Terwiel

INTRODUCTION: Chronic discogenic low back pain (CD-LBP) is caused by degenerated disks marked by neural and vascular ingrowth. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has been shown to be effective for pain relief in patients who are not responsive to conventional treatments. Previously, the pain-relieving effect of two variations of SCS has been evaluated in CD-LBP: Burst SCS and L2 dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRGS). The aim of this study is to compare the effectivity in pain relief and pain experience of Burst SCS with that of conventional L2 DRGS in patients with CD-LBP...

Gas vesicles are gas-filled nanocompartments that allow a diverse group of bacteria and archaea to control their buoyancy. The molecular basis of their properties and assembly remains unclear. Here, we report the 3.2 Å cryo-EM structure of the gas vesicle shell made from the structural protein GvpA that self-assembles into hollow helical cylinders closed off by cone-shaped tips. Two helical half shells connect through a characteristic arrangement of GvpA monomers, suggesting a mechanism of gas vesicle biogenesis...

A cyclist's performance depends critically on the generated average mechanical power output (AMPO). The instantaneous mechanical power output equals the product of crank angular velocity, crank length, and the tangential pedal force. Radial pedal forces do not contribute to mechanical power. It has been suggested that radial pedal forces arise from sub-optimal pedalling technique and that limiting these would increase AMPO and efficiency. Here, we presented an optimal control musculoskeletal model of a cyclist (consisting of five segments driven by eight Hill-type muscle-tendon units) to predict maximal AMPO during sprint cycling at different levels of allowed radial pedal forces...

BACKGROUND: Radiofrequency (RF) treatment of the genicular nerves has the potential to reduce chronic knee pain due to osteoarthritis or persistent postsurgical pain, however, a direct comparison between the two main modalities used, conventional and cooled, is lacking. METHODS: This double blind, non-inferiority, pilot, randomized controlled trial compared the effects of cooled and conventional RF in chronic knee pain patients suffering from osteoarthritis or persistent postsurgical pain after total knee arthroplasty...

INTRODUCTION: Chronic discogenic low back pain (CD-LBP) is caused by degeneration of the disc due to trauma to the annulus or by unprovoked degeneration, resulting in chronic pain. Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) employing the BurstDR™ waveform has been shown to be an effective treatment in a variety of chronic pain conditions. The aim of this prospective case study was to determine the effect of BurstDR™ SCS on pain relief, disability, and patient satisfaction in a population with CD-LBP...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Genetic analysis is emerging for interstitial lung diseases (ILDs); however, ILD practices are not yet standardized. We surveyed patients', relatives' and pulmonologists' experiences and needs on genetic testing in ILD to evaluate the current situation and identify future needs. METHODS: A clinical epidemiologist (MT) together with members of the ERS taskforce and representatives of the European Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis and related disorders Federation (EU-IPFF) patient organisation developed a survey for patients, relatives and pulmonologists...

INTRODUCTION: After an interpretation trajectory, the Dutch Quality of Healthcare Institute recommended that for five indications, spinal cord stimulation, dorsal root ganglion stimulation, or occipital nerve stimulation, together referred to as neurostimulation, can be considered effective and be reimbursed in the Netherlands. These five indications are the well and largely studied, accepted neurostimulation indications in scientific literature. As an extension of this, all the scientific societies involved in the Netherlands were required to reach a consensus about the diagnosis and treatment of these five formulated indications to describe the place of neurostimulation within the treatment algorithm...

BACKGROUND: The presence of familial interstitial lung disease (ILD) has been found to predict development of progressive pulmonary fibrosis. However, the role of non-ILD lung diseases in ILD patients' families has not yet been investigated. We aimed to identify associations between ILDs and non-ILD lung diseases from ILD patients' self-reported family health history. METHODS: We analysed questionnaires on family health history of 1164 ILD patients for the occurrence of ILD and non-ILD lung disease in relatives...

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Ultrasound imaging is one of the most widely used modalities in clinical practice, revealing human prenatal development but also arterial function in the adult brain. Ultrasound waves travel deep within soft biological tissues and provide information about the motion and mechanical properties of internal organs. A drawback of ultrasound imaging is its limited ability to detect molecular targets due to a lack of cell-type specific acoustic contrast. To date, this limitation has been addressed by targeting synthetic ultrasound contrast agents to molecular targets...

