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Subdiaphragmatic vagal dysfunction causes chronic pain. To verify whether this chronic pain is accompanied by enhanced peripheral nociceptive sensitivity, we evaluated primary afferent neuronal excitability in subdiaphragmatic vagotomized (SDV) rats. SDV rats showed a decrease in the electrical stimuli-induced hind limb-flexion threshold at 250 Hz, but showed no similar effect at 5 or 2000 Hz, which indicated that lumbar primary afferent Aδ sensitivity was enhanced in SDV rats. The whole-cell patch-clamp technique also revealed the hyper-excitability of acutely dissociated medium-sized lumbar dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons isolated from SDV rats. The contribution of changes in voltage-dependent potassium (Kv) channels was assessed, and transient A-type K+ ( IA) current density was apparently decreased. Moreover, Kv4.3 immunoreactivity in medium-sized DRG neurons was significantly reduced in SDV rats compared to sham. These results indicate that SDV causes hyper-excitability of lumbar primary Aδ afferent neurons, which may be induced along with suppressing IA currents via the decreased expression of Kv4.3. Thus, peripheral Aδ neuroplasticity may contribute to the chronic lower limb pain caused by SDV. Synapse, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuropathic pain is the most difficult type of pain to control, and patients lose their motivation for the purposive pursuit with a decrease in their quality of life. Using a functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis, we demonstrated that blood oxygenation level-dependent signal intensity was increased in the ipsilateral nucleus accumbens (N.Acc.) following peripheral nerve injury. microRNAs are small, noncoding RNA molecules that direct the post-transcriptional suppression of gene expression, and play an important role in regulating synaptic plasticity. In this study, we found that sciatic nerve ligation induced a drastic decrease in the expression of miR200b and miR429 in N.Acc. neurons. The expression ofDNAmethyltransferase 3a (DNMT3a), which is the one of the predicted targets of miR200b/429, was significantly increased in the limbic forebrain including N.Acc. at 7 d after sciatic nerve ligation. Double-immunolabeling with antibodies specific to DNMT3a and NR1 showed that DNMT3a-immunoreactivity in the N.Acc. was located in NR1-labeled neurons, indicating that increased DNMT3a proteins were dominantly expressed in postsynaptic neurons in the N.Acc. area under a neuropathic pain-like state. The results of these analyses provide new insight into an epigenetic modification that is accompanied by a dramatic decrease in miR200b and miR429 along with the dysfunction of \"mesolimbic motivation/valuation circuitry\" under a neuropathic pain-like state. These phenomena may result in an increase in DNMT3a in neurons of the N.Acc. under neuropathic pain, which leads to the long-term transcription-silencing of several genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the study conducted to investigate the impact of mild noxious heat stimuli on the neuronal activity in the cingulate cortex (CG) of rats with sciatic nerve ligation. The mild noxious heat stimuli administered to rats seven days after sciatic nerve ligation produced flinching behaviors and resulted in an increase in glutamate release in the CG, and phosphorylated-NR1-positive cells, under a neuropathic pain.

