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Background Pain is the most common symptom in patients with neoplasm. It is a distressing experience that seriously destructs the quality-of-life of patients, with a high prevalence in clinical observations. However, only a few studies have applied bibliometric methods to analyze systematic works on the comorbidity of cancer and pain. Purpose The aim of this work was to conduct a systematic analysis of the scientific studies worldwide on the comorbidity of cancer and pain in 2010–2019. Methods The Web of Science databases were searched for publications related to the comorbidity of cancer and pain from 2010 to 2019. Results A total of 3,423 papers met the inclusion criteria in this research. The increase in the quantity of papers presented a significant growth from 2010 to 2019 (P

Background: Neuropathic pain (NP), a severe and disruptive symptom following many diseases, normally restricts patients' physical functions and leads to anxiety and depression. As an economical and effective therapy, exercise may be helpful in NP management. However, few guidelines and reviews focused on exercise therapy for NP associated with specific diseases. The study aimed to summarize the effectiveness and efficacy of exercise for various diseases with NP supported by evidence, describe expert recommendations for NP from different causes, and inform policymakers of the guidelines.Design: A systematic review and expert consensus.Methods: A systematic search was conducted in PubMed. We included systematic review and meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials (RCTs), which assessed patients with NP. Studies involved exercise intervention and outcome included pain intensity at least. Physiotherapy Evidence Database and the Assessment of Multiple Systematic reviews tool were used to grade the quality assessment of the included RCTs and systematic reviews, respectively. The final grades of recommendation were based on strength of evidence and a consensus discussion of results of Delphi rounds by the Delphi consensus panel including 21 experts from the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine.Results: Eight systematic reviews and 21 RCTs fulfilled all of the inclusion criteria and were included, which were used to create the 10 evidence-based consensus statements. The 10 expert recommendations regarding exercise for NP symptoms were relevant to the following 10 different diseases: spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, cervical radiculopathy, sciatica, diabetic neuropathy, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, HIV/AIDS, and surgery, respectively. The exercise recommended in the expert consensus involved but was not limited to muscle stretching, strengthening/resistance exercise, aerobic exercise, motor control/stabilization training and mind-body exercise (Tai Chi and yoga).Conclusions: Based on the available evidence, exercise is helpful to alleviate NP intensity. Therefore, these expert consensuses recommend that proper exercise programs can be considered as an effective alternative treatment or complementary therapy for most patients with NP. The expert consensus provided medical staff and policymakers with applicable recommendations for the formulation of exercise prescription for NP. This consensus statement will require regular updates after five–ten years.

Objective: Neuropathic pain (NP) associated with depression or anxiety is highly prevalent in clinical practice. Publications about NP associated with depression or anxiety increased exponentially from 2000 to 2020. However, studies that applied the bibliometric method in analyzing global scientific research about NP associated with depression or anxiety are rare. This work used the bibliometric method to analyze the publications on NP associated with depression or anxiety between 2000 and 2020.Method: Publications from 2000 and 2020 were identified from the Thomson Reuters Web of Science (WoS) database. We employed CiteSpace V to conduct the bibliometric study.Results: A total of 915 articles or reviews were obtained from the WoS database. The number of publications has increased over the last two decades. The USA was the most productive among countries or regions in the field. According to the burst key words, neuroinflammation, hippocampus, safety, and modulation were the hot global research issues in the domain.Conclusion: Publications about NP associated with depression or anxiety have remarkably increased from 2000 to 2020. These historical opinions about NP associated with depression or anxiety could be an important practical basis for further research into potential development trends.

