Effects of pain exacerbation on postural control in women with patellofemoral pain during single leg squat: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The center of pressure (COP) excursion parameters are recognized as risk factors for the etiology and development of patellofemoral pain (PFP). The purpose of the present study measures the effect of pain exacerbation on COP excursion, and the correlation between pain intensity and COP excursion in women with PFP during single leg squat (SLS). METHODS: Sixty patients with PFP participated in this cross-sectional study. The outcome measures were included pain intensity and COP excursion which evaluated in pre and post pain exacerbation during SLS. The COP parameters were evaluated during single leg squat in 60° of knee flexion. A paired t-test and MANOVA was used to compare pain intensity and COP excursion between the two conditions, respectively. Furthermore, A Pearson's correlation matrix was used to examine the relationship between pain intensity with COP excursion. RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed that pain intensity (t = - 16.655, p < 0.001) and COP excursion (Wilks' Lambda = 0.225, p < 0.001) with medium effect size increased after PFJ loading. In addition, an excellent positive correlation was observed between increased in pain intensity and COP excursion (P < 0.001, r > 0.80). CONCLUSION: After PFJ loading, women with PFP presented increases in the pain intensity, COP excursions, and sway velocity. In addition, there was an association between the increase in pain intensity and COP excursions. Clinicians aiming to improve postural control of patients with PFP could use kinesio taping as a short-term intervention and balance training to improvements in postural control at medium and long-term. Furthermore, emphasizing psychological factors to reducing kinesiophobia can be useful to restoring proper movement pattern, reducing pain and improving symptoms.

Relationship between exacerbating patellofemoral pain and dynamic knee valgus in females with patellofemoral pain after a patellofemoral joint loading protocol: A cross-sectional.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study is to 1) the effect of exacerbating patellofemoral pain (PFP) on dynamic knee valgus (DKV) 2) the relationship between exacerbating PFP and DKV in females with patellofemoral pain. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. METHODS: Sixty women with PFP were recruited from the orthopedic clinics. We evaluated pain intensity and DKV in two conditions without (condition 1) and with (condition 2) PFJ loading during the single-leg squat (SLS) task. The MANOVA test was used to compare pain intensity and DKV angle between the two conditions. Furthermore, the Pearson correlation was used to examine the correlation between pain intensity with DKV angle. RESULTS: The MANOVA analysis showed that pain intensity (P < 0.000, η2 = 0.623) and DKV angle (P < 0.000, η2 = 0.544) with a medium effect size significantly increased after PFJ loading. Furthermore, an excellent positive correlation was observed between an increase in pain intensity and DKV angle (P < 0.000, r = 0.840). CONCLUSION: It seems that after the PFJ loading protocol and the subsequent pain exacerbation, the neuromuscular biomechanics of the lower limb are deficits. As a result, the stabilizing muscles activation decreases and increases the lower limb movement in the frontal plane.

Evaluation of coronary stents: A review of types, materials, processing techniques, design, and problems.

In the world, one of the leading causes of death is coronary artery disease (CAD). There are several ways to treat this disease, and stenting is currently the most appropriate way in many cases. Nowadays, the use of stents has rapidly increased, and they have been introduced in various models, with different geometries and materials. To select the most appropriate stent required, it is necessary to have an analysis of the mechanical behavior of various types of stents. The purpose of this article is to provide a complete overview of advanced research in the field of stents and to discuss and conclude important studies on different topics in the field of stents. In this review, we introduce the types of coronary stents, materials, stent processing technique, stent design, classification of stents based on the mechanism of expansion, and problems and complications of stents. In this article, by reviewing the biomechanical studies conducted in this field and collecting and classifying their results, a useful set of information has been presented to continue research in the direction of designing and manufacturing more efficient stents, although the clinical-engineering field still needs to continue research to optimize the design and construction. The optimum design of stents in the future is possible by simulation and using numerical methods and adequate knowledge of stent and artery biomechanics.

Enhanced anti-tumoral activity of methotrexate-human serum albumin conjugated nanoparticles by targeting with Luteinizing Hormone-Releasing Hormone (LHRH) peptide.