Immune senescence potentially leads to an increased risk of infections. It is desirable to augment the immune system and protect against infections by daily consumption of immunostimulatory food. The present study evaluated whether the intake of yoghurt fermented with Lactobacillus delbrueckii ssp. bulgaricus (L. bulgaricus) OLL1073R-1 has an effect on resistance to the common cold. We conducted two independent studies, in which fifty-seven (median age 74·5 years) and eighty-five healthy elderly individuals (median age 67·7 years) were participants. In each study, the subjects were divided into two groups based on age and sex and instructed to eat 90 g yoghurt or drink 100 ml milk once per d over an 8- or 12-week period. A meta-analysis of the results of these two independent studies showed the risk of catching the common cold was about 2·6 times lower (OR 0·39; P = 0·019) in the yoghurt group than in the milk group and the increase of natural killer cell activity was significantly higher in the yoghurt group than in the milk group (P = 0·028). In addition, the quality of life score for the ‘eye/nose/throat’ system after intake was significantly higher in the yoghurt group than in the milk group and the improvement of the score was correlated with the promotion of natural killer cell activity. In conclusion, consumption of yoghurt fermented with L. bulgaricus OLL1073R-1 augmented natural killer cell activity and reduced the risk of catching the common cold in elderly individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the in vivo kinematics during weight-bearing and non–weight-bearing activities for subjects with a unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) designed for high flexion and implanted with minimally invasive techniques. A total of 30 UKAs implanted in 18 patients were analyzed. All patients were implanted with a medial Zimmer Unicompartmental High Flex Knee System (Zimmer Inc, Warsaw, Ind). Under fluoroscopic surveillance, each patient performed weight-bearing deep knee bend, normal gait, and passive flexion. The kinematics of the medial UKA was determined using a 3-dimensional model registration technique. On average, the implant experienced posterior femoral rollback and normal axial rotation during flexion. However, the kinematic patterns for each patient were not consistent, and the variability was high during flexion and stance phase of gait. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Peripheral blood cytopenia such as anemia, leukopenia with neutropenia and thrombocytopenia is frequently observed in cats infected with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV). Although previous studies report that cytopenia has been observed in FIV-infected symptomatic cats, yet the asymptomatic cats also present cytopenia occasionally. In the present study, hematological and virological analyses in FIV-infected asymptomatic cats were carried out to understand the prevalence and pathogenesis of peripheral blood cytopenia in FIV infection. Hematological abnormalities were detected in 24 of 50 FIV-infected asymptomatic cats (48%) in which no other cause of cytopenia than FIV infection was observed. Anemia only, neutropenia only, thrombocytopenia only, bicytopenia and pancytopenia were observed in 10%, 10%, 6%, 14% and 8%, respectively. Bone marrow (BM) examination was performed in 8 FIV-infected asymptomatic cats with peripheral blood cytopenia. Myeloid dysplasia was observed in 4 cats with neutropenia of which 2 cats with concurrent thrombocytopenia presented morphological abnormalities of megakaryocytes. FIV-infected BM cells in the 8 cats were analyzed by PCR and immunocytochemistry. Lobulated mononuclear cells in BM were infected with FIV in 5 cats with neutropenia of which 2 cats with concurrent thrombocytopenia showed FIV-infected megakaryocytes. Parts of isolated stromal cells from BM were infected with FIV in all the 8 cats. Present results suggest that FIV infection of BM cells can cause peripheral blood cytopenia and myelodysplasia even if the cat is asymptomatic. Such FIV-related hematological abnormalities are supposed to be diagnosed as FIV-myelopathy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The relationship between spinal posture and quality of life has garnered considerable attention with the increase in older community-dwelling residents. However, details of this association remain insufficient. A recent Japanese population cohort epidemiological locomotion survey (the Obuse study) revealed that the C2–C7 cervical sagittal vertical axis (CSVA) began to increase in males from their 60s, but not in females. This study aimed to clarify the pathology of these cervical spondylotic changes. A total of 411 participants (202 male and 209 female) aged between 50 and 89 years were selected by random sampling from a cooperating town's resident registry. All participants underwent lateral X-ray photography in a standing position for the measurement of several sagittal spinal alignment parameters, including CSVA, C2–C7 cervical lordosis (CL), T1 slope (T1S), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA). The presence of cervical spondylotic changes was also recorded. Associations of cervical sagittal spinal alignment with cervical spondylosis and between cervical and total sagittal spinal alignment were examined. The prevalence of cervical spondylosis was significantly higher in males (81%) than in females (70%) (p = 0.01). CL was significantly smaller