31 research outputs found
Changes in stiffness at active myofascial trigger points of the upper trapezius after dry needling in patients with chronic neck pain: a randomized controlled trial.
Background/objective: Since, to our knowledge, the effects of dry needling (DN) on active myofascial trigger point (MTrP) stiffness have not been analyzed previously with shear wave elastography (SWE), our aim was to compare the effects of a single session of DN and sham DN applied to the most active MTrP located in the upper trapezius muscle on clinical outcomes.
Methods: A randomized, double-blinded sham-controlled trial was conducted; 60 patients were randomized into an experimental (DN) or sham (sham DN) group. Baseline data including sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected. SWE and pain pressure thresholds (PPTs) at the MTrP and a control point located 3 cm laterally were the main outcomes assessed before and 10 min after the interventions.
Results: Patients receiving DN interventions experienced greater increases in the control point PPTs immediately after
receiving the intervention compared with sham DN (p 0.05).
Post-intervention PPT improvements were found at both locations for both groups (p < 0.01). No significant changes
for either MTrP or control locations were found for SWE outcomes in either group (all ps > 0.05). No significant withingroup
SWE differences were found in the DN or sham DN groups (p > 0.05).
Conclusion: A single session of DN or sham DN applied to active MTrPs located in the upper trapezius muscle produced no detectable changes in stiffness at the MTrP or control locations. Real DN induced an immediate analgesic response at both MTrP and control locations, while sham DN induced an immediate MTrP response. Trial registration number: NCT04832074 (ClinicalTrials.gov).post-print706 K
Skin Bioimpedance Analysis to Determine Cellular Integrity by Phase Angle in Women with Fibromyalgia: A Cross-Sectional Study.
Oxidative stress has been proposed as a significant part of the pathogenesis of fibromyalgia,
and the phase angle in bioelectrical impedance analysis has been explored as a potential technique to
screen oxidative abnormalities. This study recruited 35 women with fibromyalgia and 35 healthy
women, who underwent bioelectrical impedance analysis and maximum isometric handgrip strength
tests. Women with fibromyalgia showed lower bilateral handgrip strength (right hand: 16.39 ± 5.87
vs. 27.53 ± 4.09, p < 0.001; left hand: 16.31 ± 5.51 vs. 27.61 ± 4.14, p < 0.001), as well as higher body
fat mass (27.14 ± 10.21 vs. 19.94 ± 7.25, p = 0.002), body fat percentage (37.80 ± 8.32 vs. 30.63 ± 7.77,
p < 0.001), and visceral fat area (136.76 ± 55.31 vs. 91.65 ± 42.04, p < 0.01) compared with healthy
women. There was no statistically significant difference in muscle mass between groups, but women
with fibromyalgia showed lower phase angles in all body regions when compared with healthy
control women (right arm: 4.42 ± 0.51 vs. 4.97 ± 0.48, p < 0.01; left arm: 4.23 ± 0.48 vs. 4.78 ± 0.50,
p < 0.001; trunk: 5.62 ± 0.77 vs. 6.78 ± 0.84, p < 0.001; right leg: 5.28 ± 0.56 vs. 5.81 ± 0.60, p < 0.001;
left leg: 5.07 ± 0.51 vs. 5.69 ± 0.58, p < 0.001; whole body: 4.81 ± 0.47 vs. 5.39 ± 0.49, p < 0.001).
Moreover, whole-body phase-angle reduction was only predicted by the presence of fibromyalgia
(R 2 = 0.264; ÎČ = 0.639; F(1,68) = 24.411; p < 0.001). Our study revealed significantly lower phase angle
values, lower handgrip strength, and higher fat levels in women with fibromyalgia compared to
healthy controls, which are data of clinical relevance when dealing with such patients.post-print1,25 M
Oxidative stress and histological changes following exposure to diamond nanoparticles in the freshwater Asian clam Corbicula fluminea (MĂŒller, 1774)
Modular prophage interactions driven by capsule serotype select for capsule loss under phage predation
International audienceKlebsiella species are able to colonize a wide range of environments and include worrisome nosocomial pathogens. Here, we sought to determine the abundance and infectivity of prophages of Klebsiella to understand how the interactions between induced prophages and bacteria affect population dynamics and evolution. We identified many prophages in the species, placing these taxa among the top 5% of the most polylysogenic bacteria. We selected 35 representative strains of the Klebsiella pneumoniae species complex to establish a network of induced phageâbacteria interactions. This revealed that many prophages are able to enter the lytic cycle, and subsequently kill or lysogenize closely related Klebsiella strains. Although 60% of the tested strains could produce phages that infect at least one other strain, the interaction network of all pairwise cross-infections is very sparse and mostly organized in modules corresponding to the strainsâ capsule serotypes. Accordingly, capsule mutants remain uninfected showing that the capsule is a key factor for successful infections. Surprisingly, experiments in which bacteria are predated by their own prophages result in accelerated loss of the capsule. Our results show that phage infectiousness defines interaction modules between small subsets of phages and bacteria in function of capsule serotype. This limits the role of prophages as competitive weapons because they can infect very few strains of the species complex. This should also restrict phage-driven gene flow across the species. Finally, the accelerated loss of the capsule in bacteria being predated by their own phages, suggests that phages drive serotype switch in nature
Impact of time-of-day and chronotype on neuromuscular performance in semi-professional female volleyball players.
