Pain extent is associated with Central Sensitization Inventory but not widespread pressure pain sensitivity or psychological variables in women with fibromyalgia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between pain extent, as a clinical sign of central sensitization, and clinical, psychological, and pressure sensitivity in women with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS). METHOD: In this study, 126 females with FMS completed demographic (age, gender, body mass index, height, weight), clinical (pain history, and pain intensity at rest and during daily living activities), psychological (depression and anxiety levels), and neurophysiological [pressure pain threshold (PPT)] assessments. The Central Sensitization Inventory (CSI) was also used to collect self-reported symptoms of sensitization. Pain extent and frequency maps were obtained from pain drawings using customized software. After conducting a multivariable correlation analysis to determine the relationships between variables, a stepwise linear regression model analysis was performed to identify variables associated with pain extent. RESULTS: Pain extent was positively associated with age (r = 0.17), years with pain (r = 0.27), pain during daily life activities (r = 0.27), and CSI (r = 0.42) (all p < 0.05). The stepwise regression analysis revealed that 27.8% of the pain extent was explained by CSI, age, and years with pain. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that larger pain extent was associated with self-reported outcomes, i.e. CSI, but not neurophysiological outcomes, i.e. PPTs, of sensitization in women with FMS. Older age and a longer history with pain symptoms were also associated with larger pain extent.

Efectos del vendaje neuromuscular en el error de posicionamiento articular cervical: Un estudio piloto / Effects of neuromuscular taping on the cervical joint position sense error: A pilot study

Objetivos El objetivo principal de este estudio piloto es comparar los cambios en el error de posicionamiento articular cervical (EPAC) entre tres grupos de intervención. El objetivo secundario es analizar las diferencias de las intervenciones sobre el EPAC en presencia o ausencia de dolor cervical crónico. Material y métodos Se incluyó en el estudio una muestra de 15 participantes sin dolor cervical y una muestra de 15 personas con dolor cervical crónico. Cada una de las muestras fue asignada de manera aleatoria a uno de los tres grupos de intervención: un grupo experimental (aplicación de vendaje neuromuscular con tensión del 25%), un grupo placebo (aplicación de vendaje neuromuscular sin tensión) y un grupo control (sin aplicación de vendaje neuromuscular). Se realizó un análisis estadístico para examinar las diferencias dentro de los grupos, entre los grupos y entre muestras. Resultados No se encontraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas (p > 0,05) tras las intervenciones dentro de ningún grupo en ninguna de las dos muestras. No se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre grupos dentro de la misma muestra (p > 0,05) ni entre muestras (p > 0,05). Conclusiones Los resultados del presente estudio piloto sugieren que la aplicación de vendaje neuromuscular con o sin tensión no inducen cambios diferentes a la ausencia de su aplicación en sujetos sanos ni en aquellos con dolor cervical. Futuros estudios son necesarios para objetivar la ausencia de cambios clínicos, utilizando una mayor muestra y mayor número de intervenciones y mediciones en el tiempo (AU)

Objectives The main aim of this pilot study is to compare changes in Joint Position Sense Error (JPSE) between three intervention groups. The secondary aim is to analyse the differences of the interventions on JPSE in the presence and absence of pain. Material and methods A sample with fifteen healthy subjects and another sample with fifteen patients with chronic neck pain were included in this study. Each sample was randomly assigned to one of the intervention groups: an experimental group (25% neuromuscular taping with tension), a placebo group (neuromuscular taping with no tension), and a control group (with no neuromuscular taping). Statistical analyses were performed to assess the effects within groups, between groups and between samples. Result No statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) were found after interventions in either group, neither the healthy sample nor the patient sample. No statistically significant differences were found between groups within the same sample (p > 0.05), or between samples (p > 0.05). Conclusions The results from the present pilot study suggest that the application of neuromuscular taping with or without tension does not induce JPSE changes compared to not applying it in healthy patients or those with neck pain. Further research is needed to determine the absence of clinical effect, with a larger sample, a greater number of interventions and measurements over time (AU)

Eficacia de la Terapia de la Conciencia Corporal Basal (TCCB o BBAT) en pacientes con trastorno mental: una revisión sistemática / Efficacy of Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) in patients with mental disorders: A systematic review

