Evaluation of an e-self-management intervention (Happy Hands app) for hand osteoarthritis: Study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial.

Objective: This protocol paper describes the rationale and design of a randomised controlled trial (RCT) that aims to evaluate the (cost-)effectiveness of a 12 week e-self-management intervention (Happy Hands app) in people with hand osteoarthritis (HOA).

Methods: In this multicentre RCT, 376 people with HOA will be recruited from all four health regions in Norway. Consenting participants will be randomly allocated to either a control group receiving usual care or an intervention group receiving the Happy Hands app in addition to usual care.

Development of the Happy Hands Self-Management App for People with Hand Osteoarthritis: Feasibility Study.

Background: Patient education, hand exercises, and the use of assistive devices are recommended as first-line treatments for individuals with hand osteoarthritis (OA). However, the quality of care services for this patient group is suboptimal in primary care.

Objective: The overarching goal was to develop and evaluate feasibility of an app-based self-management intervention for people with hand OA.

Effect of high-intensity interval training in physiotherapy primary care for patients with inflammatory arthritis: the ExeHeart randomised controlled trial.

Objectives: To assess the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) delivered in physiotherapy primary care on the primary outcome of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in patients with inflammatory arthritis (IA). Additionally, to explore the effects of HIIT on secondary outcomes, including cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and disease activity.

Methods: Single-blinded randomised controlled trial with 60 patients randomly assigned to either a control group receiving usual care or an exercise group receiving usual care and 12 weeks of individualised HIIT at 90%-95% peak heart rate.

Associations between cardiovascular risk factors, disease activity and cardiorespiratory fitness in patients with inflammatory joint disease: a cross-sectional analysis.

Background: Inflammatory joint diseases (IJD) are accompanied by an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a modifiable CVD risk factor and low levels of CRF associate with an elevated CVD risk. This study aimed to investigate the associations between CVD risk factors, disease activity and CRF in patients with IJD and to explore differences between patients with normal versus low levels of CRF.

Effect of high-intensity exercise on cardiorespiratory fitness, cardiovascular disease risk and disease activity in patients with inflammatory joint disease: protocol for the ExeHeart randomised controlled trial.

Introduction: Inflammatory joint disease (IJD) is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) fostered by systemic inflammation and a high prevalence of CVD risk factors. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is an important health parameter and CRF-measures are advocated in routine health evaluations. CRF associates with CVD risk, and exercise modalities such as high intensity interval training (HIIT) can increase CRF and mitigate CVD risk factors.

Turtles and Tortoises Are in Trouble.

Turtles and tortoises (chelonians) have been integral components of global ecosystems for about 220 million years and have played important roles in human culture for at least 400,000 years. The chelonian shell is a remarkable evolutionary adaptation, facilitating success in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Today, more than half of the 360 living species and 482 total taxa (species and subspecies combined) are threatened with extinction.

Minocycline Before Aortic Occlusion Reduces Hindlimb Motor Impairment, Attenuates Spinal Cord Damage and Spinal Astrocytosis, and Preserve Neuronal Cytoarchitecture in the Rat.

Objectives: Spinal cord ischemia secondary to trauma or a vascular occlusive event is a threatening phenomenon. The neuroprotective properties of minocycline have been shown in several models of central nervous system diseases and after spinal cord ischemia; however, the benefit of using the drug requires additional confirmation in different animal models. Astrocytes are essential as regulators of neuronal functions and for providing nutrients.

Intrathecal Injection of miR-133b-3p or miR-143-3p Prevents the Development of Persistent Cold and Mechanical Allodynia Following a Peripheral Nerve Injury in Rats.

In DRG an increase in miR-133b-3p, miR-143-3p, and miR-1-3p correlates with the lack of development of neuropathic pain following a peripheral nerve injury. Using lentiviral (LV) vectors we found that a single injection of LV-miR-133b-3p or LV-miR-143-3p immediately after a peripheral nerve injury prevented the development of sustained mechanical and cold allodynia. Injection of LV-miR-133b-3p or LV-miR-143-3p by themselves or in combination, on day 3 post-injury produced a partial and transient reduction in mechanical allodynia and a sustained decrease in cold allodynia.

