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Purpose. Ligamentum flavum hypertrophy (HLF) is the most important component of lumbar spinal canal stenosis (LSCS). Analysis of hypertrophied ligamentum flavum (HLF) samples from patients with LSCS can be an important que. The current study analyzed the surgical samples of HLF samples in patients with LCSC using quantitative and qualitative high performance-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.Methods. We collected ligamentum flavum (LF) tissue from twelve patients with LSCS and from four patients with lumbar disk herniation (LDH). We defined LF from LSCS patients as HLF and that from LDH patients as non-hypertrophied ligamentum flavum (NHLF). Total lipids were extracted from the LF samples and evaluated for quantity and quality using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry.Results. The total lipid amount of the HLF group was 3.6 times higher than that of the NHLF group. Phosphatidylcholines (PCs), ceramides (Cers), O-acyl-ω-hydroxy fatty acids (OAHFAs), and triglycerides (TGs) in the HLF group were more than 32 times higher than those of the NHLF group. PC(26:0)+H+, PC(25:0)+H+, and PC(23:0)+H+ increased in all patients in the HLF group compared to the NHLF group. The thickness of the LF correlated significantly with PC(26:0)+H+ in HLF. Conclusion. We identified the enriched specific PCs, Cers, OAHFAs, and TGs in HLF.

Upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) fracture in adult spinal deformity surgery leads serious complications, such as spinal cord injury in 0.5–0.8%. Although tip-apex distance is important for preventing screw cut-out in proximal femoral fracture surgery, this suggest that the screw occupancy rate for bone fragments is also important. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the occupancy rate of pedicle screws (ORPS) affects UIV fracture. Patients with UIV fracture 1 year after surgery were defined as the fracture group (F); others were defined as the no fracture group (NF). ORPS, cut-out of pedicle screw (PS), medications, and bone mineral density were evaluated. Significant differences (P

Peripheral nerve injury (PNI) triggers cellular and molecular changes in the spinal cord. However, little is known about how the polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing phosphatidylcholines (PUFA-PCs) are regulated in the spinal cord after PNI and the association of PUFA-PCs with the non-neuronal cells within in the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we found that arachidonic acid-containing phosphatidylcholine (AA-PC), [PC(16:0/20:4)+K]+, was significantly increased in the ipsilateral ventral and dorsal horns of the spinal cord after sciatic nerve transection and the increased expression of [PC(16:0/20:4)+K]+ spatiotemporally resembled the increase of reactive microglia and the astrocytes. From the lipidomics point of view, we conclude that [PC(16:0/20:4)+K]+ could be the main phospholipid in the spinal cord influenced by PNI and the regulation of specific phospholipid molecule in the CNS after PNI is associated with the reactive microglia and astrocytes.