Osteopathic neuromuscular rehabilitation: a novel approach to treat spasticity following systemic illness, brain tumour, and traumatic brain injury in general population

Introduction: Spasticity is a motor dysfunction represented by a velocity-dependent increase in muscle tone. About one-third of post-stroke patients are reported to experience symptomatic spasticity. This research examines the effectiveness of Osteopathic treatment with conventional physiotherapy on the spasticity of upper and lower extremities.Method: The study design was a single-blinded, randomized controlled trial. Two hundred and fifty patients with spasticity were randomized into two groups: "conventional physiotherapy" and "conventional physiotherapy with osteopathy". The study was conducted in a private setting (non-NHS) and complied with the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) guideline. The ethical approval was granted by the ethics committee at Anglia Ruskin University. The qualitative and quantitative measurement of spasticity was done by employing the Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS) and Myotonometer (muscle stiffness index), respectively; The effect of the spasticity was also measured by utilizing spasticity related Quality of life (SQoL6D) scoring tool at three different intervals; the beginning of the trial, month three and month six.Result: Three hundred and twenty-five patients agreed to participate in the trial. After thorough physical and higher cognitive examination and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 262 patients were recruited for the study. Conventional physiotherapy and osteopathic intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement in the upper and lower extremity spasticity at week-six (upper limb P-value= 0.05, Lower Limb Pvalue= 0.05) and week-twelve (upper limb P-value= 0.03, lower limb P-value= 0.03). There was an increase in the MAS Score in both the upper and lower limbs, a reduction in Muscle stiffness index, and an improvement of SQoL6D. The cumulative score of the SQoL6D indicated that the intervention group demonstrated statistically significant improvement in all the six groups of the muscle, which was pertinent from week six onwards (P-value Conclusion: The result can be used in future clinical guidelines to manage spastic paralysis. Future studies should look at a series of treatments using osteopathy to improve motor function in patients with spasticity due to brain injury in large multicenter trial.</p

Expression pattern of <i>AtEXP2</i> gene.

<p>(A) Tissue-specific expression of <i>AtEXP2</i>. Various tissues of <i>Arabidopsis</i> wild type plants were harvested for RNA extraction. (B) Time course of <i>AtEXP2</i> expression. Dry seeds and imbibed seeds of Col-0 were harvested for RNA extraction. Transcript levels of <i>AtEXP2</i> were measured by real-time RT-PCR, and the values were normalized against the levels of <i>TUB2</i> as a control. Error bars represent SD. (C) GUS staining in germinating seeds of the <i>pAtEXP2:GUS</i> transgenic line. Seeds from T₃ homozygous plants of the <i>pAtEXP2:GUS</i> transgenic line were analyzed. Bar = 1 mm.</p

Expression of <i>AtEXP2</i> in response to exogenous GA application.

<p>Col-0 wild type seeds were harvested 4 h, 6 h and 8 h after imbibition in 10 µM GA₃ solution for RNA extraction respectively. Transcript levels were measured by real-time RT-PCR, and the values were normalized against the levels of <i>TUB2</i> as a control. Error bars represent SD. A Student’s t-test was calculated at the probability of 1% (**P<0.01).</p

Germination phenotype of the wild type, <i>exp2</i> and <i>35S:AtEXP2</i> line in response to GA and PAC treatment.

<p>Seeds of wild type, <i>exp2</i> and <i>35S:AtEXP2</i> line were treated with 10 µM GA₃ (A), 1 µM (B) or 5 µM (C) paclobutrazol (PAC). Error bars represent SD. A Student’s t-test was calculated at the probability of either 5% (*P<0.05) or 1% (**P<0.01).</p

Expression of <i>AtEXP2</i> in response to paclobutrazol treatment.