Activation of cortical somatostatin interneurons prevents the development of neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain involves long-lasting modifications of pain pathways that result in abnormal cortical activity. How cortical circuits are altered and contribute to the intense sensation associated with allodynia is unclear. Here we report a persistent elevation of layer V pyramidal neuron activity in the somatosensory cortex of a mouse model of neuropathic pain.

NR2B Expression in Rat DRG Is Differentially Regulated Following Peripheral Nerve Injuries That Lead to Transient or Sustained Stimuli-Evoked Hypersensitivity.

Following injury, primary sensory neurons undergo changes that drive central sensitization and contribute to the maintenance of persistent hypersensitivity. NR2B expression in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) has not been previously examined in neuropathic pain models. Here, we investigated if changes in NR2B expression within the DRG are associated with hypersensitivities that result from peripheral nerve injuries.

Both lavender fleur oil and unscented oil aromatherapy reduce preoperative anxiety in breast surgery patients: a randomized trial.

Study Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether lavender fleur oil (LFO) aromatherapy would reduce anxiety when administered to women before undergoing breast surgery.

Design: This was a single-site, randomized study comparing the effect of LFO to unscented oil (UO).

Setting: The study was conducted in the preoperative holding area of the ambulatory surgery department of NYU Langone Medical Center.

Cannabinoid 1 receptor knockout mice display cold allodynia, but enhanced recovery from spared-nerve injury-induced mechanical hypersensitivity.

Background: The function of the Cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) in the development of neuropathic pain is not clear. Mounting evidence suggest that CB1R expression and activation may contribute to pain. Cannabinoid 1 receptor knockout mice (CB1R-/-) generated on a C57Bl/6 background exhibit hypoalgesia in the hotplate assay and formalin test.

The Cox-2 Inhibitor Meloxicam Ameliorates Neuroinflammation and Depressive Behavior in Adult Mice after Splenectomy.

Background: Peripheral surgical trauma may incite neuroinflammation that leads to neuronal dysfunction associated with both depression and cognitive deficits. In a previous study, we found that adult mice developed neuroinflammation and short-term working memory dysfunction in a delayed, transient manner after splenectomy that was ameliorated by the cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor meloxicam. We tested the hypothesis that splenectomy in mice would also cause anhedonia, the diminished response to pleasure or rewarding stimuli that is a hallmark of depression, and that treatment with meloxicam would be ameliorative.

Isoflurane, but Not the Nonimmobilizers F6 and F8, Inhibits Rat Spinal Cord Motor Neuron CaV1 Calcium Currents.

Background: Volatile anesthetics decrease Ca²⁺ entry through voltage-dependent Ca²⁺ channels. Ca influences neurotransmitter release and neuronal excitability. Because volatile anesthetics act specifically on the spinal cord to produce immobility, we examined the effect of isoflurane and the nonimmobilizers F6 (1, 2-dichlorohexafluorocyclobutane) and F8 (2, 3-dichlorooctafluorobutane) on CaV1 and CaV2 Ca²⁺ channels in spinal cord motor neurons and dorsal root ganglion neurons.

An approach to identify microRNAs involved in neuropathic pain following a peripheral nerve injury.

Peripheral nerve injury alters the expression of hundreds of proteins in dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Targeting some of these proteins has led to successful treatments for acute pain, but not for sustained post-operative neuropathic pain. The latter may require targeting multiple proteins.

Differential regulation of proliferation and neuronal differentiation in adult rat spinal cord neural stem/progenitors by ERK1/2, Akt, and PLCγ.

Proliferation of endogenous neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) has been identified in both normal and injured adult mammalian spinal cord. Yet the signaling mechanisms underlying the regulation of adult spinal cord NSPCs proliferation and commitment toward a neuronal lineage remain undefined. In this study, the role of three growth factor-mediated signaling pathways in proliferation and neuronal differentiation was examined.

Despite differences in cytosolic calcium regulation, lidocaine toxicity is similar in adult and neonatal rat dorsal root ganglia in vitro.

Background: Neuraxial local anesthetics may have neurological complications thought to be due to neurotoxicity. A primary site of action of local anesthetics is the dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neuron. Physiologic differences have been noted between young and adult DRG neurons; hence, the authors examined whether there were any differences in lidocaine-induced changes in calcium and lidocaine toxicity in neonatal and adult rat DRG neurons.

