-
International Journal of Environmental... Apr 2020: This study intends to summarize the causes, clinical examination, and treatments of scapular dyskinesis (SD) and to briefly investigate whether alteration can be... (Review)
Review
: This study intends to summarize the causes, clinical examination, and treatments of scapular dyskinesis (SD) and to briefly investigate whether alteration can be managed by a precision rehabilitation protocol planned on the basis of features derived from clinical tests. : We performed a comprehensive search of PubMed, Cochrane, CINAHL and EMBASE databases using various combinations of the keywords "Rotator cuff", "Scapula", "Scapular Dyskinesis", "Shoulder", "Biomechanics" and "Arthroscopy". : SD incidence is growing in patients with shoulder pathologies, even if it is not a specific injury or directly related to a particular injury. SD can be caused by multiple factors or can be the trigger of shoulder-degenerative pathologies. In both cases, SD results in a protracted scapula with the arm at rest or in motion. : A clinical evaluation of altered shoulder kinematics is still complicated. Limitations in observing scapular motion are mainly related to the anatomical position and function of the scapula itself and the absence of a tool for quantitative SD clinical assessment. High-quality clinical trials are needed to establish whether there is a possible correlation between SD patterns and the specific findings of shoulder pathologies with altered scapular kinematics.
Topics: Biomechanical Phenomena; Dyskinesias; Humans; Range of Motion, Articular; Scapula; Shoulder; Shoulder Joint
PubMed: 32344746
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph17082974 -
Joints Dec 2019The aim of this article is to illustrate the recent framework necessary to standardize studies on groin pain and review the existing literature on groin pain in... (Review)
Review
The aim of this article is to illustrate the recent framework necessary to standardize studies on groin pain and review the existing literature on groin pain in football. The common pathological processes underlying groin pain such as muscle, tendon or ligament strain, bone injury or fracture, sport hernia, bursitis, osteitis pubis, and hip-related diseases have been reviewed and current management options have been considered. Groin pain is considered a pain in pubic or lower abdominal or adductors region which can be monolateral or bilateral. It is common in high-intensity team sports and can negatively affect an athlete's professional carrier, causing serious disruption in the performance. Despite a high prevalence of groin pain in athletes, diagnosis and management of the underlying pathological processes remain a challenge for surgeons, radiologists, and physiotherapists alike. A multidisciplinary approach is essential for patients with groin pain allowing prompt diagnosis and initiation of treatment thus facilitating more rapid return to play and preventing potential long-term sequelae of chronic groin pathology.
PubMed: 34235383
DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1730978 -
Current Biology : CB Jun 2016The study of the extreme limits of human lifespan may allow a better understanding of how human beings can escape, delay, or survive the most frequent age-related causes...
The study of the extreme limits of human lifespan may allow a better understanding of how human beings can escape, delay, or survive the most frequent age-related causes of morbidity, a peculiarity shown by long-living individuals. Longevity is a complex trait in which genetics, environment, and stochasticity concur to determine the chance to reach 100 or more years of age [1]. Because of its impact on human metabolism and immunology, the gut microbiome has been proposed as a possible determinant of healthy aging [2, 3]. Indeed, the preservation of host-microbes homeostasis can counteract inflammaging [4], intestinal permeability [5], and decline in bone and cognitive health [6, 7]. Aiming at deepening our knowledge on the relationship between the gut microbiota and a long-living host, we provide for the first time the phylogenetic microbiota analysis of semi-supercentenarians, i.e., 105-109 years old, in comparison to adults, elderly, and centenarians, thus reconstructing the longest available human microbiota trajectory along aging. We highlighted the presence of a core microbiota of highly occurring, symbiotic bacterial taxa (mostly belonging to the dominant Ruminococcaceae, Lachnospiraceae, and Bacteroidaceae families), with a cumulative abundance decreasing along with age. Aging is characterized by an increasing abundance of subdominant species, as well as a rearrangement in their co-occurrence network. These features are maintained in longevity and extreme longevity, but peculiarities emerged, especially in semi-supercentenarians, describing changes that, even accommodating opportunistic and allochthonous bacteria, might possibly support health maintenance during aging, such as an enrichment and/or higher prevalence of health-associated groups (e.g., Akkermansia, Bifidobacterium, and Christensenellaceae).
