.

Health-related quality of life in patients undergoing lumbar total disc replacement: A comparison with the general population.

OBJECTIVES: In up to half of the cases, low back pain (LBP) is thought to be related to a degeneration of the lumbar disc. Lumbar total disc replacement (LTDR) emerged as an alternative to fusion, but its use and indications are still subject to debate. The purpose of this paper was to compare Health-related Quality of life (HRQOL) in patients undergoing LTDR for one or two-level degenerative disc disease (DDD) with the paired age and gender general population values and to assess functional disability and residual pain at one year after the surgical procedure. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A series of 51 patients operated on for a one or two level DDD, were evaluated at one year after the surgical procedure. HRQOL was compared to that of paired age and gender general population using the EQ-5D-5L questionnaire. Disability, back (BP) and leg pain (LP) were compared to the preoperative values. RESULTS: ODI showed a mean improvement of 31.78 (p<0.001, 95% CI 27.39-36.17), BP-VAS of 5.29/10 (95% CI 4.56-6.02), LP-VAS of 4.03/10 (95% CI 3.15-4.92) at one year compared to the preoperative assessment. HRQOL had similar values to the general population in 32 patients and inferior in 19 patients. "Pain" was the HRQOL dimension in which most of the patients had inferior results compared to data from the general population. Patients with previous spinal surgery had lower improvements in HRQOL index, disability, and pain than those without previous surgery. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the majority of patients improved their HQOL to values similar to those of the general population. Disability and pain are significantly reduced compared to preoperative evaluations. Larger scale studies are needed to identify the best candidates for LTDR.