Objectives: Histological osteochondral characteristics of inflammation, fibrosis, vascularity, cartilage islands, vessels entering cartilage, thickened trabeculae and cysts are associated with bone marrow lesions (BMLs) in human knee osteoarthritis (OA). We identified and developed a method for scoring comparable pathology in two rat OA knee pain models.
Methods: Rats (n = 8-10 per group) were injected with monoiodoacetate (MIA) or saline, or underwent meniscal transection (MNX) or sham surgery.
Background: Rural Australia has large geographic distances between emergency departments with variability of services and medical support. Emergency nurses must be appropriately skilled to assess and manage unpredictable and diverse presentations. HIRAID® is an evidence-based framework to support emergency nurses in assessment and care delivery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurr Opin Pharmacol
October 2024
Chronic pain is a major burden and the complexities of chronic pain pathophysiology, including both peripheral and central sensitisation mechanisms, involves multiple cell types (neuronal, immune, neuroimmune, and vascular) which substantially complicates the development of new effective analgesic treatments. The epoxy fatty acids (EpFAs), including the epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), are derived from the metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) via the cytochrome P450 enzymatic pathway and act to shut-down inflammatory signalling and provide analgesia. The EpFAs are rapidly metabolised by the enzyme soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH) into their corresponding diol metabolites, which recent studies suggest are pro-inflammatory and pro-nociceptive.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Synovitis is a widely accepted sign of osteoarthritis (OA), characterised by tissue hyperplasia, where increased infiltration of immune cells and proliferation of resident fibroblasts adopt a pro-inflammatory phenotype, and increased the production of pro-inflammatory mediators that are capable of sensitising and activating sensory nociceptors, which innervate the joint tissues. As such, it is important to understand the cellular composition of synovium and their involvement in pain sensitisation to better inform the development of effective analgesics.
Methods: Studies investigating pain sensitisation in OA with a focus on immune cells and fibroblasts were identified using PubMed, Web of Science and SCOPUS.
Background: Recognition of atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN) has challenged underweight as a defining factor of illness severity in anorexia nervosa (AN). The present study aimed to compare rates of medical instability in adolescents with underweight (AN) and non-underweight (AAN) anorexia nervosa.
Methods: The study examined assessment data from specialist eating disorder services in the UK between January and December 2022.
Horses are exquisitely sensitive to tetanus neurotoxin and are exposed to the risk of infection with throughout life. The vaccine against tetanus is highly effective at preventing disease, whereas tetanus in unvaccinated populations is associated with high mortality rates. Current guidelines in New Zealand and Australia for the available vaccine contain contradictions and limitations surrounding the optimal tetanus immunisation protocols for both adult horses and foals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic pain is a major cause of disability and suffering in osteoarthritis (OA) patients. Endogenous specialised pro-resolving molecules (SPMs) curtail pro-inflammatory responses. One of the SPM intermediate oxylipins, 17-hydroxydocasahexaenoic acid (17-HDHA, a metabolite of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)), is significantly associated with OA pain.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTechnological advances in radiation therapy impact on the role and scope of practice of the radiation therapist. The European Society of Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO) recently held two workshops on this topic and this position paper reflects the outcome of this workshop, which included radiation therapists from all global regions. Workflows, quality assurance, research, IGRT and ART as well as clinical decision making are the areas of radiation therapist practice that will be highly influenced by advancing technology in the near future.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims And Method: The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a surge in adolescent eating disorders and rapid changes in the delivery of intensive community treatments. This study investigates the modification from a group-based day programme to an intensive family treatment approach. A retrospective chart review was performed on data from 190 patients who accessed the intensive service for anorexia nervosa in the past 6 years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To examine associations between serum oxylipins, which regulate tissue repair and pain signalling, and knee pain/radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) at baseline and knee pain at 3 year follow-up.
Method: Baseline, and 3 year follow-up, knee pain phenotypes were assessed from 154 participants in the Knee Pain in the Community (KPIC) cohort study. Serum and radiographic Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) and Nottingham line drawing atlas OA scores were collected at baseline.
Introduction: Sustained opioid use has long-term negative impacts on future pain experience, particularly in women. This study aimed to investigate the underlying spinal neurobiology of this clinical observation in an experimental model of joint pain.
Objectives: In this study, we tested the hypothesis that sustained opioid treatment exacerbates chronic pain responses and alters spinal cord dorsal horn astrogliosis and the expression of GluN2B-containing N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors in female rats.
Background: Despite an acute knee injury being a major risk factor for osteoarthritis, the factors that initiate and maintain this risk of longer-term knee symptoms are poorly understood. Bioactive lipids derived from omega-3 and -6 polyunsaturated fatty acids have key roles in the regulation of the inflammatory response and have been linked to joint damage and osteoarthritis pain in translational models.
