Sex differences in the change in health-related quality of life associated with low back pain

Purpose

To examine the sex differences in the impact of low back pain (LBP) on health-related quality of life among community-dwelling persons from a nationwide sample.

Methods

Our analysis enrolled 2,358 participants from among 3,477 randomly selected subjects in Japan. The cumulative days each individual experienced LBP were prospectively measured over 1?month. The Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) in the Short Form 8-item Health Survey were evaluated before and after the study period. Sex differences in the impact of the cumulative number of LBP days on PCS and MCS scores were evaluated using linear regression analysis.

Results

Among the 2,170 participants with complete data, the prevalence of LBP in women (32%) was higher than that in men (25%) during the study period. One-day increases in LBP days were associated with greater decreases in PCS scores among men than among women (?0.72 vs. ?0.29, sex difference P?<?0.001). In contrast, no relationship was noted between the number of LBP days and the change in MCS score for either sex after adjustment.

Conclusions

Although a greater incidence of LBP was noted in women, health-related quality of life was more seriously affected in men with the same number of days with LBP in the month.     

The usefulness of infraorbital nerve enlargement on MRI imaging in clinical diagnosis of IgG4-related orbital disease

Purpose  

To investigate the frequency of infraorbital nerve enlargement (IONE) in orbital lymphoproliferative disorders, and to show that IONE can contribute to the clinical diagnosis of IgG4-related orbital diseases (IgG4-ROD).     

Differential Effects of Morphine-6-glucuronide,an Active Metabolite of Morphine,and Morphine on Locomotor Activity in Mice: Involvement of the Opioid Receptor

Abstract: Subcutaneous administration of morphine (2.5 to 20 mg/kg) or an active metabolite of morphine, morphine-6-glucuronide (2.5 to 20 mg/kg), increased the locomotor activity of mice in a dose-dependent manner. Fifteen mg/kg of morphine and 20 mg/kg of morphine-6-glucuronide were almost equipotent. Subcutaneous administration of the universal opioid antagonist, naloxone, but not the δ-selective antagonist, naltrindole, significantly suppressed the hyperlocomotion induced by morphine (15 mg/kg). On the other hand the subcutaneous administration of relatively higher doses of naloxone or naltrindole significantly reduced the hyperlocomotion induced by morphine-6-glucuronide (20 mg/kg). These findings suggest that agonistic actions at the opioid receptors, especially at the δ- and μ-receptors, contribute to the morphine-6-glucuronide-induced hyperlocomotion.     

Gastric resection in the aged (≥ 80 years) with gastric carcinoma: a multivariate analysis of prognostic factors

Background : The incidence of gastric neoplasm is increasing in the elderly population. Therefore, a rational method of treatment for gastric cancer in the elderly should be constituted to improve the survival. The purpose of the present study was to clarify whether the patient’s age is an independent prognostic factor and to determine clinicopathological characteristics in the elderly. Methods : Curative resection of gastric cancer was carried out on 601 patients who were 40 years or older. They were divided into the following two groups: younger patients (between 40 and 79 years old) and elderly patients (80 years or older). The clinicopathologic features of these patients were reviewed retrospectively and multivariate analysis was carried out. Results : The distinguishing features of gastric cancer in the elderly patients were intestinal and mixed types of cancer, distal third stomach dominancy in the tumour location, advanced stage of disease, and a low rate of extensive lymph node dissection (D3 or more). Regarding the recurrence site, the liver was the dominant site in the elderly group (25.3% in the younger group vs 54.5% in the elderly group). The 10‐year disease‐free survival rate of the elderly group was 53.2%, which was significantly worse than that (79.9%) of the younger patients (P = 0.0004). In multivariate analysis, an age of ≥ 80 years is an independent prognostic factor, as well as stage, depth of tumour invasion, lymph node metastasis, scirrhous carcinoma, and blood transfusion. Conclusions : Results indicate that gastric cancer in elderly patients has a poorer prognosis than that in younger patients.     

