The effects of finger extension on shoulder muscle activity.

[Purpose] This study aims to examine the effects of the extension of the fingers (distal upper limb) on the activity of the shoulder muscles (proximal upper limb). [Subjects and Methods] This study involved 14 healthy male adults with no musculoskeletal disorder or pain related to the shoulders and hands. The subjects in a sitting posture abducted the angle of the shoulder joints at 60° and had their palms in the front direction. Electromyography (EMG) was comparatively analyzed to look at the activities of the infraspinatus (IS) and rhomboid major (RM) when the fingers were extended and relaxed. [Results] The activity of the IS was statistically significantly higher when the fingers were extended than when they were relaxed. [Conclusion] According to the result of this study, finger extension is considered to affect the muscles for connected shoulder joint stability.

Safety of intravenous infusion of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells in animals and humans.

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AdMSCs) represent an attractive and ethical cell source for stem cell therapy. With the recent demonstration of MSC homing properties, intravenous applications of MSCs to cell-damaged diseases have increased. In the present study, the toxicity and tumorigenicity of human AdMSCs (hAdMSCs) were investigated for clinical application. Culture-expanded hAdMSCs showed the typical appearance, immunophenotype, and differentiation capacity of MSCs, and were genetically stable at least 12 passages in culture. Cells suspended in physiological saline maintained their MSC properties in a cold storage condition for at least 3 days. To test the toxicity of hAdMSCs, different doses of hAdMSCs were injected intravenously into immunodeficient mice, and the mice were observed for 13 weeks. Even at the highest cell dose (2.5×10(8) cells/kg body weight), the SCID mice were viable and had no side effects. A tumorigenicity test was performed in Balb/c-nu nude mice for 26 weeks. Even at the highest cell dose (2×10(8) MSCs/kg), no evidence of tumor development was found. In a human clinical trial, 8 male patients who had suffered a spinal cord injury >12 months previous were intravenously administered autologous hAdMSCs (4×10(8) cells) one time. None of the patients developed any serious adverse events related to hAdMSC transplantation during the 3-month follow-up. In conclusion, the systemic transplantation of hAdMSCs appears to be safe and does not induce tumor development.