Terminal Schwann cells (TSCs), neuroglia that cover motoneuron terminals, play a role in regulating the structure and function of the neuromuscular junction. In rats, the number of TSCs at each junction increases rapidly in early postnatal life and more slowly in young adults. It is possible that TSC number increases to match increasing endplate area. Alternatively, the increase in TSC number m...

OBJECT The aim in this study was to quantify the effects of vertebroplasty on endplate subsidence in treated and adjacent vertebrae and their relationship to endplate thickness and underlying trabecular bone in elderly female spines. METHODS Vertebral compression fractures were created in female cadaveric (age range 51-88 years) thoracolumbar spine segments. Specimens were placed into either ...

Accurate determination of vertebral endplate surface area and diameters plays an important role in surgical procedures, spinal implant design and sizing. The objective of this study was to contribute with baseline information on the endplate geometrical parameters using subject-based 3D whole-spine computed tomography (CT) models based on myelogram CT images taken of 49 patients with spinal dis...

PURPOSE To investigate (1) effects of endplate removal and bone mineral density (BMD) on biomechanical properties of lumbar vertebrae (2) whether the distributions of mechanical strength and stiffness of endplate are affected by BMD. METHODS A total of thirty-one lumbar spines (L1-L5) collected from fresh cadavers were used in this study. Bone density was measured using lateral DEXA scans and...

Endplate morphology is understood to play an important role in the mechanical behavior of vertebral bone as well as degenerative processes in spinal tissues; however, the utility of clinical imaging modalities in assessment of the vertebral endplate has been limited. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of two clinical imaging modalities (digital tomosynthesis, DTS; high reso...

OBJECTIVE To investigate sex hormone deficiency related osteoporosis and efficacy of different therapies. METHODS Orchiectomized and ovariectomized rat models are used to investigate sex hormone deficiency related osteoporosis and efficacy of different therapies. A rat vertebral body can be longitudinally divided into central portion, which contain more trabecular bone, and para-endplate port...

Significant variations exist in the footprint size of cervical vertebral endplates. In anterior cervical spine surgery, an implant that maximizes coverage of the endplate and contacts the apophyses may reduce subsidence and decrease risk of endplate fracture. The ability to accurately predict a patient's vertebral endplate size may be helpful for surgeons to preoperatively choose the optimal im...

Rocuronium and vecuronium, two non-depolarizing neuromuscular blockers, have been widely used in surgery procedures. However, their electrophysiological properties need to be more widely explored. We examined the effects of rocuronium and vecuronium on initial rundown of endplate potential amplitudes in the non-uniform stretched muscle preparation of the rat isolated phrenic nerve diaphragm. Mo...

The discovery of the genetic basis for many of the human congenital myasthenic syndromes (Engel et al. 1999; Beeson & Newsom-Davis, 2000) has added to the inherent interest in investigation of the relationship between structure and function in the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (AChR) of the muscle endplate. The slow channel congenital myasthenic syndromes result from single amino acid ‘gain-...

BACKGROUND To evaluate the correlation between vertebral endplate change and the level of lumbar disc degeneration via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 345 patients who were recruited from our hospital from May 2012 to May 2016 were evaluated for the presence of intervertebral disc degeneration or herniation. The degree of degeneration was assessed according to ...