Rejected

Pain is a minor problem compared with other Huntington Disease (HD) symptoms. Nevertheless, in HD it is poorly recognized and underestimated. So far, no study evaluated the presence of chronic pain in HD. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the presence and features of chronic pain in a cohort of HD gene carriers. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in a cohort of HD gene carriers compared to not gene carriers (n.134 HD subjects, n.74 not gene mutation carriers). A specific pain interview, alongside a neurological, cognitive and behavioural examination, was performed in order to classify the type of pain, subjective intensity. A significant prevalence of "no Pain" in HD was found, which tended to increase with HD progression and a reduced frequency of pain in the last 3 months. A clear difference was found between manifest and premanifest HD in terms of intensity of pain, which did not change significantly with HD progression; however, a tendency emerges to a progressive reduction. No significant group difference was present in analgesic use, type and the site of pain. These findings could support a lower prevalence of in manifest HD. Prevalence and intensity of seem directly influenced by the process of neurodegeneration rather than by an incorrect cognitive and emotional functioning.

The intranasal administration of oxytocin (OT) reduces migraine headaches through activation of the oxytocin receptor (OTR). Magnesium ion (Mg concentration is critical to the activation of the OTR, and a low serum Mg concentration is predictive of a migraine headache. We, therefore, examined the functional impact of Mg concentration on OT-OTR binding efficacy using two complimentary bioassays.

To provide a historic snapshot as regards the evolution of headache treatment throughout the human history i.e. starting from trepanation to perisutural botulinum toxin (BoNT) injections. Ancient surgeons had aimed to reach the cranium with trepanation (a surgical operation) for headache. As BoNT inhibits the release of nociceptive and pro-inflammatory neuropeptides, it has been recently suggested as an effective alternative in the prophylactic treatment of chronic migraine headache. Chronic migraine is a complex neurological disorder for which the underlying pathophysiology is yet not totally explained. According to the generally accepted hypotheses, peripheral neurogenic activation and central trigeminal sensitization are the two main mechanisms through which its pain develops. Since the headache most commonly occurs around the perisutural areas, and as the primary pathogenesis stem from the meningeal nerve fibers; collateral sensorial branches of the meningeal nerves can be optimal paths to transport BoNT inside the cranium. Concerning the therapeutic efficacy, we anticipate that perisutural injections would be technically challenging with blind techniques and actually possible only if performed under an imaging guidance e.g. very conveniently with high frequency ultrasound.

Recently, several countries approved the use of cannabis flowering tops with standardized amount of ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), cannabidiol (CBD) to treat several diseases. Therapeutic monitoring of medical cannabis products administered to patients for the established pathologies is rarely carried out. Previous few investigations have been developed in conventional matrices like blood and urine. This is the first study involving hair analysis of THC, CBD and their metabolites in patients treated with medical cannabis. An ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method to quantify THC, CBD, and metabolites, i.e., 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (THC-COOH), 11-hydroxy-THC (11-OH-THC) cannabidiol-7-oic acid (7-COOH-CBD), 7-hydroxycannabidiol (7-OH-CBD), 6-α-hydroxycannabidiol (6-α-OH-CBD) and 6-β-hydroxycannabidiol (6-β-OH-CBD) in hair samples was developed and fully validated. The validation results indicated that the method was accurate (average inter/intra-day error, <10%), precise (inter/intra-day imprecision, <10%), and fast (10 min run time). Average hair concentrations in four patients treated with different formulations of medical cannabis were 2.75 ng/mg THC, 2.87 ng/mg 11-OH-THC, and 0.32 ng/mg THC-COOH (n = 3); 1.65 ng/mg CBD, 2.73 ng/mg 7-OH-CBD, 1.29 ng/mg 7-COOH-CBD, 0.35 ng/mg 6-α-OH-CBD, and 0.03 ng/mg 6-β-OH-CBD. The proposed method proved suitable for a fast and sensitive determination of all target compounds allowing high throughput testing in individuals monitored for medical cannabis treatments.

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) essential oils are two medicinally important plant-derived substances with a wide range of biological properties. Besides, nanoemulsion-based gels have been widely used to increase topical drug delivery and effectiveness.

