Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Noninvasive vagus nerve stimulation alters neural response and physiological autonomic tone to noxious thermal challenge.
The mechanisms by which noninvasive vagal nerve stimulation (nVNS) affect central and peripheral neural circuits that subserve pain and autonomic physiology are not clear, and thus remain an area of intense investigation. Effects of nVNS vs sham stimulation on subject responses to five noxious thermal stimuli (applied to left lower extremity), were measured in 30 healthy subjects (n = 15 sham and n = 15 nVNS), with fMRI and physiological galvanic skin response (GSR). ⋯ Finally, nVNS treatment showed decreased activity in pronociceptive brainstem nuclei (e.g. the reticular nucleus and rostral ventromedial medulla) and key autonomic integration nuclei (e.g. the rostroventrolateral medulla, nucleus ambiguous, and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve). In aggregate, noninvasive vagal nerve stimulation reduced the physiological response to noxious thermal stimuli and impacted neural circuits important for pain processing and autonomic output.
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Patients with COPD have an increased risk for community-acquired pneumonia, which is further increased by inhaled corticosteroids. ⋯ Reduction in macrophage bacterial recognition receptors during bacterial exposure could provide a mechanism for the increased pneumonia risk in COPD. Differential effects of budesonide and fluticasone propionate on macrophage bacterial recognition receptor expression may contribute to the higher pneumonia incidence reported with fluticasone propionate.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Cost-effectiveness of acupuncture versus standard care for pelvic and low back pain in pregnancy: A randomized controlled trial.
To assess the cost-effectiveness of acupuncture for pelvic girdle and low back pain (PGLBP) during pregnancy. ⋯ Acupuncture was a dominant strategy when accounting for employer costs. A 100% probability of cost-effectiveness was obtained for a willingness to pay of €100 per days with pain NRS ≤ 4.
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Multicenter Study Observational Study
Knowledge, attitudes and preventive practices of primary health care professionals towards alcohol use: A national, cross-sectional study.
Primary care (PC) professionals' knowledge about alcohol use has been identified as one of the barriers PC providers face in their clinic. Both PC professionals' level of training and attitude are crucial in the clinical practice regarding alcohol use. ⋯ PC providers' knowledge and preventive practices regarding alcohol use are scarce, hence specific training strategies to increase their knowledge and improve their attitude and skills with regard to this health problem should be considered a healthcare policy priority.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
In vivo three-dimensional kinematics of the cervical spine during maximal active head rotation.
The aim of this study was to measure the movement of the cervical spine in healthy volunteers and patients with cervical spondylosis (CS) and describe the actual motion of the cervical spine using a three-dimensional (3D) CT reconstruction method. The results can enrich current biomechanical data of cervical spine and help to find the differences between the noted two groups. ⋯ The motion of the cervical spine was complicated and three-dimensional. The CT reconstruction method employed here was good at describing such movement. The 3D CT reconstruction method exhibited high reproducibility when measuring cervical spine movement. CS patients and healthy volunteers showed significant differences in the movement of some segments.