Effects of the carrier frequency of interferential current on pain modulation and central hypersensitivity in people with chronic nonspecific low back pain: A randomized placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Interferential current (IFC) is commonly used for pain relief, but the effects of carrier frequency of the current and its action on pain mechanisms remain unclear. This randomized placebo-controlled trial tested the effects of IFC in people with chronic nonspecific low back pain. METHODS: One hundred and fifty participants were randomly allocated into three groups: 1 kHz, 4 kHz and placebo. The primary outcomes were pain intensity at rest in the first session (immediate effect of the IFC), after 12 sessions, 4 months after randomization (follow-up) and during movement (first and last session). The secondary outcomes were disability, global perceived effect, functional performance, discomfort caused by the IFC, use of analgesics and physiological measures of pain. RESULTS: Only during the first session, there was a significant decrease in pain intensity in the active groups. However, there were no differences in the improvement of pain at rest or during movement in the active groups compared to the placebo group in the remaining sessions. The frequency use of analgesics was significantly decreased in the active groups. For pain physiology measures, there was a significant increase in pressure pain thresholds in both active groups compared to the placebo group and a reduction in the temporal summation in the 1 kHz group compared to the other groups. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that although the IFC has changed some physiological mechanisms of pain and showed decrease frequency use of pain medication, there was no change in the primary aim, pain intensity. WHAT DOES THIS STUDY ADD?: The interferential current (IFC) presented advantages in the physiological measures of pain and showed decrease frequency use of pain medication. Future studies should investigate analgesic intake with IFC treatment.

A Concise History of Asperger Syndrome: The Short Reign of a Troublesome Diagnosis.

First described in 1944 by Hans Asperger (1944), it was not before 1994 that Asperger Syndrome (AS) was included in the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, only to disappear in the Manual's fifth edition in 2013. During its brief existence as a diagnostic entity, AS aroused immense interest and controversy. Similar to patients with autism, AS patients show deficits in social interaction, inappropriate communication skills, and interest restriction, but also display a rich variety of subtle clinical characteristics that for many distinguish AS from autism. However, difficulties operationalising diagnostic criteria and differentiating AS from autism ultimately led to its merging into the unifying category of Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Here we briefly review the short history of this fascinating condition.

Measuring food intake with digital photography.

The digital photography of foods method accurately estimates the food intake of adults and children in cafeterias. When using this method, images of food selection and leftovers are quickly captured in the cafeteria. These images are later compared with images of 'standard' portions of food using computer software. The amount of food selected and discarded is estimated based upon this comparison, and the application automatically calculates energy and nutrient intake. In the present review, we describe this method, as well as a related method called the Remote Food Photography Method (RFPM), which relies on smartphones to estimate food intake in near real-time in free-living conditions. When using the RFPM, participants capture images of food selection and leftovers using a smartphone and these images are wirelessly transmitted in near real-time to a server for analysis. Because data are transferred and analysed in near real-time, the RFPM provides a platform for participants to quickly receive feedback about their food intake behaviour and to receive dietary recommendations for achieving weight loss and health promotion goals. The reliability and validity of measuring food intake with the RFPM in adults and children is also reviewed. In sum, the body of research reviewed demonstrates that digital imaging accurately estimates food intake in many environments and it has many advantages over other methods, including reduced participant burden, elimination of the need for participants to estimate portion size, and the incorporation of computer automation to improve the accuracy, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the method.

Detección ecográfica de dispositivos intratubáricos Essure® / Ultrasonographic detection of Essure® devices

Presentamos imágenes ecográficas de dispositivos intratubáricos Essure® (Conceptus Inc.) para familiarizar a los ginecólogos con ellas, dado el aumento del número de procedimientos en nuestro país. El método Essure® es una nueva técnica de esterilización tubárica permanente que se realiza por medio de histeroscopia ambulatoria en consulta externa (AU)

Agenesia tuboovárica unilateral y masa intraperitoneal calcificada / Unilateral tuboovarian agenesis and calcified intraperitoneal mass

El hallazgo de ausencia unilateral de ovario y trompa es extremadamente raro. Existen dos posibles etiologías: ausencia congénita o torsión subaguda, necrosis y autoamputación. Presentamos un caso en el que en el transcurso de una laparoscopia se objetiva la ausencia de anejo derecho y el hallazgo de una masa ovoidea calcificada libre intraperitoneal sin relación con otras malformaciones genitales o urológicas. Revisamos la bibliografía existente y proponemos como etiopatogenia la torsión subaguda, necrosis, autoamputación del anejo y su posterior calcificación, así como el manejo laparoscópico en el contexto de una unidad de cirugía sin ingreso (AU)

Effect of acute and repeated restraint stress on glucose oxidation to CO2 in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices.

It has been suggested that glucocorticoids released during stress might impair neuronal function by decreasing glucose uptake by hippocampal neurons. Previous work has demonstrated that glucose uptake is reduced in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices 24 h after exposure to acute stress, while no effect was observed after repeated stress. Here, we report the effect of acute and repeated restraint stress on glucose oxidation to CO2 in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices and on plasma glucose and corticosterone levels. Male adult Wistar rats were exposed to restraint 1 h/day for 50 days in the chronic model. In the acute model there was a single exposure. Immediately or 24 h after stress, the animals were sacrificed and the hippocampus and cerebral cortex were dissected, sliced, and incubated with Krebs buffer, pH 7.4, containing 5 mM glucose and 0.2 microCi D-[U-14C] glucose. CO2 production from glucose was estimated. Trunk blood was also collected, and both corticosterone and glucose were measured. The results showed that corticosterone levels after exposure to acute restraint were increased, but the increase was smaller when the animals were submitted to repeated stress. Blood glucose levels increased after both acute and repeated stress. However, glucose utilization, measured as CO2 production in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices, was the same in stressed and control groups under conditions of both acute and chronic stress. We conclude that, although stress may induce a decrease in glucose uptake, this effect is not sufficient to affect the energy metabolism of these cells.

