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Low back pain (lumbar pain) is one of the most common causes of disability in the population. In cases where conservative treatment of discogenic or musculoskeletal low back pain does not have a positive effect, interventional methods of diagnosis and treatment are used, which are developing actively on the background of rapid technological progress. Being on the border of interdisciplinary interaction, interventional methods can significantly shorten the duration of conservative therapy and, in many cases, avoid surgical decompressive interventions, which are associated with a considerable risk of complications. The methods, efficacy and safety of epidural administration of glucocorticoids for discogenic radiculopathy and lumbar stenosis as well as the methods of radiofrequency denervation for musculoskeletal pain due to the facet joints and the sacroiliac joint involvement are discussed. The possibilities of drug therapy for musculoskeletal pain of the lumbar spine, and combination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and a vitamin B complex, are discussed.

This study aimed to report the effectiveness and safety of integrative Korean Medicine (KM) for a patient who complained of chronic shoulder pain. A 54-year-old female inpatient who suffered from chronic shoulder pain received KM treatment including ultrasound-guided pharmacopuncture, acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and herbal medicine from July 31 to August 21, 2023. Pain and dysfunction were assessed using the numeric rating scale (NRS) and shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI). The patient’s overall health status was analyzed using the EuroQol five-dimensional three-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) and EuroQol visual analog scale (EQ-VAS). Adverse events were also assessed for safety evaluation. The NRS score decreased step-by-step from 4 to 1, and the SPADI score decreased from 38 to 12. EQ-5D-3L and EQ-VAS scores also increased. No severe adverse events were observed during treatment. The results indicate that integrative KM treatment may be a viable option for patients with chronic shoulder pain.

This report presents the case of a 39-year-old male with left temporomandibular joint movement disorder and left facial sensory abnormalities after a trigeminal nerve tumor removal. Integrative Korean medicine treatments, including acupuncture, electroacupuncture, pharmacoacupuncture, Chuna manual therapy, wet-cupping, and herbal medicine administration, were performed on the patient. Post treatments, the patient’s visual analog scale score for pain decreased, the Jaw Functional Limitation Scale-8 scores improved, and significant improvements in chewing and yawning were noted. The patient’s maximum unassisted opening increased to 50 mm, as confirmed using temporomandibular joint radiography. However, further research is required to evaluate the individual effects of the integrative Korean medicine treatments and their overall effectiveness.

IntroductionSarcopenia is a common age-related disease, defined as a decrease in muscle strength and function owing to reduced skeletal muscle. One way to diagnose sarcopenia is through gait analysis and foot-pressure imaging.Motivation and research gapWe collected our own multimodal dataset from 100 subjects, consisting of both foot-pressure and skeleton data with real patients, which provides a unique resource for future studies aimed at more comprehensive analyses. While artificial intelligence has been employed for sarcopenia detection, previous studies have predominantly focused on skeleton-based datasets without exploring the combined potential of skeleton and foot pressure dataset. This study conducts separate experiments for foot-pressure and skeleton datasets, it demonstrates the potential of each data type in sarcopenia classification.MethodsThis study had two components. First, we collected skeleton and foot-pressure datasets and classified them into sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups based on grip strength, gait performance, and appendicular skeletal muscle mass. Second, we performed experiments on the foot-pressure dataset using the ResNet-18 and spatiotemporal graph convolutional network (ST-GCN) models on the skeleton dataset to classify normal and abnormal gaits due to sarcopenia. For an accurate diagnosis, real-time walking of 100 participants was recorded at 30 fps as RGB + D images. The skeleton dataset was constructed by extracting 3D skeleton information comprising 25 feature points from the image, whereas the foot-pressure dataset was constructed by exerting pressure on the foot-pressure plates.ResultsAs a baseline evaluation, the accuracies of sarcopenia classification performance from foot-pressure image using Resnet-18 and skeleton sequences using ST-GCN were identified as 77.16 and 78.63%, respectively.DiscussionThe experimental results demonstrated the potential applications of sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia classifications based on foot-pressure images and skeleton sequences.

Bolting time is a critical trait that affects crop yield, adaptability, and overall productivity, making its regulation vital for agricultural success. In this study, we explored the genetic mechanisms controlling flowering time in radish (Raphanus sativus) via a combination of quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis and genome-wide association study (GWAS). By developing an F2 population from a cross between the relatively late-bolting variety ‘L432’ and the early-bolting variety ‘L285’, we identified 12 QTLs associated with bolting time. Furthermore, a GWAS performed on 60 East Asian radish accessions revealed 14 candidate genes potentially involved in flowering and bolting regulation. FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC2) was the major candidate gene explaining the early and late bolting types. One locus was commonly detected from QTL and GWAS on chromosome 4, where CONSTANS-like (COL4) is located. To validate these findings, SNP markers were designed and applied to F2 populations, revealing a correlation between marker presence and bolting phenotypes. These results offer valuable insights into the molecular control of bolting time in radish and identify candidate genes for use in marker-assisted breeding. These findings could enhance breeding efforts for optimizing bolting time in various radish markets.

