Peripheral nerve injury by chymopapain injection

1984 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan E. Mackinnon ◽  
Alan R. Hudson ◽  
Faustino Llamas ◽  
A. Lee Dellon ◽  
David G. Kline ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Peripheral Nerve ◽  
Nerve Fiber ◽  
Peripheral Nerve Injury ◽  
Neurotoxic Effect ◽  
Disc Disease ◽  
Intervertebral Disc Space ◽  
Disc Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fiber Damage ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Chymopapain injected into the intervertebral disc space (chemonucleolysis) has been used clinically in patients with disc disease with success. Neurosurgical complications secondary to the procedure have, however, been reported. In this study, the authors have investigated the possible neurotoxic effect of chymopapain on the peripheral nerve in rat and primate models. While the extrafascicular injection caused no nerve fiber damage, the intrafascicular injection caused dose-related nerve fiber damage in both species.

Intervertebral disc space cyst simulating a recurrent herniated nucleus pulposus

1988 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan C. Grabel ◽  
Raphael Davis ◽  
Rosario Zappulla
Keyword(s):  
Intervertebral Disc ◽  
Preoperative Diagnosis ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Radicular Pain ◽  
Lumbar Region ◽  
Intervertebral Disc Space ◽  
Disc Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Herniated Nucleus Pulposus ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The case presented is of a patient with an intervertebral disc space cyst producing recurrent radicular pain following microdiscectomy in the lumbar region. Difficulties with the preoperative diagnosis of this and other recurrent radicular syndromes are discussed, and a review of the relevant literature is presented.

Chymopapain treatment of intervertebral disc disease

1975 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-383 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clark Watts ◽  
Robert Knighton ◽  
George Roulhac
Keyword(s):  
Intervertebral Disc ◽  
Proteolytic Enzyme ◽  
Intervertebral Disc Disease ◽  
Disc Disease ◽  
Disc Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disc Material ◽  
Capillary Endothelial Cells ◽  
Fine Print ◽  
Rapid Conversion

✓ In the first of a two-part study, the authors review the known biochemical, pharmacological, toxicological, and experimental data concerning chymopapain and the intervertebral disc. They describe the action of this proteolytic enzyme, which apparently disrupts the protein mucopolysaccharide component of disc material, most marked in the nucleus pulposus. A rapid conversion to collagen causes a loss of disc space height; toxicity appears to result from alteration of bonding between capillary endothelial cells that in turn produces hemorrhage. Part 2 reviews significant reported results and complications of clinical chemonucleolysis.

Intervertebral bone implants following excision of protruded lumbar discs

1975 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 401-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lee A. Christoferson ◽  
Bradford Selland
Keyword(s):  
Conservative Treatment ◽  
Intervertebral Disc ◽  
Lumbar Disc ◽  
Leg Pain ◽  
Intervertebral Disc Space ◽  
Disc Space ◽  
Disc Protrusion ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Back Surgery ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The authors describe a technique whereby a portion of the lamina removed during exposure of an intervertebral lumbar disc protrusion is implanted in the intervertebral disc space following disc excision. An analysis of 456 consecutive cases operated on by this technique and followed from 1 to 10 years is presented. Of the 418 patients followed, 92% indicated they were able to return to their normal activities and were satisfied with the result. Thirty percent of the patients indicated they had required some conservative treatment for recurrent episodes of back or leg pain. Ten patients had subsequent back surgery; only one implant has dislocated.

Thermographic imaging of cutaneous sensory segment in patients with peripheral nerve injury

1985 ◽  
Vol 62 (5) ◽  
pp. 716-720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sumio Uematsu
Keyword(s):  
Peripheral Nerve ◽  
Skin Temperature ◽  
Nerve Injury ◽  
Peripheral Nerve Injury ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Subjective Assessment ◽  
The Body ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Thermographic Imaging ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Sensory examination based on the patient's subjective assessment of symptoms may raise difficult questions about whether the individual's expressed complaint is based on organic nerve damage, psychogenic factors, or even malingering. A prototype computerized telethermograph has allowed clinical quantification of peripheral nerve injury. The system makes possible mapping and imaging of the damaged area, as well as skin temperature measurements. In normal persons, the skin temperature difference between sides of the body was only 0.24° ± 0.073°C. In contrast, in patients with peripheral nerve injury, the temperature of the skin innervated by the damaged nerve deviated an average of 1.55°C (p < 0.001). The new technique requires further refinement, but it appears that use of this method may be cost-effective in helping to resolve medicolegal conflicts concerning peripheral nerve injury.

