BACKGROUND: The clinical diagnosis of atlantoaxial joint subluxation (AJS) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is characterized by an unequal distance between the lateral mass of the atlas and the odontoid process on imaging, resulting in neck pain accompanied by symptoms such as dizziness, headache, and limited cervical mobility. In Shanghai, Shi cervical rotational manipulation (SCRM) is a commonly employed TCM manual therapy for treating this condition. Nevertheless, there is a lack of evidence-based medical information regarding the clinical efficacy and safety of this technique.
OBJECTIVE: The principal aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SCRM in patients diagnosed with AJS.
METHODS: This study is a prospective randomized controlled clinical trial that will be conducted at a single center and that has a follow-up period of 24 weeks. A total of 96 patients diagnosed with AJS will be recruited from outpatient and inpatient clinics at Shanghai Baoshan Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine. These patients will be randomly assigned to either the experimental group (SCRM) or the comparison group (basic cervical manipulation [BCM]). Treatment sessions consisting of SCRM or BCM will be administered twice a week for a duration of 4 weeks. Clinical monitoring indicators include the presence or absence of clinical symptoms as recorded on a symptom recording form, cervical imaging examination findings using cervical computed tomography, degree of neck pain measured by a visual analog scale (VAS), cervical range of motion assessed through cervical mobility measurement, degree of vertigo evaluated using the Vertigo Symptoms Scale-Chinese Version (VSS-C), and adverse events that may occur during the follow-up period. The time points for data collection and follow-up are baseline and postintervention (weeks 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24).
RESULTS: This paper presents an overview of the reasoning and structure of a prospective randomized controlled trial with the objective of investigating the clinical efficacy and safety of SCRM in patients with AJS by assessing improvements in clinical symptoms, neck pain severity, and vertigo severity and evaluating changes in cervical imaging findings. Recruitment was started in March 2023. By the end of May 2024, 76 patients were included in this project. The last follow-up data are predicted to be collected by the end of February 2025.
CONCLUSIONS: This investigation will yield dependable evidence regarding the efficacy and safety of SCRM in patients with AJS.
BACKGROUND: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2300068510; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showprojEN.html?proj=186883.
UNASSIGNED: DERR1-10.2196/57865.

Grisel\'s syndrome is a non-traumatic atlantoaxial (C1-C2) subluxation and one of the causes of torticollis in children. The subluxation occurs in the context of an infection in the ENT (\"Ear Nose and Throat\") region or following surgery. Diagnosis is based on clinical examination and radiological assessment. Treatment is typically medical and conservative, with surgical interventions reserved for recurrences and late presentations. We discuss here two cases of C1-C2 subluxation. The first case involves a 10-year-old child with subluxation following a rhinopharyngitis. This presentation is the classical manifestation of Grisel\'s syndrome. Prompt management led to correction of the subluxation using medical treatment and a soft Philadelphia collar. The second case involves a 34-year-old adult who developed posterior headaches after sphenoidotomy surgery. Grisel\'s syndrome is less common in adults, leading to clinical challenges and delayed diagnosis (> 1 month). Reduction combined with a halo vest treatment failed, and the patient required cervical arthrodesis.
Le syndrome de Grisel est une subluxation atlanto-axoïdienne (C1-C2) non traumatique et l’une des causes de torticolis chez l’enfant. La subluxation survient dans le cadre d’une infection de la sphère ORL ou à la suite d’une chirurgie. Le diagnostic est basé sur la clinique et l’examen radiologique. Le traitement est le plus souvent médical et conservateur. Les prises en charge chirurgicales sont limitées aux récidives et aux présentations tardives.Nous discutons ici deux cas de subluxation C1-C2. La première chez un enfant de 10 ans faisait suite à une rhinopharyngite. Cette présentation correspond à la présentation typique du syndrome de Grisel. Une prise en charge rapide a permis une correction de cette subluxation à l’aide d’un traitement médical et d’une minerve souple de type Philadelphia. Le second cas concerne une adulte de 34 ans qui a présenté des céphalées postérieures à la suite d’une chirurgie de sphénoïdotomie. Le syndrome Grisel est moins fréquent chez l’adulte, ce qui a engendré une errance clinique et un diagnostic retardé (> 1 mois). La réduction associée à un traitement par haloveste a échoué et la patiente a nécessité une arthrodèse cervicale.

