Traditional Physiotherapy vs. Fascial Manipulation for the Treatment of Trigger Finger: A Randomized Pilot Study.

Background: Physiotherapy can help treat of trigger fingers (TF).

Objectives: To compare efficacy of fascial manipulation (FM) and traditional physiotherapy (TP) techniques in treatment of TF.

Methods: Nineteen patients were randomized in the FM group and 15 in the TP group.

N-acetylneuraminic acid links immune exhaustion and accelerated memory deficit in diet-induced obese Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Systemic immunity supports lifelong brain function. Obesity posits a chronic burden on systemic immunity. Independently, obesity was shown as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD).

Hydrodynamic instability at impact interfaces and planetary implications.

Impact-induced mixing between bolide and target is fundamental to the geochemical evolution of a growing planet, yet aside from local mixing due to jetting - associated with large angles of incidence between impacting surfaces - mixing during planetary impacts is poorly understood. Here we describe a dynamic instability of the surface between impacting materials, showing that a region of mixing grows between two media having even minimal initial topography. This additional cause of impact-induced mixing is related to Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI), and results from pressure perturbations amplified by shock-wave refraction through the corrugated interface between impactor and target.

Targeting Co-Sleeping in Children With Anxiety Disorders Using a Modified Bedtime Pass Intervention: A Case Series Using a Changing Criterion Design.

Children with anxiety disorders experience high rates of sleep-related problems, with co-sleeping and resistance to sleeping independently being among the more frequent problems reported. Although extinction-based behavioral sleep interventions have repeatedly been shown to be highly effective for treating bedtime resistance, the primary obstacle to their implementation is parent discomfort with these procedures. The bedtime pass intervention was developed to minimize extinction bursts when implementing extinction procedures for childhood sleep problems.

Dermatomycoses in the Israeli defense forces-Epidemiological and clinical aspects.

Dermatomycoses, involving skin, hair and nail infections, are among the most frequent human infections with global distribution and may have a public health and economic impact. The causative agents include Dermatophytes, Candida, Malassezia and non-Dermatophyte moulds. High morbidity may be associated with certain variables: age, gender, occupation-such as farming or military service, and climate or environmental conditions.

25-Hydroxyvitamin D Inhibits Hepatitis C Virus Production in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Line by a Vitamin D Receptor-Independent Mechanism.

Previously, we have reported that the active vitamin D metabolite, calcitriol and vitamin D (cholecalciferol), both remarkably inhibit hepatitis C virus production. The mechanism by which vitamin D exerts its effect is puzzling due to the low levels of calcitriol produced in vitamin D-treated Huh7.5 cells.

Vitamin D ointment for prevention of radiation dermatitis in breast cancer patients.

Radiation dermatitis occurs frequently during adjuvant radiation therapy for breast cancer. Prevention of radiation dermatitis by applying various creams and ointments has a limited success, and Aqua cream which has urea as one of its active ingredients is used in many institutions as a preventive treatment. The primary goal of this study is to assess the effect of vitamin D (calcipotriol) ointment in prevention of radiodermatitis in breast cancer patients compared to Aqua cream.

Clinical presentation of not-just right experiences (NJREs) in individuals with OCD: Characteristics and response to treatment.

There is increasing recognition that instead of being motivated by a desire to prevent harm and reduce anxiety, some obsessive-compulsive symptoms may be driven by a desire to get things 'just right' or 'complete' and to reduce a sense of discomfort. However, existing data is largely from non-clinical samples. Therefore, in the current paper we examine the clinical presentation of not just right experiences (NJREs) in patients diagnosed with OCD and compare their experiences to both anxious and unselected controls.

TNF-α increases the expression and activity of vitamin D receptor in keratinocytes: role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase.

Several inflammatory mediators increase calcitriol production by epidermal keratinocytes. In turn calcitriol attenuates the keratinocyte inflammatory response. Since the effect of the in-situ generated calcitriol depends also on the sensitivity to the hormone we studied the effect of inflammatory cytokines on the response of HaCaT human keratinocytes to calcitriol by examining the expression and transcriptional activity of VDR.

Adolescent Mental Health Literacy: Young People's Knowledge of Depression and Social Anxiety Disorder.

Purpose: Understanding why nearly 80% of youth ages 6-18 years with a mental disorder fail to receive treatment represents an important public health priority. International data suggest that underrecognition of mental illness and the need for treatment are barriers to service utilization. This study extends work to a U.

Vitamin D Induces Cyclooxygenase 2 Dependent Prostaglandin E2 Synthesis in HaCaT Keratinocytes.

The active metabolite of vitamin D calcitriol and its analogs are well-known for their anti-inflammatory action in the skin, while their main side effect associated with topical treatment of inflammatory disorders is irritant contact dermatitis. Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ) is pro-inflammatory at the onset of inflammation and anti-inflammatory at its resolution. We hypothesized that induction of PGE2 synthesis by calcitriol in epidermal keratinocytes may contribute both to its pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects on the skin.

Corneal cut closure using temperature-controlled CO2 laser soldering system.

We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of temperature-controlled laser soldering for repair of large perforated corneas in a porcine model. Eight Yorkshire pigs aged 6 months underwent 6-mm-deep 180° crescent-shaped trephination of the central corneas. Right corneal injuries were repaired by placement of 47 % bovine albumin along the cut followed by CO2 laser soldering (power density 16 W/cm(2)) to a target temperature of 65(°).

Obsessive-Compulsive Symptoms and Beliefs in Adolescents: A Cross-Sectional Examination of Cognitive Models.

