Subretinal Electrical Stimulation Preserves Inner Retinal Function in RCS Rat Retina.
Subretinal electrical stimulation preserves inner retinal function in RCS rat retina.
Mol Vis. 2013; 19: 995-1005
Ciavatta VT, Mocko JA, Kim MK, Pardue MT
Previously, studies showed that subretinal electrical stimulation (SES) from a microphotodiode array (MPA) preserves electroretinography (ERG) b-wave amplitude and regional retinal structure in the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS) rat and simultaneously upregulates Fgf2 expression. This preservation appears to be associated with the increased current produced when the MPA is exposed to ERG test flashes, as weekly ERG testing produces greater neuroprotection than biweekly or no testing. Using an infrared source to stimulate the MPA while avoiding potential confounding effects from exposing the RCS retina to high luminance white light, this study examined whether neuroprotective effects from SES increased with subretinal current in a dose-dependent manner.RCS rats (n=49) underwent subretinal implantation surgery at P21 with MPA devices in one randomly selected eye, and the other eye served as the control. Naïve RCS rats (n=25) were also studied. To increase SES current levels, implanted eyes were exposed to 15 min per session of flashing infrared light (IR) of defined intensity, frequency, and duty cycle. Rats were divided into four SES groups that received ERG testing only (MPA only), about 450 µA/cm(2) once per week (Low 1X), about 450 µA/cm(2) three times per week (Low 3X), and about 1350 µA/cm(2) once per week (High 1X). One eye of the control animals was randomly chosen for IR exposure. All animals were followed for 4 weeks with weekly binocular ERGs. A subset of the eyes was used to measure retina Fgf2 expression with real-time reverse-transcription PCR.Eyes receiving SES showed significant preservation of b-wave amplitude, a- and b-wave implicit times, oscillatory potential amplitudes, and post-receptoral parameters (Vmax and log ?) compared to untreated eyes. All SES-treated eyes had similar preservation, regardless of increased SES from IR light exposure. SES-treated eyes tended to have greater retinal Fgf2 expression than untreated eyes, but Fgf2 expression did not increase with IR light.The larger post-receptoral responses (Vmax), greater post-receptoral sensitivity (log?), and larger oscillatory potentials suggest SES-treated eyes maintained better inner retinal function than the opposite, untreated eyes. This suggests that in addition to preserving photoreceptors in RCS rats, SES may also promote more robust signal transmission through the retinal network compared to the control eyes. These studies suggest that the protective effects of SES on RCS retinal function cannot be improved with additional subretinal current induction from the MPA, or the charge injection provided by ERG Ganzfeld flashes was not adequately mimicked by the flashing IR light used in this study. HubMed – rehab
Rehabilitation of scapular dyskinesis: from the office worker to the elite overhead athlete.
Br J Sports Med. 2013 May 18;
Cools AM, Struyf F, De Mey K, Maenhout A, Castelein B, Cagnie B
The scapula functions as a bridge between the shoulder complex and the cervical spine and plays a very important role in providing both mobility and stability of the neck/shoulder region. The association between abnormal scapular positions and motions and glenohumeral joint pathology has been well established in the literature, whereas studies investigating the relationship between neck pain and scapular dysfunction have only recently begun to emerge. Although several authors have emphasised the relevance of restoring normal scapular kinematics through exercise and manual therapy techniques, overall scapular rehabilitation guidelines decent for both patients with shoulder pain as well as patients with neck problems are lacking. The purpose of this paper is to provide a science-based clinical reasoning algorithm with practical guidelines for the rehabilitation of scapular dyskinesis in patients with chronic complaints in the upper quadrant. HubMed – rehab
What the SWIFT and TREVO II Trials Tell Us About the Role of Endovascular Therapy for Acute Stroke.
Stroke. 2013 May 16;
Broderick JP, Schroth G
Moderate-Intensity Single Exercise Session Does Not Induce Renal Damage.
J Clin Lab Anal. 2013 May; 27(3): 177-180
Hiraki K, Kamijo-Ikemori A, Yasuda T, Hotta C, Izawa KP, Watanabe S, Sugaya T, Kimura K
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine whether a single moderate-intensity exercise session induces renal injury based on various parameters that reflect kidney dysfunction, including urinary L-type fatty acid-binding protein (L-FABP). METHODS: Adult outpatients (n = 31) with chronic kidney disease (CKD) not receiving renal replacement therapy participated in this study. Urine was collected before and after a single 20-min moderate-intensity exercise session. Urinary levels of L-FABP, albumin, N-acetyl-?-d-glucosaminidase (NAG), and ?1-microglobrin (?1MG) were measured. In addition, 12 patients with estimated glomerular filtration fraction less than 30 ml/min/1.73 ml(2) were selected from all patients and evaluated using the same analysis. RESULTS: Urinary values of L-FABP, albumin, NAG, and ?1MG did not increase significantly after exercise compared with before exercise (urinary L-FABP, from 8.3 to 9.4 ?g/g of creatinine; urinary albumin, from 293.1 to 333.7 mg/g of creatinine; urinary NAG, from 9.2 to 8.2 U/g of creatinine; urinary ?1MG, from 11.4 to 9.8 mg/g of creatinine, not significant). Similar findings were seen in all patients, regardless of degree of renal dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: A single session of moderate-intensity exercise was not associated with an increase in renal parameters used to assess renal damage. HubMed – rehab