<p><i>AtEXP2</i> expression was determined by quantitative real-time RT-PCR in 24 h imbibed seeds treated with 10 µM PAC or without (Mock). Error bars represent SD. A Student’s t-test was calculated at the probability of 5% (*P<0.05).</p

Copper(II), nickel(II), and ruthenium(III) complexes of an oxopyrrolidine-based heterocyclic ligand as anticancer agents

<div><p>An oxopyrrolidine-based ligand [3-(4-chlorobenzylidine)-5-(5-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)pyrrolidin-2-one] was synthesized by coupling pyroglutamic acid with <i>p</i>-chlorobenzaldehyde followed by cyclization with thiosemicarbazide in presence of oxyphosphoryl chloride. Copper, nickel, and ruthenium complexes of the ligand were also synthesized. The electrolytic nature, with octahedral geometries for nickel and ruthenium complexes, was observed, while tetragonally distorted octahedral geometry for copper complex was proposed. The complexes were resistant to dissociation and degradation in 5% DMSO solutions of PBS (pH 7.4). DNA binding constants (<i>K</i>_b) for ligand, copper, nickel, and ruthenium complexes were 1.15 × 10⁵, 1.67 × 10⁵, 1.87 × 10⁵, and 1.007 × 10⁶ M⁻¹, respectively, indicating quite strong binding with DNA. <i>In silico</i> studies also showed that the ligand interacted with DNA mainly through van der Waal’s forces. The docking energy of ligand−DNA adduct was –30.45 kJ M^–1, suggesting a good affinity of the reported ligand with DNA. Both the ligand and its complexes were less toxic to RBCs as compared to doxorubicin. All the compounds showed moderate anticancer activities on MCF-7 (wild type) breast cancer cell lines.</p></div

Synthesis and Anticancer Evaluation of Novel Indole Based Arylsulfonylhydrazides against Human Breast Cancer Cells

A series of novel indole based sulfonohydrazide derivatives (5a–k) containing morpholine heterocyclic ring were synthesized through multistep chemical reactions. The target compounds (5a–k) were prepared by the reaction of substituted phenyl sulfonylhydrazides (2a–k) with morpholine derivative of indole 3-carboxaldehyde. All the target compounds were screened for their anticancer activity in vitro against the estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer line MCF-7 and triple-negative breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-468. It was found that among all the evaluated compounds, the chemotype 4-chloro-N′-((1-(2-morpholinoethyl)-1H-indol-3-yl)­methylene)­benzenesulfonohydrazide (5f) showed promising inhibition of both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-468 cancer cells with the respective IC50 values of 13.2 μM and 8.2 μM. Compound 5f was found to be nontoxic against HEK 293 noncancerous cells in the studied concentration range, therefore indicating that such chemotypes inhibit the proliferation of cancerous cells selectively and significantly

Effects of DELLA on <i>AtEXP2</i> expression during seed germination.

<p>Expression level of <i>AtEXP2</i> was measured in 24 h imbibed seeds of wild type, <i>ga1-3</i>, and various <i>DELLA</i> mutants. <i>penta</i> indicates the <i>ga1-3 gai-t6 rga-t2 rgl1-1 rgl2-1</i> mutant. Error bars represent SD. A Student’s t-test was calculated at the probability of 1% (**P<0.01).</p

An overview of the methods for analyzing the chemical forms of metals in plants

Currently, the occurrence of toxic levels of metals in soils is a serious environmental issue worldwide. Phytoremediation is getting much attention to control metals soil pollution because it is economic and environmentally friendly. However, the methods used to detect metals in plants are not uniform and have depicted poor comparability of the research investigations. Therefore, the present overview is designed to discuss the possible chemical forms of metals in various environmental matrixes and the detection methods employed to identify the chemical forms of metals in plants. Moreover, the in situ and indirect methods to detect metals in plants have also been discussed herein. In addition, the pros and cons of the available techniques have also been critically analyzed and discussed. Finally, key points/challenges and future perspectives of these methods have been highlighted for the scientific community. Novelty statement In the current review, the possible chemical forms of metals in various environmental matrixes are discussed in detail. Various extraction agents and their efficiency for extracting metals from plants have been clearly illustrated. Further, all the available methods for analyzing the chemical forms of metals in plants have been compared. </p

Germination phenotype of the wild type, <i>exp2</i>, and <i>35S:AtEXP2</i> line in response to abiotic stresses.

<p>Seeds of wild type, <i>exp2</i> and <i>35S:AtEXP2</i> line were treated with different concentrations of NaCl (100 or 200 mM), sucrose (150 or 250 mM) and mannitol (200 or 400 mM). Error bars represent SD. A Student’s t-test was calculated at the probability of either 5% (*P<0.05) or 1% (**P<0.01).</p