in cervical spondylosis subjects when adjusted by age (3.4 degrees less; p = 0.01). T1S minus CL displayed a moderate positive correlation with CSVA in both males and females (r = 0.49 and 0.48, respectively, both p < 0.01). In males only, CSVA and CL showed weak positive correlations with SVA (r = 0.31 and 0.22, respectively, both p < 0.01) independently of age. Cervical spinal misalignment was more clearly associated with diminished SF-8TM scores in females than in males. In community-dwelling elderly residents, cervical sagittal spinal alignment change accompanying cervical spondylosis manifested as hypofunction to compensate for whole-spine imbalance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was designed to investigate effects of heat on the bone-inducing activity of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein (rhBMP)-2. rhBMP-2 samples were heated at 50, 70, 90, or 100 degrees C for 15 min, or 1, 2, 4, or 8 h, or autoclaved at 120 degrees C for 15 min. The bone-inducing activity of the rhBMP-2 before and after heating was assayed in in vivo and in vitro systems. For the in vivo assay, 5 microg rhBMP-2 samples were impregnated into porous collagen disks (6 mm in diameter, 1 mm thickness), freeze dried, and implanted into the back muscles of ddY mice. Three weeks later, the implant was harvested from the host and examined for ectopic new bone tissue by radiography. The new bone mass was quantified by single-energy X-ray absorptiometry. The in vitro activity of the rhBMP-2 was assayed by adding the BMP sample at a concentration of 100 ng/ml to cultures of MC3T3-E1 cells. After 48 h, the alkaline phosphatase activity was measured. After heating at 50 degrees or 70 degrees C, no significant reduction in bone-inducing activity was noted in either in vivo or in vitro assay systems unless the protein was exposed to sustained heat at 70 degrees C for 8 h, based on in vitro assay data. However, heating above 90 degrees C and for longer periods led to a decrease in the biological activity of the rhBMP-2 in a time- and temperature-dependent manner. rhBMP-2 was rendered inactive when exposed to temperatures at or in excess of 120 degrees C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The long-term results of total hip arthroplasty performed with cement and use of a bulk autograft for acetabular reconstruction in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip have varied considerably. We evaluated the results of total hip arthroplasties performed with acetabular bulk autograft to identify the factors that influence the results of this procedure.Methods: Acetabular roof defects secondary to developmental dysplasia of the hip were reconstructed with a bulk femoral head autograft at the time of total hip arthroplasties performed with use of the Charnley technique and prosthesis. Thirty-seven hips in thirty patients (mean age at the time of the operation, fifty-seven years) were followed for ten to twenty-six years (mean, nineteen years). The Crowe classification of hip subluxation or dislocation was Group II for sixteen hips, Group III for seventeen, and Group IV for four.Results: Coverage of the socket by the graft ranged from 5% to 49% (mean, 33%). Twenty-nine sockets were located within the true acetabulum, and eight were placed more proximally. At the time of the latest follow-up, all of the patients had an excellent clinical result, all of the grafts had united, and no hip had radiographic evidence of failure of the fixation.Conclusions: We found that total hip arthroplasty performed with cement and use of a bulk autograft to reconstruct an acetabulum with severe bone deficiency secondary to developmental dysplasia of the hip can provide long-term success in patients forty-eight years of age and older when coverage of the socket by the graft does not exceed 50%. When it is not possible to achieve >50% coverage of the socket by the ilium at the level of the true acetabulum, more proximal placement of the socket to obtain adequate coverage is recommended. INSETS: ABSTRACT;CRITICAL CONCEPTS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Background: The principal long-term complication after total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been aseptic fixation failure. Many hip prostheses and operative techniques have been developed to improve outcomes, but few measures have been taken to cope with poor bone quality or hip structure. We assessed risk factors for aseptic fixation failure after THA.Methods: We assessed, by multivariate analysis, survival of 405 primary Charnley THAs to identify risk factors for aseptic fixation failures. We also investigated risk factors for development of rapid polyethylene wear (penetration depth of the femoral head into the socket polyethylene [> OR =]2 mm/year)Findings: In the entire series of 405 THAs, with use of radiographic fixation failure or revision for a loose socket as the endpoint, development of rapid polyethylene wear and the preoperative diagnosis of atrophic osteoarthrosis (defined by scarce osteophyte formation) were identified as risk factors for socket loosening (p[≤ OR =]0.02). A medullary canal with an unfavourable geometry (a stovepipe canal, Noble's canal-flare index <3.0) was the only risk factor for femoral fixation failure (p[≤ OR =]6.7x10[SUP 3]). The only variable related to development of rapid polyethylene wear was the type of steel used in the femoral prosthesis--Ortron 90 prostheses significantly lowered the rate of development of rapid wear from 12.7% to 0.4%. In the 248 THAs in which these femoral prostheses were used, socket survival was affected only by the preoperative diagnosis of atrophic osteoarthrosis (for radiographic fixation failure and revision, p=4.0x10[SUP -5] and p=0.042, respectively). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the main etiologies of disability in daily life. In the face of LBP increases in super-aged societies, there are serious concerns of escalating medical costs and deteriorations in the social economy. It is therefore important to identify the factors associated with LBP for prompt preventative and therapeutic measures. This study investigated the prevalence of LBP and the impact of subject-specific factors on LBP development in Japanese community-dwelling older adults. We established eight groups based on age (50's, 60's, 70's, and 80's) and gender after random sampling from a resident registry. A total of 411 participants (201 male and 210 female) were enrolled for a whole-spine lateral radiographic examination and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. All subjects were evaluated for the presence and degree of LBP. We analyzed the impact of clinical factors on LBP using multivariate analysis. Fifty-three (12.9%) participants (23 (11.4%) male and 30 (14.3%) female) were found to have LBP. The prevalence of LBP tended to increase with age, and similar results were found between genders. In univariate analysis, the subject-related factors of the sagittal vertebral axis, pelvic incidence minus lumbar lordosis (PI-LL) mismatch, and aging had significant associations with LBP. PI-LL mismatch was a significant independent factor in multivariate analysis. In conclusion, this study identified LBP prevalence and subject-specific factors on a general population basis. Multivariate analysis revealed PI-LL mismatch as an independent factor associated with LBP in the healthy community-dwelling elderly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses development of fingolimod, oral drug for treatment of multiple sclerosis that is suggested to suppresses pro-inflammatory effects and improve neuroprotective effects in astrocytes. Topics discussed include action on lymphocytes, reverse transcription polymerase chain reactions and intercellular adhesion molecule-1. IL Interleukin, histocompatibility complex and tumor necrosis factor are mentioned.

Osteoporosis may increase fracture risk and reduce healthy quality of life in older adults. This study aimed to identify an assessment method using physical performance tests to screen for osteoporosis in community dwelling individuals. A total of 168 women aged 50–89 years without diagnosed osteoporosis were randomly selected from the resident registry of a cooperating town for the evaluation of physical characteristics, muscle strength, and several physical performance tests. The most effective combinations of evaluation items to detect osteoporosis (i.e., T-score ≤ −2.5 at the spine or hip) were selected by multivariate analysis and cutoff values were determined by likelihood ratio matrices. Thirty-six women (21.4%) were classified as having osteoporosis. By analyzing combinations of two-step test (TST) score and body mass index (BMI), osteoporosis could be reliably suspected in individuals with TST ≤ 1.30 and BMI ≤ 23.4, TST ≤ 1.32 and BMI ≤ 22.4, TST ≤ 1.34 and BMI ≤ 21.6, or TST < 1.24 and any BMI. Setting cut-off values for TST in combination with BMI represents an easy and possibly effective screening tool for osteoporosis detection in resident health exams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contents of infected root canals were collected by mechanical and chemical debridement. Intracanal polyamines were identified and quantified by HPLC in all canals examined, however, no histamine was detected in any canal. The relationship between the amount of each polyamine and clinical signs of the teeth was analyzed statistically. The teeth without clinical signs tended to have limited varieties and smaller amounts of polyamines. Using X[sup2], the amounts were significantly greater in teeth with spontaneous pain, swelling and putrescent odor (p<0.01), with exudate (p<0.025) and with percussion pain p<0.1) than in teeth without. Amounts of putrescine (p<0.05) and total polyamines (p <0.01) were greater in teeth with spontaneous pain and percussion pain than in teeth without clinical sign, and those with root canal exudate also had greater amounts of total polyamines than those without (p<0.01). The amounts of cadaverine, however, from the teeth with gingival fistulae, was greater than from those without (p<0.05). No significant relationship was established between the amount of each polyamine and the presence of putrescent odor or gingival swelling. Intracanal polyamines, especially putrescine may leak out through apical foramen and may be implicated in pain production by eliciting acute inflammatory response in the periapical tissues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the effects of three rapid decompression methods used to clear the mechanism of inactivation of heat tolerant spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus IFO 12550. Methods used to pressurize the spores; Details on the application of pressure sterilization methods in the food industry; Characteristics of the spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus; Features of the three decompression methods used.

