Spontaneously hypertensive rats display reduced microglial activation in response to ischemic stroke and lipopolysaccharide

BACKGROUND: For successful translation to clinical stroke studies, the Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Round Table criteria have been proposed. Two important criteria are testing of therapeutic interventions in conscious animals and the presence of a co-morbidity factor. We chose to work with hypertensive rats since hypertension is an important modifiable risk factor for stroke and influences the clinical outcome. We aimed to compare the susceptibility to ischemia in hypertensive rats with those in normotensive controls in a rat model for induction of ischemic stroke in conscious animals. METHODS: The vasoconstrictor endothelin-1 was stereotactically applied in the vicinity of the middle cerebral artery of control Wistar Kyoto rats (WKYRs) and Spontaneously Hypertensive rats (SHRs) to induce a transient decrease in striatal blood flow, which was measured by the Laser Doppler technique. Infarct size was assessed histologically by Cresyl Violet staining. Sensory-motor functions were measured at several time points using the Neurological Deficit Score. Activation of microglia and astrocytes in the striatum and cortex was investigated by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against CD68/Iba-1 and glial fibrillary acidic protein. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The SHRs showed significantly larger infarct volumes and more pronounced sensory-motor deficits, compared to the WKYRs at 24 h after the insult. However, both differences disappeared between 24 and 72 h. In SHRs, microglia were less susceptible to activation by lipopolysaccharide and there was a reduced microglial activation after induction of ischemic stroke. These quantitative and qualitative differences may be relevant for studying the efficacy of new treatments for stroke in accordance to the Stroke Therapy Academic Industry Round Table criteria

Non-thermal plasma inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium on different matrices and the effect of selected food components on its bactericidal efficacy

Non-thermal plasma (NTP) is known as an effective source of a variety of reactive species generated in the gas phase. Nowadays, NTP is gaining increasing interest from the food industry as a microbial inactivation technique. In the present study the effect of inoculation method and matrix on inactivation of Salmonella Typhimurium was examined by treating spread plated agar (2.2 log CFU/sample inactivation by NTP), spot inoculated agar (1.9 log CFU inactivation), glass beads (1.3 log CFU inactivation) and peppercorn (0.2 log CFU inactivation). Furthermore, multiple agar matrices supplemented with low and high concentrations of a certain food component (casein, starch, sunflower oil, vitamin C, sodium pyruvate or grinded peppercorns) were inoculated and treated to determine the effect of those components on NTP efficiency. Although starch, vitamin C and sodium pyruvate had no significant influence on the inactivation degree, the presence of 10% casein (2.1 log CFU/sample less inactivation compared to tryptone soy agar (TSA)), 10% pepper (2.1 log CFU less inactivation) or 1% and 10% sunflower oil (1.6 and 2.1 log CFU less inactivation, respectively) in TSA demonstrated the protective effect of these substances for NTP treatment. These experiments led to the conclusion that low inactivation on produce seemed not to arise from the inoculation method nor from the shape of the produce, but is the result of the food matrix

Identification of Myofascial Trigger Points in Breast Cancer Survivors with Upper Limb Pain: Interrater Reliability

Objective: Despite the increasing awareness of the contribution of myofascial dysfunctions to upper limb pain in breast cancer survivors, reliability of the identification of myofascial trigger points (MTPs) in this population has not yet been investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the interrater reliability of the identification of MTPs by palpation at the upper limb region in breast cancer survivors with upper limb pain. Design: Interrater reliability study. Setting: University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium. Subjects: Thirty breast cancer survivors with pain at the upper limb region. Methods: Nine muscles (upper trapezius, levator scapulae, infraspinatus, supraspinatus, teres major and minor, subscapularis, pectoralis major, and scalene muscles) at the operated side were examined. The weighted kappa (WK) coefficient and Absolute Agreement with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results: Moderate agreement was found for all examined upper limb muscles (WK = 0.41-0.60), except for the trapezius muscle, for which the agreement was almost perfect (WK = 0.83), and the supraspinatus muscle (WK = 0.23), for which the agreement was only fair. Conclusions: For most muscles, moderate interrater reliability for the identification of MTPs by palpation in breast cancer survivors with upper limb pain was found. Therefore, we concluded that the identification of MTPs by palpation may add to the diagnosis of the myofascial pain syndrome in breast cancer survivors.status: publishe

