The University of Tokyo · Medicine
Professor Yasushi Oshima's research lab specializes in spinal cord and musculoskeletal disorders, with a focus on cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) and the biological mechanisms of cartilage development and mineralization. The lab investigates prognostic factors in mild CSM, including spinal instability and range of motion, and explores disease-specific outcomes using tools like the PRO-JOA score. A key area of molecular research involves the role of Bcl-2 family proteins, particularly Bnip3 and Bcl-xL, in chondrocyte apoptosis during endochondral ossification driven by inorganic phosphate. The lab also examines the psychological predictors of postoperative outcomes, such as axial neck pain, highlighting the integration of clinical, imaging, and biological data.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Fifty-six percent of patients with clinically mild CSM with ISI had not deteriorated or undergone surgery at 10 years. Large range of motion, segmental kyphosis, and instability at the narrowest canal were considered to be adverse prognostic factors.
PRO-JOA score can also be used as a disease-specific scoring measure instead of JOA score. However, although both measures demonstrate a similar trend as a group analysis, PRO-JOA and JOA scores should be regarded as different outcomes.
During endochondral ossification, chondrocytes undergo hypertrophic differentiation and die by apoptosis. The level of inorganic phosphate (P(i)) elevates at the site of cartilage mineralization, and when chondrocytes were treated with P(i), they underwent rapid apoptosis. Gene silencing of the proapoptotic Bcl-2 homology 3-only molecule bnip3 significantly suppressed P(i)-induced apoptosis. Conversely, overexpression of Bcl-xL suppressed, and its knockdown promoted, the apoptosis of chondrocyte
3.
Patients with a low mental state, possibly before surgery, are at a high risk for postoperative axial neck pain. None of the imaging parameters were statistically different.
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