Objetivo Realizar una revisión sistemática sobre la aplicación de la Terapia de la Conciencia Corporal Basal (TCCB o BBAT) así como la calidad metodológica de la investigación realizada en pacientes con trastornos mentales. Métodos Se realizó una búsqueda sistemática en las bases de datos PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, Web of Science y Scopus publicados en los últimos 10 años. La calidad de los ensayos clínicos se evaluó mediante la escala PEDro. Resultados Entre los artículos revisados, 13 cumplieron los criterios de elegibilidad, de los cuales 11 fueron incluidos en el estudio tras su lectura completa. De los tres ensayos clínicos incluidos en la revisión, dos obtuvieron 7 puntos en la escala PEDro de calidad metodológica y uno obtuvo 5. Se analizó la eficacia de la terapia TCCB como terapia complementaria individual y/o grupal a otras intervenciones en pacientes con trastornos alimentarios, enfermedad cerebrovascular, depresión, esquizofrenia y trastorno de estrés postraumático evaluando variables resultado específica para cada patología. Conclusión La TCCB parece ser una opción prometedora como tratamiento complementario en pacientes con trastornos mentales. Sin embargo, no puede determinarse su eficacia clínica por carencia de estudios experimentales con nivel de evidencia alto y por lo tanto, son necesarios más estudios con tamaños muestrales mayores y metodológicamente correctos (AU)

Objective To perform a systematic review of published articles about the Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) and its methodological quality in populations with mental disorders. Methods A systematic review was carried out in the databases PubMed, ScienceDirect, Cochrane, Web of Science and Scopus including studies published less than 10 years ago. The methodological quality of the controlled clinical trials was assessed using the PEDro scale. Results Thirteen articles met the eligibility criteria, of which eleven were included in the study after full reading. From the three controlled clinical trials included in this revision, two obtained a score of 7 points on the PEDro scale for methodological quality and one obtained a score of 5. We assessed the efficacy of the BBAT as individual and/or group complementary therapy in patients with food intake disorders, stroke, depression, schizophrenia and post-traumatic stress disorder evaluating specific outcomes for each disease. Conclusion The BBAT method is suggested as a promising complementary treatment option for patients with mental disorders. However, its clinical efficacy cannot be determined due to the lack of high-evidence level experimental studies, therefore further methodologically correct research is needed with larger sample sizes (AU)

Mechanical properties and in vitro biological response to porous titanium alloys prepared for use in intervertebral implants.

The generation of titanium foams is a promising strategy for modifying the mechanical properties of intervertebral reinforcements. Thus, the aim of this study was to compare the in vitro biological response of Ti6Al4V alloys with different pore sizes for use in intervertebral implants in terms of the adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation of pre-osteoblastic cells. We studied the production of Ti6Al4V foams by powder metallurgy and the biological responses to Ti6Al4V foams were assessed in terms of different pore interconnectivities and elastic moduli. The Ti6Al4V foams obtained had similar porosities of approximately 34%, but different pore sizes (66 µm for fine Ti6Al4V and 147 µm for coarse Ti6Al4V) due to the sizes of the microsphere used. The Ti6Al4V foams had a slightly higher Young׳s modulus compared with cancellous bone. The dynamic mechanical properties of the Ti6Al4V foams were slightly low, but these materials can satisfy the requirements for intervertebral prosthesis applications. The cultured cells colonized both sizes of microspheres near the pore spaces, where they occupied almost the entire area of the microspheres when the final cell culture time was reached. No statistical differences in cell proliferation were observed; however, the cells filled the pores on fine Ti6Al4V foams but they only colonized the superficial microspheres, whereas the cells did not fill the pores on coarse Ti6Al4V foams but they were distributed throughout most of the material. In addition, the microspheres with wide pores (coarse Ti6Al4V) stimulated higher osteoblast differentiation, as demonstrated by the Alcaline Phosphatase (ALP) activity. Our in vitro results suggest that foams with wide pore facilitate internal cell colonization and stimulate osteoblast differentiation.

Application of the Zero-Order Reaction Rate Model and Transition State Theory to predict porous Ti6Al4V bending strength.

Porous Ti6Al4V samples were produced by microsphere sintering. The Zero-Order Reaction Rate Model and Transition State Theory were used to model the sintering process and to estimate the bending strength of the porous samples developed. The evolution of the surface area during the sintering process was used to obtain sintering parameters (sintering constant, activation energy, frequency factor, constant of activation and Gibbs energy of activation). These were then correlated with the bending strength in order to obtain a simple model with which to estimate the evolution of the bending strength of the samples when the sintering temperature and time are modified: σY=P+B·[lnT·t-ΔGa/R·T]. Although the sintering parameters were obtained only for the microsphere sizes analysed here, the strength of intermediate sizes could easily be estimated following this model.

