Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The p38 mitogen activated protein kinase inhibitor losmapimod in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with systemic inflammation, stratified by fibrinogen: A randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial.
Cardiovascular disease is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in COPD patients. Systemic inflammation associated with COPD, is often hypothesised as a causal factor. p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases play a key role in the inflammatory pathogenesis of COPD and atherosclerosis. ⋯ In this plasma fibrinogen-enriched study, losmapimod had no effect on arterial inflammation and endothelial function at 16 weeks of treatment, although it was well tolerated with no significant safety concerns. These findings do not support the concept that losmapimod is an effective treatment for the adverse cardiovascular manifestations of COPD.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Phenylephrine does not improve oxygenation during one-lung ventilation: A randomized, double-blind, cross-over study.
Phenylephrine is an α1 adrenergic receptor agonist that causes pulmonary vasoconstriction, and so may effectively enhance hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV). However, there is little evidence that phenylephrine augments HPV in clinical situations. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical effects of phenylephrine infusion on oxygenation during one-lung ventilation (OLV) in patients undergoing thoracic surgery. ⋯ Phenylephrine infusion did not improve oxygenation during OLV. The present results indicate that phenylephrine does not have clinically meaningful effects on HPV.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Multimodal cortical and subcortical exercise compared with treadmill training for spinal cord injury.
Spared fibers after spinal cord injury (SCI) tend to consist predominantly of subcortical circuits that are not under volitional (cortical) control. We aim to improve function after SCI by using targeted physical exercises designed to simultaneously stimulate cortical and spared subcortical neural circuits. ⋯ In participants with chronic incomplete SCI, a novel mix of multimodal exercises incorporating balance exercises with skilled upper extremity exercises showed no benefit compared to an active control program of body weight-supported treadmill training. To improve participant retention in long-term rehabilitation studies, subsequent trials would benefit from a parallel group rather than crossover study design.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The Val158Met polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransference gene is not associated with long-term treatment outcomes in carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized clinical trial.
Randomized clinical trial. ⋯ The current clinical trial did not show an association between the Val158Met polymorphism and changes in pain and function outcomes after either surgery or physical therapy in women with CTS.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The analgesic effect of music on cold pressor pain responses: The influence of anxiety and attitude toward pain.
The analgesic effect of music has been recognized for pain relief, but individual differences and adjuvant methods are poorly understood. This study employed a cold-pressor task (CPT) to observe the effects of music (without considering personal preferences) on pain experience and how this is affected by individuals' general (and pain-specific) anxiety symptomology. ⋯ Music appears to influence diminished pain responses relative to the absence of an intervention. However, this was not the case when individuals listened to news stories. These effects were more robust for individuals experiencing normal levels of general and pain-specific anxiety. Thus, music (even outside one's own preferences) was an effective adjuvant method for managing pain, especially among those without significant anxiety symptomology.