BACKGROUND: Vertigo is the most common clinical complaint, misdiagnosed patients are not rare, so it is very important to exclude and identify vertigo. For vertigo caused by multiple causes, including cervical vertigo with atlantoaxial rotation fixation combined with benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), tuina can correct joint misalignment. The reduction technique will return the fallen otolith to the correct position. The use of massage and reduction can improve clinical symptoms and improve quality of life and may be a simple, safe, and effective treatment strategy for this disease.
METHODS: We report on a patient with both cervical vertigo due to atlantoaxial rotational fixation and BPPV, including his imaging examination, clinical manifestations, and treatment methods.
METHODS: Cervical vertigo (atlantoaxial rotatory fixation) and BPPV.
METHODS: Tuina combined with atlantoaxial directional inverted reduction technique and reduction manipulation.
RESULTS: The patient\'s vertigo symptoms improved significantly, nystagmus disappeared, cervical occipital pain, nausea, head distension, and other symptoms disappeared, and cervical motion rotation reached 60°.
CONCLUSIONS: This study proved the effectiveness of massage combined with a reduction in the treatment of cervical vertigo and BPPV, as well as the importance of vertigo diagnosis and differential diagnosis, and provided a new treatment idea for the future diagnosis and treatment of vertigo caused by a variety of causes.

暂无摘要。

OBJECTIVE: To investigate (1) lateral atlantoaxial articulation (LAA) morphology in patients with basilar invagination (BI) with atlantoaxial dislocation (AAD) and healthy individuals and its relationship with the severity of dislocation and (2) the effect of the LAA morphology on reduction degree (RD) after surgery.
METHODS: In this retrospective propensity score matching case-control study, imaging and baseline data of 62 patients with BI and AAD from 2011 to 2022 were collected. Six hundred thirteen  participants without occipitocervical junctional deformity served as controls. Logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for analysis.
RESULTS: The age, BMI and sex did not differ significantly between the two groups after propensity score matching. Sagittal slope angle (SSA) and coronal slope angle (CSA) was lower and greater, respectively, in the patient group than in the control group. A negative SSA value usually indicates anteverted LAA. Regression analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between SSA and severity of dislocation. However, no relationship was found between CSA and the severity of dislocation. The multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that minimum-SSA emerged as an independent predictor of satisfactory reduction (RD ≥ 90%). The ROC curve demonstrated an area under the curve of 0.844, with a cut-off value set at -40.2.
CONCLUSIONS: SSA in patients group was significantly smaller and more asymmetric than that in the control group. Dislocation severity was related to SSA but not to CSA. Minimum-SSA can be used as a predictor of horizontal RD after surgery.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of calvarial graft (CG) in craniovertebral fusion procedures in children at a single single center.
METHODS: Paediatric patients in whom CG had been used as the sole construct, or to augment a semi-rigid construct were identified from a prospective operative database. Age, underlying diagnosis and clinical presentation were obtained from review of the electronic patient record. The primary outcome was bony fusion confirmed on CT. Additional outcome measures were donor site morbidity and need for further surgery.
RESULTS: From 82 paediatric CVJ procedures, CG was used in 15 patients with a mean age of 4.1 (± 3.52) years. Aetiology comprised skeletal dysplasia (n = 12), congenital anomaly of segmentation (n = 1) and cervical trauma (n = 2). Myelopathy was the most common clinical finding (9/15), followed by cervical pain (3/15). The indications for surgery comprised atlanto-axial subluxation (8/15), basilar invagination with compression (2/15), and cervicomedullary compression without instability but deemed at risk of instability following decompression (4/15). CG was used in three scenarios: (i) CG + wire only (n = 10); (ii) CG + semirigid instrumentation (n = 3); (iii) CG to augment rigid instrumented fixation (n = 2). In 13 patients a Halo-body Jacket was used peri-operatively. At a mean time of 4.4 months following surgery, 80% of cases had radiological evidence of fusion.
CONCLUSIONS: Full thickness calvarial bone graft is readily available, has good structural integrity and is associated with minimal donor site morbidity. CG should be considered for use as a sole construct, or to augment semi-rigid constructs when instrumented fixation is precluded.

Genetic diseases with craniofacial malformations can be associated with anomalies of the craniocervical joint (CCJ). The functions of the CCJ are thus impaired, as mobility may be either limited by abnormal bone fusion causing headaches, or exaggerated in the case of hypermobility, which may cause irreparable damage to the spinal cord. Restoring the balance between mobility and stability requires surgical correction in children. The anatomy and biomechanics of the CCJ are quite unique, yet have been overlooked in the past decades. Pediatric evidence is so scarce, that investigating the adult CCJ is our best shot to disentangle the form-function relationships of this anatomical region. The motivation of the present study was to understand the morphological and functional basis of motion in the CCJ, in the hope to find morphological features accessible from medical imaging able to predict mobility. To do so, we have quantified the in-vitro kinematics of the CCJ in nine cadaveric asymptomatic adults, and estimated a wide range of mobility variables covering the complexity of spinal motion. We compared these variables with the shape of the occipital, the atlas and the axis, obtained using a dense geometric morphometric approach. Morphological joint congruence was also quantified. Our results suggest a strong relationship between bone shape and motion, with the overall geometry predicting best the primary movements, and the joint facets predicting best the secondary movements. We propose a functional hypothesis stating that the musculoligamental system determines movements of great amplitude, while the shape and congruence of joint facets determine the secondary and coupled movements, especially by varying the geometry of bone stops and the way ligaments are tensioned. We believe this work will provide valuable insights in understanding the biomechanics of the CCJ. Furthermore, it should help surgeons treating CCJ anomalies by enabling them to translate objectives of functional and clinical outcome into clear objectives of morphological outcome.

