Monday, 22 October 2018  |
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Research that highlights a worrying trend between cycling and spinal trauma has recently been published in The Surgeon. Although the authors of the paper, Mark Broe (Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland) and colleagues, state that, “It is not the intention of the authors to deter participants from engaging in this sport”, the data presented convey evidence of the potential for high velocity trauma and associated major injuries.
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Rates of survival are higher, and respiratory intervention rates are lower, in 25 infants with presymptomatic 5q spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) treated with Spinraza (nusinersen). Biogen announced these new interim results from their NURTURE trial; an ongoing, open-label, efficacy and safety phase 2 study of Spinraza in presymptomatic infants with SMA. The data were presented in a late-breaking session at the annual World Muscle Society congress (2–6 October, Mendoza, Argentina).
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Outcomes following surgery for spinal stenosis present great variability, suggesting that patient selection could be improved. Anne Mannion (Senior Research Fellow, Spine Centre, Schulthess Klinik, Zürich, Switzerland) tells Spinal News International about a study that set out to evaluate, in a comprehensive multivariable model, the baseline characteristics that distinguish patients with an indication for surgery from those with no such indication. The data were extracted from the database of the Lumbar Spinal Stenosis Outcomes Study (LSOS).
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John Kostuik (Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, John Hopikins Medicine, Baltimore, USA) gave a talk at the NSpine 2017 meeting on the history of spinal deformity, detailing clincal practices harking back to ancient India, and following the course of spinal surgery up to the present day. He begins his talk with a quote from abdominal surgeon Theodor Billroth (1829–1894): "Only the man who is familiar with the art and science of the past is competent to aid in its progress in the future."
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NuVasive have announced it has entered into a strategic partnership with Biedermann Technologies, a company that holds a broad and extensive patent and technology portfolio in the fields of spinal and extremity surgery, based in Donaueschingen, Germany. Biedermann Technologies works within many medical device industries and holds one of the most comprehensive patent portfolios in the field of spinal surgery.
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Medtronic has announced the US launch of the Infinity Occipitocervical-Upper Thoracic (OCT) System designed to simplify posterior cervical spine surgery. A company press release describes the Infinity OCT System as a procedural solution that integrates navigation and biologics with Medtronic’s existing devices and instrumentation for fusion procedure workflows for the upper back and neck.
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TETRAfuse 3D technology (RTI Surgical) won a 2018 spine technology award from Orthopedics This Week. RTI Surgical accepted the award at the North American Spine Society’s (NASS) 33rd annual meeting (26–29 September, Los Angeles, USA). TETRAfuse 3D technology is a 3D printed polymer-based interbody fusion device material with a nano-rough surface.
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