Mechanosensitive meningeal nociception via Piezo channels: Implications for pulsatile pain in migraine?

Background: Recent discovery of mechanosensitive Piezo receptors in trigeminal ganglia suggested the novel molecular candidate for generation of migraine pain. However, the contribution of Piezo channels in migraine pathology was not tested yet. Therefore, in this study, we explored a potential involvement of Piezo channels in peripheral trigeminal nociception implicated in generation of migraine pain.

Simulations of localized harmonic motions on a blood vessel wall induced by an acoustic radiation force used in ultrasound elastography.

Many noninvasive techniques have been developed recently to explore the mechanical properties of soft tissue. In this paper, dynamic acoustic radiation force induced vibrations on a blood vessel wall were simulated using different stimulation frequencies and stiffness parameters for the vessel wall. The stimulation frequency was varied between 20 Hz and 20 kHz and the stiffness parameter (Young's modulus) was varied between 60 kPa and 360 kPa.

Ultrasound stimulates proteoglycan synthesis in bovine primary chondrocytes.

Mechanical forces can stimulate the production of extracellular matrix molecules. We tested the efficacy of ultrasound to increase proteoglycan synthesis in bovine primary chondrocytes. The ultrasound-induced temperature rise was measured and its contribution to the synthesis was investigated using bare heat stimulus.

The temperature dependence of ultrasound-stimulated acoustic emission.

Given the high variability of tissue properties during sonication, temperature monitoring is one of the most crucial components for accurate thermal treatment of tissues with focused ultrasound and other thermotherapy devices. Recently, the method of ultrasound-stimulated acoustic emission (USAE) has been introduced as a potential method for measurements of mechanical properties of tissues. In this paper, the dependence of USAE on tissue temperature is determined.

Cortical sensorimotor alterations in Unverricht-Lundborg disease patients without generalized seizures.

We investigated cortical functions of two Unverricht-Lundborg disease (ULD) patients suffering from myoclonic jerks, but no generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Somatosensory cortical responses were recorded to median nerve stimuli and coherence was calculated between cortical and muscle signals during isometric contraction of hand muscle. In contrast to ULD patients with generalized tonic-clonic seizures, responses of the primary somatosensory (SI) cortex were only slightly enhanced in the left and normal in the right hemisphere, and no early responses were observed in the ipsilateral SI.