Functional electric stimulation

OBJECTIVES: Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is an effective surgery for end-stage knee osteoarthritis, but chronic postoperative pain and reduced function affect up to 20% of patients who undergo such surgery. There are limited treatment options, but percutaneous peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) is a promising nonopioid treatment option for chronic, persistent postoperative pain. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a 60-day percutaneous PNS treatment in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial for treating persistent postoperative pain after TKA...

Our laboratory previously extracted bound polyphenols (BPP) in insoluble dietary fiber from navel orange peel (NOP-IDF), and the aim of this study was to investigate the anti-inflammatory activity and potential molecular mechanisms of BPP by establishing an LPS-induced intestinal-like Caco-2/RAW264.7 co-culture inflammation model. The results demonstrated that BPP reduced the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), as well as the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, nitric oxide (NO), and reactive oxidative species (ROS) during the inflammatory damage process...

Rehabilitative practice is often criticised for being non-individualised, monotonous and not well aligned with foundational principles that drive continued physiological adaptation(s). However, our understanding of neuromuscular physiology is rapidly increasing and the way we programme rehabilitation is improving. This viewpoint highlights some of the potential considerations around why the adaptations achieved during rehabilitation programmes may be suboptimal. We provide basic, clinician-focused discussion about potential confounding physiological factors, and put forward several exercise-based programming recommendations and novel approaches to consider in contemporary rehabilitative practice...

Although the focal brain cooling technique is widely used to examine brain function, the effects of cortical temperature at various levels on sensory information processing and neural mechanisms remain underexplored. To elucidate the mechanisms of temperature modulation in somatosensory processing, this study aimed to examine how P1 and N1 deflections of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) depend on cortical temperature and how excitatory and inhibitory inputs contribute to this temperature dependency. SEPs were generated through electrical stimulation of the contralateral forepaw in anesthetized rats...

BACKGROUND: Ending a romantic relationship is one of the most painful losses an adult experience. Neuroimaging studies suggest that there is a neuropsychological link between breakup experiences and bereaved individuals, and that specific prefrontal regions are involved. The aim of this study was to determine whether enhancement of left DLPFC and right VLPFC activity with a novel intensified anodal transcranial direct current stimulation protocol reduces core symptoms of love trauma syndrome (LTS) and improves treatment-related variables...

INTRODUCTION: Chronic neck pain (cNP) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, often being refractory to conventional forms of treatment. Various forms of electrical stimulation have been proposed to decrease pain and improve function. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) for treatment of cNP have rarely been published. METHODS: An independent retrospective statistical analysis of PROMs data for users of H-Wave® device stimulation (HWDS), prospectively collected by the device manufacturer over a 4-year period, was conducted...

Advancements in reliable information transfer across biotic-abiotic interfaces have enabled the restoration of lost human function. For example, communication between neuronal cells and electrical devices restores the ability to walk to a tetraplegic patient and vision to patients blinded by retinal disease. These impactful medical achievements are aided by tailored biotic-abiotic interfaces that maximize information transfer fidelity by considering the physical properties of the underlying biological and synthetic components...

Attentional control over sensory processing has been linked to neural alpha oscillations and related inhibition of cerebral cortex. Despite the wide consensus on the functional relevance of alpha oscillations for attention, precise neural mechanisms of how alpha oscillations shape perception and how this top-down modulation is implemented in cortical networks remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that alpha oscillations in frontal eye fields (FEF) are causally involved in the top-down regulation of visual processing in humans (male and female)...

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the role of transverse temporal gyrus and adjacent cortex (TTG+) in facial expressions and perioral movements. METHODS: In 31 patients undergoing stereo-electroencephalography monitoring, we describe behavioral responses elicited by electrical stimulation within the TTG+. Task-induced high-gamma modulation (HGM), auditory evoked responses, and resting-state connectivity were used to investigate the cortical sites having different types of responses on electrical stimulation...

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to assess the safety of mapping spinal cord locomotor networks using penetrating stimulation microelectrodes in Yucatan minipigs (YMPs) as a clinically translational animal model. METHODS: Eleven YMPs were trained to walk up and down a straight line. Motion capture was performed, and electromyographic (EMG) activity of hindlimb muscles was recorded during overground walking. The YMPs underwent a laminectomy and durotomy to expose the lumbar spinal cord...

