Prevalence of thoracic spine pain in a surveillance network.

BACKGROUND: Back pain has long been identified as a major occupational health issue, but there are few prevalence studies on thoracic spine pain (TSP). The epidemiological surveillance of musculoskeletal disorders implemented in 2002 by the French Institute for Public Health Surveillance in the Pays de la Loire region provided the opportunity to study the prevalence of TSP in a large, representative sample of workers. AIMS: To assess the prevalence of TSP across a week in a regional workforce according to age, occupational category and industry sector in men and women separately. METHODS: A random sample of workers aged 20-59 years, representative of the regional workforce, was constituted between 2002 and 2005. Medical and occupational data were gathered by questionnaire. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 3710 workers (58% men). The prevalence of TSP was higher in women (17%) than in men (9%). Lower grade male white-collar workers were more likely to report TSP (17%) than male workers in other occupational categories, whereas upper grade female white-collar and professional workers were more likely to report TSP. No significant difference in the prevalence of TSP was noted in either men or women according to industry sector. CONCLUSIONS: Although TSP is less frequent than low back and neck pain, the results of this study indicate that 1 in 10 men and 1 in 5 women suffer from TSP.

Translation and validation of the French Movement Imagery Questionnaire - Revised Second Version (MIQ-RS).

INTRODUCTION: Motor imagery can be defined as a dynamic state during which the representation of a movement is internally rehearsed in the absence of voluntary movements. There are two strategies to mentally simulate the movements, either a visual representation of the movements (visual imagery), or kinesthetic feeling of the movement (kinetic imagery). In stroke rehabilitation, studies indicate that motor imagery associated with physical therapy results in cortical reorganization and correlative functional improvements. AIM: The aim of this study is to provide to the French-speaking community a valid and reliable version of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire - Revised Second Version (MIQ-RS). METHOD: We examined the test-retest, inter-rate reliability and the internal consistency of the visual and kinesthetic items of our French version of MIQ-RS in 153 healthy subjects. RESULTS: Results showed the internal consistency (Cronbach α=0.90) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient for visual items=0.68 and for kinesthetic items=0.78) of the French version of MIQ-RS were satisfactory; the two-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. CONCLUSION: The French version of MIQ-RS is a valid and reliable instrument in French-speaking population and therefore useful as a measure for motor imagery ability.

Deleterious myocardial consequences induced by intermittent hypoxia are reversed by erythropoietin.

The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of different recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) doses on the infarction development and if rhEPO could protect against the deleterious consequences induced by a previous intermittent hypoxia (IH, FiO(2) 5%, 4h). First, isolated rat hearts were submitted to an ischemia-reperfusion. rhEPO was infused before or after ischemia, at different doses. Secondly, rats were exposed to of IH. Twenty-four hours later, hearts underwent the ischemia-reperfusion protocol. For some hearts, 5Uml(-1) rhEPO was infused as previously. We observed that rhEPO has a dose-dependant effect on infarct size since it was significantly reduced by rhEPO infusions before or after ischemia. We also showed that 4h of IH induced a higher sensitivity to the infarction which was prevented by rhEPO. In conclusion, rhEPO administration before or after ischemia can protect isolated rat myocardium in a dose dependent manner and efficiently prevents the higher sensitivity to the infarction induced by previous intermittent hypoxia.

Early pharmacological preconditioning by erythropoietin mediated by inducible NOS and mitochondrial ATP-dependent potassium channels in the rat heart.

Administration of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) is known to induce protection against cardiac ischaemia injury improving functional recovery and reducing apoptosis. But the underlying mechanisms are not elucidated. We determined the role of nitric oxide synthases (NOS) as well as ATP-dependent (K(ATP)) and calcium-activated (K(Ca)) potassium channels in the early cardioprotection induced by rhEPO. Wistar male rats were divided into two experimental groups treated by rhEPO (5,000 IU/kg, i.p.) or saline (control group). One hour later, rats were anaesthetized, hearts isolated, retrogradely perfused and submitted to a 30-min no-flow global ischaemia followed by 120 min of reperfusion sequence. Cardiac functional recovery (left ventricular developed pressure, LVDP) was significantly higher in the group treated by rhEPO (LVDP at 30 min reperfusion: 71.7 +/- 2.3 mmHg) compared with the control group (57.4 +/- 5.8 mmHg). We observed the same significant effect on its derivative (dP/dt). The rhEPO-induced improvement in ventricular function was abolished by perfusion prior to ischaemia with either N-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, a nonspecific NOS inhibitor) or N-(3-(aminomethyl)benzyl)acetamidine (1,400W, a specific inducible NOS inhibitor) or 5-hydroxydecanoic acid (5HD, a mitochondrial K(ATP) channel blocker) but not with paxilline (a K(Ca) channel inhibitor). Thus, in vivo rhEPO administration provides early preconditioning against ischaemic injury in the isolated perfused rat heart that is dependent on iNOS and mitochondrial K(ATP) channels.

[A clinical case of mythomania occurring today]. / Un cas clinique de mythomanie de nos jours.

At the beginning of this century, mythomania has been abundantly, described, following clinical observations, often on absurd and foolish subjects, that made the alienists of the period search for quite different etiologies, varying from psychopathology to anatomopathology. Mythomania fell into oblivion after 1940 and a more analytic approach of the mental function did no more revive the interest in the subject, probably because of the few cases met with. Therefore, it seemed interesting to us to study a case of mythomania, one at a time, at the hand of clinical criteria defined by Dupré, but equally with the help of psychological and paraclinical examinations, we can dispose of presently. This patient was going to give us her own written production, being an intimate diary and several letters, what helped us to complete the psychiatrical picture.