Effect of "ionized" wrist bracelets on musculoskeletal pain: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To assess objectively the perceived benefits of wearing an "ionized" wrist bracelet to treat muscle or joint pain.

Subjects And Methods: This study was performed at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla, in 2000 and 2001. In a randomized, double-blind design, 305 participants wore an ionized bracelet and 305 wore a placebo bracelet for 4 weeks.

Altered expression of a cell-cycle suppressor gene, Tob-1, in endometriotic cells by cDNA array analyses.

Objective: Interleukin (IL)-1beta, a product of activated peritoneal macrophages, is a central cytokine coordinating neovascularization and monocyte chemotaxis in endometriotic implants. To evaluate the effects of this cytokine on normal endometrial stromal cells and endometriotic stromal cells we performed cDNA expression array analyses before and after exposure to IL-1beta.

Design: Nested case-control study of women with and without laparoscopic evidence of endometriosis.

The influence of therapist attention on self-injury during a tangible condition.

This study investigated the effects of therapist attention on the self-injurious behavior (SIB) of a 6-year-old girl with developmental disabilities. After results of a functional analysis indicated that SIB was maintained by attention and tangible reinforcement, tangible conditions with and without contingent verbal attention were compared. Results suggested that the inclusion of verbal attention in a tangible condition may confound functional analysis outcomes for behavior that is maintained by attention.

Structural changes in the forefoot of individuals with diabetes and a prior plantar ulcer.

Background: Plantar ulcers produced by diabetic foot disease are devastating and costly. Better understanding of the ulcer-producing process is important to improve detection of feet that are at risk and to improve intervention. We identified and quantified soft-tissue and osseous structural changes in the forefoot of diabetic patients with a prior plantar ulcer.

Angiogenic factors in endometriosis.

Similar to tumor metastases, endometriotic implants require neovascularization to establish, grow, and invade. The peritoneal environment is ideally suited to provide a proangiogenic milieu. Nevertheless, endometriotic lesions are found only in a minority of reproductive-age women (approximately 10%) with retrograde menstruation.

Reliability and validity of combined imaging and pressures assessment methods for diabetic feet.

Objectives: To determine the reliability of using 3-dimensional (3D) spiral x-ray computed tomography (SXCT) imaging methods to measure anatomic foot structure and to test the validity of using a loading device to simulate walking pressures on the plantar foot during SXCT examination.

Design: Nonrandomized control trial of consecutive patients with complete data compared with age-matched controls.

Setting: A clinical SXCT scanner and physical therapy laboratory in a local hospital.

Comparison of in vitro closure time (PFA-100) with whole blood electrical aggregometry and platelet surface antigen expression in healthy volunteers.

It was the aim of this study to compare in vitro closure time (PFA-100), reflecting platelet-related primary hemostasis, to more platelet-specific tests like whole blood electrical aggregometry and platelet surface antigen expression in healthy volunteers. In vitro closure time was measured using a PFA-100. Platelet surface antigen expression (CD63, CD62-P, CD42b, CD36, CD31) was determined in accordance with the consensus protocol for flow-cytometric characterisation of platelet function.

Tissue adaptation to physical stress: a proposed "Physical Stress Theory" to guide physical therapist practice, education, and research.

The purpose of this perspective is to present a general theory--the Physical Stress Theory (PST). The basic premise of the PST is that changes in the relative level of physical stress cause a predictable adaptive response in all biological tissue. Specific thresholds define the upper and lower stress levels for each characteristic tissue response.