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Pathogenesis and Novel Therapeutics in Musculoskeletal Conditions: Volume II

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A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular and Translational Medicine".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 4041

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Juan Antonio Valera-Calero

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Guest Editor

VALTRADOFI Research Group, Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health, Universidad Camilo José Cela, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain.
Interests: ultrasound imaging; neck pain; low back pain; myofascial pain syndromes; elastography; chronic pain; dry needling; manual therapy
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Prof. Dr. Gustavo Plaza-Manzano

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Guest Editor

Department of Radiology, Rehabilitation and Physiotherapy, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
Interests: manual therapy; myofascial pain syndromes; neuropathic pain; neck pain; low back pain; chronic pain
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Musculoskeletal disorders are the leading contributor to disability around the world. Although most of musculoskeletal conditions are commonly characterized by pain, there are more than 150 different conditions affecting joints (e.g., osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis), bones (e.g., osteoporosis and fractures), and muscles (e.g., myofascial pain syndromes and sarcopenia). Basic and clinical research studies currently aim to understand the pathogenesis peculiarities of each musculoskeletal condition to provide clinicians with evidence-based diagnosis and management recommendations.

This Special Issue centered around musculoskeletal disorders intends to collect high-quality articles on the pathogenesis of different musculoskeletal conditions (e.g., molecular mechanisms and the identification of risk factors associated with specific conditions) and novel effective multidisciplinary therapeutics to provide clinicians with novel and evidence-supported recommendations.

Dr. Juan Antonio Valera-Calero
Prof. Dr. Gustavo Plaza-Manzano
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomedicines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

neck pain
low back pain
myofascial pain syndromes
chronic pain
musculoskeletal disorders
disability
pain treatment

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 2203 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Calsarcin-2 May Play a Compensatory Role in the Development of Obese Sarcopenia

by Yu-Cheng Liang, Kai-Pi Cheng, Hsin-Yu Kuo, Chung-Teng Wang, Hsuan-Wen Chou, Kuan-Lin Huang, Hung-Tsung Wu and Horng-Yih Ou

Biomedicines 2023, 11(10), 2708; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11102708 - 05 Oct 2023

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Abstract

Although obese sarcopenia is a major public health problem with increasing prevalence worldwide, the factors that contribute to the development of obese sarcopenia are still obscure. In order to clarify this issue, a high-fat-diet-induced obese sarcopenia mouse model was utilized. After being fed with a high-fat diet for 24 weeks, decreased motor functions and muscle mass ratios were found in the C57BL/6 mice. In addition, the expression of calsarcin-2 was significantly increased in their skeletal muscle, which was determined by a microarray analysis. In order to clarify the role of calsarcin-2 in muscle, lentiviral vectors containing the calsarcin-2 gene or short hairpin RNA targeted to calsarcin-2 were used to manipulate calsarcin-2 expressions in L6 myoblasts. We found that an overexpression of calsarcin-2 facilitated L6 myoblast differentiation, whereas a calsarcin-2 knockdown delayed myoblast differentiation, as determined by the expression of myogenin. However, the calsarcin-2 knockdown showed no significant effects on myoblast proliferation. In addition, to clarify the relationship between serum calsarcin-2 and sarcopenia, the bilateral gastrocnemius muscle mass per body weight in mice and appendicular skeletal muscle mass index in humans were measured. Although calsarcin-2 facilitated myoblast differentiation, the serum calsarcin-2 concentration was negatively related to skeletal muscle mass index in mice and human subjects. Taken together, calsarcin-2 might facilitate myoblast differentiation and appear to play a compensatory role in sarcopenia. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenesis and Novel Therapeutics in Musculoskeletal Conditions: Volume II)

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14 pages, 5008 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reversible Effects of Functional Mandibular Lateral Shift on Masticatory Muscles in Growing Rats

by Hao Guan, Ikuo Yonemitsu, Yuhei Ikeda and Takashi Ono

Biomedicines 2023, 11(8), 2126; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11082126 - 27 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 964

