Publications by authors named "A de Smedt"

Objective: Patients with therapy-refractory chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery experience increased disability, resulting in substantial loss of employment and consequently lower quality of life. Despite findings that rehabilitation improves socio-economic outcomes in other chronic pain conditions, evidence for patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery is limited. A systematic review was conducted to provide an overview of rehabilitation interventions and their effectiveness to improve work participation for patients with chronic spinal pain after spinal surgery.

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: Sleep disturbance is often observed in the context of chronic pain. We hypothesize that, by providing an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) experience with a serious game to chronic pain patients an hour before bedtime, attention can be diverted from the pain condition, consequently leading to improved sleep quality. The aim is to evaluate the efficacy of VR compared to usual care in reducing the number of awakenings during the night and increasing sleep efficiency in patients suffering from painful diabetic polyneuropathy (PDPN).

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Introduction: Differential target multiplexed spinal cord stimulation (DTM SCS) is a new stimulation paradigm for chronic pain management with the aim of modulating glial cells and neurons in order to rebalance their interactions. Animal studies revealed positive effects of this type of stimulation; however, studies in humans are still scarce, pointing towards the need for an evaluation of the effectiveness and safety of DTM SCS in clinical settings. Furthermore, the differential target multiplexed (DTM) algorithm consists of a combination of several programmes, which will presumably consume more energy from the spinal cord stimulation (SCS) battery.

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Objective: To identify the essential attributes of biopsychosocial rehabilitation for chronic low back pain in the working population.

Design: A concept analysis was conducted according to the 8-step method of Walker and Avant. This framework provides a clear concept and theoretical and operational definitions.

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Article Synopsis
  • Small intestinal vacuolation caused by the compound HAP-1 was seen in rats but not in dogs, despite higher drug exposure in dogs.
  • Rats consistently exhibited epithelial vacuolation at various doses, while dogs only showed temporary vacuolation at specific time points.
  • The differences in intestinal response between species were linked to how much HAP-1 and its metabolite accumulated in the intestines, with rats having significantly higher concentrations, leading to lipid metabolism issues and ER stress observed only in rats.
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