Effects of kinesiotaping on knee osteoarthritis: A literature review

The purpose of this review was to determine the current evidence-base for the efficacy of kinesiotaping in patients with osteoarthritis. Search-ing was undertaken using MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) from 2007 to 2018. The target terms included within our search criteria were "kinesiotape," "osteoar-thrites," "knee pain," "adults," and "geriatric." Current findings indicate that kinesiotaping can be considered a useful method for decreasing pain without any side effects in patients with osteoarthritis. The search yielded 1,062 articles and finally seven studies met inclusion criteria. However, there are a limited number of appropriately powered, robustly designed studies. Further research is required to fully understand the short- and longer-term impact of kinesotaping in patients with osteoar-thritis

A comprehensive screening protocol to identify incidence of lower back pain in military office workers

Military workers experience different types of lower back pain (LBP), but there is little evidence concerning the incidence of LBP in this group, especially in Asian countries. One of the most common forms of LBP is discogenic low back pain (DLBP) which is a consequence of internal disc disruption accounting for approximately 40% of LBP cases. This cross-sectional study aimed to determine the incidence of non-specific low back pain (LBP), discogenic LBP, and other forms of LBP in military office workers in Iran. 564 military office workers (303 men and 261 women, age: 20-50 years), who had worked in this setting for at least two years, were randomly selected from one military office. The Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire (CMDQ) was used as the primary screening tool. Participants who reported severe and mild LBP (graded low, mild, and severe) received a detailed physical examination including radiological magnetic resonance imaging. Based on the results of the physical examination, in conjunction with individual history, and medical opinion, mild-to-severe LBP was evident in 39% (n = 220) of the participants. Of these, non-specific LBP accounted for 60%, discogenic LBP accounted for 31%, and other forms of LBP accounted for the remaining 9% of the sample. We found that LBP is highly incident in military office workers, with non-specific LBP being the most incident form. Considering these high incidence rates, a strategy for preventive health screening and exercise intervention should be considered in this population to help reduce absenteeism and increase workforce productivity

Detection of Epstein Barr Virus by Chromogenic In Situ Hybridization in cases of extra-hepatic biliary atresia

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licens

Galectin-3 Modulates Microglia Inflammation in vitro but Not Neonatal Brain Injury in vivo under Inflammatory Conditions

Microglia may contribute to injury but may also have neuroprotective properties. Galectin-3 has immunomodulatory properties that may affect the microglia phenotype and subsequent development of injury. Galectin-3 contributes to experimental hypoxic-ischemic (HI) injury in the neonatal brain, but it is unclear if galectin-3 has similar effects on infectious and sterile inflammation. Thus, we investigated the effect of galectin-3 on microglia in vitro under normal as well as infectious and sterile inflammatory conditions, and the effect of galectin-3 on neonatal brain injury following an infectious challenge in vivo. Conditions mimicking infectious or sterile inflammation were evaluated in primary microglia cell cultures from newborn mice, using LPS (10 ng/mL) and TNF-alpha (100 ng/mL). The response to galectin-3 was tested alone or together with LPS or TNF-alpha. Supernatants were collected 24 h after treatment and analyzed for 23 inflammatory mediators including pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines using multiplex protein analysis, as well as ELISA for MCP-1 and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1. Phosphorylation of proteins (AKT, ERK1/2, I kappa B-alpha, JNK, and p38) was determined in microglia cells. Neonatal brain injury was induced by a combination of LPS and HI (LPS + HI) in postnatal day 9 transgenic mice lacking functional galectin-3 and wild-type controls. LPS and TNF-alpha induced pro-inflammatory (9/11 vs. 9/10) and anti-inflammatory (6/6 vs. 2/6) cytokines, as well as chemokines (6/6 vs. 4/6) in a similar manner, except generally lower amplitude of the TNF-alpha-induced response. Galectin-3 alone had no effect on any of the proteins analyzed. Galectin-3 reduced the LPS- and TNF-alpha-induced microglia response for cytokines, chemokines, and phosphorylation of I kappa B-alpha. LPS decreased baseline IGF-1 levels, and the levels were restored by galectin-3. Brain injury or microglia response after LPS + HI was not affected by galectin-3 deficiency. Galectin-3 has no independent effect on microglia but modulates inflammatory activation in vitro. The effect was similar under infectious and sterile inflammatory conditions, suggesting that galectin-3 regulates inflammation not just by binding to LPS or toll-like receptor-4. Galectin-3 restores IGF-1 levels reduced by LPS-induced inflammation, suggesting a potential protective effect on infectious injury. However, galectin-3 deficiency did not affect microglia activation and was not beneficial in an injury model encompassing an infectious challenge

The Use of Nanomaterials in Tissue Engineering for Cartilage Regeneration; Current Approaches and Future Perspectives

The repair and regeneration of articular cartilage represent important challenges for orthopedic investigators and surgeons worldwide due to its avascular, aneural structure, cellular arrangement, and dense extracellular structure. Although abundant efforts have been paid to provide tissue-engineered grafts, the use of therapeutically cell-based options for repairing cartilage remains unsolved in the clinic. Merging a clinical perspective with recent progress in nanotechnology can be helpful for developing efficient cartilage replacements. Nanomaterials, < 100 nm structural elements, can control different properties of materials by collecting them at nanometric sizes. The integration of nanomaterials holds promise in developing scaffolds that better simulate the extracellular matrix (ECM) environment of cartilage to enhance the interaction of scaffold with the cells and improve the functionality of the engineered-tissue construct. This technology not only can be used for the healing of focal defects but can also be used for extensive osteoarthritic degenerative alterations in the joint. In this review paper, we will emphasize the recent investigations of articular cartilage repair/regeneration via biomaterials. Also, the application of novel technologies and materials is discussed

The Alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor Does Not Affect Neonatal Brain Injury

Inflammation plays a central role in the development of neonatal brain injury. The alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) can modulate inflammation and has shown promising results as a treatment target in rodent models of adult brain injury. However, little is known about the role of the α7nAChR in neonatal brain injury. Hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury was induced in male and female C57BL/6 mice, α7nAChR knock-out (KO) mice and their littermate controls on postnatal day (PND) 9–10. C57BL/6 pups received i.p. injections of α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487 (8 mg/kg) or saline once daily, with the first dose given directly after HI. Caspase-3 activity and cytokine mRNA expression in the brain was analyzed 24 h after HI. Motor function was assessed 24 and 48 h after HI, and immunohistochemistry was used to assess tissue loss at 24 h and 7 days after HI and microglial activation 7 days after HI. Activation of α7nAChR with the agonist PHA 568487 significantly decreased CCL2/MCP-1, CCL5/RANTES and IL-6 gene expression in the injured brain hemisphere 24 h after HI compared with saline controls in male, but not female, pups. However, α7nAChR activation did not alter caspase-3 activity and TNFα, IL-1β and CD68 mRNA expression. Furthermore, agonist treatment did not affect motor function (24 or 48 h), neuronal tissue loss (24 h or 7 days) or microglia activation (7 days) after HI in either sex. Knock-out of α7nAChR did not influence neuronal tissue loss 7 days after HI. In conclusion, targeting the α7nAChR in neonatal brain injury shows some effect on dampening acute inflammatory responses in male pups. However, this does not lead to an effect on overall injury outcome

Dysmaturation of somatostatin interneurons following umbilical cord occlusion in preterm fetal sheep

IntroductionCerebral white matter injury is the most common neuropathology observed in preterm infants. However, there is increasing evidence that gray matter development also contributes to neurodevelopmental abnormalities. Fetal cerebral ischemia can lead to both neuronal and non-neuronal structural-functional abnormalities, but less is known about the specific effects on interneurons.ObjectiveIn this study we used a well-established animal model of fetal asphyxia in preterm fetal sheep to study neuropathological outcome. We used comprehensive stereological methods to investigate the total number of oligodendrocytes, neurons and somatostatin (STT) positive interneurons as well as 3D morphological analysis of STT cells 14 days following umbilical cord occlusion (UCO) in fetal sheep.Materials and MethodsInduction of asphyxia was performed by 25 min of complete UCO in five preterm fetal sheep (98–100 days gestational age). Seven, non-occluded twins served as controls. Quantification of the number of neurons (NeuN), STT interneurons and oligodendrocytes (Olig2, CNPase) was performed on fetal brain regions by applying optical fractionator method. A 3D morphological analysis of STT interneurons was performed using IMARIS software.ResultsThe number of Olig2, NeuN, and STT positive cells were reduced in IGWM, caudate and putamen in UCO animals compared to controls. There were also fewer STT interneurons in the ventral part of the hippocampus, the subiculum and the entorhinal cortex in UCO group, while other parts of cortex were virtually unaffected (p &gt; 0.05). Morphologically, STT positive interneurons showed a markedly immature structure, with shorter dendritic length and fewer dendritic branches in cortex, caudate, putamen, and subiculum in the UCO group compared with control group (p &lt; 0.05).ConclusionThe significant reduction in the total number of neurons and oligodendrocytes in several brain regions confirm previous studies showing susceptibility of both neuronal and non-neuronal cells following fetal asphyxia. However, in the cerebral cortex significant dysmaturation of STT positive neurons occurred in the absence of cell loss. This suggests an abnormal maturation pattern of GABAergic interneurons in the cerebral cortex, which might contribute to neurodevelopmental impairment in preterm infants and could implicate a novel target for neuroprotective therapies

Oxford-MEST classification in IgA nephropathy patients: A report from Iran.

BACKGROUND There is a limited knowledge about the morphological features of IgA nephropathy (IgAN)in the middle east region. OBJECTIVES The objective of this study was to evaluate the spectrum of histopathological findings in IgAN patients at our laboratory. PATIENTS AND METHODS At this work, an observational study reported which was conducted on IgAN patients using the Oxford-MEST classification system. RESULTS In this survey, of 102 patients 71.6 % were male. The mean age of the patients was 37.7 ± 13.6 years. Morphologic variables of MEST classification was as follows; M1: 90.2 %, E: 32 %, S: 67 % also,T in grads I and II were in 30% and 19% respectively, while 51% were in grade zero. A significant difference was observed in segmental glomerulosclerosis (P=0.003) and interstitial fibrosis/tubular atrophy frequency distribution (P= 0.045), between males and females . Furthermore, it was found that mesangial hypercellularity was more prevalent in yonger patients. Moreover, there was a significant correlation between serum creatinine and crescents (P<0.001). There was also significant correlation of serum creatinine with segmental glomerulosclerosis (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS Higher prevalence of segmental glomerulosclerosis and interstitial fibrosis/ tubular atrophy, as the two of, four variables of Oxford-MEST classification of IgAN in male patients further attests that male gender is a risk factor in this disease.In this study the significant correlation between serum creatinine and crescent was in an agreement with previous studies and suggests for the probable accomodation of extracapillary proliferation as a new variable in MEST system