Pain research & management : the journal of the Canadian Pain Society = journal de la société canadienne pour le traitement de la douleur
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We aimed to present our experience in anchoring technique and evaluate the efficacy and safety of unilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty in patients with neurologically intact Kümmell's disease. ⋯ We considered that the anchoring technique in unilateral PVP could provide an effective and safe alternative for neurologically intact Kümmell's disease.
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The study aimed to evaluate masseter muscle stiffness in adult healthy volunteers referred to a massage treatment and also to investigate whether shear-wave elastography can be used to monitor the effect of massage on the masseter muscle. The study included 21 healthy volunteers, who were subjected to a 30-minute massage of the masseter muscle. Muscle stiffness was measured by shear-wave elastography before and directly after the massage. ⋯ The greatest decrease was observed in people with higher elasticity values before the massage (r = 0.79; p < 0.0001). The median intensity of pain was 7.2 (range: 6-9.5). We concluded that shear-wave elastography is a sensitive tool to monitor changes in the stiffness of the masseter muscle.
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A recent work has reported that the elevated osteopontin (OPN) levels in the articular cartilage and synovial fluid are correlated with the progressive osteoarthritis (OA) joint damage, and OPN has a protective effect against OA by suppressing the expressions of OA-associated genes. The present study examined whether the OPN deficiency was susceptible to OA through the regulation of chondrocyte senescence and apoptosis and the expressions of OA-associated genes. ⋯ The findings of this study suggest that the OPN deficiency can result in accelerated OA, which is associated with enhanced senescence and apoptosis of OA chondrocytes and the upregulated expressions of OA-associated genes.