In this study, we examined the psychometric properties of the Fear of Pain Questionnaire (FPQ-9) in Indigenous Australian people. FPQ-9, a shorter version of the original Fear of Pain Questionnaire-III, was developed to support the demand for more concise scales with faster administration time in the clinical and research setting. The psychometric properties of FPQ-9 in Indigenous Australian participants ( = 735) were evaluated with network psychometrics, such as dimensionality, model fit, internal consistency and reliability, measurement invariance, and criterion validity. Our findings indicated that the original FPQ-9 three-factor structure had a poor fit and did not adequately capture pain-related fear in Indigenous Australian people. On removal of two cross-loading items, an adapted version Indigenous Australian Fear of Pain Questionnaire-7 (IA-FPQ-7) displayed good fit and construct validity and reliability for assessing fear of pain in a sample of Indigenous Australian people. The IA-FPQ-7 scale could be used to better understand the role and impact of fear of pain in Indigenous Australian people living with chronic pain. This could allow for more tailored and timely interventions for managing pain in Indigenous Australian communities.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most widely prescribed drugs worldwide. However, the effect of NSAIDS on postoperative renal function is still unclear. Few studies have assessed the effects of parecoxib on renal function. Our aim is to investigate a correlation between parecoxib and the presence or absence of AKI postoperatively after a breast cancer surgery operation.

There is uncertainty regarding the association between abdominal morphology, pelvic floor function, and psychological factors in women with postpartum pelvic girdle pain (PGP). The aim of this case-control study was to evaluate the differences between women with and without persistent PGP regarding pelvic floor function, diastasis recti, and psychological factors 6-24 weeks postpartum. Pelvic floor manometry, palpation examination of abdominal muscles, the International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form, The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21, and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale were used. The PGP group presented with lower vaginal resting pressure ( &lt; 0.001), more tenderness ( = 0.018) and impaired voluntary activation of pelvic floor muscles ( ≤ 0.001). Women with pain also had more distortion on the level of the anterior abdominal wall ( = 0.001) and more severe diastasis recti ( = 0.046) when compared to pain-free controls. Lower vaginal resting pressure was the strongest factor explaining PGP (OR 0.702, 95%CI 0.502-0.981). There were no differences in terms of the pelvic floor strength, endurance, severity of urinary incontinence and reported distress between the groups. Women with PGP 6-24 weeks postpartum differ in pelvic floor and abdominal muscle function from the pain-free controls. Vaginal resting pressure may be an important factor in pelvic girdle pain shortly postpartum. Further studies are needed to see a trend in changes over time.

The goal of this experimentation was to increase the cutaneous absorption of venlafaxine HCl (VFX) encapsulated in a niosome (venlasosme) produced by an ultrasonic approach. The impact of the cholesterol:surfactant (Chol:Surf) proportion was examined to modify the venlasosme properties. Photon correlation spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), SEM, DSC, and ATR-FTIR spectroscopy were utilized to investigate the solid-state and morphology of VFX in the venlasosme. The studies revealed that increasing the level of Chol in the venlasosme increased the size of the particles. Alterations in the Chol to surfactant ratios (when Chol decreased from 2.5 to 0%) caused the zeta potential enhancement from 7.37 ± 0.67 to 15.53 ± 1.47 mV. The venlasosme with the highest cholesterol concentration (2.5%) had the highest encapsulation efficiency (approximately 63%). PXRD results revealed that VFX in venlasosme was in the amorphous form. The levels of VFX in the cutaneous layers and the receiver compartment were higher for the venlasosme gel than for VFX simple gel in the cutaneous permeability study and showed no cutaneous irritancy in rats. Furthermore, the venlasosme gel demonstrated significant antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory responses when compared to the control groups (VFX simple gel and diclofenac gel). The topical administration of the venlasosme gel also considerably increased the tail-flick and hot-plate response time when compared to the VFX simple gel, control groups, and diclofenac gel (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that niosomes can improve VFX efficacy as an antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory substance by improving the medicaments delivery to the specified site.