Satellite glia cells in dorsal root ganglia express functional NMDA receptors.

Satellite glia cells (SGCs), within the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), surround the somata of most sensory neurons. SGCs have been shown to interact with sensory neurons and appear to be involved in the processing of afferent information. We found that in rat DRG various N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAr) subunits were expressed in SGCs in intact ganglia and in vitro.

Preparation of adult spinal cord motor neuron cultures under serum-free conditions.

Spinal cord motor neuron cultures are an important tool for the study of mechanisms involved in motor neuron survival, degeneration and regeneration, volatile anesthetic-induced immobility, motor neuron disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinal muscular atrophy as well as in spinal cord injury. Embryonic spinal cord motor neurons derived from rats have been successfully cultured; unfortunately, the culture of adult motor neurons has been problematic due to their short-term survival. Recently, by using a cocktail of target-derived factors, neurotrophins (brain-derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor) and a permeable cyclic adenosine monophosphate analog, we have established a reproducible protocol for long-term cultures of healthy and functional adult motor neurons (Exp Neurol 220:303-315, 2009).

Nimodipine-induced hypotension but not nitroglycerin-induced hypotension preserves long- and short-term memory in adult mice.

Background: Acute hypotension may be implicated in cognitive dysfunction. L-type calcium channel blockers in the setting of hypoxia are protective of learning and memory. We tested the hypothesis that hypotension induced by nimodipine (NIMO) and nicardipine (NICA) would be protective of long- and short-term memory compared to hypotension induced by nitroglycerin (NTG).

A Role for the Cannabinoid 1 Receptor in Neuronal Differentiation of Adult Spinal Cord Progenitors in vitro is Revealed through Pharmacological Inhibition and Genetic Deletion.

In contrast to the adult brain, the adult spinal cord is a non-neurogenic environment. Understanding how to manipulate the spinal cord environment to promote the formation of new neurons is an attractive therapeutic strategy for spinal cord injury and disease. The cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R) has been implicated as a modulator of neural progenitor cell proliferation and fate specification in the brain; however, no evidence exists for modulation of adult spinal cord progenitor cells.

Nanomolar melatonin enhances nNOS expression and controls HaCaT-cells bioenergetics.

A novel role of melatonin was unveiled, using immortalized human keratinocyte cells (HaCaT) as a model system. Within a time window compatible with its circadian rhythm, melatonin at nanomolar concentration raised both the expression level of the neuronal nitric oxide synthase mRNA and the nitric oxide oxidation products, nitrite and nitrate. On the same time scale, a depression of the mitochondrial membrane potential was detected together with a decrease of the oxidative phosphorylation efficiency, compensated by glycolysis as testified by an increased production of lactate.

In vitro antiseptic effects on viability of neuronal and Schwann cells.

Background And Objective: Chlorhexidine is recommended by several anesthesiology societies for antisepsis before regional anesthesia, but there is concern it may be neurotoxic. We evaluated the cytotoxicity of chlorhexidine and povidone-iodine in human neuronal and rat Schwann cells.

Methods: Human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma and rat RSC96 Schwann cells were incubated with serial dilutions of 2% chlorhexidine gluconate and 10% povidone-iodine for 10 minutes, and viability was assessed with the MTT colorimetry assay and a fluorescent assay using calcein and ethidium.

A single subanesthetic dose of ketamine relieves depression-like behaviors induced by neuropathic pain in rats.

Background: Chronic pain is associated with depression. In rodents, pain is often assessed by sensory hypersensitivity, which does not sufficiently measure affective responses. Low-dose ketamine has been used to treat both pain and depression, but it is not clear whether ketamine can relieve depression associated with chronic pain and whether this antidepressant effect depends on its antinociceptive properties.

Transient effects of anesthetics on dendritic spines and filopodia in the living mouse cortex.

Background: Anesthetics are widely used to induce unconsciousness, pain relief, and immobility during surgery. It remains unclear whether the use of anesthetics has significant and long-lasting effects on synapse development and plasticity in the brain. To address this question, the authors examined the formation and elimination of dendritic spines, postsynaptic sites of excitatory synapses, in the developing mouse cortex during and after anesthetics exposure.