Hemolysis during and after 21 days of head-down-tilt bed rest.

Hemoconcentration is observed in bed rest studies, descent from altitude, and exposure to microgravity. Hemoconcentration triggers erythrocyte losses to subsequently normalize erythrocyte concentration. The mechanisms of erythrocyte loss may involve enhanced hemolysis, but has never been measured directly in bed rest studies.

Bone replaces articular cartilage in the rat knee joint after prolonged immobilization.

Background: Lost joint range of motion (ROM) is common in chronic osteoarthritis, alters regional weight-bearing across the articular surfaces, and contributes to loss of cartilage and bone alterations. Limited data exist on the regional effects on joints subjected to chronic losses of ROM.

Objective: To characterize the regional replacement by bone as part of articular cartilage degeneration after prolonged immobilization.

The effects of knee immobilization on marrow adipocyte hyperplasia and hypertrophy at the proximal rat tibia epiphysis.

Marrow adipose deposition is observed during aging and in association with extended periods of immobility. The objective of this study was to determine the contribution of adipocyte hypertrophy and hyperplasia to bone marrow fat deposition induced by immobilization of the rat knee joint for 2, 4, 16 or 32 weeks. Histomorphometric analyses compared immobilized to sham-operated proximal tibia from age and gender matched rats to assess the contribution of aging and duration of immobilization on the number and size of marrow adipocytes.

Do Pain-Related Support Preferences Moderate Relationships Between Chronic Pain Patients' Reports of Support Received and Psychosocial Functioning?

Objective: The operant theory of chronic pain and related research suggest pain-related solicitous support promotes disability. The current study investigated the hypotheses that solicitous support is positively associated with both disability and relationship satisfaction and that these relationships are moderated by the level of desire for this type of support.

Methods: Patients with chronic pain (N = 147) and in a relationship were recruited from a multidisciplinary pain treatment center.

Balancing give and take between patients and their spousal caregivers in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Objective: Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a demanding treatment. Spouses of HSCT patients assume caregiving responsibilities that can induce feelings of burden and disrupt relationship equity. On the basis of equity theory, we propose a conceptual framework examining the individual and dyadic experience of HSCT patients and their caregivers.

A smartphone photogrammetry method for digitizing prosthetic socket interiors.

Background And Aim: Prosthetic CAD/CAM systems require accurate 3D limb models; however, difficulties arise when working from the person's socket since current 3D scanners have difficulties scanning socket interiors. While dedicated scanners exist, they are expensive and the cost may be prohibitive for a limited number of scans per year. A low-cost and accessible photogrammetry method for socket interior digitization is proposed, using a smartphone camera and cloud-based photogrammetry services.

The relationship between mindfulness, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, depression, and quality of life among cancer survivors living with chronic neuropathic pain.

Purpose: This study aims to examine if mindfulness is associated with pain catastrophizing, depression, disability, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in cancer survivors with chronic neuropathic pain (CNP).

Method: We conducted a cross-sectional survey with cancer survivors experiencing CNP. Participants (n = 76) were men (24 %) and women (76 %) with an average age of 56.

Clinically Important Change in Insomnia Severity After Chronic Pain Rehabilitation.

Objectives: Insomnia is a common problem for people with chronic pain. It is unclear, however, whether interdisciplinary treatment centered on pain management, rather than sleep, confers a benefit in reducing insomnia symptoms. In this study, we examined clinically important change in insomnia severity following participation in an interdisciplinary chronic pain rehabilitation program.

Loss of Dignity in Severe Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

Context: The maintenance of dignity is an important concept in palliative care, and the loss of dignity is a significant concern among patients with advanced cancer.

Objectives: The goals of this study were to examine whether loss of dignity is also a concern for patients receiving interdisciplinary rehabilitation for Stage III or IV chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. We examined the prevalence and correlates of loss of dignity and determined whether it improves with treatment.

Long-Term Effects of Lung Volume Recruitment on Maximal Inspiratory Capacity and Vital Capacity in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Rationale: Lung volume recruitment therapy slows rate of decline of lung function in neuromuscular disease, possibly due to enhanced airway clearance, reduced atelectasis, or prevention of chest wall contractures.

Objectives: To determine if lung volume recruitment maintains maximal insufflation capacity (MIC), despite decline in VC.

Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study (1991-2008) of individuals with Duchenne muscular dystrophy at pediatric and adult tertiary centers.

Noninflammatory Joint Contractures Arising from Immobility: Animal Models to Future Treatments.

