A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effect of phonophoresis on patients with knee osteoarthritis.

This systematic review and meta-analysis investigated the effect of phonophoresis when various gel types were used. Medline (using PubMed), EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) were used to search for relevant studies from the date of their inception to June 28, 2021. We included studies that were randomized controlled trials (RCTs), included patients with a diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis, included treatment with either phonophoresis or therapeutic ultrasound with placebo gel, and reported clinical and functional outcomes. Continuous variables are expressed as standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Statistical analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. We initially retrieved 2176 studies and finally analyzed nine RCTs including 423 patients. The intervention group significantly outperformed the control group in pain scores with NSAID gel (SMD = - 0.53, 95% CI [- 1.02, - 0.05], I2 = 73%) and in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index (WOMAC) function score with corticosteroid gel (SMD = - 0.96, 95% CI [- 1.47, - 0.44], I2 = 20%). Phonophoresis alleviated pain and improved functional performance. Because of some limitations of this study, additional high-quality, large-scale RCTs are required to confirm the benefits.

Effectiveness of interferential current therapy in patients with knee osteoarthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of interferential current therapy (IFC) in patients with knee osteoarthritis. We searched PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, ClinicalKey, and Scopus for relevant studies from their date of launch to March 22, 2022. We included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in which IFC was applied to knee osteoarthritis patients and the outcomes of pain scores or functional scales were assessed. Ten RCTs with 493 patients met the inclusion criteria. Nine RCTs were included in the meta-analysis. The IFC groups exhibited significant improvements relative to the control groups for short-term pain scores (SMD = - 0.64, 95% CI - 1.04 to - 0.25, P = 0.001), long-term pain scores (SMD = - 0.36, 95% CI - 0.60 to - 0.11, P = 0.005), and short-term Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores (SMD = - 0.39, 95% CI - 0.77 to - 0.02, P = 0.04). All included studies did not observe any obvious adverse effects of IFC. IFC can be recommended as a treatment for knee osteoarthritis because it improves short- and long-term pain and short-term function. However, large-scale and high-quality RCTs with longer follow-up are required to establish an appropriate standardized treatment.

Distinct Age-Specific Effects on Olfactory Associative Learning in C57BL/6 Substrains.

C57BL/6 is the most widely used mouse strain in the laboratories. Two substrains of C57BL/6, C57BL/6J (B6J), and C57BL/6N (B6N) are well-known backgrounds for genetic modification and have been shown difference in quite a few tests, including open field test, rotarod test, and Morris water maze. However, difference between these two substrains in olfaction-dependent behaviors remains unknown. Here, we used olfactory two-alternative choice task, which is modified to have two training stages, to evaluate animals' ability in instrumental learning and olfactory association. In the first (rule learning) stage, the mice were trained to use the operant chamber to collect water rewards. An odor cue was provided in the procedure, with no indication about reward locations. In the following (discrimination learning) stage, two odor cues were provided, with each indicating a specific water port. The animals were rewarded upon correct port choices following cue deliveries. We found that during young adulthood (7-10 weeks old), proportionally more B6J than B6N mice were able to pass rule learning (58.3% vs. 29.2%) and ultimately acquire this task (54.2% vs. 25%), with the two substrains showing similar pass rates in discrimination learning (92.9% vs. 85.7%). Surprisingly, at a more mature age (17 weeks old), this substrain difference disappeared. Mature B6N mice had a significant improvement in pass percentages of rule learning and overall task, whereas similar improvement was not observed in the B6J counterparts. Instead, mature B6J mice had an improved speed in rule learning and overall task. We further examined behavioral patterns of 8-week-old B6J and B6N mice in the olfactory habituation or dishabituation test. We observed normal olfactory habituation from subjects of both substrains, with the B6J mice exhibiting stronger investigative responses to newly presented odorants. These results reveal for the first time that B6J and B6N mice are different in acquisition processes of a behavioral task that requires instrumental learning and olfactory association, and that maturation appears to employ different effects on these two substrains during these processes. Furthermore, young adult B6J and B6N mice might be similar in olfactory habituation but different in the olfactory aspects of novelty seeking.

Specific contribution of neurons from the Dbx1 lineage to the piriform cortex.

The piriform cortex (PC) is a major cortical processing center for the sense of smell that receives direct inputs from the olfactory bulb. In mice, the PC consists of three neuronal layers, which are populated by cells with distinct developmental origins. One origin of PC neurons is the pool of Dbx1-expressing neural progenitors located in the ventral pallium at the pallial-subpallial boundary. Since the precise mechanisms of PC neuron development are largely unknown, we sought to define the distribution, timing of neurogenesis, morphology and projection patterns of PC neurons from the Dbx1 lineage. We found that Dbx1-lineage neurons are preferentially distributed in layer 2 and enriched in the ventral portion of the PC. Further, Dbx1 neurons are early-born neurons and contribute to most neuronal subtypes in the PC. Our data also revealed an enrichment of Dbx1-lineage neurons in the ventral anterior PC that project to the orbitofrontal cortex. These findings suggest a specific association between the developmental origin of PC neurons and their neuronal properties.