Chitinozoan biozonation and new lithostratigraphical data in the Upper Ordovician of the Fauquez and Asquempont areas (Brabant Massif, Belgium)

status: publishe

Influence of shoulder pain on muscle function: implications for the assessment and therapy of shoulder disorders

Shoulder pain is often a challenging clinical phenomenon because of the potential mismatch between pathology and the perception of pain. Current evidence clearly emphasizes an incomplete understanding of the nature of shoulder pain. Indeed, the effective diagnosis and treatment of shoulder pain should not only rely upon a detailed knowledge of the peripheral pathologies that may be present in the shoulder, but also on current knowledge of pain neurophysiology. To assess and treat shoulder pain, a comprehensive understanding of the way in which pain is processed is essential. This review reflects modern pain neurophysiology to the shoulder and aims to answer the following questions: why does my shoulder hurt? What is the impact of shoulder pain on muscle function? What are the implications for the clinical examination of the shoulder? And finally, what are the clinical implications for therapy? Despite the increasing amount of research in this area, an in-depth understanding of the bidirectional nociception-motor interaction is still far from being achieved. Many questions remain, especially related to the treatment of nociception-motor interactions

Cognitive performance is related to central sensitization and health-related quality of life in patients with chronic whiplash-associated disorders and fibromyalgia

Background: A growing body of research has demonstrated that impaired central pain modulation or central sensitization (CS) is a crucial mechanism for the development of persistent pain in chronic whiplash-associated disorders (WAD) and fibromyalgia (FM) patients. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence for cognitive dysfunctions among these patients. In addition, chronic WAD and FM patients often report problems with health-related quality of life (QoL). Yet, there is limited research concerning the interrelations between cognitive performance, indices of CS, and health-related QoL in these patients. Objectives: (1) Examining the presence of cognitive impairment, CS, and limitations on health-related QoL in patients with chronic WAD and FM compared to healthy controls. (2) Examining interrelations between performance-based cognitive functioning, CS, and self-reported health-related QoL in these 3 study groups. Study Design: A case-control study was conducted. Setting: The present study took place at the University Hospital Brussels, the University of Brussels, and the University of Antwerp. Methods: Fifty-nine patients (16 chronic WAD patients, 21 FM patients, and 22 pain-free volunteers) filled out the Short Form 36 item Health Survey (SF-36), a self-reported psychosocial questionnaire, to assess health-related QoL. Next, they were subjected to various pain measurements (pressure hyperalgesia, deep-tissue hyperalgesia, temporal summation [TS], and conditioned pain modulation [CPM]). Finally, participants completed a battery of performance-based cognitive tests (Stroop task, psychomotor vigilance task [PVT], and operation span task [OSPAN]). Results: Significant cognitive impairment, bottom-up sensitization, and decreased health-related QoL were demonstrated in patients with chronic WAD and FM compared to healthy controls (P < 0.017). CPM was comparable between the 3 groups. Cognitive performance was significantly related to central pain modulation (deep-tissue hyperalgesia, TS, CPM) as well as to self-reported health-related QoL (P < 0.05). Decreased cognitive performance was related to deficient central pain modulation in healthy controls. Further, significant correlations between decreased cognitive performance and reduced health-related QoL were revealed among all study groups. Additionally, FM patients showed correlations between cognitive impairment and increased health-related QoL. Remarkably, impaired selective attention and working memory were related to less TS, whereas impaired sustained attention was correlated with dysfunctional CPM in FM patients. Limitations: Based on the current cross-sectional study no firm conclusions can be drawn on the causality of the relations. Conclusion: In conclusion, this paper has demonstrated significant cognitive deficits, signs of CS, and reduced health-related QoL in chronic WAD and FM patients compared to healthy individuals. Significant relations between cognitive performance and CS as well as health-related QoL were demonstrated. These results provide preliminary evidence for the clinical importance of objectively measured cognitive deficits in patients with chronic WAD and FM

Fate of thymol and its monoglucosides in the gastrointestinal tract of piglets

The monoterpene thymol has been proposed as a valuable alternative to in-feed antibiotics in animal production. However, the effectiveness of the antimicrobial is comprised by its fast absorption in the upper gastrointestinal tract. In this work, two glucoconjugates, thymol a-D-glucopyranoside (T alpha G) and thymol beta-D-glucopyranoside (T beta G), were compared with free thymol for their potential to deliver higher concentrations of the active compound to the distal small intestine of supplemented piglets. Additionally, an analytical method was developed and validated for the simultaneous quantification of thymol and its glucoconjugates in different matrices. In stomach contents of pigs fed with 3333 mu mol kg(-1) thymol, T alpha G, or T beta G, total thymol concentrations amounted to 3048, 2357, and 1820 mu mol kg(-1 )dry matter, respectively. In glucoconjugate-fed pigs, over 30% of this concentration was present in the unconjugated form, suggesting partial hydrolysis in the stomach. No quantifiable levels of thymol or glucoconjugates were detected in the small intestine or cecum for any treatment, indicating that conjugation with one glucose unit did not sufficiently protect thymol from early absorption

Assistance in the update of the systematic literature review (SLR): 'Influence of copper on antibiotic resistance of gut microbiota on pigs (including piglets)'

A total of 901 references were examined to assess the influence of copper supplemented diets on copper and antibiotic resistance of gut microbiota in pigs (including piglets). Merely 33 references were found eligible to answer this review question. From these 33 references, eleven references were assigned as experimental field studies, ten references were experimental environmentally controlled studies, and twelve references were assigned as cross-sectional studies. The references assigned as experimental field studies provided the most suitable information for the review question. The other studies gave useful information concerning the mechanism of resistance or prevalence of resistant isolates. The overall methodological quality of the field studies was rather poor. Only three of the eleven field studies had a methodological quality that was considered acceptable for the present review question. Therefore, the restricted number of studies available from the SLR, and the limitations in terms of results and methodological quality do not allow excluding the possibility of a positive correlation between copper supplementation above requirements and development of antibiotic resistance