Speed of sound, bone mineral density and bone strength in oophorectomized rats.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the sensitivity of bone mineral density (BMD), ultrasounds (SOS) and resistance to torsion (T) to detect experimental osteopenia induced in rats 3 and 6 months after ooforectomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-four rats were used, divided into four groups, ooforectomized rats analysed 3 and 6 months after the operation and their respective control groups, in which BMD (Hologic QDR 1000 S/N 277), SOS (DBM Sonic 1200) and T (adapted test machine) were determined in the right femur. RESULTS: The results of the three techniques distinguished the ooforectomized groups from the controls, both 3 and 6 months after the ooforectomy, obtaining more significant differences with BMD (P = 0.0006, P = 0. 001, respectively) than SOS and T, where a significance of only P = 0.05 was obtained. In the correlation study among the three techniques, a significant correlation was observed between BMD and SOS (r = 0.39, P = 0.0008), as well as between BMD and T (r = 0.31, P = 0.03). However, significance was not observed between the SOS and T tests. CONCLUSION: In the study of sensitivity and specificity of the techniques used to detect the osteopenia caused by the ooforectomy, by means of calculation of the area under the receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve, it was proven that although the three techniques distinguished between the two analysed populations, BMD presented an area under the ROC curve that was superior (0.87, 0.85) to that obtained with SOS (0.73, 0.67) and T (0.73, 0.68), both 3 and 6 months after the operation.

A variation in Bone Alkaline Phosphatase levels that correlates positively with bone loss and normal levels of aminoterminal propeptide of collagen I in girls with anorexia nervosa.

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a very extended pathology among adolescent girls nowadays. These patients show a high degree of osteopenia; hence, study of their bone remodelling is of great interest. Serum bone alkaline phosphatase (bAP) and aminoterminal propeptide of procollagen I (PINP) provide good sensitivity in the analysis of bone alterations in postmenopausal osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to compare the usefulness of bAP and PINP in the study of bone remodelling in AN, and their possible correlation with the degree of osteopenia in this pathology. In order to help in the interpretation of the results, levels of the beta-isomer of urinary carboxyterminal propeptide of collagen I (beta-CTX) have also been included. Serum bAP (IRMA) Tandem R-Ostase, Hybritech), PINP (RIA, Orion Diagnostica) and CTX (CrossLaps ELISA, Osteometer) were determined in 41 girls with AN, aged 18.5+/-2.2 years (mean+/-SD) and in 31 healthy control women, aged 19+/-2.3 years. Bone mineral density (BMD) in lumbar spine was measured by DEXA in the AN group. We found that 41 of the 43 patients had BMD z-scores under -2. No significant differences were found in the levels of serum bAP nor in PINP and beta-CTX levels between controls and patients, although values in the AN group were highly variable. All the BMD z-score values were negative, and their absolute value correlates positively with bAP (P = 0.0279) and almost with beta-CTX (P = 0.0921) but not with PINP (P = 0.4627). Bone AP correlates with PINP in control girls (P = 0.017), but not in the AN group (P = 0.3573). Patients with AN were divided into three groups according to their levels of bAP: low (I), normal (II) or high (III). Patients with the highest bAP levels also presented the highest increase in bone resorption, according to their beta-CTX levels, and the highest degree of osteopenia. However, values of PINP were similar in the three groups of patients. The bAP/beta-CTX ratios in subgroups I, II and III of AN patients were 0.035, 0.065 and 0.073, a finding that suggests that bAP is not indicating the real degree of bone mineralization in these patients, because it is a contradiction that the formation/resorption ratio should be higher in the patients who have the highest bone loss. These results could suggest that bone loss in AN is produced by an increase in bone resorption (beta-CTX), without variations in bone matrix formation (PINP); bAP levels are a good marker in the follow-up of osteopenia degree, but not a real indicator of bone mineralization, a similar situation to that of osteomalacia.

Urinary alpha and beta C-telopeptides of collagen I: clinical implications in bone remodeling in patients with anorexia nervosa.

