STUDY DESIGN The aim of this study is to test the effect of cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) on enhancing rhBMP-2 induced spinal fusion in a prospective 8-week interventional trial of spinal fusion in rats. OBJECTIVE To determine whether the amount of bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) required to achieve spinal fusion in a pre-clinical model can be reduced by the addition of COMP...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of combination therapy with curcumin and alendronate on spine fusion surgery in ovariectomized rats. METHODS Thirty-two female Sprague-Dawley rats (12 weeks old) underwent bilateral ovariectomy (OVX). Eight weeks after surgery, animals underwent intertransverse spine fusion at L4-5. The rats were randomly distributed ...

BACKGROUND The V2 segment of the vertebral artery is very vulnerable to injury during cervical spine surgery. The incidence of vertebral artery injury during anterior cervical spine procedures is reported to be 0.22-2.77 %. This is partially due to its variable course while running in the transverse foramens of the cervical vertebrae. CASE PRESENTATION The course of the vertebral artery in th...

BACKGROUND CONTEXT Conditions requiring posterior lumbar spinal fusion remain a clinical challenge. Achieving arthrodesis using autogenous bone graft is inconsistent when rigid internal fixation such as transpedicular instrumentation is applied. Synthetic materials, particularly calcium phosphate-based ceramics, have shown promise for spine fusion applications, especially when combined with aut...

STUDY DESIGN In vivo assessment of lumbar spinal fusion between a younger and older cohort of New Zealand white rabbits. OBJECTIVE Directly compare fusion within young and aged New Zealand white rabbits to establish an aged spinal fusion model translational research. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Prior studies have utilized skeletally mature young rabbits (6-12 mo old) that may not be appropri...

Introduction. Osteoinductive growth factors, such as bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), are known to stimulate osteoblast differentiation and synthetic activity. The soluble osteoinductive growth factor requires a less soluble carrier for expression of its biologic potency. We have reported the efficacy of the sintered bovine bone named True Bone Ceramics (TBC) coated with type I collagen as a...

STUDY DESIGN A prospective randomized and blinded comparative study of 2 patient groups with >5-year follow-up. OBJECTIVE To compare the clinical outcomes and postoperative posterior muscle changes in patients with advanced degenerative disk disease undergoing 2-level circumferential spinal fusion using a posterior midline versus a paraspinal approach. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Lumbar spin...

BACKGROUND Bioactive glass-ceramics have the ability to directly bind to bones and have been widely used as bone graft substitutes due to their high osteoconductivity and biocompatibility. CaO-SiO2-P2O5-B2O3 glass-ceramics are known to have good osteoconductivity and are used as bone graft extenders. METHODS This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the resorbing properties of glass-ceramic...