Convection-enhanced delivery in intact and lesioned peripheral nerve

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (6) ◽  
pp. 1001-1011 ◽  
Author(s):  
John K. Ratliff ◽  
Edward H. Oldfield
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Peripheral Nerve ◽  
Nerve Regeneration ◽  
Nerve Injury ◽  
Peripheral Nerve Injury ◽  
Extracellular Space ◽  
Clinical Applications ◽  
Convection Enhanced Delivery ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fine Print

Object. Although the use of multiple agents is efficacious in animal models of peripheral nerve injury, translation to clinical applications remains wanting. Previous agents used in trials in humans either engendered severe side effects or were ineffective. Because the blood—central nervous system barrier exists in nerves as it does in the brain, limited drug delivery poses a problem for translation of basic science advances into clinical applications. Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) is a promising adjunct to current therapies for peripheral nerve injury. In the present study the authors assessed the capacity of convection to ferry macromolecules across sites of nerve injury in rat and primate models, examined the functional effects of convection on the intact nerve, and investigated the possibility of delivering a macromolecule to the spinal cord via retrograde convection from a peripherally introduced catheter. Methods. The authors developed a rodent model of convective delivery to lesioned sciatic nerves (injury due to crush or laceration in 76 nerves) and compared the results to a smaller series of five primates with similar injuries. In the intact nerve, convective delivery of vehicle generated only a transient neurapraxic deficit. Early after injury (postinjury Days 1, 3, 7, and 10), infusion failed to cross the site of injury in crushed or lacerated nerves. Fourteen days after crush injury, CED of radioactively-labeled albumin resulted in perfusion through the site of injury to distal growing neurites. In primates, successful convection through the site of crush injury occurred by postinjury Day 28. In contrast, in laceration models there was complete occlusion of the extracellular space to convective distribution at the site of laceration and repair, and convective distribution in the extracellular space crossed the site of injury only after there was histological evidence of completion of nerve regeneration. Finally, in two primates, retrograde infusion into the spinal cord through a peripheral nerve was achieved. Conclusions. Convection provides a safe and effective means to deliver macromolecules to regenerating neurites in crush-injured peripheral nerves. Convection block in lacerated and suture-repaired nerves indicates a significant intraneural obstruction of the extracellular space, a disruption that suggests an anatomical obstruction to extracellular and, possibly, intraaxonal flow, which may impair nerve regeneration. Through peripheral retrograde infusion, convection can be used for delivery to spinal cord gray matter. Convection-enhanced delivery provides a promising approach to distribute therapeutic agents to targeted sites for treatment of disorders of the nerve and spinal cord.

Cervicothoracic radiculopathy treated using posterior cervical foraminotomy/discectomy

2003 ◽  
Vol 98 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
James S. Harrop ◽  
Marco T. Silva ◽  
Ashwini D. Sharan ◽  
Steven J. Dante ◽  
Frederick A. Simeone
Keyword(s):  
Morbidity Rate ◽  
Symptom Duration ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Disc Disease ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Included Patient ◽  
Posterior Cervical Foraminotomy ◽  
Disc Herniations ◽  
Fine Print

Object. The authors conducted a study to identify the effectiveness and morbidity rate associated with treating cervicothoracic disc disease (radiculopathy) via a posterior approach. Methods. Nineteen patients underwent posterior cervicothoracic laminoforaminotomy during a 5.6-year period. Medical records, imaging studies, office charts, hospital records, and phone interview data were reviewed. Specific information analyzed included patient demographics, side of lesion, and conservative treatment, symptoms, and pre- and postoperative pain levels. Pain was rated using a visual analog scale and classified into a radicular and neck component. Data in 19 patients (seven women and 12 men) who underwent 20 procedures (one patient underwent separate bilateral foraminotomies) were analyzed. The mean patient age was 54.8 years (range 38–73 years), and the follow-up period ranged from 23 to 62 months. Symptom duration ranged from 1 to 14 months (mean 3.4 months) and consisted of weakness, numbness, and painful radiculopathies in 11, 16, and 20 cases, respectively. Motor weakness was identified in 11 of 19 patients (mean grade of 4.35), and postoperatively strength normalized in eight of 11 (mean grade of 4.79). The improvement in motor scores was significant (p = 0.007). Pain was the most common presenting symptom. Preoperative radiculopathies were rated between 0 and 10 (mean 7.45), and postoperatively scores were reduced to 0 to 3 (mean 0.2) which was significant (p < 0.0001). Preoperative neck pain was rated between 0 and 8 (mean 2.55), and on follow up ranged from 0 to 2 (mean 0.5), which was also significant (p = 0.001). Conclusions. Posterior cervicothoracic foraminotomy was a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of patients with laterally located disc herniations.

