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NEWS:
Equine-Facilitated Therapy Improved The Functioning Of Patients With Low Back Pain
Patients with chronic low back pain may benefit from equine-facilitated therapy (EFT), a new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows. During a 12-week intervention, the perceived amount of pain decreased, and the ability of daily functioning improved among EFT participants. The findings were published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
The study set out to evaluate the impact of EFT on perceived physical performance, level of pain, pain acceptance, depression and anxiety, and quality of life. The study was conducted in Finland, and it involved a total of 22 men and women suffering from low back pain.
The 12-week intervention showed that EFT can be used to improve people’s daily functioning. Statistically significant improvement was observed in domains pertaining to sleep, reaching and bending forward, and standing for a long period of time.
By gradually increasing the exer
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Toxic Protein Linked To Muscular Dystrophy And Arhinia
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health and their colleagues have found that a toxic protein made by the body called DUX4 may be the cause of two very different rare genetic disorders. For patients who have facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), or a rare facial malformation called arhinia, this research discovery may eventually lead to therapies that can help people with these rare diseases.
FSHD type 2 (FSHD2) is an inherited form of muscular dystrophy that causes progressive muscle weakness. Arhinia is an extremely rare yet severe disorder that prevents the development of an external nose and the olfactory bulbs and tracts. Both diseases are caused by mutations in the SMCHD1 gene. In patients with FSHD2, there is overproduction of DUX4 which kills the muscle cells, and this leads to the progressive weakening of the muscles.
“It has been known for some time that DUX4
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Study Identifies Features That May Make Motor Neurons Vulnerable To ALS
New research offers clues about the biology of cells in the spinal cord that die off in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases. A team of researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health found evidence linking motor neurons’ large cell size and supporting structure with the genes that underlie their vulnerability to degeneration in ALS. Findings appeared in Neuron.
The study resulted in a catalog or “atlas” characterizing the diverse community of cell types within the human spinal cord. By examining gene expression at the single-cell level, the researchers identified dozens of cell types in the spinal cord and analyzed their molecular profiles. They demonstrated the usefulness of the atlas by looking closely at motor neurons, which provide voluntary movement and motor control. Motor neurons, which degenerate and die in ALS, are large cells wi
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Low-Grade Inflammation May Cause Arterial Stiffness And Preclinical Atherosclerosis In Otherwise Healthy Adolescents
Early vascular damage and atherosclerosis in adolescents may be caused by low-grade inflammation, a paper published in the Journal of Applied Physiology concludes. The study was conducted in collaboration between the University of British Columbia in Canada, the University of Bristol in the UK, the University of Exeter in the UK, the University of Illinois in the US, and the University of Eastern Finland.
In adults, it is known that low-grade inflammation is a major cause of circulatory, musculoskeletal, gastrointestinal, and nervous system diseases and it can also get worse due to ageing and poor lifestyle habits. However, in healthy growing children and adolescents, it remains unclear whether low-grade inflammation contributes to premature vascular damage.
“Contrary to some earlier findings, we now know that premature inflammation-induced vascular damage in adolescents, such as highe
