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Side Differences (side + difference)
Selected AbstractsSensory function and pain in a population of patients treated for breast cancerACTA ANAESTHESIOLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 6 2009O. J. VILHOLM Background: Chronic pain is often reported after surgery for breast cancer. This study examined pain and sensory abnormalities in women following breast cancer surgery. Methods: Sensory tests were carried out on the operated and contra-lateral side in 55 women with chronic pain after breast cancer treatment and in a reference group of 27 pain-free women, who had also undergone treatment for breast cancer. Testing included a numeric rating score of spontaneous pain, detection and pain threshold to thermal and dynamic mechanical stimuli and temporal summation to repetitive pinprick stimulation. The neuropathic pain symptom inventory was applied for participants with chronic pain. Results: The mean age was 58.6 years for the pain patients and 60.6 years for the pain-free patients. Thermal thresholds were significantly higher on the operated side than on the contra-lateral side in both groups and side difference in warmth detection threshold was significantly higher in the pain group than in the pain-free group (mean 3.8 °C vs. 1.1 °C, P=0.01). The frequency of cold allodynia was higher in participants with pain than in pain-free participants (15/53 vs. 1/25, P=0.01), and the frequency of temporal summation evoked by repetitive pinprick was higher in participants with pain than in pain-free participants (23/53 vs. 2/25, P=0.0009). The frequency of dynamic mechanical allodynia did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusion: These findings suggest that chronic pain after surgery for breast cancer is associated with sensory hyperexcitability and is a neuropathic pain condition. [source] An Evaluation of Determination of Handedness Using Standard Osteological Measurements,JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 4 2008Marie Elaine Danforth Ph.D. Abstract:, Numerous studies have assessed side dominance assuming arm bones on the side of handedness will be larger, but concerns over sample size or replicability of measurements usually emerged. Attempting to improve upon these limitations, this investigation analyzes patterns of side difference for standard length and transverse dimensions of the scapula, clavicle, humerus, ulna, and radius for 137 individuals of known handedness. The results showed that with few exceptions, the right side of the skeleton was consistently larger in most individuals regardless of side dominance. Combinations of other measurements previously suggested to be indicative of handedness as well as the use of discriminant analysis also failed to provide reliable estimators. These findings are likely related to the fact that activities of modern individuals are generally not sufficiently unilateral in their stresses to cause asymmetrical development in the arm bones. Therefore, it is recommended that other means be developed to assess side dominance. [source] Lifestyle, occupation, and whole bone morphology of the pre-Hispanic Maya coastal population from Xcambó, Yucatan, MexicoINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OSTEOARCHAEOLOGY, Issue 3 2007Isabel S. Wanner Abstract The present bioarchaeological study examines the external diaphyseal geometric properties of humeri, radii, femora and tibiae of the Classic period skeletal population of Xcambó, Yucatan, Mexico. The diaphysial proportions are evaluated using a biomechanical approach together with data from the material context and other osteological information. Our intent is to provide new answers to questions concerning lifestyle, domestic labour division and subsistence strategies of this coastal Maya settlement that was inhabited from the Late and Terminal Preclassic (300 BC,350 AD) to the Postclassic Period (900,1500 AD). Our results provide evidence for a marked sexual division of labour when compared with values from contemporaneous inland populations. The overall male and female loading patterns differ remarkably in terms of form and in bilateral comparison. A high directional asymmetry in the upper limbs is evident among males, a condition related to maritime transportation and trading activities. On the other hand, female upper limbs are characterized by very low side differences. Forces on the arms of women were probably dominated by food processing, in particular the grinding of grains or seeds. In the lower limbs, males show significantly higher anteroposterior bending strengths, which can be explained by greater engagement in transportation tasks and carrying heavy loads. In the course of the Classic period (350,900 AD), diachronic changes affect the male sample only, which suggests a shift of occupational pattern and physical demands. This shift, in turn, reflects Xcambó's changing role as the centre of a densifying settlement area and its place in the trading activities of northern Yucatan. Other topics of discussion relate to general regional trends and local prehispanic subsistence strategies. Our conclusions emphasize the value of geometric long bone analysis in the reconstruction of activity patterns and lifestyles in ancient coastal settlements. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Modelling the likelihood of levator avulsion in a urogynaecological populationAUSTRALIAN AND NEW ZEALAND JOURNAL OF OBSTETRICS AND GYNAECOLOGY, Issue 3 2010H. P. DIETZ Background:, Avulsion of the puborectalis muscle is a consequence of vaginal childbirth and associated with female pelvic organ prolapse. It can be palpated, although diagnosis by imaging seems more reliable. Aims:, To define the prior probability of avulsion based on history and gynaecological examination, in order to facilitate clinical diagnosis. Methods:, Over 3 years, 983 women had been assessed by 3D ultrasound at a tertiary urogynaecological unit. We analysed our database for predictors of puborectalis avulsion and designed a simplified predictive model with the help of backwards stepwise logistic regression. Results:, The following factors were strongly associated with the diagnosis of avulsion: age at first vaginal delivery, no stress incontinence, vaginal operative delivery, prolapse symptoms, cystocele, uterine prolapse, minimum Oxford grading of muscle strength and side differences in Oxford grading (all P < 0.001). Multivariate logistic regression produced a model that had an adjusted r2 of 37.2%, predicting 81% of cases correctly. Conclusions:, This study was undertaken to define the ,typical' patient suffering from avulsion of the puborectalis muscle, a common childbirth-related injury. Levator defects are most likely in women who had their first child by vaginal operative delivery over the age of 30 years, presenting with symptoms of prolapse without stress incontinence. [source] Effects of different topical agents on enamel demineralization around orthodontic brackets: an in vivo and in vitro studyAUSTRALIAN DENTAL JOURNAL, Issue 3 2010T Uysal Abstract Background:, The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vivo and in vitro effects of a casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) and fluoride containing topical agents in reducing enamel demineralization around orthodontic brackets, and to compare this with a control group. Methods:, Twenty-one patients and 60 extracted premolars were divided into three groups: two experimental and one control. Tooth Mousse® (CPP-ACP gel; GC-Corp, Tokyo, Japan) and Fluoridin N5® (Fluoride gel; Voco-GmbH, Cuxhaven, Germany) were applied to tooth surfaces around orthodontic brackets in the experimental groups. Teeth were extracted after 60 days to evaluate the in vivo effects of the testing materials. For the in vitro experiment, samples were cycled for 14 days through a daily procedure of demineralization. All teeth were sectioned and evaluated by superficial microhardness analysis. An indentation was made from two positions (occlusal-cervical) and one depth (10 ,m). Results:, Comparisons of occlusal and cervical microhardness scores for all specimens showed no statistically significant side differences. A multiple comparison test showed that the use of CPP-ACP and fluoride containing topical gels were more significantly efficient than the control group (p <0.001). No significant differences were detected between CPP-ACP and the fluoride groups against demineralization. Conclusions:,In vivo and in vitro evaluations indicated that CPP-ACP and fluoride containing agents successfully inhibited caries around orthodontic brackets. [source] Hemifacial spasm or somatoform disorder , postexcitatory inhibition after transcranial magnetic cortical stimulation asa diagnostic toolACTA NEUROLOGICA SCANDINAVICA, Issue 5 2000S. Kotterba Hemifacial spasm (HFS) presents a frequent movement disorder. It is thought to have an organic origin. It therefore has to be distinguished from other facial involuntary movements, especially psychogenic tics, because the therapeutic approach differs. The present study opted to evaluate the diagnostic value of the postexcitatory inhibition (pI) after transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). After stimulating the contralateral hemisphere with the conventional flat coil and recording from the mentalis muscle, in 10 healthy controls and 10 patients postexcitatory inhibition was determined. PI showed no side to side difference in healthy controls (96.9±12.7 ms right, 87.9±10.8 ms left side, interhemispheric difference 6.4±3.8 ms). In 8 patients with hemifacial spasm, the duration of pI on the non-affected side did not differ from the healthy controls (87.9±43.5 ms). During spasm, pI on the affected side shortened increasingly until no inhibition could be induced. Afterwards the spasm pI was prolonged significantly (up to 140 ms longer than opposite side) before returning to normal values. Two patients presented no side differences of pI during the "spasm". An emotional conflict situation could be evaluated, supporting the diagnosis of somatoform disorder. As postexcitatory inhibition is mainly due to cerebral mechanisms, the electrophysiological results of the study pointed to a cortical influence on the hemifacial spasm. TMS seems to be an electrophysiological tool which allows a differentiation between organic and psychogenic spasm and enables a different therapeutic approach. [source] | ||||||||||