Hair methylmercury levels are inversely correlated with arterial stiffness.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including coronary heart disease, are the leading cause of death worldwide. Several studies investigating the relationship between fish intake, methylmercury exposure, and CVDs in adults have reported inconsistent results. This study aimed to determine the association between hair methylmercury levels and arterial stiffness using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV). METHODS: This cross-sectional study included 891 seemingly healthy Korean adults (418 men and 473 women). The anthropometric and biochemical profiles, including methylmercury levels in the hair, were measured. Arterial stiffness was measured using baPWV, wherein high baPWV was defined as >1375 cm/s (>75th percentile). The odds ratios for high baPWVs were examined using multivariable logistic regression analysis after adjusting for potential confounders across the quintiles of hair methylmercury levels (Q1 = ≤0.6, Q2 = 0.6-0.8, Q3 = 0.8-1.1, Q4 = 1.1-1.5, and Q5=>1.5 µg/g). RESULTS: After adjusting for multiple confounders-age, sex, height, body weight, smoking status, weekly alcohol consumption, total metabolic equivalent of task, mean arterial blood pressure, resting heart rate, triglycerides, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, uric acid and white blood cell count-the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for high baPWVs in each quintile of hair methylmercury levels were 1.00, 0.36 (0.17-0.76), 0.38 (0.20-0.76), 0.28 (0.13-0.61), and 0.49 (0.24-0.99), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Within non-toxic low levels, higher hair methylmercury levels are independently associated with lower arterial stiffness in seemingly healthy Korean adults regardless of classical cardiovascular risk factors.

Substance P, A Promising Therapeutic Target in Musculoskeletal Disorders.

A large number of studies have focused on the role of substance P (SP) and the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R) in the pathogenesis of a variety of medical conditions. This review provides an overview of the role of the SP-NK1R pathway in the pathogenesis of musculoskeletal disorders and the evidence for its role as a therapeutic target for these disorders, which are major public health problems in most countries. To summarize, the brief involvement of SP may affect tendon healing in an acute injury setting. SP combined with an adequate conjugate can be a regenerative therapeutic option in osteoarthritis. The NK1R antagonist is a promising agent for tendinopathy, rheumatoid arthritis, and osteoarthritis. Research on the SP-NK1R pathway will be helpful for developing novel drugs for osteoporosis.

Carpal tunnel release can be a risk factor for trigger finger: National Health Insurance data analysis.

PURPOSE: We aimed to compare trigger finger (TF) development between patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) treated with carpal tunnel release (CTR) and those treated conservatively, using the National Health Insurance Services data of Korea. We also aimed to investigate risk factors for post-CTR TF development. METHODS: We selected CTS patients with or without CTR (3543 patients in each group) between 2002 and 2015. Sex, age, follow-up duration after CTS diagnosis, and comorbidities associated with TF-development were matched using propensity score. We compared the rates of TF diagnosis and subsequent TF operations between groups. Thereafter, we selected patients with CTS undergoing CTR, for whom minimum follow-up exceeded five years. We compared sex, age, height, weight, and comorbidities associated with TF risk factors between the TF-occurrence and non-TF-occurrence groups. RESULTS: On comparing CTR-treated patients with those treated conservatively for CTS, CTR-treated patients presented with significantly higher rates of TF diagnosis (12.2%) and TF operations (4.7%) than patients without CTR (6.2% and 1.2%, respectively). Among 433 TF-diagnosed patients and 166 TF-operated patients after CTR, most were identified < 5 years after CTR, with 379 diagnosed (87.5%) and 147 operated (88.5%) patients. A total of 240 patients presented with newly developed TF over a five year period. Patients with subsequent TF exhibited a higher female sex rate and shorter height. None of the variables was significant risk factors for TF development in logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSION: We confirmed high incidences of post-CTR TF diagnosis and operations. TF develops most frequently in the first postoperative year.