Cognitive models of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) posit that particular beliefs transform normal intrusions into disturbing obsessions. A wealth of data shows that such beliefs and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms are related in adults. However, there is markedly less information regarding OCD-related beliefs in youth.

CO₂ laser welding of corneal cuts with albumin solder using radiometric temperature control.

Purpose: To examine the efficacy and reproducibility of CO₂ laser soldering of corneal cuts using real-time infrared fiber-optic radiometric control of tissue temperature in bovine eyes (in vitro) and to evaluate the duration of this procedure in rabbit eyes (in vivo).

Methods: In vitro experiment: a 6-mm central perforating cut was induced in 40 fresh bovine eyes and sealed with a CO₂ laser, with or without albumin soldering, following placement of a single approximating nylon suture. A fiber-optic radiometric temperature control system for the CO₂ laser was used.

"Not Just Right Experiences" in adolescents: phenomenology and associated characteristics.

Efforts to understand the nature of "Not Just Right Experiences" (NJREs) have expanded the scientific understanding of obsessive-compulsive (OC) behavior. Approximately 80% of unselected adults report experiencing NJREs and these experiences have been found to highly correlate with OC behavior. The purpose of this study was to assess NJREs in an unselected sample of adolescents (ages 14-17; N = 152), to compare their experience with adults (N = 237), and to assess the relation between NJREs and OC symptoms.

Vitamin D: an innate antiviral agent suppressing hepatitis C virus in human hepatocytes.

Unlabelled: Vitamin D supplementation was reported to improve the probability of achieving a sustained virological response when combined with antiviral treatment against hepatitis C virus (HCV). Our aim was to determine the in vitro potential of vitamin D to inhibit HCV infectious virus production and explore the mechanism(s) of inhibition. Here we show that vitamin D(3) remarkably inhibits HCV production in Huh7.

The inflammatory response of keratinocytes and its modulation by vitamin D: the role of MAPK signaling pathways.

The hormonal form of vitamin D, calcitriol, and its analogs are known for their beneficial effect in the treatment of inflammatory skin disorders. Keratinocytes play a role in epidermal inflammatory responses invoked by breeching of the epidermal barrier, by infectious agents and by infiltrating immune cells. We studied the role of calcitriol in the initiation of keratinocyte inflammatory response by the viral and injury mimic polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid (poly(I:C)) and in its maintenance by tumor-necrosis-factor α (TNFα) and investigated the role of the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades in these processes and their regulation by calcitriol.

Erythropoietin increases survival and attenuates fulminant hepatic failure injury induced by D-galactosamine/lipopolysaccharide in mice.

Background: Liver transplantation is the only therapy of proven benefit in fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), d-galactosamine (GalN)-induced FHF is a well-established model of liver injury in mice. Erythropoietin has a powerful tissue-protective effect in animal models.

The role of excessive versus acute administration of erythropoietin in attenuating hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury (I/R) is the main cause of primary graft nonfunction. Our aim was to evaluate the effect of excessive versus acute administration of erythropoietin (EPO) in attenuating the hepatic injury induced by I/R in mice. The effect of segmental (70%) hepatic ischemia was evaluated in a transgenic mouse line with constitutive overexpression of human EPO cDNA and in wild-type (WT) mice.

Vitamin D inhibits captopril-induced cell detachment and apoptosis in keratinocytes.

Background: Captopril, an angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor, is a commonly prescribed antihypertensive drug. Its cutaneous side-effects include pemphigus vulgaris acantholysis and bullous pemphigoid-like cell-matrix detachment. This medication also triggers apoptosis in human keratinocytes.

Dual effect of erythropoietin on liver protection and regeneration after subtotal hepatectomy in rats.

The only currently offered curative option for many patients with primary or secondary liver tumors is the resection of hepatic tumors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) in liver protection and regeneration after subtotal hepatectomy in rats. Rats undergoing 70% hepatectomy received an intraperitoneal injection of saline (control) or rhEPO (4 U/g) 30 minutes prior to resection.

Upregulation of MMP-9 production by TNFalpha in keratinocytes and its attenuation by vitamin D.

MMP-9, a member of the matrix metalloproteinase family that degrades collagen IV and processes chemokines and cytokines, participates in epidermal remodeling in response to stress and injury. Limited activity of MMP-9 is essential while excessive activity is deleterious to the healing process. Tumor necrosis factor (TNFalpha), a key mediator of cutaneous inflammation, is a powerful inducer of MMP-9.

Uridine-5'-triphosphate protects against hepatic- ischemic/reperfusion injury in mice.

Background And Aim: Mitochondrial calcium overload triggers apoptosis and also regulates ATP production. ATP and uridine-5'-triphosphate (UTP) depletion from hepatic tissue after ischemia causes cell death. ATP and UTP binds to cell membranes of the hepatocytes through P2Y receptors.

Vitamin D protects keratinocytes from deleterious effects of ionizing radiation.

Background: Radiotherapy can induce severe skin responses that may limit the clinically acceptable radiation dose. The responses include erythema, dry and moist desquamation, erosions and dermal-epidermal blister formation. These effects reflect injury to, and reproductive failure of, epidermal cells and may also be due to dysregulation of the tissue remodelling process caused by excessive proteolytic activity.

Oxidative stress causes telomere damage in Fanconi anaemia cells - a possible predisposition for malignant transformation.

Fanconi anaemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive and X-linked disease characterized by severe genetic instability and increased incidence of cancer. One explanation for this instability may be the cellular hypersensitivity to oxidative stress leading to chromosomal breaks. This study explored the possible oxidative damage to telomeres of FA lymphocyte cell line, HSC536/N, and its possible effect on telomere function.