Search

Effective pain control of herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO) is not only essential to attenuate the clinical symptoms but to reduce the risk of postherpetic neuralgia development. Recently, neuromodulation therapy has been one promising option for neuropathic pain and increasingly applied in management of zoster-related pain. One key factor of neuromodulation treatment is the therapeutic site for the impaired nerves. In this study we aim to investigate one novel dual-neuromodulation strategy, targeting the level of the peripheral branch and trigeminal ganglion, in the pain management of HZO. Dual neuromodulation strategy combining short-term peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) with pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) of trigeminal ganglion was compared with single PNS treatment for HZO-related pain. Clinical recordings of patients were retrospectively reviewed. The primary outcome was the pain severity, assessed by the visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after neuromodulation therapy. PNS achieved significant relief of pain with or without PRF treatment before discharge, which provided enduring therapeutic effect up to 12-month follow-up. The mean reduction of VAS was 6.7 ± 1.4 in dual modulation therapy (n = 13) at last follow-up and 5.4 ± 1.5 in PNS subgroup (n = 20), respectively. Moreover, dual modulation strategy provided better control of pain compared with PNS therapy alone at each time point. It is feasible and effective to combine the PNS and PRF in pain management of HZO. This novel dual modulation strategy of trigeminal pathway may provide additional therapeutic effects of pain symptoms in HZO population. Dual neuromodulation strategy for pain management of herpes zoster ophthalmicus is proposed, with regard to stimulation site (peripheral and trigeminal ganglion) and apparatus (electrical nerve stimulation and pulsed radiofrequency). Superior clinical outcome was associated with novel neuromodulation therapy with dual therapeutic targets, when compared with peripheral nerve stimulation in treatment of herpes zoster ophthalmicus. We conducted literature review to compare distinct pattern of neuromodulation (peripheral nerve stimulation and radiofrequency) in treatment of trigeminal neuropathic pain caused by herpes zoster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: With high water content, excellent biocompatibility and lubricating properties, and a microstructure similar to that of the extracellular matrix, hydrogel is becoming one of the most promising materials as a substitute for articular cartilage. However, it is a challenge for hydrogel materials to simultaneously satisfy high loading and low friction. Most hydrogels are brittle, with fracture energies of around 10 J·m−2, as compared with ∼1000 J·m−2 for cartilage. A great deal of effort has been devoted to the synthesis of hydrogels with improved mechanical properties, such as increasing the compactness of the polymer network, introducing dynamic non‐covalent bonds, and increasing the hydrophobicity of the polymer, all at the expense of the lubricating properties of the hydrogel. Herein, we develop a hydrogel material with anisotropic tubular structures where the compactness gradually decreases and eventually disappears from the surface to the subsurface, achieving a balance between lubrication and load‐bearing. The porous layer with hydrophilic carboxyl groups on the surface exhibits extremely low friction (coefficient of friction (COF) ∼0.003, 1 N; COF ∼0.08, 20 N) against the hard steel ball, while the bottom layer acts as an excellent load‐bearing function. What is more, the gradual transition of the tubular structures between the surface and the subsurface ensures the uniform distribution of friction stress between a lubricating and bearing layers, which endows the material with long‐lasting and smooth friction properties. The extraordinary lubricious performance of the hydrogels with anisotropic tubular structure has potential applications in tissue engineering and medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single-layer molybdenum disulfide (SLMoS2) nanosheets have been experimentally discovered to exist in two different polymorphs, which exhibit different electrical properties, metallic or semiconducting. Herein, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of nanoindentation and uniaxial compression were conducted to investigate the phase transition of SLMoS2 nanosheets. Typical load–deflection curves, stress–strain curves, and local atomic structures were obtained. The loading force decreases sharply and then increases again at a critical deflection under the nanoindentation, which is inferred to the phase transition. In addition to the layer thickness, some related bond lengths and bond angles were also found to suddenly change as the phase transition occurs. A bell-like hollow, so-called residual deformation, was found to form, mainly due to the lattice distortion around the waist of the bell. The effect of indenter size on the residual hollow was also analyzed. Under the uniaxial compression along the armchair direction, a different phase transition, a uniformly quadrilateral structure, was observed when the strain is greater than 27.7%. The quadrilateral structure was found to be stable and exhibit metallic conductivity in view of the first-principle calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Comprehensive Summary: With high water content, excellent biocompatibility and lubricating properties, and a microstructure similar to that of the extracellular matrix, hydrogel is becoming one of the most promising materials as a substitute for articular cartilage. However, it is a challenge for hydrogel materials to simultaneously satisfy high loading and low friction. Most hydrogels are brittle, with fracture energies of around 10 J·m−2, as compared with ∼1000 J·m−2 for cartilage. A great deal of effort has been devoted to the synthesis of hydrogels with improved mechanical properties, such as increasing the compactness of the polymer network, introducing dynamic non‐covalent bonds, and increasing the hydrophobicity of the polymer, all at the expense of the lubricating properties of the hydrogel. Herein, we develop a hydrogel material with anisotropic tubular structures where the compactness gradually decreases and eventually disappears from the surface to the subsurface, achieving a balance between lubrication and load‐bearing. The porous layer with hydrophilic carboxyl groups on the surface exhibits extremely low friction (coefficient of friction (COF) ∼0.003, 1 N; COF ∼0.08, 20 N) against the hard steel ball, while the bottom layer acts as an excellent load‐bearing function. What is more, the gradual transition of the tubular structures between the surface and the subsurface ensures the uniform distribution of friction stress between a lubricating and bearing layers, which endows the material with long‐lasting and smooth friction properties. The extraordinary lubricious performance of the hydrogels with anisotropic tubular structure has potential applications in tissue engineering and medical devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]