A Randomized,Single-Blind,Placebo-Controlled Study on the Efficacy of the Arthrokinematic Approach-Hakata Method in Patients with Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain

Study design

cized, single-blind, controlled trial.

Objective

To investigate the efficacy of the Arthrokinematic approach (AKA)-Hakata (H) method for chronic low back pain.

Summary of Background Data

The AKA-H method is used to manually treat abnormalities of intra-articular movement.

Methods

One hundred eighty-six patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain randomly received either the AKA-H method (AKA-H group) or the sham technique (S group) monthly for 6 months. Data were collected at baseline and once a month. Outcome measures were pain intensity (visual analogue scale [VAS]) and quality of life (the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire [RDQ] and Short Form SF-36 questionnaire [SF-36]).

Results

At baseline, the VAS, RDQ, and SF-36 scores showed similar levels between the groups. After 6 months, the AKA-H group had more improvement in the VAS (42.8% improvement) and RDQ score (31.1% improvement) than the sham group (VAS: 10.4% improvement; RDQ: 9.8% improvement; both, P < 0.001). The respective scores for the SF-36 subscales (physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, social functioning, general health perception, role emotional, and mental health) were also significantly more improved in the AKA-H group than in the sham group (all, P < 0.001). The scores for the physical, psychological, and social aspects of the SF-36 subscales showed similar improvement in the AKA-H group.

Conclusion

The AKA-H method can be effective in managing chronic low back pain.

Trial Registration

UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (UMIN-CTR) UMIN000006250.     

Impaired cortical oxygenation is related to mood disturbance resulting from three nights of sleep restriction

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Chronic sleep restriction adversely effects cognitive performance and mood, resulting in accidents and economic loss. We examined the effects of three nights of sleep...     

Human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL-37 promotes lymphangiogenesis in lymphatic endothelial cells through the ERK and Akt signaling pathways

Molecular Biology Reports - LL-37, the only member of the cathelicidin family of cationic antimicrobial peptides in humans has been shown to exhibit a wide variety of biological actions in addition...     

Detection of SO2 at the ppm Level with Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) Sensing

Plasmonics - Detection and monitoring of SO2 is important because it is a representative toxic gas in the atmospheric environment that is emitted from industrial and natural processes. Localized...     

A series of novel indazole derivatives of Sirt 1 activator as osteogenic regulators

A series of indazole derivatives were identified as Sirt 1 activators though high-throughput screening. Optimization of each substituent on the indazole ring led to the identification of compound 13. Compound 13 appeared to give the best Sirt 1 activity of the compounds tested and also showed osteogenesis activity in a cell assay. Sirt 1 activators are therefore potential candidates for the treatment of osteoporosis.     

Host-specific factors determine the persistence of IncP-1 plasmids

Conjugative plasmids play a very important role in bacterial adaptation through the dissemination of useful traits. Incompatibility group P-1 (IncP-1) plasmids exhibit an extreme broad-host-range among Gram-negative bacteria and known to be one of the major agents to disseminate various phenotypic traits such as antibiotic resistance and xenobiotic degradation. Although the plasmids are believed to be very stable in most Gram-negative bacteria, little is known about the factors that affect their stability in various hosts, allowing their persistence in bacterial population. Here we show that the stability of the cryptic IncP-1β plasmid pBP136 differed greatly in four different Escherichia coli K12 host backgrounds (MG1655, DH5α, EC100, and JM109), whereas the closely related plasmid pB10 was stable in all four strains. The supply of the kleF gene, which is involved in the stability of IncP-1 plasmids but absent in pBP136, did not improve the stability of the plasmid. Our findings suggest that persistence of IncP-1 plasmids in the absence of selection is affected by strain-specific factors.     

Induction of colony initiation by Japanese native bumble bees using cocoons of the exotic bumblebee Bombus terrestris

The colony initiation rates of Bombus hypocrita (a native Japanese bumblebee) and Bombus terrestris (a European species) foundresses were compared after 4 weeks of exposure to B. terrestris cocoons. The B. terrestris cocoons, when replaced weekly, were effective for inducing oviposition by foundresses of both species. There were no significant differences in the colony initiation rates of B. terrestris and B. hypocrita, either with the control treatment or with the cocoons. The cocoon method was also tested for five species and two subspecies of native Japanese bumblebees. The colony initiation rate was higher for foundresses of the subgenus Bombus s. str. than for foundresses of the subgenera Pyrobombus, Diversobombus, and Thoracobombus. When replaced weekly, the cocoons of B. terrestris are effective inducers of colony foundation in three Japanese native species, namely B. ignitus, B. hypocrita hypocrita, and B. h. sapporoensis.     