This study aimed to determine if time-of-day could influence physical volleyball performance in females and to explore the relationship between chronotype and volleyball-specific performance. Fifteen young female athletes participated in a randomized counterbalanced trial, performing a neuromuscular test battery in the morning (9:00 h) and the evening (19:00 h) that consisted of volleyball standing spike, straight leg raise, dynamic balance, vertical jump, modified agility T-test and isometric handgrip tests. Chronotype was determined by the morningness-eveningness questionnaire. Compared to the morning, an increased performance was found in the standing spike (4.5%, p = .002, ES = 0.59), straight leg raise test (dominant-limb) (6.5%, p = .012, ES = 0.40), dynamic balance (non-dominant-limb) (5.0%, p = .010, ES = 0.57) and modified T-test (2.1%, p = .049, ES = 0.45) performance in the evening; while no statistical differences were reported in vertical jump tests or isometric handgrip strength. Moreover, no associations were found between chronotype and neuromuscular performance (r = â0.368â0.435, p = .052â0.439). Time-of-day affected spike ball velocity, flexibility in the dominant-limb, dynamic balance in the non-dominant-limb and agility tests. However, no association was reported among these improvements and the chronotype. Therefore, although the chronotype may not play critical role in volleyball-specific performance, evening training/matches schedules could benefit performance in semi-professional female volleyball players.pre-print271 K
Is Shear-Wave Elastography a Clinical Severity Indicator of Myofascial Pain Syndrome? An Observational Study
Since manual palpation is a subjective procedure for identifying and differentiate Myofascial Trigger Points -MTrPs-, the use of Shear Wave Elastography -SWE- as an objective alternative is increasing. This study aimed to analyze pain pressure thresholds -PPTs- and SWE differences between active MTrPs, latent MTrPs and control points located in the upper trapezius to analyze the association of SWE features with clinical severity indicators (e.g., pain extension area, PPTs, neck pain and neck disability). An observational study was conducted to calculate the correlation and to analyze the differences of sociodemographic, clinical and SWE features on 34 asymptomatic subjects with latent MTrPs and 19 patients with neck pain and active MTrPs. Significant PPT differences between active with latent MTrPs (p p p > 0.05). No stiffness differences were found between active MTrPs with latent MTrPs or control points (p > 0.05). However, significant control point stiffness differences between-samples were found (p p > 0.05). No stiffness differences between active and latent MTrPs were found. Neck pain patients showed increased control point stiffness compared with asymptomatic subjects. SWE showed no association with clinical severity indicators
Methodology of Clinical Trials Aimed at Assessing Interventions for Cutaneous Leishmaniasis
International audienceThe current evidence-base for recommendations on the treatment of cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is generally weak. Systematic reviews have pointed to a general lack of standardization of methods for the conduct and analysis of clinical trials of CL, compounded with poor overall quality of several trials. For CL, there is a specific need for methodologies which can be applied generally, while allowing the flexibility needed to cover the diverse forms of the disease. This paper intends to provide clinical investigators with guidance for the design, conduct, analysis and report of clinical trials of treatments for CL, including the definition of measurable, reproducible and clinically-meaningful outcomes. Having unified criteria will help strengthen evidence, optimize investments, and enhance the capacity for high-quality trials. The limited resources available for CL have to be concentrated in clinical studies of excellence that meet international quality standards
Body Composition and Demographic Features Do Not Affect the Diagnostic Accuracy of Shear Wave Elastography
Shear-wave elastography (SWE) is an imaging method that can be used to estimate shear wave speed and the Youngâs modulus based on the measured shear wave speed under certain conditions. Up to date, no research has analyzed whether body composition factors contribute to ultrasound attenuation, refraction, reflection, and, consequently, SWE measurement errors. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the association between demographic and body composition features with SWE errors for assessing the anterior scalene stiffness (which is a key structure in patients with neck pain and nerve compressive syndromes). Demographic (sex, age, height, weight, and body mass index), body composition (water volume, fat mass, and lean mass), and anterior scalene muscle stiffness (Youngâs modulus and shear wave speed) data were collected from a sample of asymptomatic subjects. After calculating the absolute SWE differences between trials and the reliability estimates, a correlation matrix was generated to quantify the association among all the variables. A total of 34 asymptomatic subjects (24 males) were included in the analyses. Testâretest reliability was excellent for assessing the Youngâs modulus and shear wave velocity (ICC = 0.912 and 0.923, respectively). No significant associations were found between age, height, weight, body mass index, body fat, lean mass, or water volume with SWE errors (p > 0.05). However, the Youngâs modulus error was associated with the stiffness properties (p p > 0.05). A detailed procedure can reliably assess the AS muscle stiffness. None of the sociodemographic or body composition features assessed were correlated with SWE errors. However, baseline stiffness seems to be associated with Youngâs modulus error
Sample size calculation for the one-sided triangular test.
<p>paâ=â0.18, 0.20 and 0.25; and two-sided test, paâ=â0.20.</p
Sample size calculations for comparative superiority trials.
<p>Sample size calculations for comparative superiority trials.</p