Auswirkungen chronischer Nackenschmerzen auf die Lungenfunktion : Mögliche Auswirkungen und physiotherapeutische Relevanz

Einleitung: Chronische Lungenerkrankungen führen durch das Verändern des Atemmusters und durch Atemhilfsstellungen zu Nackenschmerzen. Ob eine umgekehrte Verbindung ebenfalls besteht, war bisher nicht bekannt. Ziel: Diese Arbeit soll mögliche Zusammenhänge zwischen dem Nacken und der Lunge aufzeigen. Zudem soll analysiert werden, ob und inwiefern chronische Nackenschmerzen die Lungenfunktion beeinflussen. Weiter soll die physiotherapeutische Relevanz dargelegt werden. Methode: Medizinische, insbesondere physiotherapeutische Datenbanken wurden systematisch nach relevanten Studien durchsucht. So konnten fünf Studien gefunden werden, davon sind drei Querschnittstudien, eine Fall-Kontroll-Studie und eine Korrelationsanalyse. Diese fünf Studien wurden kritisch gelesen und beurteilt sowie ihre Güte geprüft. Wichtigste Resultate: Im theoretischen Teil dieser Arbeit konnten verschiedenste Verbindungen zwischen dem Nacken und der Lunge, in viszerosomatischen Beziehungen, in Reflexzonen sowie in neuralen Strukturen aufgezeigt werden. Patientinnen und Patienten mit chronischen Nackenschmerzen zeigten in den Studien verminderte Werte in VC, MVV, Pimax (MIP), Pemax (MEP), Stärke der Nackenmuskeln und PtcCO2. Zudem konnte eine Korrelation zwischen der Stärke der Nackenmuskulatur und Pemax gefunden werden. Weiter diskutierten die Autorenteams den Einfluss von psychischen Faktoren wie Schmerzempfinden, Angst und Kinesiophobie auf die Lungenfunktion. Schlussfolgerung: Chronische Nackenschmerzen haben einen Einfluss auf die Lungenfunktion. Die Aussagekraft kann aufgrund des kleinen Samplings hinterfragt werden. Um eine klare Aussage machen zu können, sind weitere Studien, insbesondere RCTs nötig

Potassium secretion by the descending limb or pars recta of the juxtamedullary nephron in vivo

Potassium secretion by the descending limb or pars recta of the juxtamedullary nephron in vivo. Potassium reabsorption by the juxtamedullary nephron up to the hairpin turn was studied by the micropuncture technique in the exposed renal papilla of rats. In 18 nondiuretic rats, the fraction of filtered potassium remaining at the end of the desdending limb averaged 113 ± 9%, indicating either that potassium is not reabsorbed by the juxtamedullary proximal tubule and descending limb or that potassium is reabsorbed and secreted in those segments. Furosemide, a drug which inhibits NaCl reabsorption in the ascending limb downstream from the descending limb, significantly decreased the potassium remaining at the end of the descending limb from 106 ± 12 to 72 ± 11% in seven rats. Benzolamide, a drug which inhibits reabsorption of NaHCO3 and water in the proximal tubule upstream from the descending limb, significantly increased the potassium remaining from 103 ± 13 to 177 ± 32% in eight rats. These findings support the hypothesis that in the rat, potassium is normally reabsorbed by the proximal convoluted tubule and secreted in the pars recta or descending limb of the juxtamedullary nephron

Atherosclerosis in the circle of Willis: Spatial differences in composition and in distribution of plaques

AbstractBackground and aimsIntracranial atherosclerosis is one of the main causes of ischemic stroke. However, the characteristics of intracranial arteries and atherosclerosis have rarely been studied. Therefore, we systematically investigated atherosclerotic changes in all arteries of the Circle of Willis (CoW).MethodsSixty-seven CoWs obtained at autopsy from randomly chosen hospital patients (mean age, 67.3 ± 12.5 years), of which a total of 1220 segments were collected from 22 sites. Atherosclerotic plaques were classified according to the revised American Heart Association classification and were related to local vessel characteristics, such as the presence of an external and internal elastic lamina and the elastic fibre density of the media.Results181 out of the 1220 segments had advanced plaques (15%), which were mainly observed in large arteries such as the internal carotid, middle cerebral, basilar and vertebral artery. Only 11 out of 1220 segments (1%) showed complicated plaques (p < 0.001). Six of these were intraplaque hemorrhages (IPH) and observed only in patients who had cardiovascular-related events (p = 0.015). The frequency of characteristics such as the external elastic lamina and a high elastin fibre density in the media was most often associated with the vertebral artery. Only 3% (n = 33) of the CoW arteries contained calcification (p < 0.001), which were mostly observed in the vertebral artery (n = 13, 12%).ConclusionsAdvanced atherosclerotic plaques in the CoW are relatively scarce and mainly located in the 4 large arteries, and mostly characterized by an early and stable phenotype, a low calcific burden, and a low frequency of IPH

Untangling the hedge: Genetic diversity in clonally and sexually transmitted genomes of European wild roses, Rosa L.

