0000000000093316
AUTHOR
Miroslaw Latka
Safety and efficacy of cervical disc arthroplasty in preventing the adjacent segment disease: a meta-analysis of mid- to long-term outcomes in prospective, randomized, controlled multicenter studies
Dariusz Latka,1,2 Klaudia Kozlowska,3 Grzegorz Miekisiak,1,2 Kajetan Latka,2 Jacek Chowaniec,2 Tomasz Olbrycht,2 Miroslaw Latka3 1Department of Anatomy, Institute of Medicine, University of Opole, Opole, Poland; 2Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital in Opole, Opole, Poland; 3Department of Bioengineering, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Technical University of Wroclaw, Wroclaw, Poland Objectives: Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has become an alternative treatment for cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy. This technique preserves appropriate motion at both the index and adjacent disc levels and consequently may prevent adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). The authors perform…
Absence Seizure Detection Algorithm for Portable EEG Devices
Absence seizures are generalized nonmotor epileptic seizures with abrupt onset and termination. Transient impairment of consciousness and spike-slow wave discharges (SWDs) in EEG are their characteristic manifestations. This type of seizure is severe in two common pediatric syndromes: childhood (CAE) and juvenile (JAE) absence epilepsy. The appearance of low-cost, portable EEG devices has paved the way for long-term, remote monitoring of CAE and JAE patients. The potential benefits of this kind of monitoring include facilitating diagnosis, personalized drug titration, and determining the duration of pharmacotherapy. Herein, we present a novel absence detection algorithm based on the propert…
Safety and efficacy of cervical disc arthroplasty in preventing the adjacent segment disease: a meta-analysis of mid- to long-term outcomes in prospective, randomized, controlled multicenter studies
Objectives: Cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA) has become an alternative treatment for cervical radiculopathy and myelopathy. This technique preserves appropriate motion at both the index and adjacent disc levels and consequently may prevent adjacent segment degeneration (ASD). The authors performed a meta-analysis to compare the safety and efficacy of CDA to those of the gold standard, anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF). Both surgical and clinical parameters were employed to verify the hypothesis that CDA can reduce the risk of ASD. Methods: The meta-analysis comprised high-quality randomized controlled trials that compared CDA and ACDF treatments of cervical degenerative disc di…
Virtual Reality Based Simulators for Neurosurgeons - What We Have and What We Hope to Have in the Nearest Future
High levels of manual skills, good visual-motor coordination, excel‐lent imagination and spatial awareness are the main factors determining the success of neurosurgeons. Proficiency in neurosurgical skills used to be acquired through hands-on training in cadaver labs and in real operating theatres under master neurosurgeon supervision. Most recently, virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) computer simulations have also been considered as tools for education in the neurosurgical training. The authors review existing solutions and present their own concept of a simulator which could become the useful tool for planning, simulation and training of a specific neurosurgical procedure usi…
Efficacy of DiscoGel in Treatment of Degenerative Disc Disease: A Prospective 1-Year Observation of 67 Patients
Patients with degenerative disc disease may suffer from chronic lumbar discogenic (DP) or radicular leg (RLP) pain. Minimally invasive DiscoGel therapy involves the percutaneous injection of an ethanol gel into the degenerated disk’s nucleus pulposus. This paper compares the 1-year outcome of such treatment in DP and RLP patients. We operated on 67 patients (49 men and 18 women) aged 20–68 years (mean age 46 ± 11 years) with DP (n = 45) and RLP (n = 22), of at least 6–8 weeks duration, with no adverse effects. We evaluated the treatment outcome with Core Outcome Measures Index (COMI) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS). A year after the ethanol gel injection, in the DP cohort, COMI and VAS droppe…