Abstract Objectives Many pediatric patients with epilepsy require treatment beyond the pediatric age. These patients require transition to an adult epilepsy center. Currently, many centers worldwide run epilepsy transition programs. However, a standardized protocol does not exist in Korea. The basic data required to establish a transition program are also unavailable. We aimed to assess the status and perceptions of patients and epilepsy care providers on transition. Methods To assess the status of epilepsy transition, we retrospectively collected data from patients with epilepsy older than 18 years who visited our pediatric epilepsy clinic between March 1990 and July 2019. To assess the perception of transition, we surveyed patients, parents, pediatric neurologists (PN), and adult epileptologists (AE). Results In a retrospective chart review, 39 of 267 (14.6%) patients visited the adult epilepsy clinic after consulting a pediatric neurologist, and three patients returned to the pediatric center. The average patient age at transition was 23.29 ± 5.10 years. A total of 94 patients or their guardians and 100 experts participated in the survey. About half of the patients or guardians (44.7%) did not want to transition and emotional dependence was the commonest reason. Most patients (52.1%) thought that the appropriate age of transition was above 20 years. PNs had greater concerns about patients' compliance than AEs. Regarding the age of transition, AEs believed that a younger age (18 years) was more appropriate than PNs (20 years). Significance This study describes difficulties in the transition from pediatric to adult epilepsy centers without appropriate support. There were differences in perspectives among patients, parents, and adult and pediatric epilepsy care providers. This study can assist in creating a standardized protocol in Korea.

Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests that particulate matter (PM) exposure can trigger or worsen atopic dermatitis (AD); however, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Recently, pregnane X receptor (PXR), a xenobiotic receptor, was reported to be related to skin inflammation in AD. Objectives: This study aimed to explore the effects of PM on AD and investigate the role of PXR in PM-exposed AD. Methods: In vivo and in vitro AD-like models were employed, using BALB/c mice, immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT), and mouse CD4+ T cells. Results: Topical application of PM significantly increased dermatitis score and skin thickness in AD-likemice. PM treatment increased themRNA and protein levels of type 17 inflammatorymediators, including interleukin (IL)-17A, IL-23A, IL-1b, andIL-6, in AD-like mice and human keratinocytes. PM also activated PXR signaling, and PXR knockdown exacerbated PM-induced type 17 inflammation in human keratinocytes and mouse CD4+ T cells. In contrast, PXR activation by rifampicin (a human PXR agonist) reduced PM-induced type 17 inflammation. Mechanistically, PXR activation led to a pronounced inhibition of the nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB) pathway. Conclusion: In summary, PM exposure induces type 17 inflammation and PXR activation in AD. PXR activation reduces PM-induced type 17 inflammation by suppressing the NF-kB signaling pathway. Thus, PXR represents a promising therapeutic target for controlling the PM-induced AD aggravation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Selection of appropriate biomarker to identify inflammatory skin diseases is complicated by the involvement of thousands of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) across multiple cell types and organs. This study aimed to identify combinatorial biomarkers in inflammatory skin diseases. From one gene expression microarray profiling dataset, we performed bioinformatic analyses on dataset from lesional skin biopsies of patients with inflammatory skin diseases (atopic dermatitis [AD], contact eczema [KE], lichen planus [Li], psoriasis vulgaris [Pso]) and healthy controls to identify the involved pathways, predict upstream regulators, and potential measurable extracellular biomarkers. Overall, 434, 629, 581, and 738 DEGs were mapped in AD, KE, Li, and Pso, respectively; 238 identified DEGs were shared among four different inflammatory skin diseases. Bioinformatic analysis on four inflammatory skin diseases showed significant activation of pathways with known pathogenic relevance. Common upstream regulators, with upregulated predicted activity, identified were CNR1 and BMP4. We found the following common serum biomarkers: ACR, APOE, ASIP, CRISP1, DKK1, IL12B, IL9, MANF, MDK, NRTN, PCSK5, and VEGFC. Considerable differences of gene expression changes, involved pathways, upstream regulators, and biomarkers were found in different inflammatory skin diseases. Integrated bioinformatic analysis identified 12 potential common biomarkers of inflammatory skin diseases requiring further evaluation.