While European wild roses are abundant and widely distributed, their morphological taxonomy is complicated and ambiguous. In particular, the polyploid Rosa section Caninae (dogroses) is characterised by its unusual meiosis, causing simultaneous clonal and sexual transmission of sub-genomes. This hemisexual reproduction, which often co-occurs with vegetative reproduction, defies the standard definition of species boundaries. We analysed seven highly polymorphic microsatellite loci, scored for over 2 600 Rosa samples of differing ploidy, collected across Europe within three independent research projects. Based on their morphology, these samples had been identified as belonging to 21 dogrose and five other native rose species. We quantified the degree of clonality within species and at individual sampling sites. We then compared the genetic structure within our data to current rose morpho-systematics and searched for hemisexually co-inherited sets of alleles at individual loci. We found considerably fewer copies of identical multi-locus genotypes in dogroses than in roses with regular meiosis, with some variation recorded among species. While clonality showed no detectable geographic pattern, some genotypes appeared to be more widespread. Microsatellite data confirmed the current classification of subsections, but they did not support most of the generally accepted dogrose microspecies. Under canina meiosis, we found co-inherited sets of alleles as expected, but could not distinguish between sexually and clonally inherited sub-genomes, with only some of the detected allele combinations being lineage-specific

An Additively Manufactured Sample Holder to Measure the Controlled Release of Vancomycin from Collagen Laminates

The controlled release of antibiotics prevents the spread of pathogens and thereby improves healing processes in regenerative medicine. However, high concentrations may interfere with healing processes. It is therefore advantageous to use biodegradable materials for a controlled release. In particular, multilayer materials enable differential release at different surfaces. For this purpose, collagen sheets of different properties can be bonded by photochemical crosslinking. Here, we present the development and application of an easily accessible, additively manufactured sample holder to study the controlled release of vancomycin from modularly assembled collagen laminates in two directions. As proof-of-concept, we show that laminates of collagen sheets covalently linked by rose bengal and green light crosslinking (RGX) can be tightly inserted into the device without leakage from the upper to lower cavity. We used this sample holder to detect the release of vancomycin from symmetrically and asymmetrically loaded two-layer and three-layer collagen laminates into the upper and lower cavity of the sample holder. We show that these collagen laminates are characterized by a collagen type-dependent vancomycin release, enabling the control of antibiotic release profiles as well as the direction of antibiotic release

Robotic Ultrasound Guidance by B-scan Plane Positioning Control

AbstractUltrasound is indispensable imaging modality for clinical diagnosis such as fetus assessment and heart assessment. Moreover, many ultrasound applications for image guided procedures have been proposed and attempted because US is less invasive, less cost, and high portability. However, to obtain US images, a US imaging probe has to be held manually and contacted with a patient body. To address the issue, we have proposed a robotic system for automatic probe scanning. The system consists of a probe scanning robot, navigation software, an optical tracking device, and an ultrasound imaging device. The robot, that is six degrees of freedom, is composed of a frame mechanism and a probe holding mechanism. The frame mechanism has six pneumatic actuators to reduce its weight, and the probe holding mechanism has one DC motor. The probe holding mechanism is connected with the pneumatic actuators using wires. Moreover, the robot can control the position and orientation of the B-scan plane based on the transformation between an optical tracker attached to the US probe and the B-scan plane. The navigation system, which is connected with the tracking device and an US imaging device via a VGA cable, computes the relative position between the positions of a therapeutic tool and the B-scan plane, and sends it to the robot. Then the position of the B-scan plane can be controlled based on the tool position. Also, the navigation system displays the plane with a texture of an actual echogram and a tool model three-dimensionally to monitor the relative position of the tool and the B-scan plane. To validate the basic system performance, phantom tests were conducted. The phantom was made of gelatin and poly(ethylene glycol). In the tests, the needle was inserted into the phantom, and the B-scan plane was controlled to contain a tracked needle in real-time. From the results, the needle was continuously visualized during needle insertion. Therefore, it is confirmed that the system has a great potential for automatic US image guided procedures

Phenotypes and mechanisms in myoclonus-dystonia

Myoclonus dystonie is een zeldzame bewegingsziekte, die wordt veroorzaakt door mutaties in het SGCE-gen. Er is weinig bekend over de pathologie van de ziekte. Katja Ritz onderzocht waarom patiënten duidelijke neurologische symptomen vertonen, hoewel het SGCE-eiwit niet overal in het lichaam te vinden is. Ze keek hiertoe naar de expressie van het gen in de hersenen en vond daar voor het eerst een vorm van het SGCE-gen die zeer actief is in de kleine hersenen. Ook zag ze dat deze vorm van het gen een eiwit beïnvloedt dat te maken heeft met de afgifte van neurotransmitters. Mycolonus dystonie wordt vermoedelijk veroorzaakt door een afwijkende vorm van het SGCE-gen in de hersenen waardoor in de kleine hersenen de afgifte van neurotransmitters is veranderd

pH-Dependent Release of Vancomycin from Modularly Assembled Collagen Laminates

To prevent surgical site infections, antibiotics can be released from carriers made of biomaterials, such as collagen, that support the healing process and are slowly degraded in the body. In our labs we have developed collagen laminates that can be easily assembled and bonded on-site, according to medical needs. As shown previously, the asymmetric assembly leads to different release rates at the major faces of the laminate. Since the pH changes during the wound healing and infection, we further examined the effect of an acidic and alkaline pH, in comparison to pH 7.4 on the release of vancomycin from different collagen samples. For this purpose, we used an additively manufactured sample holder and quantified the release by HPLC. Our results show that the pH value does not have any influence on the total amount of released vancomycin (atelocollagen sponge pH 5.5: 71 &plusmn; 2%, pH 7.4: 68 &plusmn; 8%, pH 8.5: 74 &plusmn; 3%, bilayer laminate pH 5.5: 61 &plusmn; 6%, pH 7.4: 69 &plusmn; 4% and pH 8.5: 67 &plusmn; 3%) but on the time for half-maximal release. At an acidic pH of 5.5, the swelling of the atelocollagen sponge is largely increased, leading to a 2&ndash;3 h retarded release, compared to the physiological pH. No changes in swelling were observed at the basic pH and the compound release was 1&ndash;2 h delayed. These effects need to be considered when choosing the materials for the laminate assembly