To evaluate effectiveness of positive expiratory pressure blow-bottle device compared to expiratory positive airway pressure and conventional physiotherapy on pulmonary function in postoperative cardiac surgery patients in intensive care unit.

A randomized controlled trial.

Tertiary care.

48 patients (16 in each group; aged 64.5 ± 9.1 years, 38 male) submitted to cardiac surgery.

Patients were randomized into conventional physiotherapy (G1), positive expiratory pressure blow-bottle device (G2) or expiratory positive airway pressure, both associated with conventional physiotherapy (G3). G2 and G3 performed three sets of 10 repetitions in each session for each technique.

Pulmonary function (primary); respiratory muscle strength, radiological changes, pulmonary complications, length of intensive care unit and hospital stay (secondary) assessed preoperatively and on the 3rd postoperative day.

Pulmonary function (except for forced expiratory volume in one second/ forced vital capacity % predicted) and respiratory muscle strength showed significant reduction from the preoperative to the 3rd postoperative in all groups (

 < 0.001), with no difference between groups (

 > 0.05). Regarding radiological changes, length of intensive care unit stay and length of hospital stay, there was no significant difference between groups (

 > 0.05).

Both positive expiratory pressure techniques associated with conventional physiotherapy were similar, but there was no difference regarding the use of positive expiratory pressure compared to conventional physiotherapy.

NCT03639974.https//clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03639974.

NCT03639974.https//clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03639974.

To determine the clinical results of custom-made foot orthoses versus placebo flat cushioning insoles combined with an extracorporeal shock wave therapy on pain and foot functionality in patients with plantar fasciitis.

A randomised controlled clinical trial with follow-up at six months. Faculty of Podiatry and Centre Clinical private of Physiotherapy, Seville, Spain.

Patients with plantar fasciitis were randomly assigned to either group A (

 = 42), which received custom-made foot orthoses, or group B (

 = 41), which received placebo insoles. All the participants received active extracorporeal shock wave therapy including stretching exercises. Recruitment period was from Mach 2019 to July 2020.

The main outcome was foot pain, measured by visual analogue scale and the secondary outcome measures were recorded by Roles and Maudsley scores respectively, at the beginning and at one week, one month and six months.

Eighty-eight patients were assessed for eligibility. Eighty-three patients were recruited and randomised. This study showed significant differences between both groups according to the visual analogue scale. In control group, the difference was at baseline (

0.01) and, in the experimental group was at the one- and six-month follow-up (

0.001). The mean (SD) visual analogue scale at baseline were Control group 6.31 (1.69) and Experimental group 5.27 (1.64); and at six months were 7.52 (3.40) and 3.29 (4.26), respectively. The custom-made foot orthosis was perceived as ‘good’ (85%) and ‘excellent’ (97.5%) at medium-long term.

Wearing a custom-made foot orthosis leads to a improvement in patients with plantar fasciitis; it reduced foot pain and improved foot functionality.

Wearing a custom-made foot orthosis leads to a improvement in patients with plantar fasciitis; it reduced foot pain and improved foot functionality.Unique, functional, homodimeric heavy chain-only antibodies, devoid of light chains, are circulating in the blood of Camelidae. These antibodies recognize their cognate antigen via one single domain, known as VHH or Nanobody. This serendipitous discovery made three decades ago has stimulated a growing number of researchers to generate highly specific Nanobodies against a myriad of targets. The small size, strict monomeric state, robustness, and easy tailoring of these Nanobodies have inspired many groups to design innovative Nanobody-based multi-domain constructs to explore novel applications. As such, Nanobodies have been employed as an exquisite research tool in structural, cell, and developmental biology. Furthermore, Nanobodies have demonstrated their benefit for more sensitive diagnostic tests. Finally, several Nanobody-based constructs have been designed to develop new therapeutic products.Significance There is still no cure for neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). Current treatments are based on the attempt to reduce dopaminergic neuronal loss, and multidisciplinary approaches have been used to provide only a temporary symptoms’ relief. In addition to the difficulties of drugs developed against PD to access the brain, the specificity of those inhibitory compounds could be a concern. This because neurons might degenerate by activating distinct signaling pathways, which are often initiated by the same stimulus. Recent Advances Apoptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis were shown to significantly contribute to PD progression and, so far, are the main death programs described as capable to alter brain homeostasis. Their activation is characterized by different biochemical and morphological features, some of which might even share the same molecular players. Critical Issues If there is a pathological need to engage, in PD, multiple death programs, sequentially or simultaneously, is not clear yet. Possibly the activation of apoptosis, necroptosis, and/or ferroptosis correlates to different PD stages and symptom severities. This would imply that the efficacy of therapeutic approaches against neuronal death might depend on the death program they target and the relevance of this death pathway on a specific PD phase. selleck products Future Directions In this review, we describe the molecular mechanisms underlying the activation of apoptosis, necroptosis, and ferroptosis in PD. Understanding the interrelationship between different death pathways’ activation in PD is of utmost importance for the development of therapeutic approaches against disease progression.