Gold micro-particles for knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: This exploratory study investigates if intra‐articular injected gold microparticles in knee osteoarthritis (KOA) reduce immunomodulatory‐based pain via proteomic changes in the synovial fluid (SF) and serum. METHODS: Thirty patients with moderate KOA were included. Intraarticular injections with 20 mg gold microparticles (72.000 particles, 20–40 µm in diameter) using the patient's synovial fluid (SF) as carrier were performed. Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) subscores for pain, stiffness, and function were assessed at inclusion, 8 weeks and 2 years The PainDetect questionnaire, pain pressure threshold (PPT), temporal summation (TS), and conditioned pain modulation (CPM), and pain diary were assessed at inclusion and 8 weeks. Proteome analysis was performed on SF and blood samples before and after 8 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: A decrease in WOMAC scores (pain (p = 0.0001), stiffness (p = 0.0088), activity (p = 0.0001)), PainDetect (p = 0.0002) and increase in PPT (p = 0.001) and CPM (p = 0.021) and a decrease in TS (p = 0.03) were found after 8 weeks compared to inclusion assessments. At 2 years follow‐up compared to baseline there was a decrease in WOMAC scores (pain (p = 0.0001), stiffness (p = 0.007), activity (p = 0.0001)) and PainDetect (p = 0.0001). In SF, 28 different proteins were downregulated and 11 upregulated (p < 0.05) mainly associated immune response. Similarly, 31 proteins were downregulated and 1 upregulated in serum (p < 0.05) reflecting key immune response and anatomical structure development processes. No adverse effects related to the treatment were recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Gold microparticles injected intra‐articular in KOA joints may provide pain relief and an inflammatory modulatory effect based on proteome changes found in SF and serum. A randomized, controlled, double‐blind study is needed to infer a conclusion. SIGNIFICANCE: This study indicates that intra‐articular gold may provide advantages in clinical practice for managing knee osteoarthritic pain. The use of intraarticular gold can add new knowledge to the treatment of inflammation and pain

Robotter i Folkeskolen: Begrundelser, visioner, faktisk brug og udfordringer i normalklasser

I denne rapport præsenter vi resultaterne af et mini-projekt koblet til Technucation-projektet  (2011-2015) med yderligere støtte fra DPU, Aarhus Universitet. I forbindelse med Technucations forskning, og vores øvrige forskning i robotter som fremtidsteknologi, bliver vi opmærksomme på, at mange skoler enten har lånt eller købt robotter i uddannelsesøjemed. Der er mange ambitioner bag robotters indtog i skolerne, ligesom der investeres store summer i det, og mange interessenter er involverede (såsom skoler, kommuner, udviklere, sælgere, fonde mv.).Projektet Robotter i Folkeskolen (RIF) blev igangsat i sommeren 2015 af forskere fra forskningsprogrammet Fremtidsteknologi, Kultur og Læreprocesser, samt en række studenterassistenter fra DPU, Aarhus Universitet. Hovedrapporten har to dele, der er blevet bearbejdet hver for sig: en del der omhandler robotter almenundervisningen og en del der omhandler robotter i specialundervisningen. I denne rapport præsenteres fortrinsvis robotter i almenundervisningen

Intra-articular injection of gold micro-particles with hyaluronic acid for painful knee osteoarthritis

BACKGROUND: Recently, in an open pilot study, we found up to two years, a potential pain-relieving effect of intra-articular gold micro-particles using the patient's synovial fluid for patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). During the study the excluded group of patients, due to multisite pain, co-morbidities, and other exclusion criteria., received intra-articular gold micro-particles using hyaluronic acid,. We aimed to identify if pre-treatment characteristics influence the global outcome two years after intra-articular treatment for painful KOA with gold microparticles using hyaluronic acid.METHODS: Using hyaluronic acid as the carrier, 136 patients with KOA received intraarticular injections with 20 mg gold microparticles (72.000 particles, 20-40 μm in diameter). In the analysis, we included the Global Rating of Change Scale, Pain Detect Questionnaire (PDQ), Body Mass Index (BMI), and Kellgren &amp; Lawrence score at the inclusion, Western Ontario, and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) sub-scores for pain, stiffness, and function at inclusion and two years.RESULTS: On the Global Rating Change Scale, 69.1% of patients reported a positive effect, 28.7% no effect, and 2.2% worse. PDQ and the three WOMAC subscores all improved at two years of follow-up. PDQ ≥ 13 (P = 0.028), BMI (P = 0.022) and Kellgren &amp; Lawrence grade 4 (P = 0.028) at inclusion reduced the effect with a minor odds ratio compared to the baseline effect of treatment (P = 0.025). WOMAC subscores at inclusion did not influence the outcome (P &gt; 0.5).CONCLUSIONS: Severe osteoarthritis, obesity, and neuropathic pain, reduced the effect of intra-articular gold microparticles for knee OA.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study followed the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local ethics committee of the North Denmark Region by 27/07/2016 (N-20,160,045). The regional data protection agency approved the project by 06/07/2016 (2008-58-0028, ID 2016 - 116) and registered in ClinicalTrial.Gov by 04/01/2018 (NCT03389906).</p