Pain and small fiber pathology in men with fibromyalgia syndrome.

Introduction: Small fiber pathology may be involved in the pathophysiology of pain in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS).

Objectives: This prospective single-center case-control study provides detailed pain phenotyping and small fiber pathology data in a cohort of men with FMS on a morphological and functional level.

Methods: Forty-two men with FMS underwent a comprehensive pain-related interview and neurological examination, a questionnaire and neurophysiological assessment, and specialized small fiber tests: skin punch biopsy, quantitative sensory testing including C-tactile afferents, and corneal confocal microscopy.

Information about missing patient-reported outcome data in breast cancer trials is frequently not documented: a scoping review.

Objectives: This review addresses the common problem of missing patient-reported outcome (PRO) data in clinical trials by assessing the current practice of their statistical handling as reported in publications of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in patients with breast cancer.

Study Design And Setting: We searched PubMed to identify RCTs evaluating biomedical treatments in breast cancer patients with at least one PRO endpoint published between January 2019 and February 2022. Two reviewers independently assessed the eligibility of the publications for this scoping review and extracted prespecified information on missing PRO data and related statistical practices.

Diagnosing small fiber neuropathy in clinical practice: a deep phenotyping study.

Background And Aims: Small fiber neuropathy (SFN) is increasingly suspected in patients with pain of uncertain origin, and making the diagnosis remains a challenge lacking a diagnostic gold standard.

Methods: In this case-control study, we prospectively recruited 86 patients with a medical history and clinical phenotype suggestive of SFN. Patients underwent neurological examination, quantitative sensory testing (QST), and distal and proximal skin punch biopsy, and were tested for pain-associated gene loci.

Mechanisms of small nerve fiber pathology.

Small fiber pathology is increasingly recognized as a potential contributor to neuropathic pain in different clinical syndromes, however, the underlying mechanisms leading to nociceptor sensitization and degeneration are unclear. With the diversity in clinical pain phenotypes and etiology of small fiber pathology, individual mechanisms are assumed, but are not yet fully understood. The thinly-myelinated Aδ- and unmyelinated C-nerve fibers are mainly affected and clinically require special small fiber test methods to capture functional, morphological, and electrophysiological alterations.

Effects of tumor treating fields (TTFields) on glioblastoma cells are augmented by mitotic checkpoint inhibition.

Tumor treating fields (TTFields) are approved for glioblastoma (GBM) therapy. TTFields disrupt cell division by inhibiting spindle fiber formation. Spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) inhibition combined with antimitotic drugs synergistically decreases glioma cell growth in cell culture and mice.

Quantitation of Acyl Chain Oxidation Products Formed upon Thermo-oxidation of Phytosteryl/-stanyl Oleates and Linoleates.

A GC-based approach involving preseparation via solid-phase extraction was established for the quantitation of acyl chain oxidation products (ACOPs) formed upon thermo-oxidation (180 °C, 40 min) of oleates and linoleates of phytostanols and phytosterols. The concentrations of ACOPs resulting from initially formed 9-hydroperoxides (octanoates, 8-hydroxyoctanoates, 9-oxononanoates) were higher than those from 8-hydroperoxides (heptanoates, 7-hydroxy- and 7-oxoheptanoates, 8-oxooctanoates) in both oleates and linoleates. Significantly higher amounts of ACOPs were found in heat-treated linoleates compared to oleates.

Frames as visual links between paintings and the museum environment: an analysis of statistical image properties.

Frames provide a visual link between artworks and their surround. We asked how image properties change as an observer zooms out from viewing a painting alone, to viewing the painting with its frame and, finally, the framed painting in its museum environment (museum scene). To address this question, we determined three higher-order image properties that are based on histograms of oriented luminance gradients.

TENS compared to opioids in postoperative analgesic therapy after major spinal surgery with regard to cognitive function.

Background: Long-term use of opioids causes cognitive decline. Transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TENS) applied preincisionally and postoperatively reduces postoperative opioid requirement and provides sufficient analgesia after major spinal surgery. Aim of this study was to find out the impact of TENS compared to opioids, prescribed for postoperative analgesia on early postoperative cognitive function.