New spine treatment promising Damage reversed from osteoporosis Associated Press WASHINGTON -- Bone-thinning osteoporosis was stealing Mary McGrath's spine, painfully cracking one vertebra after another. Doctors offered no help except ever stronger painkillers, leaving her increasingly sedated and bedridden. Then a final broken bone brought her to a hospital that offered a new option: Doctors squirted a special bone glue through a needle into her spine, stabilizing the crushed vertebra. An hour later, the Virginia woman woke up pain-free. It's called vertebroplasty, and this treatment, plus the even newer version named kyphoplasty -- which uses a balloon to restore some osteoporosis patients' lost height -- promise to help many Americans suffering the severely painful spinal fractures that until now doctors have been hard-pressed to treat. The treatments aren't widely available yet -- only certain specially trained spinal surgeons and interventional radiologists offer them -- and studies still are under way to prove just how well they work. Thus, the National Osteoporosis Foundation cautions patients to get checked carefully to see if they'll benefit. But proponents say the treatments mean many patients no longer will need to suffer months of pain and bed rest in hopes their spines will heal -- or to develop osteoporosis' telltale dowager's hump. "Up to now we haven't had any option for them," says Dr. Isador Lieberman, a spinal surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation who has performed more than 100 kyphoplasties. "Now, why suffer?" "The gratifying aspect is the relief is almost instantaneous," agrees interventional radiologist Dr. Calvin Neithamer of Inova-Mount Vernon Hospital in Alexandria, Va., who performs a vertebroplasty a week. Osteoporosis thins the bones of some 10 million Americans. Some 700,000 patients a year suffer spinal fractures as a result. They're excruciating, as sitting or standing compresses the broken vertebra. About two-thirds of patients become pain-free after a few months of bed rest, but the rest have chronic pain. And spinal fractures accumulate, stealing height and causing digestion and breathing problems as they bend patients. How do the new treatments work? With vertebroplasty, doctors use special imaging equipment to guide a needle about the size of a cocktail straw into the crushed vertebra. Then they inject bone cement, stabilizing the bone to prevent further collapse. Kyphoplasty is more complicated. First a catheter bearing a balloon is threaded into the cracked vertebra. Inflating the balloon with a special liquid jacks up the collapsed bone so the cement can be injected, restoring some height. They don't work for everyone, but small studies suggest anywhere from 75 percent to 90 percent of patients get pain relief. They are outpatient treatments, but they do come with some risks, such as nerve damage if the needle hits the wrong spot or the cement leaks. Also, specialists must ensure the back pain is caused by a compression fracture and not another reason. There's little data comparing the therapies, and some doctors call the newer kyphoplasty still experimental. Lieberman, however, says kyphoplasty is better because it can reduce cement leakage by easing bone compression. In a study of his first 30 patients, to be published this summer, 70 percent of the treated bone had half the lost height restored.

Holy cow!! I am taking this article to my doc to see if it would work on my crushed spine. Thanks Kath!! Kath wrote: > New spine treatment promising > Damage reversed from osteoporosis > Associated Press

Hi Kath, this sounds really promising. I will save this. Thanks for sharing. Love, Linda Kath wrote: > New spine treatment promising > Damage reversed from osteoporosis > Associated Press > > WASHINGTON -- Bone-thinning osteoporosis was stealing Mary McGrath's spine, > painfully cracking one vertebra after another. Doctors offered no help > except ever stronger painkillers, leaving her increasingly sedated and > bedridden. > > Then a final broken bone brought her to a hospital that offered a new > option: Doctors squirted a special bone glue through a needle into her > spine, stabilizing the crushed vertebra. An hour later, the Virginia woman > woke up pain-free. > > It's called vertebroplasty, and this treatment, plus the even newer version > named kyphoplasty -- which uses a balloon to restore some osteoporosis > patients' lost height -- promise to help many Americans suffering the > severely painful spinal fractures that until now doctors have been > hard-pressed to treat. > > The treatments aren't widely available yet -- only certain specially trained > spinal surgeons and interventional radiologists offer them -- and studies > still are under way to prove just how well they work. Thus, the National > Osteoporosis Foundation cautions patients to get checked carefully to see if > they'll benefit. > > But proponents say the treatments mean many patients no longer will need to > suffer months of pain and bed rest in hopes their spines will heal -- or to > develop osteoporosis' telltale dowager's hump. > > "Up to now we haven't had any option for them," says Dr. Isador Lieberman, a > spinal surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation who has performed more > than 100 kyphoplasties. "Now, why suffer?" > > "The gratifying aspect is the relief is almost instantaneous," agrees > interventional radiologist Dr. Calvin Neithamer of Inova-Mount Vernon > Hospital in Alexandria, Va., who performs a vertebroplasty a week. > > Osteoporosis thins the bones of some 10 million Americans. Some 700,000 > patients a year suffer spinal fractures as a result. They're excruciating, > as sitting or standing compresses the broken vertebra. > > About two-thirds of patients become pain-free after a few months of bed > rest, but the rest have chronic pain. And spinal fractures accumulate, > stealing height and causing digestion and breathing problems as they bend > patients. > > How do the new treatments work? > > With vertebroplasty, doctors use special imaging equipment to guide a needle > about the size of a cocktail straw into the crushed vertebra. Then they > inject bone cement, stabilizing the bone to prevent further collapse. > > Kyphoplasty is more complicated. First a catheter bearing a balloon is > threaded into the cracked vertebra. Inflating the balloon with a special > liquid jacks up the collapsed bone so the cement can be injected, restoring > some height. > > They don't work for everyone, but small studies suggest anywhere from 75 > percent to 90 percent of patients get pain relief. They are outpatient > treatments, but they do come with some risks, such as nerve damage if the > needle hits the wrong spot or the cement leaks. Also, specialists must > ensure the back pain is caused by a compression fracture and not another > reason. > > There's little data comparing the therapies, and some doctors call the newer > kyphoplasty still experimental. Lieberman, however, says kyphoplasty is > better because it can reduce cement leakage by easing bone compression. In a > study of his first 30 patients, to be published this summer, 70 percent of > the treated bone had half the lost height restored. > > ==== FOLKLORE Mailing List ==== > folk·lore 1. traditional customs, tales, sayings, dances, or > art forms preserved among a people 2 : a branch of knowledge that > deals with folklore 3 : an often unsupported notion, story, or > saying that is widely circulated Merriam-Webster

Thanks Linda. They are finding new ways to treat ruptured disks too. Great news~! :-) kath > Hi Kath, this sounds really promising. I will save > this. Thanks for sharing. Love, Linda > > Kath wrote: > > > New spine treatment promising > > Damage reversed from osteoporosis > > Associated Press