Fragments derived from degradation of type I collagen C-telopeptide (CTX) can be nonisomerized (alpha) or beta-isomerized (beta) depending on the age of bone; i.e., mainly the alpha form is derived from new bone and the beta form from old bone. We have studied 41 female patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), aged 18.5 +/- 2.2 years (range 16-24 years), and with an evolution time between 1.5 and 11 years, and 31 healthy control females (C), with a mean age of 19 +/- 2.3 years (range 16-24 years). The AN patients showed a significant decrease in bone mass, with a mean Z-score of bone mineral density (BMD) of -3.2 +/- 0.8 (range -0.9 to -5.4). The aim of our study was to determine the levels of urinary alpha- and beta-CTX markers of bone resorption, the alpha/beta ratio (alpha/beta), and the level of bone alkaline phosphatase (bAP), a biochemical marker of bone formation, in order to relate them to the degree of osteopenia and the status of bone remodeling. Statistical analysis was by the Mann-Whitney test. The degree of osteopenia correlated with bAP levels (p = 0.0027) but not with the other parameters. Patients with AN were divided into three groups according to their levels of bAP: high (H), normal (N) or low (L). We found that BMD was significantly lower, and alpha- and beta-CTX were significantly higher, in groups H and N than in group L. Bone AP correlated significantly with alpha-CTX (p = 0.0042) and alpha/beta (0.0095) in the controls, but not with beta-CTX, while in AN patients bAP correlated with beta-CTX (p = 0.0000) and with alpha-CTX (p = 0.022) but not with the alpha/beta ratio. The ratio CTX/bAP (resorption/formation) was similar in AN patients and controls. It is concluded that: (1) patients with AN have a high degree of osteopenia which correlated with bAP levels; (2) urinary CTX fragments found in AN patients seem to come mainly from old bone (beta-CTX), while CTX found in healthy adolescent control females come from new bone (alpha-CTX). For this reason, alpha-CTX is more suitable than beta-CTX for measuring bone resorption in controls and beta-CTX is more suitable in patients with AN; (3) the resorption/formation ratio (CTX/bAP) was similar in AN patients and controls. From points (2) and (3) it is possible to suggest that, although bAP reflects bone formation in control females, this marker does not reflect effective bone mineralization in AN patients, a similar feature to that of patients with osteomalacia.

Usefulness of serum pyridinoline cross-linked carboxy-terminal telopeptides of type I collagen and osteocalcin in the study of the bone resorption rate in oophorectomized rats.

The aim of this work was to determine sensitivity and specificity of serum pyridinoline cross-linked carboxy-terminal telopeptides of type I collagen (ICTP), a new biochemical marker of bone resorption, in order to study the rate of bone resorption associated with osteopenia development after oophorectomy in rats. The diagnostic accuracy of the bone formation marker osteocalcin (BGP) was also evaluated. Twelve-week-old female Wistar rats were used: (1) control group: sham-operated, treated with a placebo (n = 25); (2) OOX: oophorectomized rats treated with a placebo (n = 12), and (3) OE: oophorectomized rats treated with 17alpha-ethinyl estradiol 0.1 mg/kg/day for 3 months. The rats were sacrificed after treatment, and lumbar bone mineral density, BGP, and ICTP (serum assays specific for rat) were determined. As expected, OOX animals developed osteopenia. OOX rats showed a significant decrease (p < 0. 05) in bone mineral density as compared with the control group, and OE rats showed no significant differences with respect to the control group. With respect to biochemical markers of bone remodeling, the OOX group showed a significant increase in BGP and ICTP (p < 0.005 and p < 0.05, respectively) with respect to control rats. However, the values of BGP and ICTP were similar in the OE group and in control animals. Areas under receiver operation characteristic curves corresponding to BGP and ICTP were 95 and 87%, respectively (p = 0.523). The results of the present work show that BGP and ICTP, the new resorption assay developed for rats, are reliable markers to be used in the study and follow-up of bone remodeling in OOX rats.

Effects of LY-117018 HCl on bone remodeling and mineral density in the oophorectomized rat.

OBJECTIVE: LY-117018 HCl is a recently developed, selective estrogen receptor modulator and an analog of raloxifene. Its mode of action on the skeleton is similar to that of estrogens, although it does not have the same side effects. The aim of the current study was to compare the effects produced by the administration of 17alpha-ethinyl estradiol (0.1 mg/kg/day) and LY-117018 HCl (1 mg/kg/day) on bone remodeling, bone mineral density, and body and uterus weight in sham-operated and oophorectomized rats (experimental model of postmenopausal osteoporosis). STUDY DESIGN: Twelve-week-old female Wistar rats were used. Treatment was given for 3 months after oophorectomy or sham operation. Bone mineral density was determined in the lumbar spine (L2, L3, and L4) and in the left femur with use of a Hologic QDR 1000 (S/N 277) densitometer. Bone remodeling was estimated with use of the formation markers osteocalcin (bone gla protein) and alkaline phosphatase and the resorption markers type I collagen carboxyterminal telopeptide and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The newly developed derivative of raloxifene, LY-117018 HCl, offsets the reduction in bone mineral density and the accompanying increase in bone remodeling markers observed in oophorectomized rats compared with control animals. 17Alpha-ethinyl estradiol also prevents the loss of bone mass attributed to oophorectomy, but this is accompanied by an increase in body mass and a greater increase in uterus weight than that observed after treatment with LY-117018 HCl.