Repeated exposure to low doses of light induces retinal damage in vivo in a wavelength-dependent manner.

The exposure of the general population to artificial light at night has dramatically increased in recent decades. Current standards for domestic lighting are based on acute exposure to light and consider blue wavelengths to be responsible for phototoxicity. However, meta-analyses pointed out the role of lifelong light exposure in the onset of age-related macular degeneration, suggesting a cumulative effect of light exposure.

Phototoxicity of low doses of light and influence of the spectral composition on human RPE cells.

Light is known to induce retinal damage affecting photoreceptors and retinal pigment epithelium. For polychromatic light, the blue part of the spectrum is thought to be the only responsible for photochemical damage, leading to the establishment of a phototoxicity threshold for blue light (445 nm). For humans it corresponds to a retinal dose of 22 J/cm.

The blue light hazard and its use on the evaluation of photochemical risk for domestic lighting. An in vivo study.

Background: Nowadays artificial light highly increases human exposure to light leading to circadian rhythm and sleep perturbations. Moreover, excessive exposure of ocular structures to photons can induce irreversible retinal damage. Meta-analyses showed that sunlight exposure influences the age of onset and the progression of Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in people over fifty-year old.

Crenobalneotherapy for low back pain: systematic review of clinical trials.

Crenobalneotherapy is a treatment commonly used in Europe and Middle East. It uses mineral water sometimes combined with different hydrotherapy techniques. Most patients treated in spa centers suffer from low back pain.

Usual care including home exercise with versus without spa therapy for chronic low back pain: protocol for the LOMBATHERM' study, a multicentric randomised controlled trial.

Background: Low back pain is highly prevalent and a major source of disability worldwide. Spa therapy is frequently used to treat low back pain, but the associated level of evidence for efficacy is insufficient. To fill this knowledge gap, this protocol proposes an appropriately powered, prospective, evaluator-blinded, multi-centre, two-parallel-arm, randomised (1:1), controlled trial that will compare spa therapy in addition to usual care including home exercise (UCHE) versus UCHE alone for the treatment of chronic low back pain.

Urea Improves Stability of Inactivated Polio Vaccine Serotype 3 During Lyophilization and Storage in Dried Formulations.

Stable formulations of inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) could reduce cold-chain requirements and increase distribution of the vaccine to developing countries. Recently, significant improvement in thermal stability of IPV vaccines has been achieved by including urea in lyophilized formulations. In the present study, we investigated the effects of urea on recovery of potency of IPV after lyophilization and storage at 37°C and the correlation of potency recovery with key biophysical properties of IPV.

The role of mineral elements and other chemical compounds used in balneology: data from double-blind randomized clinical trials.

The aims of this study were to conduct a systematic literature review on balneotherapy about the specific therapeutic role of mineral elements and other chemical compounds of mineral waters and derivate peloids/muds and to discuss the study methods used to evaluate it (in musculoskeletal conditions). We searched Medline by PubMed using the following key words: "spa therapy" "balneotherapy" "mud" "peloid" "mud pack Therapy" in combination with "randomized controlled trial" "double blind trial." We also reviewed the reference list of articles retrieved by the Medline search.

Rational design of rabies vaccine formulation for enhanced stability.

Background/aim: Vaccines are often lyophilized in order to retain their stability and efficacy for a longer period of time. However, the same lyophilization process may also cause a major degradation of the vaccine, especially during early phases of manufacturing, leading to a loss of potency of the product. Many viral diseases, such as rabies, are acute and fatal unless the vaccine is administered prior to exposure or the onset of symptoms in the case of postexposure treatment.

Balneohydrotherapy in the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency.

Background: Physical therapy has not been evaluated much for the treatment of chronic venous insufficiency before. The question is whether balneohydrotherapy and usual care combined is superior to usual care alone.

Patients And Methods: In a randomized trial comparing spa therapy versus waiting list patients were treated on an out-patient basis in a private spa center.

Crenobalneotherapy (spa therapy) in patients with knee and generalized osteoarthritis: a post-hoc subgroup analysis of a large multicentre randomized trial.

Objective: To determine whether the addition of spa therapy to home exercises provides any benefit over exercises and the usual treatment alone in the management of generalised osteoarthritis associated with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: This study was a post-hoc subgroup analysis of our randomised multicentre trial (www.clinicaltrial.

Preformulation study of highly purified inactivated polio vaccine, serotype 3.

To improve the effectiveness of the polio vaccination campaign, improvements in the thermal stability of the vaccine are being investigated. Here, inactivated polio vaccine, serotype 3 (IPV3) was characterized via a number of biophysical techniques. The size was characterized by transmission electronic microscopy and light scattering.