Treatment of protruded lumbar intervertebral discs with chymopapain (Discase)

1973 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-208 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight Parkinson ◽  
Christopher Shields
Keyword(s):  
Intervertebral Disc ◽  
Drug Administration ◽  
Food And Drug Administration ◽  
Intervertebral Discs ◽  
Intervertebral Disc Disease ◽  
Disc Disease ◽  
Chemical Action ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fine Print

✓ Thirty-three intervertebral disc patients who otherwise would have been subjected to surgery were treated by injection with chymopapain. The pharmacology, toxicology, physiology, immunology, and chemical action of this enzyme, which specifically reacts with chondromucoproteins, are discussed. Results indicate that this method, although still experimental and unapproved by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration, may become a useful addition to the surgeon's armamentarium in the treatment of intervertebral disc disease.

Posterolateral microdiscectomy for cervical monoradiculopathy caused by posterolateral soft cervical disc sequestration

1990 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 370-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francois Aldrich
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Approach ◽  
Posterior Longitudinal Ligament ◽  
Clinical Results ◽  
Skin Incision ◽  
Posterolateral Approach ◽  
Cervical Disc ◽  
Attractive Alternative ◽  
Disc Space ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fine Print

✓ The controversy over whether to use a posterior or anterior approach for surgical treatment of soft cervical discs is still largely unsettled. However, although the posterior approach may be underutilized, it has distinct advantages when there are specific indications. Out of a large pool of cases, 53 patients presented with acute monoradiculopathy caused by soft cervical disc herniation. In 36 of these, the disc was sequestered (nonconfined) and was posterolateral to the disc space as seen on computerized tomography-myelography. Distinct motor weakness was a common clinical finding in all 36 cases. These patients were treated by using a 2- to 3-cm skin incision for the posterolateral microsurgical approach. The extent of the lateral facetectomy depended upon the relationship between the nerve root and the disc. All fragments were lateral to the dural sac and were sequestered through the anulus fibrosus and the posterior longitudinal ligament. Sequestrations were removed under direct microscopic vision, but the disc space was not entered. Pain relief and motor-power improvement in the affected radicular distribution were immediate in all patients. Sensory deficit and residual motor loss improved dramatically with normalization at approximately 6 months. No complications occurred and the mean hospital stay was 2 days. The follow-up period varied from 4 to 42 months with a mean of 26 months. Thus far, there have been no recurrences or other associated complications. By using strict selection criteria and a microsurgical posterolateral approach with removal of the sequestered disc fragment, excellent results with normalization of the monoradiculopathy can be obtained. The ease of this technique, low risk, minimal complications, and excellent results make it an attractive alternative to the anterior approach. The clinical presentations, specific indications, surgical technique, and clinical results are discussed; and a prototype of a small cervical self-retaining retractor is described.

Vibration exposure and peripheral nerve fiber damage

1990 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 346-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran Lundborg ◽  
Lars B. Dahlin ◽  
Hans-Arne Hansson ◽  
Martin Kanje ◽  
Lars-Eric Necking
Keyword(s):  
Peripheral Nerve ◽  
Nerve Fiber ◽  
Vibration Exposure ◽  
Fiber Damage ◽  
Peripheral Nerve Fiber

Magnetic resonance imaging evaluation of adjacent segments after disc arthroplasty

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 342-347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris J. Neal ◽  
Michael K. Rosner ◽  
Timothy R. Kuklo
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Mr Imaging ◽  
Disc Replacement ◽  
Disc Space ◽  
Disc Arthroplasty ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Motion Segment ◽  
Adjacent Segments ◽  
Weighted Sequences ◽  
Fine Print

Object. Disc arthroplasty in the lumbar spine is an alternative to fusion when treating discogenic pain. Its theoretical benefits include preservation of the motion segment and the potential prevention of adjacent-segment degeneration. Despite the need to evaluate the benefit of preserving the adjacent segments after disc replacement, no study has been conducted to assess the ability of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to depict the adjacent segments in patients who have undergone disc replacement surgery. Methods. Postoperative lumbar MR images were obtained in the first 10 patients in whom a metal-on-metal disc arthroplasty system was used to treat the L4–5 or L5—S1 levels. At the superior adjacent level, the superior endplate and disc space were demonstrated on 90% of the images on both T1-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery (FLAIR) and T2-weighted sequences despite the presence of artifacts. The inferior endplate at this level was documented on 70% of both T1-weighted FLAIR and T2-weighted sequences. At the level below the disc replacement in patients who underwent L4–5 surgery, the superior endplate was demonstrated on 66.7% of the T1-weighted FLAIR sequences but only 33.3% of the T2-weighted images. The disc space and inferior endplate were depicted on 66.7% of both T1-weighted FLAIR and T2-weighted sequences. Axial images revealed an artifact in every adjacent space except at the L5—S1 level. Conclusions. Based on the results of this pilot study, it appears that sagittal MR imaging can be undertaken to evaluate the adjacent motion segment for degenerative changes following total disc arthroplasty in most patients. This imaging modality will provide an additional measure to assess the long-term efficacy of this intervention compared with other treatment modalities and the natural history of lumbar disc degeneration.

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