Rejected

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a serious problem in Military Police Officers (MPO), which accounts for up to 45% of the sick leave rates. It has been assumed that the strength and the endurance of trunk flexor and extensor muscles are CLPB key factors, but it is not known whether these attributes are related to pain intensity. It was aimed to determine whether the strength and endurance of trunk flexor and extensor muscles differ in MPO with no pain (CON; = 24), moderate (MOD; = 42), and severe (SEV; = 37) nonspecific chronic low back pain (CLBP). The peak torque and endurance test of trunk flexor (PTF.BM) and extensor (PTE.BM) muscles were compared. A multiple regression analysis was used to identify pain intensity predictors in all groups (PAIN) and according to pain intensity (MOD and SEV). The PTF.BM was negatively related to pain and was a significant predictor, irrespective of pain intensity (PAIN). When pain intensity was considered the PTF.BM and PTE.BM explained the pain in the MOD, while the PTE.BM and service time explained pain intensity in the SEV. Endurance of the flexor and extensor muscles was not related to pain intensity. These results indicated that training protocols must emphasize specific strengthening routines.

(1) Background: Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a heterogeneous group of connective tissue disorders causing pain, fatigue, and disabilities; it has several implications for patients who suffer from this disease. The major clinical manifestations of EDS include joint hypermobility, skin hyperextensibility, and generalized conjunctive tissue fragility. This research aims to explore their perceptions and experiences about the phycological and social spheres. (2) Methods: Semistructured interviews were carried out. Participants were encouraged to talk about issues related to their disease by asking open-ended questions in one to one interview. The interview guide included questions to identify the syndrome's influence on the social and psychological life of patients All interviews were audio recorded, fully transcribed, and analyzed using the phenomenological theoretical framework. The method of analysis was the thematic interpreting of perspectives and approaches. (3) Results: 31 individuals were proposed to participate in this study. Five patients refused to participate, so a total of 26 interviews were performed. Six themes ((1) Pain and its consequences on a daily basis; (2) The need to name the problem: the diagnosis; (3) Restructuring leisure and social relationships; (4) Limitations due to economic conditions; (5) Psychological impact of the disease situation; (6) Professional limitations) and four subthemes ((1) The value of partner support; (2) The weather influence on social plans; (3) Physical exercise and illness; (4) Support groups) emerged from the data. (4) Conclusions: This study revealed the impact of the syndrome on the social and daily life of patients, and not only in a physical level, but also in a psychological and social approach. These findings allow healthcare providers to know more about this disease in order to support and give advice to patients about the changes they will have to make.

Bone fractures related to musculoskeletal disorders determine long-term disability in older people with a consequent significant economic burden. The recovery of pathologically impaired tissue architecture allows avoiding bone loss-derived consequences such as bone height reduction, deterioration of bone structure, inflamed bone pain, and high mortality for thighbone fractures. Actually, standard therapy for osteoporosis treatment is based on the systemic administration of biphosphonates and anti-inflammatory drugs, which entail several side effects including gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, fever, and articular pain. Hence, the demand of innovative therapeutic approaches for locally treating bone lesions has been increasing in the last few years. In this scenario, the development of injectable materials loaded with therapeutically active agents (i.e., anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, and peptides mimicking growth factors) could be an effective tool to treat bone loss and inflammation related to musculoskeletal diseases, including osteoporosis and osteoarthritis. According to this challenge, here, we propose three different compositions of injectable calcium phosphates (CaP) as new carrier materials of therapeutic compounds such as bisphosphonates (i.e., alendronate), anti-inflammatory drugs (i.e., diclofenac sodium), and natural molecules (i.e., harpagoside) for the local bone disease treatment. Biological quantitative analyses were performed for screening osteoinductive and anti-inflammatory properties of injectable drug-loaded systems. Meanwhile, cell morphological features were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy and confocal investigations. The results exhibited that the three systems exerted an osteoinductive effect during later phases of osteogenesis. Simultaneously, all compositions showed an anti-inflammatory activity on inflammation in vitro models.

The genus is one of the largest genera in the spurge family, with diversity in range, distribution, and morphology. The plant species in this genus are widely used in traditional medicine for the treatment of diseases, ranging from respirational infections, body and skin irritations, digestion complaints, inflammatory infections, body pain, microbial illness, snake or scorpion bites, pregnancy, as well as sensory disorders. Their successes have been attributed to the presence of diverse phytochemicals like polycyclic and macrocyclic diterpenes with various pharmacological properties. As a result, diterpenes are of interest to chemists and biochemists with regard to drug discovery from natural products due to their diverse therapeutic applications as well as their great structural diversity. Other chemical constituents such as triterpenoids have also been reported to possess various pharmacological properties, thus supporting the traditional uses of the species. These triterpenoids can provide potential leads that can be developed into pharmaceutical compounds for a wide range of medicinal applications. However, there are scattered scientific reports about the anticancer activities of these constituents. Harnessing such information could provide a database of bioactive pharmacopeia or targeted scaffolds for drug discovery. Therefore, this review presents an updated and comprehensive summary of the ethnomedicinal uses, phytochemistry, and the anticancer activities of the triterpenoids of species. Most of the reported triterpenoids in this review belong to tirucallane, cycloartanes, lupane, oleanane, ursane, and taraxane subclass. Their anticancer activities varied distinctly with the majority of them exhibiting significant cytotoxic and anticancer activities in vitro. It is, therefore, envisaged that the report on triterpenoids with interesting anticancer activities will form a database of potential leads or scaffolds that could be advanced into the clinical trials with regard to drug discovery.

Psychogastroenterology is a field that focuses on the brain-gut connection. Many children with gut disorders also struggle with psychological and social factors that affect their disease outcomes. Psychological factors have been suggested to be a cure, a band-aid, or a prevention. This article examines the underlying models of disease and health that determine how we understand and treat psychosocial factors in gut diseases. The biomedical and biopsychosocial models are presented and applied to pediatric gut disorders. This article should familiarize clinicians as well as children and their families to the challenges and opportunities for addressing psychosocial factors in gut disease. Psychogastroenterology is best thought of as a cog in a complex treatment machine.

ICU discharge is often delayed by a requirement for intravenous vasopressor medications to maintain normotension. We hypothesised that the administration of midodrine, an oral α-adrenergic agonist, as adjunct to standard treatment shortens the duration of intravenous vasopressor requirement.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the impact of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE) in adults and identify the clinical and non-clinical factors associated with quality of life (QoL), using the Revised Wilson and Cleary Model.

The aim was to complete a feasibility study that would test the methods of the main trial, that will investigate whether early thoracic and shoulder girdle exercises reduce chronic pain in patients with blunt chest wall trauma, when compared with normal care.

To evaluate the acceptability and safety profile of nocturnal long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) in children with sickle cell disease (SCD) and chronic hypoxaemia.