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Journal of Neurophysiology Dec 2021Spinal cord injury (SCI) commonly results in permanent loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic function. Recent clinical studies have shown that epidural spinal cord... (Review)
Review
Spinal cord injury (SCI) commonly results in permanent loss of motor, sensory, and autonomic function. Recent clinical studies have shown that epidural spinal cord stimulation may provide a beneficial adjunct for restoring lower extremity and other neurological functions. Herein, we review the recent clinical advances of lumbosacral epidural stimulation for restoration of sensorimotor function in individuals with motor complete SCI and we discuss the putative neural pathways involved in this promising neurorehabilitative approach. We focus on three main sections: review recent clinical results for locomotor restoration in complete SCI; discuss the contemporary understanding of electrical neuromodulation and signal transduction pathways involved in spinal locomotor networks; and review current challenges of motor system modulation and future directions toward integrative neurorestoration. The current understanding is that initial depolarization occurs at the level of large diameter dorsal root proprioceptive afferents that when integrated with interneuronal and latent residual supraspinal translesional connections can recruit locomotor centers and augment downstream motor units. Spinal epidural stimulation can initiate excitability changes in spinal networks and supraspinal networks. Different stimulation parameters can facilitate standing or stepping, and it may also have potential for augmenting myriad other sensorimotor and autonomic functions. More comprehensive investigation of the mechanisms that mediate the transformation of dysfunctional spinal networks to higher functional states with a greater focus on integrated systems-based control system may reveal the key mechanisms underlying neurological augmentation and motor restoration after severe paralysis.
Topics: Epidural Space; Humans; Motor Activity; Neurological Rehabilitation; Recovery of Function; Spinal Cord Injuries; Spinal Cord Stimulation
PubMed: 34669485
DOI: 10.1152/jn.00020.2021 -
Pain Physician Jan 2021Chronic spinal pain is the most prevalent chronic disease with employment of multiple modes of interventional techniques including epidural interventions. Multiple... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Chronic spinal pain is the most prevalent chronic disease with employment of multiple modes of interventional techniques including epidural interventions. Multiple randomized controlled trials (RCTs), observational studies, systematic reviews, and guidelines have been published. The recent review of the utilization patterns and expenditures show that there has been a decline in utilization of epidural injections with decrease in inflation adjusted costs from 2009 to 2018. The American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians (ASIPP) published guidelines for interventional techniques in 2013, and guidelines for facet joint interventions in 2020. Consequently, these guidelines have been prepared to update previously existing guidelines.
OBJECTIVE
To provide evidence-based guidance in performing therapeutic epidural procedures, including caudal, interlaminar in lumbar, cervical, and thoracic spinal regions, transforaminal in lumbar spine, and percutaneous adhesiolysis in the lumbar spine.
METHODS
The methodology utilized included the development of objective and key questions with utilization of trustworthy standards. The literature pertaining to all aspects of epidural interventions was viewed with best evidence synthesis of available literature and recommendations were provided.