Effect of acute and repeated restraint stress on glucose oxidation to CO2 in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices

It has been suggested that glucocorticoids released during stress might impair neuronal function by decreasing glucose uptake by hippocampal neurons. Previous work has demonstrated that glucose uptake is reduced in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices 24 h after exposure to acute stress, while no effect was observed after repeated stress. Here, we report the effect of acute and repeated restraint stress on glucose oxidation to CO2 in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices and on plasma glucose and corticosterone levels. Male adult Wistar rats were exposed to restraint 1 h/day for 50 days in the chronic model. In the acute model there was a single exposure. Immediately or 24 h after stress, the animals were sacrificed and the hippocampus and cerebral cortex were dissected, sliced, and incubated with Krebs buffer, pH 7.4, containing 5 mM glucose and 0.2 æCi D-[U-14C] glucose. CO2 production from glucose was estimated. Trunk blood was also collected, and both corticosterone and glucose were measured. The results showed that corticosterone levels after exposure to acute restraint were increased, but the increase was smaller when the animals were submitted to repeated stress. Blood glucose levels increased after both acute and repeated stress. However, glucose utilization, measured as CO2 production in hippocampal and cerebral cortex slices, was the same in stressed and control groups under conditions of both acute and chronic stress. We conclude that, although stress may induce a decrease in glucose uptake, this effect is not sufficient to affect the energy metabolism of these cells

Epinephrine effects on memory are not dependent on hepatic glucose release.

Epinephrine released or administered soon after a given training task modulates memory processes. Since epinephrine does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier, studies have suggested that some of the central effects of epinephrine might be mediated by peripheral release of glucose. These experiments examined the involvement of blood glucose levels in the posttraining effects of peripherally administered epinephrine. The effects of the administration of epinephrine (25 and 625 microg/kg) [corrected] on memory of an inhibitory avoidance task were evaluated in fed and fasted rats (depleted glycogen stores in liver). Blood glucose levels after the task in each group were also measured. Female Wistar rats were divided in two groups. Fed and 48-h-fasted animals were submitted to the inhibitory avoidance task and received i.p. epinephrine or saline immediately after training. The test session was carried out 48 h after training. Epinephrine (25 or 625 microg/kg) [corrected] caused an increased glycemia in fed rats, but no effect was observed in fasted animals. Administration of epinephrine 25 microg/kg [corrected] induced a facilitation of memory, while epinephrine 625 microg/kg [corrected] impaired retention (either in fasted or in fed animals). There was no relation between increased glycemia induced by epinephrine and its effects on memory, since this drug presented its classical effects independently of the previous state of the animal (fed or fasted). The results of the present study suggest that the effects of systemic released or administered epinephrine on memory processes are not dependent on hepatic glucose release.

Effect of restraint stress on feeding behavior of rats.

The expression of appetite reflects the complex functioning of a psychobiological system organized in different levels closely related to each other, in which emotional changes can influence feeding behavior. Benzodiazepines are widely used as anxiolytics and can change behaviors caused by stress. The aim of the present study was to verify the feeding behavior of rats, submitted or not to fasting, after acute and chronic restraint stress. We also evaluated the response to the ingestion of sweet food of chronically restrained animals after the administration of diazepam. Male adult Wistar rats were exposed to restraint 1 h/day for 50 days in the chronic model. In the acute model, there was a single exposure. Four hours after the stress, the animals were placed in a lightened area in the presence of 10 pellets of sweet food (Froot Loops). The number of ingested Froot Loops was measured during a period of 3 min in the presence or absence of fasting. The groups acutely stressed showed ingestion similar to that of the control group, whether they had been fasted or not. The chronically stressed animals showed increased ingestion of sweet food. Diazepam given 60 min before the test session of the stressed rats reduced the ingestion of these animals to control levels. Thus, the chronic stress increases appetite for sweet food, independently of hunger, and diazepam is able to reverse this behavior.

[Allergological study of pollen of mango (Magnifera indica) and cross reactivity with pollen of piru (Schinus molle)]. / Estudio alergológico del pólen del mango (Magnifera indica) y reactividad cruzada con el pólen del pirú (Schinus molle).

With immediate skin test, we studied hypersensitivity to pollen of mango (Magnifera indica), and its probability cross-sensitivity to pollen of pirú (Schinus molle), from anacardaceae class. We have made one extract of Magnifera indica, with 0.485 mg per 100, of protein nitrogen. With this extract we carry out skin test on non-atopic subjects and atopic subjects with bronchial asthma and or allergy rhinitis and common stock of aerealergen. (Freeman stock). We studied seventy-one subjects, both sexes, from 14 to 40 years old. The prevalence of cutaneous sensitive to mango (Magnifera indica) were 66%, and sensitivity from Schinus molle were 31%. Those with sensitivity Schinus molle, were sensitivity from Magnifera, too. Statistical analyisis of correlation, with McNemar Test was p 0.001 under the conditions of the study we conclude that there are hypersensitivity to pollen of Magnifera, and there are cross-reactivity with Schinus molle. Therefore mangifera should be included within the stock of skin test in the areas were this anacardaceae is present.