Progression of scoliosis after spinal fusion in Duchenne's muscular dystrophy.
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A consecutive series of 85 patients with Duchenne's muscular dystrophy who underwent spinal fusion over a period of 16 years was followed up with regard to the progression of the scoliosis and pelvic obliquity. Of 74 patients with adequate radiographic follow-up, 55 were instrumented with the Luque single-unit rod system and 19 with the Isola pedicle screw system; seven were instrumented to L3/4, 42 to L5, 15 to S1 and 10 to the pelvis with intrailiac rods. The mean period of follow-up was 49 months (SD 22) before and 47 months (SD 24) after operation. There was one peri-operative death and three cases of failure of hardware. The mean improvement in the Cobb angle was 26 degrees and in pelvic obliquity, 9.2 degrees. Fusion to L3/4 achieved a poorer correction of both curves while intrapelvic rods, achieved and maintained the best correction of pelvic obliquity. Fusion to S1 did not provide any benefit over more proximal fusion excluding the sacrum, with regard to correction and maintenance of both angles. The Isola system appeared to provide and maintain a slightly better correction of the Cobb angle. (+info)
Comparative anatomical study on the relationships between the vestigial pelvic bones and the surrounding structures of finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides).
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Morphology of the modern cetaceans represents the results of adaptation of the ancestral terrestrial mammals to aquatic life through their evolutional processes. Some of the primitive fossil cetaceans are known to have both fore and hind limbs, whereas the pelvic bones of modern cetaceans are, in general, a pair of slender rod-like structures within the abdominal wall muscles just anterior to the anus with no articulations to the axial skeleton in both sexes. It is interesting and important to consider the causes and processes of how the hind limbs were lost and how the pelvis was reduced during the process of adaptation. In the present study, we tried to evaluate the topography and function of rudimentary pelvic bones of the finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides), one of the members of the odontocete cetaceans, with special references to the structures around the pelvic bones. Some soft tissues such as M. ischiocavernosus relating to the pelvic bone are transformed following the drastic reduction of the pelvis. This transformation tells us that the cetaceans adapted to the aquatic life during evolutional processes chose the tail flukes driven by the powerful trunk muscles for locomotion, instead of modifying the hind limbs into hind flippers as seen in pinnipeds. On the other hand, it is evident that a function of the pelvic bones of the male finless porpoise was supporting the penis as those of terrestrial mammals. It is noteworthy that the morphological features of the ancestral terrestrial mammals can be traced when they are carefully compared with those of the finless porpoise. (+info)
Reducing bladder artifacts in clinical pelvic SPECT images.
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SPECT imaging of the pelvis is hampered by the presence of bladder artifacts, which render up to 20% of the images unreadable. The artifacts are caused by the high level of activity in the bladder and by the change in activity level as the bladder fills during data acquisition. The changing activity, together with the inhomogeneous attenuation of the pelvis, leads to inconsistencies in the projections and consequently artifacts when the data are reconstructed with filtered backprojection (FBP). dSPECT is an iterative algorithm that permits the reconstruction of dynamic SPECT images from a single, slow-rotation SPECT data acquisition. The reconstruction algorithm incorporates attenuation correction (AC) and changing tracer distributions and has been shown to reduce bladder artifacts in simulated data. In this study, we showed that dSPECT is effective at removing bladder artifacts from clinically acquired pelvic bone SPECT images. METHODS: Data from 20 patient volunteers were reconstructed using FBP, rescaled block-iterative reconstruction (RBI) without AC, RBI with AC, and dSPECT. AC was based on patient-specific attenuation maps acquired with a (153)Gd scanning line-source transmission system. For dSPECT, 16 time frames (4 projections/head/frame) were reconstructed and then summed to produce the final image. Artifact-to-bone contrast was compared, and image quality was subjectively assessed. RESULTS: Compared with FBP, RBI without AC significantly reduced (P = 0.008) the streak artifact. Both dSPECT and RBI with AC further significantly reduced (P < 0.001) the streak artifact and also improved the uniformity and symmetry of bone tracer-uptake. RBI with AC and dSPECT produced equivalent images if the change in bladder activity during acquisition was modest; however, with large changes in the activity (>100%), RBI with AC did not completely remove the artifact. In that situation, dSPECT produced additional reductions in streak-to-bone contrast. CONCLUSION: Of the methods considered, dSPECT is the most effective at removing bladder artifacts in clinical pelvic SPECT. (+info)
Archosaurian respiration and the pelvic girdle aspiration breathing of crocodyliforms.
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Birds and crocodylians, the only living archosaurs, are generally believed to employ pelvic girdle movements as a component of their respiratory mechanism. This in turn provides a phylogenetic basis for inferring that extinct archosaurs, including dinosaurs, also used pelvic girdle breathing. I examined lung ventilation through cineradiography (high-speed X-ray filming) and observed that alligators indeed rotate the pubis to increase tidal volume, but did not observe pelvic girdle movement contributing to lung ventilation in guinea fowl, emus or tinamous, despite extensive soft-tissue motion. Re-examination of fossil archosaurs reveals that pubic rotation evolved in basal crocodyliforms and that pelvic girdle breathing is not a general archosaurian mechanism. The appearance of pelvic aspiration in crocodyliforms is a striking example of the ability of amniotes to increase gas exchange or circumvent constraints on respiration through the evolution of novel accessory breathing mechanisms. (+info)
Development of the pelvis and posterior part of the vertebral column in the Anura.