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to determine the effects of functional mandibular lateral shift (FMLS) on the muscle mass, fiber size, myosin heavy chain fiber type, and related gene expression in masticatory muscles (masseter and temporalis), as well as whether the baseline levels could be recovered after FMLS correction in growing rats. The FMLS appliance was placed to shift the mandible leftward by approximately 2 mm. After FMLS placement for 2 and 4 weeks, the muscles on the left side had significantly lower wet weight, mean cross-sectional area, and proportion of type IIa fibers than those on the right side or in the control groups (p < 0.05), with downregulation and upregulation of IGF-1 and GDF-8 gene expression, respectively (p < 0.05). Following 2 weeks devoted to recovery from FMLS, the muscle parameters in the recovery group were not significantly different to those of the control group, and IGF-1 expression in the left-side muscles was enhanced and GDF-8 expression was simultaneously suppressed. These findings indicate that the masticatory muscle changes induced via FMLS tend to revert to normal conditions if the intervention is eliminated at an early stage. Therefore, appropriate orthodontic treatment for FMLS during the growth period is advisable to prevent asymmetric alterations in masticatory muscles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenesis and Novel Therapeutics in Musculoskeletal Conditions: Volume II)

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Review

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17 pages, 1517 KiB

Open AccessReview

Aerobic Exercise and Neuropathic Pain: Insights from Animal Models and Implications for Human Therapy

by Jorge Ruimonte-Crespo, Gustavo Plaza-Manzano, María José Díaz-Arribas, Marcos José Navarro-Santana, José Javier López-Marcos, Raúl Fabero-Garrido, Tamara Seijas-Fernández and Juan Antonio Valera-Calero

Biomedicines 2023, 11(12), 3174; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11123174 - 29 Nov 2023

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Abstract

This narrative review explores the complex relationship between aerobic exercise (AE) and neuropathic pain (NP), particularly focusing on peripheral neuropathies of mechanical origin. Pain, a multifaceted phenomenon, significantly impacts functionality and distress. The International Association for the Study of Pain’s definition highlights pain’s biopsychosocial nature, emphasizing the importance of patient articulation. Neuropathic pain, arising from various underlying processes, presents unique challenges in diagnosis and treatment. Our methodology involved a comprehensive literature search in the PubMed and SCOPUS databases, focusing on studies relating AE to NP, specifically in peripheral neuropathies caused by mechanical forces. The search yielded 28 articles and 1 book, primarily animal model studies, providing insights into the efficacy of AE in NP management. Results from animal models demonstrate that AE, particularly in forms like no-incline treadmill and swimming, effectively reduces mechanical allodynia and thermal hypersensitivity associated with NP. AE influences neurophysiological mechanisms underlying NP, modulating neurotrophins, cytokines, and glial cell activity. These findings suggest AE’s potential in attenuating neurophysiological alterations in NP. However, human model studies are scarce, limiting the direct extrapolation of these findings to human neuropathic conditions. The few available studies indicate AE’s potential benefits in peripheral NP, but a lack of specificity in these studies necessitates further research. In conclusion, while animal models show promising results regarding AE’s role in mitigating NP symptoms and influencing underlying neurophysiological mechanisms, more human-centric research is required. This review underscores the need for targeted clinical trials to fully understand and harness AE’s therapeutic potential in human neuropathic pain, especially of mechanical origin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenesis and Novel Therapeutics in Musculoskeletal Conditions: Volume II)

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12 pages, 295 KiB

Open AccessReview

Diacutaneous Fibrolysis: An Update on Research into Musculoskeletal and Neural Clinical Entities

by María Orosia Lucha-López, César Hidalgo-García, Sofía Monti-Ballano, Sergio Márquez-Gonzalvo, John Krauss, Héctor José Tricás-Vidal and José Miguel Tricás-Moreno

Biomedicines 2023, 11(12), 3122; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11123122 - 23 Nov 2023

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Abstract

Diacutaneous Fibrolysis (DF) is an instrumentally assisted manual therapy technique defined as “a specific instrumental intervention for normalizing the musculoskeletal system function after a precise diagnosis and preserving the skin’s integrity”. The aim of this technique is soft tissue mobilization with the assistance of specially designed, hook-shaped steel instruments in different musculoskeletal structures, such as the myofascia, aponeurosis, tendons, ligaments and scar tissues. Due to discrepant results between previous reviews and the quite abundant new evidence provided by recently published randomized clinical trials, we propound this narrative review to provide an update on the scientific evidence related to the fundamentals and clinical efficacy of DF. Current evidence primarily supports the mechanical effect of DF on connective soft tissues. Diminished deep tendon reflex and rigidity have been registered after the implementation of DF in healthy subjects. Though there is still much to uncover, scientific evidence supports the use of the technique for the clinical treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome, chronic lateral epicondylalgia, chronic patellofemoral pain syndrome, mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome, hamstring shortening, temporomandibular disorders, tension-type headache and chronic low back pain. Additional data are essential for better recommendations in the clinical practice of DF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Pathogenesis and Novel Therapeutics in Musculoskeletal Conditions: Volume II)

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