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Complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS-I) is a condition that responds poorly to treatments. The role of omega-3 fatty acids in the treatment of inflammatory disorders is well described in the literature; however, few studies have evaluated its therapeutic benefits in different types of pain. We evaluated the potential antihyperalgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of preventive omega-3 supplementation in an animal model of CRPS-I. In experiment 1, Swiss female mice were supplemented for 30 days with omega-3 before the induction of the CRPS-I model and 14 days after. Mechanical hyperalgesia was evaluated at baseline and from the 4th to the 14th day after CPRS-I induction along with open field locomotor activity after 30 days of supplementation. In experiment 2, Swiss female mice were supplemented for 30 days with omega-3 and then subjected to the CRPS-I model. Twenty-four hours later the animals were euthanized, and tissue samples of the spinal cord and right posterior paw muscle were taken to measure pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF and IL-1β concentrations. Omega-3 supplementation produced antihyperalgesic and anti-inflammatory effects, as well as reducing pro-inflammatory cytokine concentrations, without altering the animals' locomotion. No open field locomotor changes were found. The 30-day supplementation at the tested dose was effective in the CRPS-I model., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 de Oliveira Galassi, Fernandes, Salgado, Cidral-Filho, Piovezan, Lüdtke, Mack, Weber, Reed, Bobinski and Martins.)

In the last decades, balneotherapy or thermalism has been used for health promotion and in the treatment of inflammatory and chronic processes. We found that balneotherapy reduced mechanical hyperalgesia, as well the increase of BDNF and NOS2 levels in the spinal cord, while increased BDNF and NOS1 in the paw. The data presented herein demonstrated for the first time in a murine model of neuropathic pain, the analgesic effect of balneotherapy with the water from the natural springs of Santo Amaro da Imperatriz-Brazil. Nevertheless, future clinical trials should be conducted to test the effectiveness of balneotherapy in neuropathic pain patients., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Background: In 2008-2009, a survey in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy collected information on the farm use of plant protection products (PPPs) and evaluated whether the provisions of the Directive for the Sustainable Use of Pesticides are applicable. It was concluded that the provisions can be implemented, even if some gaps need to be filled and also the behaviour of farmers needs to be improved. Moreover, it was observed that all stages in the use of PPPs on farms could generate risks for the operator and/or the environment. One of the recommendations is to promote training for operators and to adopt good agronomic practices in order to improve sustainable use of PPPs., Results: The findings were used, in the following years, to develop a Guideline for Sustainable Use of PPPs to help the user in identifying the flaws in current practices at farm level as well as their corresponding corrective actions. The Guidelines are accompanied by free online software to be used as a diagnostic tool as well as to provide recommendations for improvements., Conclusion: The approach adopted, taking into account the variability in farm structure, cropping pattern, risk attitude and economic availability, is not an instrument to identify the most suitable protection strategy for a given crop in a given period, but to help professional users to improve their practices in managing PPPs on farms and to make the most appropriate choices leading to reduced environmental and human risk, without compromising the profitability of agricultural production and food standards. This work has, as an underlying principle, a holistic approach to link the different elements of the three pillars of sustainability (environment, economy and society) and to enhance knowledge, which represents one of the main aspects of the Directive., (© 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.)

Male hypophysectomized rats were initially assigned to a control or an overloaded group that underwent compensatory hypertrophy of plantaris muscles to steady-state levels following removal of synergistic musculature. Plantaris muscle mass of overloaded animals was higher than that of controls by 38% (391 +/- 8 vs 284 +/- 7 mg) and glucocorticoid cytosol specific binding concentrations, using [3H]triamcinolone acetonide (TA) as the labeled steroid, was also significantly higher in hypertrophied muscles (83.3 +/- 3.9 fmol . mg protein-1) than in control muscles 56.3 +/- 3.9 fmol . mg protein-1). Cortisone acetate (CA) was then administered daily subcutaneously in high, 100 mg; intermediate, 10 mg; or low, 1.0 mg . kg-1 body wt doses. Groups of rats were killed after 1/4, 2 days and 7 days. Absolute muscle mass losses after 7 days of CA treatment were approx 80 mg with high doses and 60 mg with intermediate doses in both hypertrophied and control muscles. The low CA dose did not produce atrophy. The absolute depletion of [3H]TA binding activity with CA treatment was always greater in hypertrophied muscles of high and intermediate dose treated than those of their respective controls, but TA binding capacities remained higher in hypertrophied muscles than in controls at almost all time points in all treatment groups. Unlike previous findings in which the simultaneous initiation of overload prevented glucocorticoid induced muscle wasting, no resistance to the effect of CA treatment was observed when treatment was begun after hypertrophy had occurred.

Normal, castrated, and hypophysectomized male rats underwent compensatory hypertrophy of plantaris muscles following surgical removal of their synergistic gastrocnemius muscles. The increases in muscle wet weights above control values, determined when the muscles were in stable-state hypertrophy, were as follows: normal 50%, castrated 50%, and hypophysectomized 32%. There were marked differences in concentration of serum androgens between surgical groups, yet no increases in testosterone or 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone were observed as a result of hypertrophy. The amount of testosterone binding to serum proteins (approx 94%) was reduced only in hypophysectomized animals that underwent muscle growth. Cytosol androgen receptor specific binding (fmol/mg protein), measured using saturating concentrations of [3H]methyltrienolone (R1881) at 4 degrees C for 20 h for exchange with endogenous steroid, was significantly increased in hypertrophied muscles of normal, (1.77 +/- 0.17 vs 1.16 +/- 0.21), castrated (2.27 +/- 0.20 vs 1.46 +/- 0.03) and hypophysectomized (6.23 +/- 0.56 vs 3.64 +/- 0.30) animals. Receptor dissociation constants (Kd) were approx 10(-10) M in all groups and were not altered by the hypertrophy. These findings show that a major adaptation to skeletal muscle enlargement is an augmentation of cytosol [3H]methyltrienolone receptor binding capacity. This effect occurs in a normal or androgen deficient state.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate whether the muscle atrophy associated with glucocorticoid excess results in a reduction in maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and endurance during exercise. Female rats were administered single subcutaneous injections of cortisone acetate (CA) (100 mg X kg-1 b.w.) or the vehicle (1% carboxymethyl cellulose) for 14 consecutive days. The weights of plantaris muscles (which were used as a marker of the atrophy) of CA-treated rats were 27% less than those of plantaris muscles in the vehicle-treated rats. This condition also produced a 12-fold increase in free serum glucocorticoid concentrations (cortisol) but did not alter serum androgen (testosterone) levels. Peak VO2 (ml X kg-1 X min-1) and endurance were greater in CA-treated vs vehicle-treated animals; however, these effects were shown to be a function of body weight loss. Homogenate oxygen uptakes in the presence of pyruvate or palmitate were also similar in slow-twitch soleus, fast-twitch red vastus, and fast-twitch white vastus lateralis muscles between CA- and vehicle-treated groups. These data provide no evidence to demonstrate that the catabolic actions of glucocorticoids in skeletal muscle result in a decrement in work capacity through at least 14 d of treatment.