5a-Carba-β-D-glucopyranose derivatives as novel sodium-dependent glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for the treatment of type 2 diabetes

5a-Carba-β-D-glucopyranose derivatives were synthesized and identified as novel SGLT2-selective inhibitors. These inhibitors exhibited potent SGLT2 inhibition with high selectivity over SGLT1. Among the tested compounds, 6f indicated the most potent hSGLT2 inhibition and the highest selectivity over hSGLT1. Moreover, the pharmacokinetics data also showed that 6h, which had the same aglycon structure as sergliflozin-active (3-active), had a threefold longer half-life time (T(1/2)) than sergliflozin (3) with a high distribution volume in db/db mice. Subsequently, 6h lowered blood glucose levels as much as 3 and showed longer hypoglycemic action than 3 in db/db mice.     

Association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in RHOB and TXNDC3 with knee osteoarthritis susceptibility: two case-control studies in East Asian populations and a meta-analysis

Introduction

Conflicting findings on the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in RHOB and TXNDC3 with susceptibility to knee osteoarthritis (OA) have been reported in European Caucasians. To examine the associations of these SNPs with OA in East Asian populations and to evaluate their global significance, we conducted two case-control studies in 955 Chinese and 750 Japanese patients.

Methods

We genotyped the previously implicated SNPs rs585017 (in RHOB) and rs4720262 (in TXNDC3) in patients with primary symptomatic knee OA with radiographic confirmation and in matched control individuals, and analyzed their associations. We further conducted a meta-analysis of the study findings together with those of previously reported European studies using the DerSimonian-Laird procedure.

Results

A significant association of RHOB with knee OA was observed in male Chinese patients (P = 0.02). No significant associations were found for RHOB in any other comparisons in the East Asian populations. The association of TXNDC3 was replicated in Chinese female (P = 0.04) and Japanese (P = 0.03) patients, although none of these associations persisted after Bonferroni correction. Significant association (P = 0.02 for the allelic frequency) with nonsignificant heterogeneity was found in the East Asian replication study. No significant association was found in any comparison in the meta-analysis for all studies.

Conclusion

Our study replicates the association, previously reported in European Caucasians, of TXNDC3 with knee OA susceptibility in an East Asian population.     

Vildagliptin Stimulates Endothelial Cell Network Formation and Ischemia-induced Revascularization via an Endothelial Nitric-oxide Synthase-dependent Mechanism

Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors are known to lower glucose levels and are also beneficial in the management of cardiovascular disease. Here, we investigated whether a dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor, vildagliptin, modulates endothelial cell network formation and revascularization processes in vitro and in vivo. Treatment with vildagliptin enhanced blood flow recovery and capillary density in the ischemic limbs of wild-type mice, with accompanying increases in phosphorylation of Akt and endothelial nitric-oxide synthase (eNOS). In contrast to wild-type mice, treatment with vildagliptin did not improve blood flow in ischemic muscles of eNOS-deficient mice. Treatment with vildagliptin increased the levels of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and adiponectin, which have protective effects on the vasculature. Both vildagliptin and GLP-1 increased the differentiation of cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) into vascular-like structures, although vildagliptin was less effective than GLP-1. GLP-1 and vildagliptin also stimulated the phosphorylation of Akt and eNOS in HUVECs. Pretreatment with a PI3 kinase or NOS inhibitor blocked the stimulatory effects of both vildagliptin and GLP-1 on HUVEC differentiation. Furthermore, treatment with vildagliptin only partially increased the limb flow of ischemic muscle in adiponectin-deficient mice in vivo. GLP-1, but not vildagliptin, significantly increased adiponectin expression in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes in vitro. These data indicate that vildagliptin promotes endothelial cell function via eNOS signaling, an effect that may be mediated by both GLP-1-dependent and GLP-1-independent mechanisms. The beneficial activity of GLP-1 for revascularization may also be partially mediated by its ability to increase adiponectin production.