Rejected

Persistent idiopathic facial pain (PIFP) is the unexplained pain along the territory of the trigeminal nerve, including nonorganic tooth pain called atypical odontalgia (AO). Though PIFP is debilitating to patients' livelihood and well-being, its pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Although neurovascular compression (NVC) of the trigeminal nerve is known to be associated with trigeminal neuralgia (TN), the relationship between NVC and other orofacial pains has not been fully elucidated.

Artemisia ordosica Krasch. (AOK) has been used for rheumatic arthritis, cold headache, sore throat, etc. in traditional Chinese/Mongolian medicine and is used for nasosinusitis by local Mongolian "barefoot" doctors. Up to now, their mechanisms are still unclear.

Arenga pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. is a medicinal and edible plant belonging to family Palmae. The fruits of this plant were used in traditional folk medicine due to its analgesia and anti-inflammatory activities. This study aimed to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties and the mechanism of the ethanol extract of A. pinnata (Wurmb) Merr. fruit (EAF) on different experimental models.

Pruritus is the primary symptom of atopic dermatitis (AD). The objective of this study was to develop a patient-reported outcome (PRO) instrument for daily administration in clinical trials to measure AD-related itch in adolescents and adults that would meet the standards described in the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA's) PRO Guidance. Six focus groups were conducted with 49 patients with AD (32 adults; 17 adolescents). Three iterative rounds of cognitive debriefing interviews were conducted in 26 patients with AD (17 adults; 9 adolescents) to pretest and refine the instrument. AD-related itching was considered the most bothersome AD symptom by nearly two-thirds of the focus group participants. The items in the initial version of the instrument, named the Atopic Dermatitis Itch Scale (ADIS), were developed to reflect concepts most relevant to the assessment of itching as described during the focus groups. Based on results of the cognitive debriefing interviews, an 8-item final version of the ADIS was created. The ADIS is a content valid PRO instrument addressing the concepts critical to the measurement of AD-related itching. To our knowledge, it is the first instrument developed to assess AD-related itch in patients as young as 12 years following the recommendations of the PRO Guidance.

Knee osteoarthritis (OA) cause pain and edema, as well as unbalance between the production of reactive oxygen species and antioxidant activity. These problems interfere with the articular function, leading to a significant loss of life quality. Sida tuberculata R.E.Fr. is an herbaceous plant belonging to the Malvaceae family found in southern Brazil. This plant has traditionally been consumed as an infusion and popularly used in the treatment of many diseases, with antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, reducing pain and inflammation.

Using Chitosan/PEO as the shell and PCL as the core, chitosan-polyethylene oxide/polycaprolactone nanofibrous mats were prepared successfully by coaxial electrospinning for co-load and sequential co-delivery of two drugs. Herein, lidocaine hydrochloride (Lid), used for pain relief, was added to the shell, and curcumin (Cur), an anti-inflammatory agent, was introduced into the core. Sodium bicarbonate (SB) was also added to the core layer to provide wound microenvironment sensitivity. Under acidic conditions, Lid was released due to the formation of -NH3+ by protonation of -NH2 on the chitosan molecular chains. At the same time, SB reacted with hydrogen ions to generate CO2, and many holes were generated on the surface of the fibers, providing more discharge paths for Cur release. Additionally, both Lid in the shell layer and Cur in the core layer exhibited acidic pH (∼5.4)-responsive release profiles. Moreover, a rapid release of Lid and a sustained release of Cur were observed to provide the immediate effects of analgesia and long-term antibacterial activity in the process of wound healing. Furthermore, after 48 h incubation, the mats showed continuous and excellent antibacterial performance against E. coli and S. aureus. The results of blood coagulation showed that the mats could achieve rapid hemostasis in the early stage of wound formation. Hemolytic and cytotoxicity evaluation also revealed that the mats had excellent hemocompatibility and cytocompatibility. Therefore, this study has made invaluable contributions to the design of a dual-drug-loaded dressing with microenvironment-responsive and sequential release properties towards wound care.

Chronic Chagas heart disease has different clinical manifestations including arrhythmias, heart failure, and stroke. Chest pain is one of the most common symptoms and when associated with changes in the electrocardiogram, such as T-wave changes, electrically inactive areas, and segmental wall motion abnormalities, may lead to a misdiagnosis of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Here, we describe two patients with Chagas heart disease and syncope due to sustained ventricular tachycardia who were misdiagnosed with ACS, and discuss the role of novel imaging modalities in the differential diagnosis and risk stratification.