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is a common life-saving treatment for hematologic malignancies, though can lead to long-term functional impairment, fatigue, muscle atrophy, with decreased quality of life. Although traditional exercise has helped reduce these effects, it is inconsistently recommended and infrequently maintained, and most patients remain sedentary during and after treatment. There is need for alternative rehabilitation strategies, like neuromuscular electrical stimulation, that may be more amenable to the capabilities of hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients...

Synapses in the brain utilize two distinct communication mechanisms: chemical and electrical. For a comprehensive investigation of neural circuitry, neural interfaces should be capable of both monitoring and stimulating these types of physiological interactions. However, previously developed interfaces for neurotransmitter monitoring have been limited in interaction modality due to constraints in device size, fabrication techniques, and the usage of flexible materials. To address this obstacle, we propose a multifunctional and flexible fiber probe fabricated through the microwire codrawing thermal drawing process, which enables the high-density integration of functional components with various materials such as polymers, metals, and carbon fibers...

Infections and inflammatory reactions in the male genital tract are the leading causes of male infertility with a prevalence of 6%-10%, primarily affecting testicular and epididymal function and ultimately compromising sperm quality. However, most infertile patients with genital infection/inflammation are asymptomatic and easily overlooked. Traditional indicators, including white blood cells, elastase, and other components in semen, can reflect inflammation of the genital tract, but there is still a lack of a uniform standard method of detection...

BACKGROUND: Evidence-based scientific studies focusing on complementary alternative medicine (CAM) and potential functional improvement after an insult of the central nervous system are lacking. AIMS: We aim to demonstrate that functional recovery after stimulation applied as a CAM treatment through cauterization might trigger neural repair and regenerative paths similarly as acupuncture, cupping, electrical or magnetic stimulations. Those paths are important in recovery of function...

Background Involuntary limb activation using functional electrical stimulation (FES) can improve unilateral spatial neglect. However, the impact of FES on brain activity related to spatial attention remains unclear. Thus, in this study, we aimed to examine the effects of FES on spatial attention. Methodology In this interventional study, 13 healthy right-handed participants were asked to perform the Posner task for six minutes both before and after either FES or sham stimulation during each set, resulting in a total of two sets...

AIM: To evaluate the role of semaphorin 7A (Sema7A) and its associated regulatory mechanisms in modulating the barrier function of cultured human corneal epithelial cells (HCEs). METHODS: Barrier models of HCEs were treated with recombinant human Sema7A at concentrations of 0, 125, 250, or 500 ng/mL for 24, 48, or 72h in vitro . Transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER) as well as Dextran-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) permeability assays were conducted to assess barrier function...

BACKGROUND: Inflammation, fibrosis and autophagy represent closely related factors associated with the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus erectile dysfunction (DMED). In this study, the therapeutic effect of nitro-oleic acid (NO2 -OA) in a streptozotocin-induced rat model of DMED was evaluated. METHODS: Sixty rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, DMED, DMED + Vehicle and DMED + NO2 -OA. DMED was induced by intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin in male rats...

Retinal prosthetics are one of the leading therapeutic strategies to restore lost vision in patients with Retinitis Pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. Much work has described patterns of spiking in retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in response to electrical stimulation, but less work has examined the underlying retinal circuitry that is activated by electrical stimulation to drive these responses. Surprisingly, little is known about the role of inhibition in generating electrical responses, or how inhibition might be altered during degeneration...

BACKGROUND: Myocardial electrical heterogeneity is critical for normal cardiac electromechanical function, but abnormal/excessive electrical heterogeneity is proarrhythmic. The spatial ventricular gradient (SVG), a vectorcardiographic measure of electrical heterogeneity, has been associated with arrhythmic events over long-term follow-up, but its relationship with short-term inducibility of ventricular arrhythmias (VAs) is unclear. OBJECTIVE: Determine associations between SVG and inducible VAs during electrophysiology study (EPS)...

BACKGROUND: Unlike expired sevoflurane concentration, propofol lacks a biomarker for its brain effect site concentration (Ce), leading to dosing imprecision particularly in infants. Electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring can serve as a biomarker for propofol Ce, yet proprietary EEG indices are not validated in infants. We evaluated spectral edge frequency (SEF95) as a propofol anesthesia biomarker in infants. We hypothesized that the SEF95 targets will vary for different clinical stimuli and an inverse relationship existed between SEF95 and propofol plasma concentration...