Background. Neuropathic pain has long been a very popular and productive field of clinical research. Neuropathic pain is difficult to cure radically because of its complicated etiology and uncertain pathogenesis. As pain worsens and persists, pain recovery techniques become more important, and medication alone is insufficient. No summary of bibliometric studies on neuropathic pain rehabilitation is yet available. The purpose of the present study is to analyze in a systematic manner the trends of neuropathic pain rehabilitation research over the period of 2000–2019. Methods. Studies related to neuropathic pain rehabilitation and published between January 2000 and December 2019 were obtained from the Science Citation Index-Expanded of Web of Science. No restrictions on language, literature type, or species were established. CiteSpace V and Microsoft Excel were used to capture basic information and highlights in the field. Results. Linear regression analysis showed that the number of publications on neuropathic pain rehabilitation significantly increased over time ( P < 0.001 ). The United States showed absolute strength in terms of number of papers published, influence, and cooperation with other countries. Based on the subject categories of the Web of Science, “Rehabilitation” had the highest number of published papers (446), the highest number of citations (10,954), and the highest number of open-access papers (151); moreover, this category and “Clinical Neurology” had the same H -index (i.e., 52). “Randomized Controlled Trials” revealed the largest cluster in the cocitation map of references. The latest burst keywords included “Exercise” (2014–2019), “Functional Recovery” (2015–2019), and “Questionnaire” (2015–2019). Conclusion. This study provides valuable information for neuropathic pain rehabilitation researchers seeking fresh viewpoints related to collaborators, cooperative institutions, and popular topics in this field. Some new research trends are also highlighted.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is common and affects approximately 15% of individuals at different ages and activity levels. As a non-surgical intervention, physiotherapy is widely used to treat PFPS. Neuromuscular training exercise is one of the most effective methods for decreasing musculoskeletal pain and improving knee function. However, the effectiveness of neuromuscular training exercise for treating PFPS is not without argument. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of neuromuscular training exercise on patellofemoral pain and whether the neuromuscular training exercise have more advantage effects than taping and health education. We will operate a prospective, single-blind, randomized controlled trial of 60 patients with patellofemoral pain. Individuals will be indiscriminately assigned to two intervention groups and a health education group. The neuromuscular training exercise which includes the muscle strength training, balance training and knee joint proprioception training, and taping group will use “Y” and “I” type taping on the participants three times a week for three months. The health education group will be given education lectures once each week and which last for three months. The primary outcome measures include the adverse events, visual analog scale for pain, and Anterior Knee Pain Scale Index, which is a knee function self-report questionnaire to evaluate the function of the knee especially for PFPS patients. The secondary outcome measures are the muscle strength and endurance of knee joint flexion and extensor muscles, knee joint proprioception, muscle thickness of the quadriceps femoris, knee function ability, and quality of life. We will manage the intention-to-treat analysis for individuals who will withdraw from this study. According to previous studies, neuromuscular training exercise and the taping method are effective treatment for PFPS patients. In this study, we will perform a neuromuscular training exercise for patients with PFPS. We believe that this study may prove the effectiveness of neuromuscular training exercise in treating PFPS. Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, ChiCTR1800014995 . Registered on 27 February 2018.

Objective: To confirm the benefits of whole-body vibration exercise for pain intensity and functional disability in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain. Design: Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Setting: Outpatient. Subjects: Eighty-nine patients with non-specific chronic low back pain met the inclusion criteria, they were randomly allocated to either the intervention group ( n = 45) or the control group ( n = 44). Intervention: The intervention group received whole-body vibration exercises three times a week for 12 weeks. The control group received general exercise protocol three times a week for 12 weeks. Main outcomes: The primary outcome measures were pain intensity and functional disability measured by the visual analog scale scores and Oswestry Disability Index. The secondary outcome measures included lumbar joint position sense, quality of life (Short Form Health Survey 36) and overall treatment effect (Global Perceived Effect). Results: A total of 84 subjects completed the 12-week study program. After 12 weeks, compared with the control group, the mean visual analog scale and Oswestry Disability Index scores decreased by additional 1 point (95% confidence interval (CI) = –1.22 to −0.78; P Conclusion: The study demonstrated that whole-body vibration exercise could provide more benefits than general exercise for relieving pain and improving functional disability in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain.

