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The development of effective drug-loaded dressings has been considered a hot research topic for biomedical therapeutics, including the use of botanical compounds. For wound healing, adequate dressings can provide a good microenvironment for drug release, such as lidocaine. Biological macromolecular materials such as alginate show excellent properties in wound management. This study involves the preparation and evaluation of biocompatible multilayered-structure microspheres composed of chitosan, porous gelatin, and calcium alginate microspheres. The multilayered structure microspheres were named chitosan@ porous gelatin@ calcium alginate microspheres (CPAMs) and the drugs were rapidly released by the volume expansion of the calcium alginate microspheres. The release curve revealed that the peak release of lidocaine from CPAMs was reached within 18[Formula: see text]min. After 21[Formula: see text]min, the remaining lidocaine was then slowly released, and the active drug release was converted to a passive drug release phase. The initial release effect of lidocaine was much better than that reported in the published studies. Additionally, blood coagulation experiments showed that CPAMs coagulated blood in 60[Formula: see text]s, and the blood liquidity of the CPAMs group was worse than that of the woundplast group. Therefore, the coagulation characteristics of CPAMs were superior to the commonly used woundplast containing lidocaine healing gel. These study outcomes indicated that the CPAMs acted as fast-release dressings for faster pain control and better coagulation properties.

Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) utilization is increasing on a global scale, and despite technological advances, minimal standardized approaches to pharmacotherapeutic management exist. This objective was to create a comprehensive review for medication dosing in ECMO based on the most current evidence.

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) regulates overall energy consumption and energy intake through cytokines. Ligusticum striatum DC (CX) combined with Gastrodia elata Blume (TM) has been used for migraine treatment for millennia. When used alone in clinical practice, CX causes symptoms of thirst, irritability, and yellow urine and has influenced the levels of cytokines such as AMP that activate the AMPK pathway of energy metabolism. However, relationships between this compatibility prescription, integral biological energy metabolism, and the AMPK pathway remain unclear. Studies were performed by treating normal rats with physiological saline, CX extract, CX coupled TM extract, and TM extracts separately for 4 weeks. Food intake, water intake, urine output, stool output, and body weight were monitored once a week by the metabolic cage method. Values of FBG, BUN, TP, TC and TG in blood samples were detected approaching the whole blood automatic detector from 1 to 4 weeks. Na -K -ATPase, Ca -Mg -ATPase, cAMP, and cGMP activity were determined by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA); the biological samples that were obtained at 1, 2, 3, and 4 weeks after drug administration were tested by GC-TOF-MS. Then real-time PCR and Western Blot were applied to detect changes in expression of some substances involved in energy metabolism. The results demonstrated that administering CX alone increased energy input, mobility, and respiratory exchange ratio, accelerated energy consumption, and caused inflammatory infiltration in the liver. CX coupled with TM led to lower energy metabolism and liver damage in comparison with CX used alone. Moreover, CX-treated rats harbored higher levels of differential metabolites (including pyrophosphate, oxaloacetic acid, and galactinol). Glycerophospholipid metabolism and the citrate cycle are closely related to the differential metabolites above. In addition, CX-induced unbalanced energy metabolism depends on cAMP activation mediated by the AMPK/PGC-1α pathway in rats. Our findings suggest that CX-induced energy metabolism imbalance was corrected after coupling with TM by mediating the AMPK/PGC-1α pathway.

Post-operative healing after clitoral reconstruction (CR) for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) can be long and painful due to prolonged clitoral re-epithelialization time (3 months). Autologous Platelet-Rich Plasma (A-PRP) might reduce post operative clitoral epithelialization time and pain.