Atlantoaxial dislocation is a common bony structural deformity in the craniovertebral junction area. It can cause severe neurological defects, seriously affect the patient\'s life quality, and even threaten the patient\'s life. The most effective treatment for patients with apparent clinically symptoms is surgical treatment. In recent years, with the development of surgical techniques, posterior facet distraction and fusion (PFDF) technique has gradually become an important technique for the treatment of atlantoaxial dislocation. In order to better standardize the diagnosis and treatment of patients with atlantoaxial dislocation and the application of PFDF technique, based on the existing evidence, the Spine and Spinal Cord Group in Neurosurgical Society of Chinese Medical Association and the Chinese Craniovertebral Junction Malformation Research Alliance and Craniovertebral Junction Malformation Alliance of National Center for Neurological Disorders organized experts in relevant fields to fully discuss and formulated the \"Expert consensus on posterior facet distraction and fusion technique for the treatment of atlantoaxial dislocation（2024）\". This consensus elaborates and recommends the preoperative evaluation, surgical techniques, and management of complications using PFDF technique for the treatment of atlantoaxial dislocation. It is intended to provide guidance for surgeons who encounter problems in the treatment of atlantoaxial dislocation using PFDF technique.
寰枢椎脱位是常见的颅颈交界区畸形，可引起严重的神经损害，影响患者生活质量，甚至威胁患者生命。对于临床症状明显的寰枢椎脱位患者，手术治疗是其最有效的治疗方式。近年来，随着手术技术的发展，后路寰枢椎关节间撑开复位融合技术逐渐成为寰枢椎脱位治疗的重要技术之一。为了更好地规范寰枢椎脱位患者的诊治，推广应用后路寰枢椎关节间撑开复位融合技术，中华医学会神经外科学分会脊髓脊柱学组和中国颅颈交界区畸形研究联盟暨国家神经疾病医学中心颅颈交界区畸形联盟基于现有循证医学证据，组织相关领域专家充分讨论后制定了《后路寰枢椎关节间撑开复位融合技术治疗寰枢椎脱位专家共识（2024）》。本共识对后路寰枢椎关节间撑开复位融合技术治疗寰枢椎脱位的术前评估、手术操作、并发症处理等方面进行了详细阐述并提出推荐意见，旨在为临床应用提供指导性建议。.

METHODS: This is a narrative review and case report.
OBJECTIVE: To review the literature concerning Grisel syndrome physiopathology, diagnosis, and surgical reports, highlighting the decision-making for treatment and its timing. We describe the role of intraoperative US in the management of 2 cases of GS of the adult.
BACKGROUND: GS is a rare nontraumatic post inflammatory C1-C2 rotatory instability usually affecting children; adult cases are even rarer, and the role of surgical treatment is not well defined.
METHODS: Case 1: A 72-year-old man with upper cervical pain and no neurological deficit; radiologic examination revealed C1-C2 spondylitis and epidural abscess. After antibiotic therapy, the patient developed cervical instability. Hence, surgical decompression and C1-C2 stabilization were performed. Case 2: An 82-year-old woman with progressive right hemiparesis. CT and MRI showed C1-C2 spondylitis with retro-odontoid epidural abscess. Atlanto-axial rotatory instability was evident so surgery was achieved. In both cases, intraoperative US was useful for localizing retro-odontoid abscess and allowing safe puncture of the collection, leading to its remarkable radiologic reduction.
CONCLUSIONS: GS in adults remains a challenge: Patients should be closely monitored concerning neurological and inflammatory status. We describe the successful use of intraoperative US for draining retro-odontoid abscess for the first time, with satisfactory postoperative outcome without need of circumferential approach.

Despite advancement in surgical innovation, C1-C2 fixation remains challenging due to risks of screw malposition and vertebral artery (VA) injuries. Traditional image-based navigation, while useful, often demands that surgeons frequently shift their attention to external monitors, potentially causing distractions. In this article, we introduce a microscope-based augmented reality (AR) navigation system that projects both anatomical information and real-time navigation images directly onto the surgical field. In the present case report, we discuss a 37-year-old female who suffered from os odontoideum with C1-C2 subluxation. Employing AR-assisted navigation, the patient underwent the successful posterior instrumentation of C1-C2. The integrated AR system offers direct visualization, potentially minimizing surgical distractions. In our opinion, as AR technology advances, its adoption in surgical practices and education is anticipated to expand.