Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation for Prevention and Treatment of Post-Herpetic Neuralgia: A Narrative Review.

The present investigation evaluated transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) for the non-pharmacological treatment of post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN). PHN is the most common complication of the Herpes Zoster virus, affecting one in every five patients with shingles, and presents as intense neuropathic pain that can persist for 90 days or longer after the initial onset of symptoms. Current pharmacological treatment options are mainly limited to symptom management, including oral medications such as tricyclic antidepressants and gabapentinoid preparations, as well as topical options such as lidocaine or capsaicin.

From Surviving to Thriving: Key Considerations for Weight Control Across Diverse Cancer Survivorship Populations.

Background: Obesity is a chronic, relapsing, progressive disease of excess adiposity that increases the risk of dying from at least 16 types of cancer. The prevalence of obesity has increased more rapidly in cancer survivors compared with the general population. Tailored weight management strategies are needed to improve prognosis and health outcomes in the growing population of cancer survivors.

Diabetic Neuropathy: A Guide to Pain Management.

Purpose Of Review: Diabetic neuropathy is a common complication of diabetes mellitus (DM) and can affect up to 50% of DM patients during their lifetime. Patients typically present with numbness, tingling, pain, and loss of sensation in the extremities. Since there is no treatment targeting the underlying mechanism of neuropathy, strategies focus on preventative care and pain management.

Frontiers in Acute Pain Management: Emerging Concepts in Pain Pathways and the Role of VX-548 as a Novel NaV1.8 Inhibitor: A Narrative Review.

Purpose Of Review: Despite ongoing research into alternative postsurgical pain treatments, opioids remain widely used analgesics regardless of associated adverse effects, including dependence and overdose, as demonstrated throughout the current opioid crisis. This is likely related to a failure in proving the efficacy of alternative analgesics in clinical trials, despite strong evidence supporting the potential for effective analgesia through in vitro studies. While NaV1.

Effects of exercise or metformin on myokine concentrations in patients with breast and colorectal cancer: A phase II multi-centre factorial randomized trial.

Background: Physical activity and metformin pharmacotherapy are associated with improved clinical outcomes in breast and colorectal cancer survivors. Myokines are cytokines secreted from skeletal muscle that may mediate these associations.

Methods: This hypothesis-generating analysis used biospecimens collected from a multi-centre 2 × 2 factorial randomized design of 116 patients with stage I-III breast and colorectal cancer who were randomized to 12 weeks of (1) aerobic exercise (moderate intensity titrated to 220 min/week); (2) metformin (850 mg daily for 2 weeks and then titrated to 850 mg twice per day); (3) aerobic exercise and metformin; or (4) control.

Postoperative chemotherapy relative dose intensity and overall survival in patients with colon cancer.

Purpose: Quantifying the association of chemotherapy relative dose intensity (RDI) with overall survival may enable supportive care interventions that improve chemotherapy RDI to estimate their magnitude of potential clinical benefit.

Methods: This cohort study included 533 patients with stage II-III colon cancer who initiated a planned regimen of 12 cycles of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy. The primary exposure was chemotherapy RDI.

The dose-response effect of aerobic exercise on inflammation in colon cancer survivors.

Background: Physical activity after surgical resection for colon cancer is associated with significantly longer disease-free survival. Inflammation is hypothesized to mediate the association between physical activity and disease-free survival in colon cancer.

Methods: In this exploratory analysis of a randomized dose-response trial, 39 colon cancer survivors who completed standard therapy were stratified by cancer stage and randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to one of three treatment groups for 24 weeks of usual-care control, 150 min/wk of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (low-dose), or 300 min/wk of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise (high-dose).

The effects of exercise and diet on oxidative stress and telomere length in breast cancer survivors.

Purpose: Cancer and its treatments accelerate biological aging. This analysis tested the hypothesis that exercise and diet reduce oxidative stress and prevent telomere shortening in breast cancer survivors.

Methods: In a 2 × 2 factorial design, 342 breast cancer survivors who were insufficiently physically active and had overweight or obesity at enrollment were randomized to one of four treatment groups for 52 weeks: control, exercise alone, diet alone, or exercise plus diet.

Obesity and metabolic dysfunction correlate with background parenchymal enhancement in premenopausal women.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that obesity and metabolic abnormalities correlate with background parenchymal enhancement (BPE), the volume and intensity of enhancing fibroglandular breast tissue on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging.

Methods: Participants included 59 premenopausal women at high risk of breast cancer. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m .

Physical Activity in Stage III Colon Cancer: CALGB/SWOG 80702 (Alliance).

Purpose: To determine the specific types, durations, and intensities of recreational physical activity associated with the greatest improvements in disease-free survival (DFS) of patients with colon cancer.

Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study nested within a randomized multicenter trial of stage III colon cancer that compared 3 versus 6 months of fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin with or without celecoxib. We measured recreational physical activity in the first 3 months of chemotherapy and again 6 months after completion of chemotherapy.

The association of abdominal adiposity with premature discontinuation of postoperative chemotherapy in colon cancer.

Background & Aims: Patients with colon cancer who prematurely discontinue postoperative chemotherapy may have an increased risk of disease recurrence and death. This study tested the hypothesis that the quantity and distribution of abdominal adipose tissue predict premature chemotherapy discontinuation.

Methods: This cohort study included 533 patients with stage II-III colon cancer who initiated a planned regimen of 24-weeks of 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin, and oxaliplatin (FOLFOX) chemotherapy.

Association of Abdominal Visceral Adiposity and Total Fat Mass with Cancer Incidence and Mortality in White and Black Adults.

Background: Race modifies the association between anthropometric measures of obesity and cancer risk. However, the degree to which abdominal visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and total fat mass (FM) are associated with cancer risk is not known.

Methods: The sample included 3,017 White and 1,347 Black adults who were assessed between 1995 and 2016 and followed for outcome assessment through 2017.

The effects of exercise and diet on sex steroids in breast cancer survivors.

Insufficient physical activity and obesity are associated with an increased risk of cancer recurrence and death in breast cancer survivors. Sex steroid hormones may mediate these associations. This study tested the hypothesis that exercise and diet, as compared to control, favorably change sex steroid hormones.

Scaling of computed tomography body composition to height: relevance of height-normalized indices in patients with colorectal cancer.

Background: Body weight scales to height with a power of ≈2 (weight/height ), forming the basis of body mass index (BMI). The corresponding scaling of body composition measured by abdominal computed tomography (CT) to height has not been established. The objective of this analysis was to quantify the scaling of body composition measured by a single-slice axial abdominal CT image (skeletal muscle, and visceral, subcutaneous, and total adipose tissue) to height in patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).

A randomized trial of exercise and diet on body composition in survivors of breast cancer with overweight or obesity.

Purpose: Obesity increases the risk of cancer recurrence and death in survivors of breast cancer. This study tested the hypothesis that exercise alone, diet alone, and the combination of exercise plus diet reduce body weight and improve body composition in survivors of breast cancer.

Methods: In this 2 × 2 factorial trial, 351 survivors of breast cancer with overweight or obesity were randomized to one of four treatment groups for 52 weeks: control, exercise alone, diet alone, or exercise plus diet.

The Community and Patient Partnered Research Network (CPPRN): Application of Patient-Centered Outcomes Research to Promote Behavioral Health Equity.

Objective: We describe the rationale, development, and progress on the Community and Patient Partnered Research Network (CPPRN). The CPPRN builds on more than a decade of partnered work and is designed to promote health equity by developing partnered research on behavioral health and social risk factors in Los Angeles and New Orleans.

Setting: A community-academic partnership across Los Angeles County and New Orleans.