Topics: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Bacteria; Female; Gastrointestinal Microbiome; Humans; Intestines; Italy; Longevity; Male; Middle Aged; Young Adult
PubMed: 27185560
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2016.04.016 -
Journal of Internal Medicine Aug 2021The critical role of primary care clinicians (PCCs) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention, diagnosis and management must evolve as new treatment paradigms and... (Review)
Review
The critical role of primary care clinicians (PCCs) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevention, diagnosis and management must evolve as new treatment paradigms and disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) emerge. Our understanding of AD has grown substantially: no longer conceptualized as a late-in-life syndrome of cognitive and functional impairments, we now recognize that AD pathology builds silently for decades before cognitive impairment is detectable. Clinically, AD first manifests subtly as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to AD before progressing to dementia. Emerging optimism for improved outcomes in AD stems from a focus on preventive interventions in midlife and timely, biomarker-confirmed diagnosis at early signs of cognitive deficits (i.e. MCI due to AD and mild AD dementia). A timely AD diagnosis is particularly important for optimizing patient care and enabling the appropriate use of anticipated DMTs. An accelerating challenge for PCCs and AD specialists will be to respond to innovations in diagnostics and therapy for AD in a system that is not currently well positioned to do so. To overcome these challenges, PCCs and AD specialists must collaborate closely to navigate and optimize dynamically evolving AD care in the face of new opportunities. In the spirit of this collaboration, we summarize here some prominent and influential models that inform our current understanding of AD. We also advocate for timely and accurate (i.e. biomarker-defined) diagnosis of early AD. In doing so, we consider evolving issues related to prevention, detecting emerging cognitive impairment and the role of biomarkers in the clinic.
Topics: Alzheimer Disease; Humans; Primary Health Care; Time Factors
PubMed: 33458891
DOI: 10.1111/joim.13244 -
Reumatologia Clinica Feb 2023To develop a joint proposal for screening criteria of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and vice versa, which serves as a...
OBJECTIVE
To develop a joint proposal for screening criteria of interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and vice versa, which serves as a guidelines in patient referral between the Rheumatology and Pneumology departments to early detection of these patients.
METHODS
A systematic literature review was carried out on the risk factors for the development of ILD in RA patients, and for the referral criteria to Rheumatology for suspected early RA. Based on the available evidence, screening criteria were agreed using the Delphi method by a panel of pneumologists and rheumatologists with expertise in these pathologies.
RESULTS
Screening criteria for ILD in patients with RA and for the early detection of RA in cases with ILD of unknown etiology have been developed. In both cases, a detection strategy was based on clinical risk factors. Recommendations also included the complementary tests to be carried out in the different clinical scenarios and on the periodicity that screening should be repeated.
CONCLUSION
A selective screening strategy is recommended for the first time in the early diagnosis of patients with ILD-RA. This multidisciplinary proposal aims to solve some common clinical questions and help decision-making, although its usefulness to identify these patients with good sensitivity must be confirmed in a validation study.
Topics: Humans; Arthritis, Rheumatoid; Lung Diseases, Interstitial; Rheumatologists; Rheumatology; Risk Factors
PubMed: 35753951
DOI: 10.1016/j.reumae.2021.12.003 -
Epidemiologia E Prevenzione 2021
Topics: Epidemiology
PubMed: 35001585
DOI: 10.19191/EP21.6.132 -
Zoonoses and Public Health Jun 2022Despite public concern on the role of free-roaming cats as reservoirs of zoonotic agents, little is known about the influence of urban and peri-urban landscapes on the...
Despite public concern on the role of free-roaming cats as reservoirs of zoonotic agents, little is known about the influence of urban and peri-urban landscapes on the exposure risk. We evaluated the seroprevalence of three zoonotic agents (Chlamydia felis, Coxiella burnetii and Toxoplasma gondii) in domestic cats (Felis catus). Two hundred and ninety-one free-roaming cats were trapped in Murcia municipality (Southeast Spain), and their sera were tested for specific antibodies against T. gondii using a modified agglutination test (MAT), and for C. felis, C. burnetii and feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) antibodies with ELISA technique. Pathogen seroprevalence at 95% CI was calculated for each sex and age category (up to and over 12 months) and compared with a chi-squared test. The role of human population density and urban landscape characteristics on the risk of pathogen exposure in the cat population was explored using generalized linear models. Seropositivity against a single pathogen was found in 60% of the cats, while 19% was seropositive for two or three pathogens. Seroprevalence of C. felis was 8% (CI : 5-11), 37% (CI : 31-42) for C. burnetii and 42% (CI : 36-47) for T. gondii. In addition to these three pathogens, FIV seropositivity was low (1%, CI : -0.1 to 2) and adult cats were more likely to be seropositive to C. burnetii than young individuals (OR: 2.3, CI : 1.2-4.2). No sex or age class differences in seroprevalence were observed for the rest of the pathogens. Seropositivity was correlated with water surface areas for C. felis, and not with crop areas. Coxiella burnetii seropositivity was correlated with the percentage of urban areas (continuous with only buildings and discontinuous, that include buildings, parks, and pedestrian and urban green areas), human population size and peri-urban areas with shrubs, and not correlated with other agricultural landscapes (orchards and crop areas). However, the seroprevalence of T. gondii was only associated with agricultural landscapes such as orchards. The detection of hotspot areas of high pathogen exposure risk is the basis for municipal services to implement surveillance and risk factor control campaigns in specific-risk areas, including (a) efficient health management of urban cat colonies by geographical location, population census and health status monitoring of the components of each cat colony, (b) improvement of hygiene and sanitary conditions at the feeding points of the cat colony and (c) free-roaming cat trapping for health monitoring and, in the long term, to know the evolution of the health status of their populations.