Prevalence of generalized osteoarthritis in a population with knee osteoarthritis.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of generalized osteoarthritis in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Patients with knee osteoarthritis were recruited for a therapeutic trial via press announcement and selected based on American College of Rheumatology radioclinical criteria for femorotibial arthritis. Patients were asked to bring all their radiographs to the study visits, which included a physical examination.

[Spa therapy in rheumatology. Indications based on the clinical guidelines of the French National Authority for health and the European League Against Rheumatism, and the results of 19 randomized clinical trials].

Unlabelled: The objective of this work was to update the rheumatologic indications of spa therapy, based on clinical practice guidelines published by the French National Authority for Health (HAS) and the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), and on the results of randomized clinical trials (RCT) METHODOLOGY: We first examined the indications for which spa therapy is mentioned and/or recommended in HAS and EULAR guidelines. We then identified RCTs in spa therapy and rheumatology by using the key words spa therapy, balneology, balneotherapy, hydrotherapy, mud therapy and mineral water in the Pubmed, Pascal and Embase databases. Only RCTs including a statistical analysis of between-group outcomes were retained We also examined the possible contribution of RCTs not listed in the bibliography of the guidelines.

Spa therapy in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: a large randomised multicentre trial.

Objective: To determine whether spa therapy, plus home exercises and usual medical treatment provides any benefit over exercises and usual treatment, in the management of knee osteoarthritis.

Methods: Large multicentre randomised prospective clinical trial of patients with knee osteoarthritis according to the American College of Rheumatology criteria, attending French spa resorts as outpatients between June 2006 and April 2007. Zelen randomisation was used so patients were ignorant of the other group and spa personnel were not told which patients were participating.

Crenobalneotherapy for limb osteoarthritis: systematic literature review and methodological analysis.

Objectives: To conduct a systematic literature review on crenobalneotherapy for limb osteoarthritis and to discuss the study methods used to evaluate this treatment modality.

Methods: We searched Medline using the following keywords: "spa therapy", "mud", "radon", "balneotherapy", and "hydrotherapy" in combination with "osteoarthritis", "arthrosis", and "gonarthrosis". We also reviewed the reference lists of articles retrieved by the Medline search.

[Are SPA therapy and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy effective for chronic neck pain? Randomised clinical trial First part: clinical evaluation].

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to compare SPA therapy (ST) with pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy in chronic neck pain.

Materials And Methods: Inclusion criteria were age between 18 and 80 years, neck pain of more than 3 months' duration and pain score>30 mm on a visual analog scale (VAS). Exclusion criteria were contraindication to ST or PEMF.

[Are SPA therapy and pulsed electromagnetic field therapy effective for chronic neck pain? Randomised clinical trial. Second part: medicoeconomic approach].

Unlabelled: We report the results of a cost-effectiveness evaluation of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy and spa therapy (ST) versus usual care (control) for chronic neck pain.

Materials And Methods: Inclusion criteria were age 18 to 80 years with pain in the neck area of more than 3 months' duration and no contraindications for PEMF therapy and ST. Randomization to the ST (n=25) and PEMF groups (n=26) was blinded, as was collection of data.

French version of the Copenhagen neck functional disability scale.

Unlabelled: We conducted a study to validate the French version of the Copenhagen Neck Functional Disability Scale (CNFDS).

Methods: We used the CNFDS on data generated by a previous randomized controlled trial comparing pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMFT), spa therapy, and standard therapy in patients with neck pain. Patients were recruited locally and examined by a physician who was unaware of the treatment group and independent from the trial.

[Validity parameters of clinical trial and their influence on evidence based medicine conception: a review].

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to review the validity of clinical trials and checklists used to evaluate them in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.

Methods: We researched Medline and bibliographies of relevant articles with use of keywords and author names.

Results: Methodological choices that have a demonstrated influence on the results of clinical trials include collecting informed consent, comparison of publication with protocol, selection of patients, randomization procedure, number of subjects to include, number lost to follow-up, blinding of patients and evaluation.

[Methodological reflections on 20 randomized clinical hydrotherapy trials in rheumatology].

The aim of this study was to estimate the level of scientific evidence contributed by randomized clinical trials in rheumatologic indication of spa therapy. A literature search was made of computer data banks, with analysis of 20 randomized hydrotherapy trials. On the 20 identified randomized hydrotherapy trials, four were carried out double-blind; nine included a comparison of inter-groups evolution.