Effects of exercise therapy on painful temporomandibular disorders.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are common chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions among orofacial pain. Painful TMD condition such as myalgia and arthralgia can be managed by exercise therapy. However, as it is hard to access actual effect of each modality that is included in an exercise therapy programme due to multiple choice of the management modality, their efficacy remains controversial.

Comparison of the Contact Force Exerted on Teeth by Conventional Macintosh Laryngoscope Versus Video Laryngoscopes.

During laryngoscopy, the laryngoscope blade sometimes comes in contact with the teeth, fracturing or dislocating them. However, no studies have compared the effects of newly marketed video laryngoscopes and the Macintosh laryngoscope (Mac) on teeth. In this study, we measured and compared the force exerted on the teeth of an intubating manikin by the Mac, the Airway Scope (Pentax), and the McGrath MAC (Covidien).

Depressing interleukin-1β contributed to the synergistic effects of tramadol and minocycline on spinal nerve ligation-induced neuropathic pain.

Our previous study indicated that coadministration of tramadol and minocycline exerted synergistic effects on spinal nerve ligation (SNL)-induced neuropathic mechanical allodynia. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Recent reports indicated that spinal proinflammatory factor interleukin-1β (IL-1β) contributed to the development of neuropathic pain and the positive feedback communication between neuron and glia.

Increased expression of interleukin-18 in the trigeminal spinal subnucleus caudalis after inferior alveolar nerve injury in the rat.

Interleukin-18 (IL-18) is an important regulator of innate and immune responses, and is known to be expressed in various types of cells and upregulated in pathological conditions including tissue injury and inflammation, suggesting it has both proinflammatory and compensatory roles. Here we show that IL-18 was increased in microglia in the trigeminal spinal subnucleus caudalis (Vc) after peripheral nerve injury. We used a trigeminal neuropathic pain model in which the withdrawal threshold of maxillary whisker pad skin was significantly decreased after inferior alveolar nerve transection, and observed a striking increase in IL-18 expression in the Vc around the obex area from 3d and continued until 14d after nerve injury.

Influences of molar loss of rat on learning and memory.

Purpose: The maxillary unilateral or bilateral molars of rats were extracted, and the influences of the partial loss of occlusal support were evaluated using an 8-arm radial maze and a step-through type passive-avoidance apparatus.

Methods: Rats were randomly allocated to three groups not undergoing molar extraction or undergoing extraction of the maxillary unilateral or bilateral molars. Each group was further divided into two groups for maze or passive-avoidance experiments.