RESULTS
In preparation of the guidelines, extensive literature review was performed. In addition to review of multiple manuscripts in reference to utilization, expenditures, anatomical and pathophysiological considerations, pharmacological and harmful effects of drugs and procedures, for evidence synthesis we have included 47 systematic reviews and 43 RCTs covering all epidural interventions to meet the objectives.The evidence recommendations are as follows: Disc herniation: Based on relevant, high-quality fluoroscopically guided epidural injections, with or without steroids, and results of previous systematic reviews, the evidence is Level I for caudal epidural injections, lumbar interlaminar epidural injections, lumbar transforaminal epidural injections, and cervical interlaminar epidural injections with strong recommendation for long-term effectiveness.The evidence for percutaneous adhesiolysis in managing disc herniation based on one high-quality, placebo-controlled RCT is Level II with moderate to strong recommendation for long-term improvement in patients nonresponsive to conservative management and fluoroscopically guided epidural injections. For thoracic disc herniation, based on one relevant, high-quality RCT of thoracic epidural with fluoroscopic guidance, with or without steroids, the evidence is Level II with moderate to strong recommendation for long-term effectiveness.Spinal stenosis: The evidence based on one high-quality RCT in each category the evidence is Level III to II for fluoroscopically guided caudal epidural injections with moderate to strong recommendation and Level II for fluoroscopically guided lumbar and cervical interlaminar epidural injections with moderate to strong recommendation for long-term effectiveness.The evidence for lumbar transforaminal epidural injections is Level IV to III with moderate recommendation with fluoroscopically guided lumbar transforaminal epidural injections for long-term improvement. The evidence for percutaneous adhesiolysis in lumbar stenosis based on relevant, moderate to high quality RCTs, observational studies, and systematic reviews is Level II with moderate to strong recommendation for long-term improvement after failure of conservative management and fluoroscopically guided epidural injections. Axial discogenic pain: The evidence for axial discogenic pain without facet joint pain or sacroiliac joint pain in the lumbar and cervical spine with fluoroscopically guided caudal, lumbar and cervical interlaminar epidural injections, based on one relevant high quality RCT in each category is Level II with moderate to strong recommendation for long-term improvement, with or without steroids. Post-surgery syndrome: The evidence for lumbar and cervical post-surgery syndrome based on one relevant, high-quality RCT with fluoroscopic guidance for caudal and cervical interlaminar epidural injections, with or without steroids, is Level II with moderate to strong recommendation for long-term improvement. For percutaneous adhesiolysis, based on multiple moderate to high-quality RCTs and systematic reviews, the evidence is Level I with strong recommendation for long-term improvement after failure of conservative management and fluoroscopically guided epidural injections.
LIMITATIONS
The limitations of these guidelines include a continued paucity of high-quality studies for some techniques and various conditions including spinal stenosis, post-surgery syndrome, and discogenic pain.
CONCLUSIONS
These epidural intervention guidelines including percutaneous adhesiolysis were prepared with a comprehensive review of the literature with methodologic quality assessment and determination of level of evidence with strength of recommendations.
Topics: Chronic Pain; Epidural Space; Humans; Injections, Epidural; Pain Management; Physicians; United States
PubMed: 33492918
DOI: No ID Found -
JAMA Oct 2022The use of spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain after lumbar spine surgery is increasing, yet rigorous evidence of its efficacy is lacking. (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of Spinal Cord Burst Stimulation vs Placebo Stimulation on Disability in Patients With Chronic Radicular Pain After Lumbar Spine Surgery: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
IMPORTANCE
The use of spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain after lumbar spine surgery is increasing, yet rigorous evidence of its efficacy is lacking.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the efficacy of spinal cord burst stimulation, which involves the placement of an implantable pulse generator connected to electrodes with leads that travel into the epidural space posterior to the spinal cord dorsal columns, in patients with chronic radiculopathy after surgery for degenerative lumbar spine disorders.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
This placebo-controlled, crossover, randomized clinical trial in 50 patients was conducted at St Olavs University Hospital in Norway, with study enrollment from September 5, 2018, through April 28, 2021. The date of final follow-up was May 20, 2022.
INTERVENTIONS
Patients underwent two 3-month periods with spinal cord burst stimulation and two 3-month periods with placebo stimulation in a randomized order. Burst stimulation consisted of closely spaced, high-frequency electrical stimuli delivered to the spinal cord. The stimulus consisted of a 40-Hz burst mode of constant-current stimuli with 4 spikes per burst and an amplitude corresponding to 50% to 70% of the paresthesia perception threshold.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary outcome was difference in change from baseline in the self-reported Oswestry Disability Index (ODI; range, 0 points [no disability] to 100 points [maximum disability]; the minimal clinically important difference was 10 points) score between periods with burst stimulation and placebo stimulation. The secondary outcomes were leg and back pain, quality of life, physical activity levels, and adverse events.
RESULTS
Among 50 patients who were randomized (mean age, 52.2 [SD, 9.9] years; 27 [54%] were women), 47 (94%) had at least 1 follow-up ODI score and 42 (84%) completed all stimulation randomization periods and ODI measurements. The mean ODI score at baseline was 44.7 points and the mean changes in ODI score were -10.6 points for the burst stimulation periods and -9.3 points for the placebo stimulation periods, resulting in a mean between-group difference of -1.3 points (95% CI, -3.9 to 1.3 points; P = .32). None of the prespecified secondary outcomes showed a significant difference. Nine patients (18%) experienced adverse events, including 4 (8%) who required surgical revision of the implanted system.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Among patients with chronic radicular pain after lumbar spine surgery, spinal cord burst stimulation, compared with placebo stimulation, after placement of a spinal cord stimulator resulted in no significant difference in the change from baseline in self-reported back pain-related disability.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03546738.