Objective. The objective of this study is to determine the effect of whole-body vibration (WBV) exercise on the anticipatory delay of core muscles in nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) patients. Methods. Forty participants with NSLBP were randomly divided into the WBV group and the control group. The sEMG signals of deltoid, erector spines (ES), multifidus (MF), rectus abdominis (RA), and transversus abdominus/internal oblique muscles (TrA/IO) were recorded before and after the intervention in the weight-shifting task. The relative activation time of each muscle was calculated. Results. In the WBV group, the relative activation time of bilateral MF and bilateral TrA/IO was significantly reduced on shoulder flexion (right MF: P = 0.014 ; left MF: P = 0.011 ; right TrA/IO: P = 0.008 ; left TrA/IO: P = 0.026 ). As for shoulder abduction, except for the left TrA/IO and the left RA, the relative activation time of other muscles was significantly reduced (right ES: P = 0.001 ; left ES: P < 0.001 ; right MF: P = 0.001 ; left MF: P = 0.009 ; right TrA/IO: P < 0.001 ; right RA: P = 0.001 ). In the control group, there was no significant difference in the relative activation time of each muscle before and after the intervention ( P > 0.05 ). Conclusions. WBV exercise can effectively alleviate the anticipatory delay of core muscles in NSLBP patients, but the long-term effects still need further study. This trial is registered with ChiCTR-TRC-13003708.

As of May 5, 2020, the number of confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases has been more than 3.5 million with 243,540 deaths. We aimed to determine the associations between ageing population, median age, life expectancy at birth and COVID-19 mortality. The numbers of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the European region were obtained from the World Health Organization database. The data on percentage of the population aged 65 and over, median age and life expectancy at birth were extracted from the World Factbook of Central Intelligence Agency. A total of 56 countries/areas in the Europe reported COVID-19 cases and deaths (1,121,853 cases and 100,938 deaths) on April 20, 2020. The results showed significant positive associations between COVID-19 mortality and ageing population (r =0.274; P =0.021), median age (r =0.255; P=0.029), male median age (r =0.284; P =0.017), female median age (r =0.224; P=0.049), life expectancy at birth (r =0.336; P=0.006), male life expectancy at birth (r =0.342; P=0.005), female life expectancy at birth (r =0.312; P=0.01) in the 56 European countries/areas. This study illustrated that COVID-19 mortality was positively associated with ageing population, median age, and life expectancy at birth.

Objective: To investigate the effects of surgical versus non-operative treatment on the physical function and safety of patients with lumbar disc herniation. Data sources: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, EBSCO, Web of Science, China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Chinese Biomedical Literature Database were searched from initiation to 15 May 2017. Methods: Randomized controlled trials that evaluated surgical versus non-operative treatment for patients with lumbar disc herniation were selected. The primary outcomes were pain and side-effects. Secondary outcomes were function and health-related quality of life. A random effects model was used to calculate the pooled mean difference with 95% confidence interval. Results: A total of 19 articles that involved 2272 participants met the inclusion criteria. Compared with non-operative treatment, surgical treatment was more effective in lowering pain (short term: mean difference = −0.94, 95% confidence interval = −1.87 to −0.00; midterm: mean difference = −1.59, 95% confidence interval = −2.24 to −9.94), improving function (midterm: mean difference = −7.84, 95% confidence interval = −14.00 to −1.68; long term: mean difference = −12.21, 95% confidence interval = −23.90 to −0.52) and quality of life. The 36-item Short-Form Health Survey for physical functions (short term: mean difference = 6.25, 95% confidence interval = 0.43 to 12.08) and bodily pain (short term: mean difference = 5.42, 95% confidence interval = 0.40 to 10.45) was also utilized. No significant difference was observed in adverse events (mean difference = 0.82, 95% confidence interval = 0.28 to 2.38). Conclusion: Low-quality evidence suggested that surgical treatment is more effective than non-operative treatment in improving physical functions; no significant difference was observed in adverse events. No firm recommendation can be made due to instability of the summarized data.