Topics: Agglutination Tests; Animals; Antibodies, Protozoan; Cat Diseases; Cats; Chlamydia; Risk Factors; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Toxoplasma; Toxoplasmosis, Animal
PubMed: 35129882
DOI: 10.1111/zph.12919 -
Reumatologia Clinica 2020An urgent search is currently underway for alternatives to antibiotics to prevent infections, due to the accelerated evolution and increase in antibiotic resistance.... (Review)
Review
An urgent search is currently underway for alternatives to antibiotics to prevent infections, due to the accelerated evolution and increase in antibiotic resistance. This problem is more serious for patients with recurrent infections, since they have to use many cycles of antibiotics per year, so the risk for antibiotic resistance is higher and can be life-threatening. In recent years, the use of prophylactic vaccines via the mucosal route for these patients with recurrent infections has been demonstrated as a potentially beneficial and safe alternative to prevent infections. The new knowledge about mucosal immunity and trained immunity, a form of innate immunity memory that can enhance the response to different infectious threads, has made it easier to extend its use. The application of the new concepts of trained immunity may explain the simultaneous pro-tolerogenic and boosting effect or effects of these drugs on diverse immune cells for different infections. In this review, we describe the immunomodulatory mechanisms of mucosal polybacterial vaccines and their connection with trained immunity and its utility in the prevention of recurrent infections in immunosuppressed patients.
Topics: Administration, Mucosal; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Autoimmune Diseases; Bacterial Infections; Bacterial Vaccines; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Immunity, Mucosal; Immunologic Memory; Recurrence; Respiratory Tract Infections; Secondary Prevention
PubMed: 30527360
DOI: 10.1016/j.reuma.2018.10.012 -
The Arabidopsis Book 2002The shoot system is the basic unit of development of seed plants and is composed of a leaf, a stem, and a lateral bud that differentiates into a lateral shoot. The most...
The shoot system is the basic unit of development of seed plants and is composed of a leaf, a stem, and a lateral bud that differentiates into a lateral shoot. The most specialized organ in angiosperms, the flower, can be considered to be part of the same shoot system since floral organs, such as the sepal, petal, stamen, and carpel, are all modified leaves. Scales, bracts, and certain kinds of needle are also derived from leaves. Thus, an understanding of leaf development is critical to an understanding of shoot development. Moreover, leaves play important roles in photosynthesis, respiration and photoperception. Thus, a full understanding of leaves is directly related to a full understanding of seed plants.The details of leaf development remain unclear. The difficulties encountered in studies of leaf development, in particular in dicotyledonous plants such as Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Henyn., are derived from the complex process of leaf development, during which the division and elongation of cells occur at the same time and in the same region of the leaf primordium (Maksymowych, 1963; Poethig and Sussex, 1985). Thus, we cannot divide the entire process into unit processes in accordance with the tenets of classical anatomy.Genetic approaches in Arabidopsis, a model plant (Meyerowitz and Pruitt, 1985), have provided a powerful tool for studies of mechanisms of leaf development in dicotyledonous plants, and various aspects of the mechanisms that control leaf development have been revealed in recent developmental and molecular genetic studies of Arabidopsis (for reviews, see Tsukaya, 1995 and 1998; Van Lijsebettens and Clarke, 1998; Sinha, 1999; Van Volkenburgh, 1999; Tsukaya, 2000; Byrne et al., 2001; Dengler and Kang, 2001; Dengler and Tsukaya, 2001; Tsukaya, 2001). In this review, we shall examine the information that is currently available about various mechanisms of leaf development in Arabidopsis. Vascular patterning is also an important factor in the determination of leaf shape, and this topic is reviewed in this resource by Turner (see also Dengler and Kang, 2001). The interested reader is also referred to work on the basic characterization of the vascular patterning in foliage leaves of Arabidopsis has been carried out by Candela et al. (1999) and Semiarti et al. (2001). For terminology, see (Fig. 1).
PubMed: 22303217
DOI: 10.1199/tab.0072 -
Microbiome Research Reports 2023The microbiota-gut-brain axis refers to the intricate bidirectional communication between commensal microorganisms residing in the digestive tract and the central... (Review)
Review
The microbiota-gut-brain axis refers to the intricate bidirectional communication between commensal microorganisms residing in the digestive tract and the central nervous system, along neuroendocrine, metabolic, immune, and inflammatory pathways. This axis has been suggested to play a role in several neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and epilepsy, paving the way for microbiome-based intervention strategies for the mitigation and treatment of symptoms. Epilepsy is a multifaceted neurological condition affecting more than 50 million individuals worldwide, 30% of whom do not respond to conventional pharmacological therapies. Among the first-hand microbiota modulation strategies, nutritional interventions represent an easily applicable option in both clinical and home settings. In this narrative review, we summarize the mechanisms underlying the microbiota-gut-brain axis involvement in epilepsy, discuss the impact of antiepileptic drugs on the gut microbiome, and then the impact of a particular dietary pattern, the ketogenic diet, on the microbiota-gut-brain axis in epileptic patients. The investigation of the microbiota response to non-pharmacological therapies is an ever-expanding field with the potential to allow the design of increasingly accessible and successful intervention strategies.
PubMed: 38045924
DOI: 10.20517/mrr.2023.24