Topics: Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Back Pain; Chronic Pain; Lumbar Vertebrae; Pain Measurement; Quality of Life; Spinal Cord; Treatment Outcome; Radiculopathy; Failed Back Surgery Syndrome; Spinal Diseases; Electric Stimulation Therapy; Electrodes, Implanted; Epidural Space; Cross-Over Studies; Adult
PubMed: 36255427
DOI: 10.1001/jama.2022.18231 -
Agri : Agri (Algoloji) Dernegi'nin... Jul 2021Low back and leg pain may be due to many causes including scarring in the epidural space. Scar tissue often causes irritated swollen and inflamed nerves, which can cause... (Review)
Review
Low back and leg pain may be due to many causes including scarring in the epidural space. Scar tissue often causes irritated swollen and inflamed nerves, which can cause pain. Adhesiolysis eliminate the pain-causing effects of scar tissue by releasing or decompression of a nerve from scar tissue. Percutaneous adhesiolysis is a safe and effective procedure, while epiduroscopy is a minimally invasive technique that offers diagnostic and therapeutic advantages in cases of chronic low back pain and radiculopathy. The aim of this review is to describe the comparison of percutaneous and endoscopic procedures in the lysis of adhesions in epidural fibrosis in terms of indications, contraindications, complications, technique and efficacy..
Topics: Endoscopy; Epidural Space; Humans; Low Back Pain; Radiculopathy; Tissue Adhesions
PubMed: 34318919
DOI: 10.14744/agri.2020.70037 -
World Journal of Critical Care Medicine Dec 2023Pneumorrhachis (PR) is defined as presence of free air in the spinal canal. Traumatic PR is very rare, and its exact incidence and pathogenesis is unknown. A... (Review)
Review
Pneumorrhachis (PR) is defined as presence of free air in the spinal canal. Traumatic PR is very rare, and its exact incidence and pathogenesis is unknown. A comprehensive literature search was performed using the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and Scopus databases to identify articles relevant to traumatic PR published till January 2023. A total of 34 resources were selected for inclusion in this narrative review. Traumatic PR can be classified anatomically into epidural and intradural types. In the epidural type, air is present peripherally in the spinal canal and the patients are usually asymptomatic. In contrast, in intradural PR, air is seen centrally in the spinal canal and patients present with neurological symptoms, and it is a marker of severe trauma. It is frequently associated with traumatic pneumocephalus, skull fractures or thoracic spine fracture. Computed tomography (CT) is considered to be the diagnostic modality of choice. Epidural PR is self-limited and patients are generally managed conservatively. Patients with neurological symptoms or persistent air in spinal canal require further evaluation for a potential source of air leak, with a need for surgical intervention. Differentiation between epidural and intradural PR is important, because the latter is an indication of severe underlying injury. CT imaging of the entire spine must be performed to look for extension of air, as well as to identify concomitant skull, torso or spinal injuries Most patients are asymptomatic and are managed conservatively, but a few may develop neurological symptoms that need further evaluation and management.
PubMed: 38188452
DOI: 10.5492/wjccm.v12.i5.248 -
International Journal of Molecular... Dec 2022Although rodents have been widely used for experimental models of spinal cord diseases, the details of the growth curves of their spinal canal and spinal cord, as well...
