INTRODUCTION Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) cement is useful for spinal reconstruction, but can cause complications including new vertebral fractures, neurological disorders and pulmonary embolism. We report a case in PMMA cement used for spinal reconstruction after tumor curettage dislodged and penetrated the gastrointestinal tract. DIAGNOSES The patient was diagnosed with a retroperitoneal e...

Vertebral fractures are a common clinical entity, caused by trauma or related to osteoporosis (benign). Their recognition is especially important in the post-menopausal female population but also important is their differentiation from pathological (malignant) fractures (1). A vertebral fracture is evidenced by vertebral body deformity or reduction in vertebral body height beyond a certain thre...

BACKGROUND We ascertained the safety and efficacy of fluoride in augmenting spinal bone mass and reducing spinal fractures in older women with established osteoporosis. We compared a combination of sustained-release sodium fluoride, calcium citrate, and cholecalciferol (SR-NaF group) with calcium and cholecalciferol alone (control group). METHODS Eighty-five ambulatory women aged 65 years or ...

BACKGROUND Vertebroplasty is an effective treatment for osteoporotic vertebral fractures, which are one of the most common fractures associated with osteoporosis. However, clinical observation has shown that the risk of adjacent vertebral body fractures may increase after vertebroplasty. The mechanism underlying adjacent vertebral body fracture after vertebroplasty is not clear; excessive stiff...

Trabecular bone (TB) consists of a network of interconnected struts and plates occurring near the joints of long bones and in the axial skeleton. In response to mechanical stresses it remodels such that trabeculae are aligned with the major stress lines, thus leading to a highly anisotropic network. Beside bone volume fraction, anisotropy and topological indices are known to be strong predictor...

During the use of glucocorticoids (GCs), both vertebral and nonvertebral fracture risk are increased, due to the direct and indirect negative effects of GCs on bone, muscles, and the activity of the underlying inflammatory diseases. Inhibition of bone formation and increased apoptosis of osteocytes play a consistent and crucial role in the pathogenesis of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GI...

PURPOSE Vertebral compression fractures are the most common fractures in the elderly. Long lasting pain and deformity is responsible for consecutive impairment with markedly reduced life quality, increased morbidity and mortality. The beneficial effects of balloon kyphoplasty are verified in many studies. Subsequent fracture risk is not finally clarified, cement related risks and deformity rela...

The spread of carcinoma to the vertebral bodies has been studied by the long vertebral slice technique. Vertebral secondaries were found in one third of all patients with carcinoma, and in almost one half of those dying with distant metastases. Haematogenous dissemination and direct lymphatic spread both appeared to produce vertebral metastases. Radiology and less effective investigation of the...

A 7-year-old cat was referred with pelvic limb ataxia. Radiography and CT revealed bone resorption of the L1 vertebral arch, and myelography identified a compressive extradural lesion. The mass was surgically removed and histopathologically diagnosed as giant cell osteosarcoma. Three years later, the recurrent tumor resection and vertebral fixation were performed. Six months later, vertebrectom...

The pathogenesis of squaring of the vertebral bodies is analysed in a 25 year old patient with ankylosing spondylitis. The squaring derives from a straightening of the anterior contour. The disease was diagnosed five years before the patient's death. The remodelling of bone that explains squaring of the vertebral bodies is described for the first time. Histologically, an acute and chronic spond...