Molecular and Genetic Medicine

A 32-year-old female patient, with no personal history or habitual medication of relief, resorted to the emergency department for pain complaints following trauma to the left hemithorax, with no associated fracture. Imagiologically, the presence of symmetrical radiopaque changes affecting the joint regions at the level of the humerus, femurs and pelvic girdle was verified. Both in the objective examination and analytically, there were no changes. The patient continued to be followed up in Internal Medicine, with the diagnosis of Osteopoikilosis. This benign entity, of autosomal dominant transmission with variable penetrance, is often diagnosed by chance. It afflicts both genders and tends to appear in childhood, persisting throughout the patient's life. As a rule, they have a symmetrical distribution and affect just-articular areas of the bone skeleton.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are a leading cause of disability and loss of quality of life with a great economic impact. Percutaneous electrolysis is a minimally invasive technique with emerging evidence related to these pathologies.
Objective: To examine the effectiveness of percutaneous electrolysis for musculoskeletal pain.
Methods: A randomized clinical trials concerning percutaneous electrolysis were searched in the following electronic databases: PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and ScienceDirect. Methodological quality was evaluated according to PEDro score. Risk of bias assessment was conducted using the Cochrane RoB 2 tool. These procedures were carried out by two independent researchers, with the participation of a third reviewer in case of disagreement.
Results: Electronic databases searches identified a total of 175 results. After the study selection procedure, 7 studies published from 2015 to 2018 were finally included in the present review. These articles involved a total of 407 patients with different musculoskeletal disorders. Clinical outcomes were evaluated for pain and disability, usually reporting greater improvements in the group with percutaneous electrolysis. The mean score of PEDro scale was 7 points and overall risk of bias was generally reported as high.
Conclusion: Percutaneous electrolysis appears to be an effective therapy for the improvement of pain and disability in patients with musculoskeletal disorders. However, the heterogeneity and the high risk of bias of the included studies should be taken into account. Further research is warranted to standardise percutaneous electrolysis application and generate protocols that would improve clinical outcomes.

Objectives: Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) enzymes play an important role in the xenobiotic biotransformation of endogenous or exogenous toxicants and thought to protect the airways from oxidative stress, inflammation, and genotoxicity. Polymorphisms in the GST genes may lead to an increased imbalance in antioxidant systems and may influence the pathogenesis of asthma. We examined the association of the GST gene polymorphism to ascertain whether high-risk genotypes of GSTM1/GSTT1 could influence the susceptibility to childhood asthma in the N orth Indian population.

Methods: The study constituted of 100 childhood asthmatic cases and 180 age-matched controls. The GSTT1 and GSTM1 null genotypes were identified by multiplex PCR in peripheral blood DNA samples. Statistical analysis was done by using SPSS 20.0 soft ware.

Results: No association was seen either the null genotype of the GSTM1 or GSTTT1 (P > 0.05); however, in atopy patients significant association were observed with null genotype of GSTT1 (OR=2.67; P<0.05) for risk of child hood asthma. In combined analysis of GSTM1/GSTT1, presence of null genotypes of GSTM1 &GSTT1 further append the risk of childhood asthma (OR=3.92; P<0.05) compared to positive genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTT1. When compared among gender, GSTT1 null genotype was found to be statistically significant in male (OR=2.71; P<0.005) as compared to female childhood asthmatic patients.

Conclusion: In conclusion, null genotype of GSTT1 exhibits significant association for the risk of childhood asthma, especially in disease predisposition and initiation.