This article discusses the results of a research study conducted to determine the peripheral mechanisms of the teeth in pulp-nerve excitation by the inferior alveolar nerve using a silver-wire electrode in cat specimens. The study records the spontaneous and elicited discharges of the alveolar nerve and finds variation in its conduction velocity.

Between January and May in 2018, 17 male cases of hepatitis A were reported in Yokohama, Japan. Of these, 14 identified as men who have sex with men. The viral sequence in this outbreak was same as that of the recent European and Taiwanese outbreaks strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 16-year-old female with a history of left recurrent patellar dislocation underwent medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) reconstruction surgery. Two months postoperatively, the patient presented with medial patellar pain. Left medial plica syndrome was suspected, and we performed a partial arthroscopic resection of the medial synovial plica. The symptom gradually improved after surgery. To the best of our knowledge, there are no reports that discuss the relationship between postoperative pain of MPFL reconstruction and synovial plica as found in this case report. Surgeons should be aware of the possibility that asymptomatic synovial plica could become symptomatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pigmented villonodullar synovitis (PVS) occurs in two forms: diffuse PVS and localized pigmented villonodular synovitis. In this report, a 40-year-old woman presented with a history of recurrent episodes of knee locking and pain. Arthroscopy revealed a nodular pedunculated mass occupying the area anterior to the intercondylar notch of the femur. Histological examination of the tissue confirmed the diagnosis of PVS. After surgery, the patient’s symptoms of pain and recurrent locking promptly resolved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to clarify how SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia is related to COVID-19 critical condition development and mortality in comparison with other predictive markers and scoring systems. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study conducted at Yokohama Municipal Citizen's Hospital and National Institute of Infectious Diseases. We recruited adult patients with COVID-19 admitted between March 2020 and January 2021. We compared RNAemia with clinical status on admission including scoring systems such as the 4C Mortality, CURB-65, and A-DROP, as well as the Ct value of the nasopharyngeal PCR, in predicting COVID-19 mortality and critical condition development. Results: Of the 92 recruited patients (median age, 58; interquartile range, 45–71 years), 14 (14.9%) had RNAemia. These patients had an older age (median, 68 years vs. 55.5 years; p = 0.011), higher values of lactated dehydrogenase (median, 381 U/L vs. 256.5 U/L, p < 0.001), C-reactive protein (median, 10.9 mg/dL vs. 3.8 mg/dL; p < 0.001), D-dimer (median, 2.07 μg/mL vs. 1.28 μg/mL; p = 0.015), lower values of lymphocyte (median, 802/μL vs. 1007/μL, p = 0.025) and Ct of the nasopharyngeal PCR assay (median, 20.59 vs. 25.54; p = 0.021) than those without RNAemia. Univariate analysis showed RNAemia was associated with mortality (odds ratio [OR], 18.75; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.92–89.76; area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC], 0.7851; p = 0.002) and critical condition (OR, 72.00; 95% CI, 12.98–399.29; AUC, 0.8198; p < 0.001). Plus, multivariate analysis also revealed the association of RNAemia with critical condition (adjusted OR, 125.71; 95% CI, 11.47–1377.32; p < 0.001). Conclusion: On-admission SARS-CoV-2 RNAemia is a potent predictive marker of COVID-19 critical condition and mortality. The adjusted OR for critical condition was as high as 125.71. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]