Retur to play

BACKGROUND: Very little data exist on latissimus dorsi (LD) and teres major (TM) injuries in professional baseball pitchers. PURPOSE: This review was undertaken to report on the management and outcomes of baseball pitchers with injury to 1 or both of these muscles. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: A retrospective review of 16 professional baseball pitchers diagnosed and treated for an LD and/or TM tear between 2002 and 2008 was performed...

STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. OBJECTIVE: To determine the performance-based outcomes in elite athletes of the National Football League (NFL) after a cervical disc herniation. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA: Because outcomes after the treatment of cervical disc herniations (CDH) in elite athletes are currently unknown, the treatment decisions for this injury in professional football players are often controversial. METHODS: NFL players diagnosed with a CDH were identified through previously published protocols using team injury reports and newspaper archives...

BACKGROUND: Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a common and potentially career-threatening injury in the National Football League (NFL). The return to play (RTP) percentage and the factors affecting RTP after ACL reconstruction in NFL players are not well defined. PURPOSE: To determine the actual rate of return to professional football play in the NFL after ACL reconstruction surgery and to determine what factors can predict ability to RTP. We hypothesize that the RTP percentage in this unique patient population will differ from previously reported populations...

The enterochromaffin cells of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract secrete 400 times as much melatonin as the pineal gland; therefore, it is not surprising that research is finding that this indole plays an important role in GI functioning. In animal studies, it protects against GI ulcerations, and randomized clinical trials suggest its efficacy in treating functional dyspepsia and irritable bowel syndrome. Melatonin administration has been shown to protect against esophageal lesions in animals. Moreover, in a randomized, single-blind clinical trial of subjects with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), the combination of melatonin with other natural supplements was found to be superior to omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor (PPI)...

Trypsins constitute some of the most abundant midgut digestive proteases expressed by hematophagous insects upon blood feeding. In addition to their role in the digestion of the blood meal, these proteases also have been implicated in the ability of certain pathogens to infect their natural vector. In sand flies, digestive proteases including trypsins were associated with early killing of Leishmania and are believed to play a role in the species-specificity dictating sand fly vectorial capacity. Our group is involved in studies of midgut digestive proteases in the sand fly Lutzomyia longipalpis, the principal vector of visceral leishmaniasis in Brazil...

Pax6, a member of the highly conserved developmental Pax gene family, plays a crucial role in early eye development and continues to be expressed in adult retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). Here we have used Western blots and immunohistochemistry to investigate the expression of Pax6 in the formation and refinement of topographic projections during optic nerve regeneration in zebrafish and lizard. In zebrafish with natural (12-h light/dark cycle) illumination, Pax6 expression in RGCs was decreased during axon outgrowth and increased during the restoration of the retinotectal map...

The paradigm that B cell response to self antigens (Ag) is promoted by antibodies (Ab) has become unsatisfactory. Studies over the last decade have indeed revealed that B cells serve extraordinarily diverse functions within the immune system other than Ab production. They normally play a role in the development in the regulation, as well as the activation of lymphoid architecture, regulating dentritic cells and T cell subsets function through cytokine production. Receptor editing is also essential in B cells and aids in preventing autoimmunity...

Recent evidence has suggested that cardiac factors may play a role in the evolution of arterial hypertension. To test the possibility that an increase in cardiac-performance can lead to a sustained increase in systemic blood pressure, we electrically stimulated the left stellate ganglion of six conscious dogs continuously for a 7-day period and monitored cardiac output and arterial blood pressure. In all six dogs, stimulation elicited an abrupt rise in systemic blood pre-sure that was entirely due to rise in cardiac output that lasted at least 6 hours...