Joint contractures, defined as the limitation in the passive range of motion of a mobile joint, can be classified as noninflammatory diseases of the musculoskeletal system. The pathophysiology is not well understood; limited information is available on causal factors, progression, the pathophysiology involved, and prediction of response to treatment. The clinical heterogeneity of joint contractures combined with the heterogeneous contribution of joint connective tissues to joint mobility presents challenges to the study of joint contractures.

Temporal gene expression profiling of the rat knee joint capsule during immobilization-induced joint contractures.

Background: Contractures of the knee joint cause disability and handicap. Recovering range of motion is recognized by arthritic patients as their preference for improved health outcome secondary only to pain management. Clinical and experimental studies provide evidence that the posterior knee capsule prevents the knee from achieving full extension.

Development and evaluation of short forms of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and the Pain Self-efficacy Questionnaire.

Background: To facilitate efficient screening and reduce the length of comprehensive self-report batteries, a four-item short form of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) and a two-item short form of the Pain Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (PSEQ) have been developed and evaluated in samples of patients with arm and upper extremity pain.

Aims: The first aim of this study was to evaluate these short forms in a heterogeneous sample of patients seeking treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain, using a priori criteria for determining adequate internal consistency, construct validity and sensitivity to change. In addition, the findings of past studies were used to identify items suitable for new and potentially stronger short forms of these measures.

Gait adaptations of transfemoral prosthesis users across multiple walking tasks.

Background: For people with lower extremity amputations, the decreased confidence and suboptimal gait associated with dynamic instability can negatively affect mobility and quality of life. Quantifying dynamic instability could enhance clinical decision making related to lower extremity prosthetics and inform future prosthetic research.

Objective: To quantitatively examine gait adaptations in transfemoral amputees across various walking conditions.

Knee flexion contractures in patients with osteoarthritis: clinical features and histologic characterization of the posterior capsule.

Objective: To (1) identify demographic and clinical factors associated with knee flexion contracture (KFlC) in the setting of osteoarthritis (OA) and (2) histologically compare the posterior knee capsule of patients with OA with and without KFlC.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: Primary care, including private and institutional practice.

A Breathlessness Catastrophizing Scale for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Objective: Catastrophizing about breathlessness may be related to disability in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), but assessment options are limited. This study reports the initial validation of a 13-item Breathlessness Catastrophizing Scale (BCS).

Method: Pulmonary rehabilitation inpatients completed spirometric, functional performance and questionnaire assessments at admission (N=242) and discharge (n=186).

Genome wide gene expression analysis of the posterior capsule in patients with osteoarthritis and knee flexion contracture.

Objective: Knee flexion contractures (KFC) are limitations in the ability to fully extend the knee joint. In people with knee osteoarthritis (OA), KFC are common, impair function, and worsen outcomes after arthroplasty. In KFC, the posterior knee capsule is believed to play a key role, but the pathophysiology remains poorly understood.

Quantitative and temporal differential recovery of articular and muscular limitations of knee joint contractures; results in a rat model.

Joint contractures alter the mechanical properties of articular and muscular structures. Reversibility of a contracture depends on the restoration of the elasticity of both structures. We determined the differential contribution of articular and muscular structures to knee flexion contractures during spontaneous recovery.

Mental disorders and the desire for death in patients receiving palliative care for cancer.

Objectives: The desire for death in terminally ill patients is associated with depression and anxiety, but not all patients who report it meet criteria for mental disorders. We examined the characteristics of subgroups of palliative cancer patients who expressed a desire for death that occurred either with or without a concurrent depressive or anxiety disorder.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduces symptoms of depression in people with a traumatic brain injury: results from a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: We sought to determine if we could reduce symptoms of depression in individuals with a traumatic brain injury using mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

Setting: The study was conducted in a community setting.

Participants: We enrolled adults with symptoms of depression after a traumatic brain injury.

Mechanical and biomechanical analysis of a linear piston design for angular-velocity-based orthotic control.

A linear piston hydraulic angular-velocity-based control knee joint was designed for people with knee-extensor weakness to engage knee-flexion resistance when knee-flexion angular velocity reaches a preset threshold, such as during a stumble, but to otherwise allow free knee motion. During mechanical testing at the lowest angular-velocity threshold, the device engaged within 2 degrees knee flexion and resisted moment loads of over 150 Nm. The device completed 400,000 loading cycles without mechanical failure or wear that would affect function.