ENDOSCOPIC COAGULATION THERAPY IS USEFUL FOR IMPROVING ENCEPHALOPATHY IN CIRRHOTIC PATIENTS WITH GASTRIC ANTRAL VASCULAR ECTASIA

Background: Gastric antral vascular ectasia (GAVE) is an uncommon but treatable cause of chronic gastrointestinal bleeding often associated with severe cirrhosis. Efficacy of endoscopic treatment is well known; however, long‐term outcome after endoscopic treatment is not clear. Methods: We studied 16 cases of GAVE patients with liver cirrhosis that were endoscopically treated using heater probe unit or argon plasma coagulator. Endoscopic finding of GAVE and clinical finding of hepatic encephalopathy in particular was evaluated after endoscopic therapy. Results: After endoscopic ablation therapy, mucosal vascular lesion of GAVE and rebleeding occurred in four patients during follow up; however, re‐treatment was effective and long‐term hemostasis was achieved. Moreover, a case report herein revealed the effectiveness of endoscopic therapy on hepatic encephalopathy of GAVE patients with cirrhosis. In the follow‐up study of 13 patients of GAVE with cirrhosis that suffered from encephalopathy, the coma level of nine patients was improved after endoscopic therapy. Conclusion: Endoscopic treatment, such as heater probe coagulation and argon plasma coagulation therapy, are effective and useful for long‐term follow up. Also, the beneficial effect of endoscopic therapy on hepatic encephalopathy for GAVE with cirrhosis encourages us to find and treat the mucosal lesion intensively to improve the quality of life of such patients.     

Suppression of footpad reaction in mice by anthralin

In the preceding papers, we showed that the treatment of BALB/c mice with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA), a typical tumor promoter, suppressed footpad reaction (FPR) against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) temporarily but that this effect became lasting when TPA was administered to mice which had been treated with 7,12-dimethyl[a]-anthracene (DMBA), a typical tumor initiator, and that the effect of DMBA and TPA was caused by the induction of antigen-nonspecific T suppressor cells. In this work, we studied the effect of anthralin, a tumor promoter which has not the structure of phorbol ester, on FPR of BALB/c mice against SRBC. Painting of anthralin (80 nmol) suppressed FPR continuously (more than 7 days) unlike that of TPA. However, when anthralin was administered for 7 days following the treatment with 400 nmol of DMBA, the suppressive effect could be transferred with Thy-1 and Lyt-2 positive spleen cells whereas the suppressive effect by the painting of anthralin only for 7 days could not be transferred with the spleen cells.     

Case report: periodical infliximab administration enabled closure of colostomy in fistulating perianal Crohn's disease]

A 29-year old woman with Crohn's disease was performed colostomy due to severe perianal abscess. Her disease had been easy to recur and she was admitted to hospital for intestinal bleeding caused by acute exacerbation in Crohn's disease on October 2006. The bleeding was stopped rapidly and clinical remission was maintained with bimonthly administration of infliximab. Finally, her colostomy was closed after 5 years 8 months. Periodical treatment of infliximab not only prevented recurrence but also enabled closure of colostomy in fistulating perianal Crohn's disease.     

Analysis of clinical manifestations of male patients with urethritis

Almost all physicians involved in treating sexually transmitted infections recognize the specific clinical manifestations of patients with urethritis. However, in previous studies, the diagnosis of gonococcal urethritis was based on cultures or staining methods. In this study, we examined in detail the clinical manifestations of patients with urethritis diagnosed by the nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT). A total of 154 patients with male urethritis were included in the study. The NAAT could distinguish 64 patients with gonococcal urethritis, 45 patients with chlamydial urethritis, and 45 patients with nongonococcal and nonchlamydial urethritis. Forty-three (67.2%) patients with gonococcal urethritis had more severe symptoms, i.e., moderate or profuse urethral discharge, and cloudy or purulent discharge, than patients with chlamydial urethritis, nongonococcal and nonchlamydial urethritis. There were 39 (86.7%) patients in the chlamydial urethritis group with mild symptoms, clear discharge or none, and moderate or profuse discharge. Although the diagnosis of male urethritis can be performed by microbiological examination, the typical symptoms help us to distinguish each type of urethritis and understand this kind of disease.     

Sports Participation in Patients After Total Hip Arthroplasty vs Periacetabular Osteotomy: A Propensity Score-Matched Asian Cohort Study

Background

No studies have compared sports participation between total hip arthroplasty (THA) and periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) in matched Asian cohorts. We investigated sports participation and activity levels in Asian THA cohort, and compared them between THA and PAO cohorts.