Background:Low back pain (LBP) affects about 80% of the population at some time in their lives. Exercise therapy is the most widely used nonsurgical intervention for low back pain in practice. Thus, whole-body vibration (WBV) exercise is becoming increasingly popular in relieving musculoskel

This study aims to examine the correlations between lumbar neuromuscular function and pain, lumbar disability in patients with nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP). Ninety patients, with ages 18 to 37 years old, with NSLBP were recruited in this study. The lumbar neuromuscular function was tested by the CON-TREX multijoint isokinetic test and training machine. This study uses the visual analog scale (VAS) and Roland–Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ) to evaluate the pain and the dysfunction index of patients who have low back pain, respectively. Pearson correlation coefficient is used to evaluate the correlation between lumbar neuromuscular function and the VAS and RMDQ scores. VAS and RMDQ scores have correlations with the proprioception in the flexion of the lumbar vertebra flexion; the peak torque of both flexion and extension muscle groups; and average power and endurance at different angular velocities. The decrease of lumbar muscle strength, endurance, and lumbar proprioception of the lumbar vertebra leads to an increase in pain intensity and lumbar disability. This study suggests that patients with chronic low back pain require targeted training in muscle strength, endurance, and lumbar proprioception, providing a theoretical basis for prevention and treatment of chronic NSLBP patients.

Background/Aim: It remains unclear how wallerian degeneration of the pyramidal tract (PT) in the acute phase of supratentorial intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) correlates with the long-term functional outcome. The aim of this study was to quantify and predict the long-term neuromotor outcome using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) during the early stages of ICH. Methods: Twenty-seven patients with a hemiparetic ICH were prospectively studied using DTI either within 3 days or at 2 weeks after onset. A region-of-interest-based analysis was performed for fractional anisotropy (FA) of the PT in the cerebral peduncle. The degree of paresis was assessed upon admission and at 6 months using paresis grading (PG), and the functional outcome was evaluated using the modified Rankin Scale (mRS). The activities of daily living were evaluated using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Results: The FA values within 3 days and after 2 weeks of ICH onset were significantly decreased at the affected side (p = 0.001, reduced by 11%; p < 0.001, reduced by 14%, respectively), but the mean diffusivity at the same time points remained unchanged (p = 0.05 and p = 0.136, respectively). The ratio of the FA (rFA) at the affected side to that of the unaffected side within 3 days was negatively correlated with the PG (p < 0.001, r = –0.642), positively correlated with the FIM scores (p = 0.004, r = 0.532), and negatively correlated with the mRS scores at the end of follow-up (median = 17 months) (p = 0.010, r = –0.490). The rFA at 2 weeks was positively correlated with the FIM (p < 0.001, r = 0.661) and negatively correlated with mRS scores and PG at the end of follow-up (p < 0.001, r = –0.653; p < 0.001, r = –0.700). For both patients with good and poor outcomes based on the PG, the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve for rFA at 2 weeks was greater than the area under the ROC for rFA within 3 days, and the cutoff point for the rFA at 2 weeks was set at 0.875 (sensitivity 76%, specificity 89%). Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the use of DTI during the early stages of ICH may predict motor outcomes at 6 months after ICH. Moreover, as compared to use of DTI within 3 days of ICH onset, the application of DTI at 2 weeks after ICH could more accurately predict the motor outcomes and daily living activities of patients.

We have demonstrated the electroosmotic flow (EOF) pumping in a dielectrophoresis (DEP)-formed virtual microchannel by applying a DC electric field across the microchannel. The geometry of wall-less virtual microchannel was determined by the electrode patterns. A test device with single-layer electrode on both top and bottom plates are prepared by photolithography to generate an appropriate electric field and form a virtual channel on the chip. Neutral fluorescent polystyrene beads are used to indicate the velocity of EOF. Liquid pumping at the velocity of 219.39 µm/s is achieved when the applied DC electric field is 26.67 V/cm.