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The anuran pelvic girdle is unique among all amphibians in that its acetabular portion is located far posterior to the sacrum, lateral to the postsacral (= caudal) vertebral column, which is reduced to a single rod-like element called the urostyle. This situation in the adult is strikingly different not only from that in ancestral temnospondyls but also in other modern amphibians. Because there is no fossil that would document this evolutionary anatomical modification except for Triadobatrachus, the only data may be inferred from development in modern anurans. We chose seven anuran species (belonging to the genera Discoglossus, Bombina, Pelobates, Bufo, Rana and Xenopus), representing the principal locomotory types (saltation, swimming, crawling and burrowing). Development of the pelvic girdle was studied on cleared and stained whole mounts and partly on serial histological sections. The basic developmental pattern was similar in all species: the pelvis on both sides develops from two centres (puboischiadic and iliac, respectively). The ilium then extends vertically towards the sacral vertebra and later rotates posteriorly so that ultimately the acetabulum is lateral to the tail (= urostyle). Only minor deviations from this pattern were found, mainly associated with differences in water and terrestrial dwelling. (+info)
One year soy protein supplementation has positive effects on bone formation markers but not bone density in postmenopausal women.
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BACKGROUND: Although soy protein and its isoflavones have been reported to reduce the risk of osteoporosis in peri- and post-menopausal women, most of these studies are of short duration (i.e. six months). The objective of this study was to examine if one year consumption of soy-containing foods (providing 25 g protein and 60 mg isoflavones) exerts beneficial effects on bone in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Eighty-seven eligible postmenopausal women were randomly assigned to consume soy or control foods daily for one year. Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) of the whole body, lumbar (L1-L4), and total hip were measured using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry at baseline and after one year. Blood and urine markers of bone metabolism were also assessed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Sixty-two subjects completed the one-year long study. Whole body and lumbar BMD and BMC were significantly decreased in both the soy and control groups. However, there were no significant changes in total hip BMD and BMC irrespective of treatment. Both treatments positively affected markers of bone formation as indicated by increased serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BSAP) activity, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), and osteocalcin (BSAP: 27.8 and 25.8%, IGF-I: 12.8 and 26.3%, osteocalcin: 95.2 and 103.4% for control and soy groups, respectively). Neither of the protein supplements had any effect on urinary deoxypyridinoline excretion, a marker of bone resorption. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that although one year supplementation of 25 g protein per se positively modulated markers of bone formation, this amount of protein was unable to prevent lumbar and whole body bone loss in postmenopausal women. (+info)
Use of activated recombinant coagulation factor VII in patients undergoing reconstruction surgery for traumatic fracture of pelvis or pelvis and acetabulum: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial.
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BACKGROUND: Activated recombinant coagulation factor VII (rFVIIa) effectively prevents and controls bleeding in patients with coagulopathy. Data show that rFVIIa may reduce blood loss and eliminate the need for transfusion in patients with normal haemostasis undergoing major surgery. We assessed the efficacy of rFVIIa in patients with normal haemostasis undergoing repair surgery of major traumatic fracture of the pelvis or the pelvis and acetabulum, who were expected to have a large volume of blood loss. METHODS: We performed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial involving 48 patients undergoing major pelvic-acetabular surgery. Patients were randomized to receive an i.v. bolus injection of rFVIIa 90 microg kg(-1) or placebo as add-on therapy at the time of the first skin incision. All patients also received intraoperative salvaged red blood cells (RBC). RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the total volume of perioperative blood loss, the primary outcome variable, between the rFVIIa and placebo groups. In addition, there were no differences between the two groups in the total volume of blood components, including salvaged RBC transfused, number of patients requiring allogeneic blood components, total volume of fluids infused, total operating time, time taken after entry to the intensive care unit to reach normal body temperature and acid-base status, and time spent in hospital. No adverse events, in particular thromboembolic events, were reported in either group. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with normal haemostasis undergoing repair surgery of traumatic pelvic-acetabular fracture, the prophylactic use of rFVIIa does not decrease the volume of perioperative blood loss. (+info)
Thromboprophylaxis in pelvic and acetabular trauma surgery. The role of early treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin.
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We prospectively studied the outcome of a protocol of prophylaxis for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in 103 consecutive patients undergoing surgical stabilisation of pelvic and acetabular fractures. Low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) was administered within 24 hours of injury or on achieving haemodynamic stability. Patients were screened for proximal DVT by duplex ultrasonography performed ten to 14 days after surgery. The incidence of proximal DVT was 10% and of pulmonary embolus 5%. Proximal DVT developed in two of 64 patients (3%) who had received LMWH within 24 hours of injury, but in eight of 36 patients (22%) who received LMWH more than 24 hours after the injury (p < 0.01). We conclude that LMWH, when begun without delay, is a safe and effective method of thromboprophylaxis in high-risk patients with major pelvic or acetabular fractures. (+info)