Hypothesis: There would be associations between systemic levels of bioactive lipids and knee symptoms longitudinally after an acute knee injury and related knee surgery.
Hospital admissions for eating disorders (ED) are rapidly increasing. Limited research exists evidencing the factors that lead to hospital admissions or their outcomes. The current study aimed to identify predictors of hospital admission in adolescents with anorexia nervosa (AN) or atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough chronic pain states have been associated with impaired cognitive functions, including memory and cognitive flexibility, the cognitive effects of osteoarthritis (OA) pain remain to be clarified. The aim of this study was to measure cognitive function in the mono-iodoacetate (MIA) rat model of chronic OA-like knee pain. We used young adult male Lister hooded rats, which are well-suited for cognitive testing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe investigated how the biodistribution of cannabidiol (CBD) within the central nervous system (CNS) is influenced by two different formulations, an oil-in-water (O/W) nanoemulsion and polymer-coated nanoparticles (PCNPs). We observed that both CBD formulations administered were preferentially retained in the spinal cord, with high concentrations reaching the brain within 10 min of administration. The CBD nanoemulsion reached C in the brain at 210 ng/g within 120 min (T), whereas the CBD PCNPs had a C of 94 ng/g at 30 min (T), indicating that rapid brain delivery can be achieved through the use of PCNPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Synovial inflammation has known contributions to chronic osteoarthritis (OA) pain, but the potential role in transitions from early to late stages of OA pain is unclear.
Methods: The slowly progressing surgical destabilization of the medial meniscus (DMM) murine OA model and sham control, was used in male C57BL/6J mice to investigate the interplay between knee inflammation, plasma pro- and anti-inflammatory oxylipins and pain responses during OA progression. Changes in joint histology, macrophage infiltration, chemokine receptor CX3CR1 expression, weight bearing asymmetry, and paw withdrawal thresholds were quantified 4, 8 and 16 weeks after surgery.
Front Bioeng Biotechnol
June 2022
The increasing prevalence of joint disease, and in particular osteoarthritis (OA), calls for novel treatment strategies to prevent disease progression in addition to existing approaches focusing mainly on the relief of pain symptoms. The inherent properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) make them an attractive candidate for novel tissue repair strategies, as these progenitors have the potential to differentiate into chondrocytes needed to replace degraded cartilage and can exert a modulating effect on the inflammatory environment of the diseased joint. However, the inflammatory environment of the joint may affect the ability of these cells to functionally integrate into the host tissue and exert beneficial effects, as hinted by a lack of success seen in clinical trials.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic joint disease that represents an increasingly substantial global burden. Joint pain is the most significant symptom of OA. Unfortunately, current pharmacological treatments for OA pain are often not wholly efficacious, or are associated with serious adverse effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Negative affect, including anxiety and depression, is prevalent in chronic pain states such as osteoarthritis (OA) and associated with greater use of opioid analgesics, potentially contributing to present and future opioid crises.
Objectives: We tested the hypothesis that the interaction between anxiety, chronic pain, and opioid use results from altered endogenous opioid function.
Methods: A genetic model of negative affect, the Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rat, was combined with intra-articular injection of monosodium iodoacetate (MIA; 1 mg) to mimic clinical presentation.
Background: Specialized proresolution molecules (SPMs) halt the transition to chronic pathogenic inflammation. We aimed to quantify serum levels of pro- and anti-inflammatory bioactive lipids in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) patients, and to identify potential relationships with innate responses and clinical outcome.
Methods: Serum from 50 hospital admitted inpatients (22 female, 28 male) with confirmed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection and 94 age- and sex-matched controls collected prior to the pandemic (SARS-CoV-2 negative), were processed for quantification of bioactive lipids and anti-nucleocapsid and anti-spike quantitative binding assays.
The endocannabinoid (EC) system has pleiotropic functions in the body. It plays a key role in energy homeostasis and the development of metabolic disorders being a mediator in the relationship between the gut microbiota and host metabolism. In the current study we explore the functional interactions between the endocannabinoid system and the gut microbiome in modulating inflammatory markers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Chronic pain due to osteoarthritis (OA) is a major clinical problem, and existing analgesics often have limited beneficial effects and/or adverse effects, necessitating the development of novel therapies. Epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs) are endogenous antiinflammatory mediators, rapidly metabolized by soluble epoxide hydrolase (EH) to dihydroxyeicosatrienoic acids (DHETs). We undertook this study to assess whether soluble EH-driven metabolism of EETs to DHETs plays a critical role in chronic joint pain associated with OA and provides a new target for treatment.
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