Gliomas are one of the most common incurable brain tumors in adults with poor prognosis. Attempts at modeling human gliomas over the past decades have not only improved our knowledge of glioma biology but also boosted the development of therapeutic strategies. Despite great endeavors, gliomas are not responsive to the current tumor treatments, such as radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy due to their high inter- and intra-heterogenic tumor microenvironment (TME) and immune suppressive landscape. Therefore, it is significant to utilize suitable models to investigate the tumorigenesis, progression, and invasion of gliomas and evaluate potential therapies. Ideally, glioma models should fully recapitulate the genetic alterations and histological characteristics of the parental tumor, as well as reproduce the interactions between the tumor and its TME. In this review, we will discuss and compare the pros and cons of the current glioma models including traditional mouse models, established cell lines, newly 3D-cultured organoids, and 3D bioprinting glioma models in glioma pathogenesis research and therapy evaluation.

Pedicle screw placement is a well-established procedure in spine surgeries, and the utilization of robots in spinal surgery has been on the rise. This study aims to investigate the accuracy and screw placement time associated with the use of Mazor X robots in robotic-assisted pedicle screw placement. A retrospective case study was conducted on 12 patients with lumbar spine disease who underwent Mazor X robot-assisted surgery. Screw placement accuracy was assessed using the Gertzbein-Robinson classification. Additionally, total screw placement time and fluoroscopy time were documented for analysis. A total of 60 screws were placed in the 12 patients who received robotic-assisted pedicle screw placement. Of these screws, 98.3% were found to be within the safe zone. As the cases progressed, there was a noticeable decrease in total screw placement time and fluoroscopy time. Our findings suggest that Mazor X robotic-assisted spine surgery boasts high accuracy rates and demonstrates a decreasing trend in screw placement time and fluoroscopy time. To the best of our knowledge, our institution is the first in China to employ the Mazor X robot for pedicle screw placement surgeries and to document its associated characteristics.

Background: In cases of cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL), when initial anterior or posterior decompression fails to yield satisfactory results, the alternative approach is often chosen for revision surgery. Nevertheless, there is a lack of reported information regarding the treatment and prognosis of patients with complex OPLL who have undergone both anterior and posterior decompression but experienced relapse.

Case presentation: A 79-year-old male patient presented with numbness, weakness, and muscle atrophy in the right upper extremity, along with weakness in the right lower extremity. Initial assessment on admission revealed a Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score of 7. The patient previously underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) 25 years ago for spinal stenosis, followed by posterior laminectomy as revision surgery. After experiencing recurrent symptoms following a fall one year ago, the patient underwent a second revision surgery using the anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF) technique which led to symptom improvement, and resulted in a postoperative JOA score of 14 at 3 months of follow-up.

Conclusions: Treatment of OPLL patients with symptom recurrence after traditional anterior and posterior decompression is challenging. ACAF offers a viable solution for managing this complex case.