OBJECTIVES: This research explores snowsport injury trends in western Canadian resorts over the decade 2008-2018. DESIGN: Ecological study. METHODS: Injury and participation data on alpine skiing and snowboarding was provided by the Canada West Ski Areas Association for 2008-2018. Inclusion criteria were met by 29 of 52 resorts, resulting in the analysis of 107,540 injury reports via SPSS 24, using descriptive statistics and chi-squared analysis...

To slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the German government released the "Corona-Warn-App", a smartphone application that warns users if they have come into contact with other users tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Since using the "Corona-Warn-App" is health-relevant behavior, it is essential to understand who is (and who is not) using it and why. In N = 1,972 German adults, we found that non-users were on average older, female, healthier, in training, and had low general trust in others...

RATIONALE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has dramatically altered people's social lives due to social restriction measures taken to control the coronavirus spread. Early on, increased loneliness has been publicly discussed as a harmful psychological side effect of these measures. Due to the serious adverse health consequences of loneliness, it is essential to take these concerns seriously and investigate them systematically to allow for evidence-based decision making...

The continuous development and evolvement of sports provide a challenge for researchers who study psychological correlates and consequences of sports, as no single study can include all sports and results cannot easily be generalized across different sports. In this preregistered study, we present a new way of distinguishing sports based on the eight DIAMONDS situational characteristics: Duty, Intellect, Adversity, Mating, pOsitivity, Negativity, Deception, and Sociality. In a cross-sectional online survey, athletes were asked to judge the sport they perform on the eight DIAMONDS dimensions...

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the proprioceptive ability of advanced and expert snowsport participants increased with time on-snow, and whether gender, age, snowsport discipline and/or previous ankle injury were factors in proprioceptive ability at the start of the winter snow season (T1, n=80) compared to mid- season (T2, n=39). DESIGN: Observational study METHOD: Participants completed a questionnaire at T1, and proprioception was measured at T1 and T2 by the Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus (AMEDA), which tests lower limb proprioception...

Longstanding research suggests a positive relation between physical activity and health. However, when investigating this relation most studies focused on the absence of disease or infirmity as health indicators. The relation between physical activity and positive health-related constructs such as subjective well-being (SWB) remains oftentimes unexplored. The present meta-analysis offers a rigorous test of the relation between physical activity and SWB in healthy individuals, by including all different kinds of physical activity and SWB facets from childhood to old age...

OBJECTIVES: This research explores snowsport head injury trends in western Canadian resorts over the decade 2008-2018. DESIGN: Ecological study. METHODS: Head-injury and participation data on alpine skiing and snowboarding (snowsports) was provided by the Canada West Ski Areas Association (CWSAA) for 2008-2018. Injury reports from the ski patrol of 52 western Canadian resorts were analysed. 29 resorts were included where there was both injury and participation data for at least 8 out of 10 seasons, resulting in analysis of 10,371 reports...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sarcoidosis is an immune-mediated disease of unknown cause. Immune-mediated diseases appear to cluster in patients and in families. We review what is known on this topic for sarcoidosis, and what factors may underlie disease clustering. RECENT FINDINGS: In populations of patients with sarcoidosis, relative risk estimates of Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune hepatitis, ankylosing spondylitis, multiple sclerosis (MS), celiac disease, autoimmune thyroid disease, and ulcerative colitis, varied between 2...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sarcoidosis is an immune-mediated disease of unknown cause. Immune-mediated diseases appear to cluster in patients and in families. We review what is known on this topic for sarcoidosis, and what factors may underlie disease clustering. RECENT FINDINGS: In populations of patients with sarcoidosis, relative risk estimates of Sjögren's syndrome, systemic lupus erythematosus, autoimmune hepatitis, ankylosing spondylitis, multiple sclerosis (MS), celiac disease, autoimmune thyroid disease, and ulcerative colitis, varied between 2...

INTRODUCTION: Although the presence of familial sarcoidosis has been confirmed, clinical and epidemiological data on its characteristics are scattered and sometimes paradoxical. The objective of this review is to assess what is known on the clinical epidemiology of familial sarcoidosis, by combining data from early case reports with recent population based data; aiming to support in clinical decision making and providing information to patients. METHOD: A systematic review of the literature in PubMed was done and 27 studies with clinical or epidemiological data on familial sarcoidosis, published between 1947 and 2017, were included...