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) include a group of musculoskeletal disorders that may involve increased responsiveness of nociceptive neurons in the central nervous system (i.e. central sensitization). To test this hypothesis further, the present study examined whether, as compared with healthy subjects, patients with chronic TMD have a greater susceptibility to develop secondary mechanical hyperalgesia – a phenomenon that can be confidently attributed to central sensitization.In this case-control study, we assessed the area of secondary mechanical hyperalgesia induced experimentally by delivering high-frequency electrical stimulation (HFS) to the volar forearm skin in 20 participants with chronic TMD and 20 matched healthy controls. HFS consisted in 12 trains of constant-current electrical pulses (5mA) delivered at 42 Hz. The area of secondary mechanical hyperalgesia was evaluated 30 minutes after applying HFS.The area of secondary mechanical hyperalgesia induced by HFS was on average 76% larger in the chronic TMD group (M = 67.7 cm2, SD = 28.2) than in the healthy control group (M = 38.4 cm2, SD = 14.9; p = .0003). Regarding secondary outcomes, there was no group difference in the intensity of secondary mechanical hyperalgesia, but allodynia to cotton after HFS was more frequent in the chronic TMD group.To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that individuals with chronic TMD have an increased susceptibility to develop secondary hyperalgesia in a site innervated extra-trigeminally. Our results contribute to a better understanding of the pathophysiology of chronic TMD.

Migraine surgery is a debilitating disorder that produces high costs and compromises the quality of life. This study aimed to evaluate surgery success and the longevity of the surgical benefit by trigger site.

Most women take medication during pregnancy despite limited scientific evidence on safety. We investigated medication use, including changes in and reasons for changes in use during pregnancy, with attention to medication use in pregnant women with chronic conditions. We conducted an online survey of pregnant women aged ≥18 years ( = 1,226). We calculated descriptive statistics for aspects of medication use and performed multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between change in use and chronic conditions. Seventy-nine percent of women took at least one medication during pregnancy. Among those, 63.2% made at least one medication change: 42.0% started, 34.9% stopped, 30.0% missed dose(s), and 18.1% lowered dose(s) from that originally prescribed or recommended. More than a third (36.5%) of women who stopped, lowered, or missed medication did so independent of health care provider advice; 54.0% cited concern about birth or developmental defects as reasons for change. Odds of medication change were higher for women with chronic conditions: digestive conditions-starting (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.1-2.7), stopping (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.4-3.3), and lowering (AOR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.7-3.3) medication; mental health conditions-starting (AOR = 1.6, 95% CI = 1.2-2.2), stopping (AOR = 3.0, 95% CI = 2.3-4.0), or missing (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.6-2.8) medication; pain conditions-stopping (AOR = 2.9, 95% CI = 2.0-4.2); and respiratory conditions-starting (AOR = 2.0, 95% CI = 1.3-3.1), stopping (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.1-2.6), and missing (AOR = 2.2, 95% CI = 1.4-3.4) medication. Most pregnant women take medication and many, including those with chronic conditions, change their medication use during pregnancy. Medication change may occur independent of health care provider advice and due to women's safety concerns.

Active duty (AD) women suffer with chronic pelvic pain (CPP) while providers tackle diagnoses and treatments to keep them functional without contributing to the opioid epidemic. The purpose of this randomized trial was to determine the effectiveness of noninvasive, self-explanatory mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) or self-paced healthy lifestyle (HL) interventions on CPP in AD women. A 6-week, interventional prospective study with AD women aged 21-55 years at Mountain Home (MTHM), Idaho, was conducted. Women were randomly assigned to MBSR ( = 21) or HL ( = 20) interventions. The primary outcome was pain perception. The secondary outcomes were depression and circulating cytokine levels. Women in the MBSR group exhibited reduced pain interference ( < 0.01) and depression ( < 0.05) alongside decreased interleukin (IL)-4 ( < 0.05), IL-6 ( < 0.05), eotaxin ( < 0.05), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 ( = 0.06), and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra) ( < 0.01) and increased vascular endothelial growth factor ( < 0.05). Women in the HL group did not have changes in pain; however, they did exhibit reduced depression ( < 0.05) alongside decreased granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor ( < 0.05) and increased tumor necrosis factor alpha ( < 0.05), stromal cell-derived factor-1 ( < 0.01), and IL-1ra ( < 0.01). AD women receiving MBSR or HL had reduced depression scores and altered circulating cytokine levels; however, only those receiving MBSR had reduced pain perception. Findings support MBSR as an effective and viable behavioral treatment for AD women suffering from CPP and provide premise for larger randomized controlled studies. MOCHI-An RCT of mindfulness as a treatment for CPP in AD Women NCT04104542 (September 26, 2019).