Mild hypothermia reduces activated caspase-3 up to 1 week after a focal cerebral ischemia induced by endothelin-1 in rats

Hypothermia is a promising neuroprotective therapy that has been shown to reduce apoptosis after an ischemic insult. This study evaluated the effect of mild hypothermia on activated caspase-3 up to 1 week after the induction of a stroke. Endothelin-1 (Et-1) was used to elicit transient focal cerebral ischemia in rats. Twenty minutes after the ischemic insult, a state of mild hypothermia (33 degrees C) was imposed for a duration of 2 h. The functional outcome, infarct volume and activated caspase-3 immunoreactivity (IR) were assessed at 8, 24 and 72 h, and one week after the insult. During the experiment the cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured via Laser Doppler Flowmetry. Hypothermia improved the neurological outcome at all of the time points studied compared to the normothermic group, and was associated with a reduction in infarct volume. In both groups, activated caspase-3 IR peaked 24 h after the Et-1 induced insult and hypothermia significantly reduced the number of apoptotic cells at 8 h, 24 h and 1 week after ischemia. Furthermore, the hypothermic treatment did not affect the CBF in the Et-1 model. These findings indicate that in the Et-1 model, hypothermia exerts a long lasting effect on stroke-induced apoptosis. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Myofascial techniques have no additional beneficial effects to a standard physical therapy programme for upper limb pain after breast cancer surgery: a randomized controlled trial

To investigate the effects of myofascial techniques, in addition to a standard physical therapy programme for upper limb pain shortly after breast cancer surgery.status: publishe

An evaluation tool for myofascial adhesions in patients after breast cancer (MAP-BC evaluation tool): Development and interrater reliability

<div><p>Purpose</p><p>To develop a tool to evaluate myofascial adhesions objectively in patients with breast cancer and to investigate its interrater reliability.</p><p>Methods</p><p>1) Development of the evaluation tool. Literature was searched, experts in the field of myofascial therapy were consulted and pilot testing was performed. 2) Thirty patients (63% had a mastectomy, 37% breast-conserving surgery and 97% radiotherapy) with myofascial adhesions were evaluated using the developed tool by 2 independent raters. The Weighted Kappa (WK) and the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) were calculated.</p><p>Results</p><p>1) The evaluation tool for Myofascial Adhesions in Patients with Breast Cancer (MAP-BC evaluation tool) consisted of the assessment of myofascial adhesions at 7 locations: axillary and breast region scars, musculi pectorales region, axilla, frontal chest wall, lateral chest wall and the inframammary fold. At each location the degree of the myofascial adhesion was scored at three levels (skin, superficial and deep) on a 4-points scale (between no adhesions and very stiff adhesions). Additionally, a total score (0–9) was calculated, i.e. the sum of the different levels of each location. 2) Interrater agreement of the different levels separately was moderate for the axillary and mastectomy scar (WK 0.62–0.73) and good for the scar on the breast (WK >0.75). Moderate agreement was reached for almost all levels of the non-scar locations. Interrater reliability of the total scores was the highest for the scars (ICC 0.82–0.99). At non-scar locations good interrater reliability was reached, except for the inframammary fold (ICC = 0.71).</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The total scores of all locations of the MAP-BC evaluation tool had good to excellent interrater reliability, except for the inframammary fold which only reached moderate reliability.</p></div

Characteristics of the patients of 1) the pilot study and 2) the reliability study.

<p>Characteristics of the patients of 1) the pilot study and 2) the reliability study.</p

Interrater reliability (ICC) between two raters for the total score of myofascial adhesions.

<p>For each anatomical location the prevalence rate of myofascial adhesions is given.</p

Overview of the Weighted Kappa and Absolute Agreement of the different myofascial levels.

<p>The Weighted Kappa (lines), Absolute Agreement (numbers) and their 95% CI for the agreement between two raters on the scoring of the degree of myofascial adhesions for different anatomical locations is given. Per anatomical location the different myofascial levels are given from top to bottom: skin (dotted line)–superficial (full line)–deep (dashed line).</p