Active targeting could increase the efficacy of anticancer drugs. Methotrexate-human serum albumin (MTX-HSA) conjugates, functionalized by luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LHRH) as targeting moieties, with the aim of specifically targeting the cancer cells, were prepared. Owing to the high expression of LHRH receptors in many cancer cells as compared to normal cells, LHRH was used as the targeting ligand in this study. LHRH was conjugated to MTX-HSA nanoparticles via a cross-linker. Three types of LHRH targeted nanoparticles with a mean particle size between 120-138 nm were prepared. The cytotoxicity of LHRH targeted and non-targeted nanoparticles were determined on the LHRH positive and negative cell lines. The internalization of the targeted and non-targeted nanoparticles in LHRH receptor positive and negative cells was investigated using flow cytometry analysis and fluorescence microscopy. The cytotoxicity of the LHRH targeted nanoparticles on the LHRH receptor positive cells were significantly more than non-targeted nanoparticles. LHRH targeted nanoparticles were also internalized by LHRH receptor positive cells significantly more than non-targeted nanoparticles. There were no significant differences between the uptake of targeted and non-targeted nanoparticles to the LHRH receptor negative cells. The active targeting procedure using LHRH targeted MTX-HSA nanoparticles could increase the anti-tumoral activity of MTX.

The in vivo antitumor activity of LHRH targeted methotrexate-human serum albumin nanoparticles in 4T1 tumor-bearing Balb/c mice.

The use of targeted drug delivery systems is a growing trend in cancer treatment to decrease the adverse effect of anti-cancer drugs. In this study, we sought to conjugate methotrexate-human serum albumin nanoparticles (MTX-HSA NPs) with luteinizing-hormone releasing hormone (LHRH). The LHRH was intended to target LHRH receptors overexpressed on the several types of tumors. The expression of LHRH receptors on the 4T1 breast cancer cells was confirmed by FITC conjugated LHRH receptor antibody using fluorescence microscopy. Female Balb/c mice bearing 4T1 breast cancer tumor were treated with a single i.v. injection of free MTX, non-targeted MTX-HSA NPs and LHRH targeted MTX-HSA NPs. LHRH targeted MTX-HSA nanoparticles showed stronger anti-tumor activity in vivo. By 7 days after treatment, average tumor volume in the LHRH targeted MTX-HSA NPs treated group decreased to 8.67% of the initial tumor volume when the number of attached LHRH molecules on MTX-HSA NPs was the highest, while the average tumor volume in non-targeted MTX-HSA NPs treated mice grew rapidly and reached 250.7% of the initial tumor volume 7 days after the treatment. LHRH targeted MTX-HSA NPs could significantly extend the survival time of tumor bearing mice compared with the non-targeted MTX-HSA NPs and free MTX formulations.

Targeted delivery of methotrexate to tumor cells using biotin functionalized methotrexate-human serum albumin conjugated nanoparticles.

Systemic toxicity following cancer chemotherapy is an important concern. Targeted drug delivery systems could reduce the toxicity of anticancer drugs. Vitamins have been considered as targeting moieties in novel cancer treatment strategies. In this study, biotin was attached to nanoparticles of conjugated methotrexate-human serum albumin. Biotin functionalized methotrexate-human serum albumin with three different amounts of biotin attached to the nanoparticles were prepared. It was shown that the cytotoxicity of biotin functionalized nanoparticles on T47D and HeLa tumor cells was significantly higher than that of free methotrexate and non-functionalized nanoparticles. The cytotoxicity of biotin functionalized nanoparticles further increased when the number of biotin molecules attached on the surface of nanoparticles increased. The uptake of FITC labeled biotin functionalized nanoparticles by T47D and HeLa cells measured by flow cytometry, was also higher than that of non-functionalized nanoparticles. It can be concluded that the biotin functionalized methotrexate-human serum albumin conjugated nanoparticles could be used as a potent drug for specific delivery of methotrexate to tumors.

Preparation and physicochemical characterization of naproxen-PLGA nanoparticles.

Naproxen is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug which can be used for the treatment of inflammatory disorders like uveitis and arthirit rheumatoid. The aim of the present study was to investigate the physicochemical characteristics of naproxen-PLGA nanoparticles. The nanoparticles of naproxen with PLGA were formulated using the solvent evaporation/extraction technique (the single emulsion technique). Several process parameters i.e., drug/polymer ratio, aqueous phase volume and speed of homogenization were considered with the aim of achieve optimal preparation conditions. The physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles were studied applying particle size analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray crystallography, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The release rate of naproxen from various drug/polymer nanoparticles was investigated as well. All the prepared formulations using PLGA resulted in nano-range size particles (352-571 nm) with spherical smooth morphology. The nanoparticles of naproxen-PLGA displayed lower crystallinity with no chemical interactions between the drug and polymer molecules. The nanoparticles exhibited the slower release of drug in comparison with the intact drug and the physical mixtures. According of these findings, formulation of the naproxen-PLGA nanoparticles was able to improve the physicochemical characteristics of the drug and possibly will increase the anti-inflammatory effects of drug following its ocular or intra-joint administration.