Although rodents have been widely used for experimental models of spinal cord diseases, the details of the growth curves of their spinal canal and spinal cord, as well as the molecular mechanism of the growth of adult rat spinal cords remain unavailable. They are particularly important when conducting the experiments of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM), since the disease condition depends on the size of the spinal canal and the spinal cord. Thus, the purposes of the present study were to obtain accurate growth curves for the spinal canal and spinal cord in rats; to define the appropriate age in weeks for their use as a CSM model; and to propose a molecular mechanism of the growth of the adult spinal cord in rats. CT myelography was performed on Lewis rats from 4 weeks to 40 weeks of age. The vertical growth of the spinal canal at C5 reached a plateau after 20 and 12 weeks, and at T8 after 20 and 16 weeks, in males and females, respectively. The vertical growth of the C5 and T8 spinal cord reached a plateau after 24 weeks in both sexes. The vertical space available for the cord (SAC) of C5 and T8 did not significantly change after 8 weeks in either sex. Western blot analyses showed that VEGFA, FGF2, and BDNF were highly expressed in the cervical spinal cords of 4-week-old rats, and that the expression of these growth factors declined as rats grew. These findings indicate that the spinal canal and the spinal cord in rats continue to grow even after sexual maturation and that rats need to be at least 8 weeks of age for use in experimental models of CSM. The present study, in conjunction with recent evidence, proposes the hypothetical model that the growth of rat spinal cord after the postnatal period is mediated at least in part by differentiation of neural progenitor cells and that their differentiation potency is maintained by VEGFA, FGF2, and BDNF.
Topics: Animals; Female; Male; Rats; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; Fibroblast Growth Factor 2; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Rats, Inbred Lew; Sexual Maturation; Spinal Canal; Spinal Cord; Spinal Cord Compression; Spinal Cord Diseases
PubMed: 36555713
DOI: 10.3390/ijms232416076 -
The Journal of Veterinary Medical... Sep 2022Cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM), a common cause of cervical spinal cord compression, is a neurological disease characterized by general proprioceptive...
Cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM), a common cause of cervical spinal cord compression, is a neurological disease characterized by general proprioceptive ataxia and weakness of hindlimbs that tends to develop in young adult Thoroughbred horses. Although male horses seem to be at increased risk for CVSM, the mechanism for the occurrence of sex differences in the prevalence of CVSM is still poorly understood. Hence, we hypothesized that sex differences in the development of cervical spinal cord and spinal canal would affect the development of CVSM. This study aimed to evaluate sex differences in the development of cervical spinal cord and spinal canal in Thoroughbred horses. A total of 29 Thoroughbred horses underwent computed tomographic myelography. Thereafter, the volumes of cervical spinal cord and spinal canal were calculated. Accordingly, male horses had significantly lager cervical spinal cord volume and cervical spinal cord-to-spinal canal volume ratio than those of female horses (P<0.05). Sex differences in the cervical spinal cord-to-spinal canal volume ratio gradually decreased until around 1,400 days of age. Younger male horses have narrower interspace between the cervical spinal cord and spinal canal than younger female horses, suggesting that an imbalanced cervical spinal cord and spinal canal growth is one of the causes of CVSM.
Topics: Animals; Cervical Cord; Female; Horse Diseases; Horses; Male; Sex Characteristics; Spinal Canal; Spinal Cord Compression; Spinal Cord Diseases; Spinal Stenosis
PubMed: 35944983
DOI: 10.1292/jvms.22-0234 -
Orthopedic Reviews 2022Spinal epidural lipomatosis is a condition that is characterized by an excess amount of epidural adipose tissue in the spinal canal. Occasionally, it can narrow the... (Review)
Review
Spinal epidural lipomatosis is a condition that is characterized by an excess amount of epidural adipose tissue in the spinal canal. Occasionally, it can narrow the spinal canal enough to cause cord impingement resulting in neurological deficits. The authors report on a case of a 43-year-old man who presented to the emergency department with bilateral lower extremity weakness. After computed tomography imaging, he was found to have spinal lipomatosis. Since the patient had other symptoms that could not be accounted for by this diagnosis alone, he was admitted to the hospital for further neurologic workup. He eventually developed ascending areflexia which led to the diagnosis of Guillain-Barré, which was corroborated by further history that was not available initially.
PubMed: 35775037
DOI: 10.52965/001c.33975 -
Anesthesiology Sep 2019
Review
Topics: Analgesia, Epidural; Anesthesia, Epidural; Catheters; Diagnostic Imaging; Epidural Space; Equipment Failure; Humans
PubMed: 31008765
DOI: 10.1097/ALN.0000000000002738