Temperature-Mediated Neural Interventions in Knee Osteoarthritis: a Review of Cryoneurolysis and Cooled Radiofrequency Ablation with Ultrasound Guidance.

Purpose Of Review: Knee osteoarthritis is a debilitating chronic disease affecting nearly half of the world's population at some point in their lives. Treatment of pain and loss of function associated with this disease has been limited. In this review, we seek to explore how neural interventions with ultrasound guidance may be an emerging option for non-pharmacologic pain relief in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Etiology, management, and sequela of postdural puncture headache.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to provide readers with a concise overview of the cause, incidence, treatment of, and sequalae of postdural puncture headaches (PDPH). Over the past 2 years, much data has been published on modifiable risk factors for PDPH, treatments for PDPH, and sequalae of PDPH particularly long-term.

Recent Findings: There is emerging data about how modifiable risk factors for PDPH are not as absolute as once believed.

Ultrasound Doppler and tenosynovial fluid analysis in tenosynovitis.

Objective: To assess Doppler ultrasound (US) and tenosynovial fluid (TSF) characteristics in tenosynovitis within common rheumatic conditions, as well as their diagnostic utility.

Methods: Subjects with tenosynovitis underwent Doppler US and US-guided TSF aspiration for white cell count (WCC) and crystal analysis. Tenosynovial Doppler scores (DS) were semiquantitatively graded.

Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Instruction in Adult Rheumatology Fellowship Programs.

Objective: Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) in rheumatology in the US has advanced by way of promotion of certifications and standards of use and inclusion of core fellowship curriculum. In order to inform endeavors for curricular integration, the objectives of the present study were to assess current program needs for curricular incorporation and the teaching methods that are being employed.

Methods: A needs-assessment survey (S1) was sent to 113 rheumatology fellowship program directors.

Progression of Pro23His Retinopathy in a Miniature Swine Model of Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Purpose: We characterize the progression of retinopathy in Filial 1 (F1) progeny of a transgenic (Tg) founder miniswine exhibiting severe Pro23His (P23H) retinopathy.

Methods: The F1 TgP23H miniswine progeny were created by crossing TgP23H founder miniswine 53-1 with wild type (WT) inbred miniature swine. Scotopic (rod-driven) and photopic (cone-driven) retinal functions were evaluated in F1 TgP23H and WT littermates using full field electroretinograms (ffERGs) at 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 18 months of age, as well as the Tg founder miniswine at 6 years of age.

Full-field electroretinogram response to increment and decrement stimuli.

Purpose: The d-wave is typically elicited after the termination of an increment flash, but a decrement flash provides an alternative, and perhaps more appropriate, stimulus to elicit the d-wave. Here, we investigated the affects of stimulus polarity on the electroretinogram (ERG) response.

Methods: ERG responses elicited to increment and decrement flashes of varying intensity and duration from different background levels were measured from human participants to assess the b-wave and d-wave responses as a function of adaptation level and flash polarity.

Cone photoreceptors develop normally in the absence of functional rod photoreceptors in a transgenic swine model of retinitis pigmentosa.

Purpose: Human and swine retinas have morphological and functional similarities. In the absence of primate models, the swine is an attractive model to study retinal function and disease, with its cone-rich visual streak, our ability to manipulate their genome, and the differences in susceptibility of rod and cone photoreceptors to disease. We characterized the normal development of cone function and its subsequent decline in a P23H rhodopsin transgenic (TgP23H) miniswine model of autosomal dominant RP.

Teaching medical students ultrasound to measure liver size: comparison with experienced clinicians using physical examination alone.

Background: Ultrasound is increasingly recognized as a valuable addition to medical school curriculum.

Purpose: In this study, we tested the ability of rising second year students to learn and conduct an ultrasound examination of vertical liver span at the point of care.

Methods: Six patients from a GI clinic volunteered to have their liver size measured.

Generation of an inbred miniature pig model of retinitis pigmentosa.

Purpose: The Pro23His (P23H) rhodopsin (RHO) mutation underlies the most common form of human autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP). The objective of this investigation was to establish a transgenic miniature swine model of RP using the human P23H RHO gene.

Methods: Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) was used to create transgenic miniature pigs that expressed the human P23H RHO mutation.

An adaptive ERG technique to measure normal and altered dark adaptation in the mouse.

The time-course of dark adaptation provides valuable insights into the function and interactions between the rod and cone pathways in the retina. Here we describe a technique that uses the flash electroretinogram (ERG) response to probe the functional integrity of the cone and rod pathways during the dynamic process of dark adaptation in the mouse. Retinal sensitivity was estimated from the stimulus intensity required to maintain a 30 microV criterion b-wave response during a 40 min period of dark adaptation.

Stimulation via a subretinally placed prosthetic elicits central activity and induces a trophic effect on visual responses.

Purpose: Subretinal prosthetics are designed to electrically stimulate second-order cells, replacing dysfunctional photoreceptors in diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP). For functional vision to occur, this signal must also reach central visual structures. In the current study, a subretinally implanted prosthetic was evaluated in the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat model of RP, to determine its capacity to activate the retinotectal pathway.

Apocynin derivatives interrupt intracellular signaling resulting in decreased migration in breast cancer cells.

Cancer cells are defined by their ability to divide uncontrollably and metastasize to secondary sites in the body. Consequently, tumor cell migration represents a promising target for anticancer drug development. Using our high-throughput cell migration assay, we have screened several classes of compounds for noncytotoxic tumor cell migration inhibiting activity.

Management of the antiphospholipid syndrome.

Antiphospholipid antibodies are associated with a hypercoagulable state leading to a wide variety of systemic manifestations and obstetric complications. The different pathologic manifestations can be a result of arterial and venous thrombosis, microthrombotic angiopathy, embolization, obstetric disease, and non-thrombotic phenomenon. Presently, the treatment centers on anticoagulation.

Improved contact lens electrode for corneal ERG recordings in mice.

The electroretinogram (ERG) is routinely used to study retinal physiology in the clinic and in research. Due to their outstanding properties, contact lens electrodes (CLEs) are widely used for ERG recordings. Though the procedures for ERG recordings in mice are similar to those used in humans and larger vertebrates, use of CLEs in the mouse has been limited because of difficulties involved with the manufacturing of small contact lenses.

Time course of adaptation to stimuli presented along cardinal lines in color space.

Visual sensitivity is a process that allows the visual system to maintain optimal response over a wide range of ambient light levels and chromaticities. Several studies have used variants of the probe-flash paradigm to show that the time course of adaptation to abrupt changes in ambient luminance depends on both receptoral and postreceptoral mechanisms. Though a few studies have explored how these processes govern adaptation to color changes, most of this effort has targeted the L-M-cone pathway.

Predictors and outcomes of scleroderma renal crisis: the high-dose versus low-dose D-penicillamine in early diffuse systemic sclerosis trial.

Objective: The reported frequency of scleroderma M01-R renal crisis (SRC) in diffuse systemic sclerosis (SSc; scleroderma) is 15-20%. Early use of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors has markedly improved outcome. The present analysis reexamines the prognostic factors for and outcome of SRC in a prospective cohort of patients with early diffuse SSc.

Adaptation of spatiotemporal mechanisms by increment and decrement stimuli.

Sawtooth modulation has been used in the past to examine visual sensitivity to luminance increments and decrements. The threshold elevation caused by adaptation depends on the spatial profile of the stimulus field and the polarities of the adaptation and test stimuli. We hypothesized that the adaptation effects reflect a change in the sensitivity of the spatiotemporal channels that detect the stimuli.