Expression of Connexins 37, 43 and 45 in Developing Human Spinal Cord and Ganglia.

Direct intercellular communication via gap junctions has an important role in the development of the nervous system, ranging from cell migration and neuronal differentiation to the formation of neuronal activity patterns. This study characterized and compared the specific spatio-temporal expression patterns of connexins (Cxs) 37, 43 and 45 during early human developmental stages (since the 5th until the 10th developmental week) in the spinal cord (SC) and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) using double immunofluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. We found the expression of all three investigated Cxs during early human development in all the areas of interest, in the SC, DRG, developing paravertebral ganglia of the sympathetic trunk, notochord and all three meningeal layers, with predominant expression of Cx37.

[Barriers and facilitators for the development of sex/gender sensitive clinical practice guidelines: A qualitative interview study].

Introduction: Sex and gender health research evaluates biological and psychosocial differences between women and men which can influence the development, progress and experience of diseases. However, despite the increasing body of evidence about relevant differences between women and men regarding healthcare, the prevention, management and treatment of many common diseases do not yet reflect the knowledge of sex/gender characteristics. Furthermore, in the development of clinical practice guidelines, which are a valuable tool for knowledge transfer between scientific evidence and healthcare, sex/gender factors are only rarely explicitly and systematically considered.

Disrupted TH17/Treg balance in patients with chronic low back pain.

Unlabelled: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a leading cause of disability and costs in health care systems worldwide. Despite extensive research, the exact pathogenesis of CLBP, particularly the individual risk of chronification remains unclear. To investigate a possible role of the adaptive immune system in the pathophysiology of CLBP, we analyzed T cell related cytokine profiles, T cell related mRNA expression patterns and the distribution of T cell subsets in 37 patients suffering from nonspecific CLBP before and after multimodal therapy in comparison to 25 healthy controls.