Sleep disturbance and multimorbidity: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study in the knee pain and related health in the community cohort.

Study Objectives: To examine whether there is a temporal association between sleep disturbance and multimorbidity.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional and longitudinal observational analysis in people aged 40 years or more, recruited from the knee pain and related health in the community cohort study. The primary exposure was the Sleep Problems Index II score in tertiles measured at baseline.

Eutrophication and Warming Drive Algal Community Shifts in Synchronised Time Series of Experimental Lakes.

Lake ecosystems are increasingly impacted by eutrophication and climate change. Whole-lake experiments have provided ecosystem-scale insights into the effects of freshwater stressors, yet these are constrained to the duration of monitoring programmes. Here, we leveraged multidecadal monitoring records and century-scale paleogenetic reconstructions for experimentally fertilised and unmanipulated lakes in the IISD Experimental Lakes Area of northwestern Ontario, Canada, to evaluate the responses of algal communities to nutrient and air temperature variation.

Validity and contributions to pain from the central aspects of pain questionnaire in rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: The central nervous system (CNS) contributes to pain perception across musculoskeletal conditions. The central aspects of pain (CAP) questionnaire captures a single score associated with quantitative sensory testing (QST) evidence of CNS dysfunction validated in knee osteoarthritis.

Objectives: Given the different pathophysiology of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an inflammatory polyarthritis, this cross-sectional study assessed CAP's psychometric properties and its association with pain in RA.

Central aspects of pain associated with physical activity: results from the Investigating Musculoskeletal Health and Wellbeing cohort.

Background: Knee pain reduces activity, while inactivity can increase pain. The central nervous system modulates both pain and activity. The 8-item Central Aspects of Pain (CAP) questionnaire measures self-reported symptoms associated with current and future knee pain severity and psychophysical evidence of central pain sensitivity.

Accelerated intermittent theta burst transcranial magnetic stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex for chronic knee osteoarthritis pain.

Objective: This study assessed feasibility, safety, and tolerability of accelerated intermittent theta burst stimulation (aiTBS) with effective connectivity-guidance targeting the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (lDLPFC) from the right anterior insular (rAI) in chronic knee osteoarthritis pain.

Methods: The BoostCPM clinical trial (ISRCTN15404076) was a randomized, sham-controlled, single-blind, parallel-group pilot study in patients with mild-moderate chronic pain. Participants were assigned 2:1 (active: sham) aiTBS for 4 consecutive days (totaling 36,000 pulses) at a daily dose of 9000 pulses (5 sessions of 1800 pulses).

Water Quality and Land Use Shape Bacterial Communities Across 621 Canadian Lakes.

Human activities such as agriculture and urban development are linked to water quality degradation. Canada represents a large and heterogeneous landscape of freshwater lakes, where variations in climate, geography and geology interact with land cover alteration to influence water quality differently across regions. In this study, we investigated the influence of water quality and land use on bacterial communities across 12 ecozones.

Comparative effectiveness of various exercise interventions on central sensitisation indices: A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

Background: Central sensitisation (CS) increases musculoskeletal pain. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) or self-report questionnaires might indicate CS. Indices of CS might be suppressed by exercise, although the optimal exercise regimen remains unclear.

The rat osteoarthritis bone score for histological pathology relevant to human bone marrow lesions and pain.

Objectives: Histological osteochondral characteristics of inflammation, fibrosis, vascularity, cartilage islands, vessels entering cartilage, thickened trabeculae and cysts are associated with bone marrow lesions (BMLs) in human knee osteoarthritis (OA). We identified and developed a method for scoring comparable pathology in two rat OA knee pain models.

Methods: Rats (n ​= ​8-10 per group) were injected with monoiodoacetate (MIA) or saline, or underwent meniscal transection (MNX) or sham surgery.

Vulnerability of Arctic Ocean microbial eukaryotes to sea ice loss.

The Arctic Ocean (AO) is changing at an unprecedented rate, with ongoing sea ice loss, warming and freshening impacting the extent and duration of primary productivity over summer months. Surface microbial eukaryotes are vulnerable to such changes, but basic knowledge of the spatial variability of surface communities is limited. Here, we sampled microbial eukaryotes in surface waters of the Beaufort Sea from four contrasting environments: the Canada Basin (open ocean), the Mackenzie Trough (river-influenced), the Nuvuk region (coastal) and the under-ice system of the Canada Basin.

Development of methodology to support molecular endotype discovery from synovial fluid of individuals with knee osteoarthritis: The STEpUP OA consortium.

Objectives: To develop a protocol for largescale analysis of synovial fluid proteins, for the identification of biological networks associated with subtypes of osteoarthritis.

Methods: Synovial Fluid To detect molecular Endotypes by Unbiased Proteomics in Osteoarthritis (STEpUP OA) is an international consortium utilising clinical data (capturing pain, radiographic severity and demographic features) and knee synovial fluid from 17 participating cohorts. 1746 samples from 1650 individuals comprising OA, joint injury, healthy and inflammatory arthritis controls, divided into discovery (n = 1045) and replication (n = 701) datasets, were analysed by SomaScan Discovery Plex V4.

Contribution of inflammation markers and quantitative sensory testing (QST) indices of central sensitisation to rheumatoid arthritis pain.

Background: Pain, the primary complaint in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), is multifaceted, and may be driven by inflammatory disease activity and central sensitisation. We aimed to ascertain what proportion of RA pain severity is explained by markers of inflammation and quantitative sensory testing (QST) indices of central sensitisation.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of data from individuals with clinically active RA.

A genome catalogue of mercury-methylating bacteria and archaea from sediments of a boreal river facing human disturbances.

Methyl mercury, a toxic compound, is produced by anaerobic microbes and magnifies in aquatic food webs, affecting the health of animals and humans. The exploration of mercury methylators based on genomes is still limited, especially in the context of river ecosystems. To address this knowledge gap, we developed a genome catalogue of potential mercury-methylating microorganisms.

Validation of a questionnaire for central nervous system aspects of joint pain: the CAP questionnaire.

Background: Neuropathic-like pain, fatigue, cognitive difficulty, catastrophizing, anxiety, sleep disturbance, depression and widespread pain associate with a single factor in people with knee pain. We report the Central Aspects of Pain questionnaire (CAP) to characterize this across painful musculoskeletal conditions.

Methods: CAP was derived from the 8-item CAP-Knee questionnaire, and completed by participants with joint pain in the Investigating Musculoskeletal Health and Wellbeing survey.

Serum levels of hydroxylated metabolites of arachidonic acid cross-sectionally and longitudinally predict knee pain progression: an observational cohort study.

Objective: To examine associations between serum oxylipins, which regulate tissue repair and pain signalling, and knee pain/radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) at baseline and knee pain at 3 year follow-up.

Method: Baseline, and 3 year follow-up, knee pain phenotypes were assessed from 154 participants in the Knee Pain in the Community (KPIC) cohort study. Serum and radiographic Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) and Nottingham line drawing atlas OA scores were collected at baseline.

The Difficulties of Managing Pain in People Living with Frailty: The Potential for Digital Phenotyping.

Pain and frailty are closely linked. Chronic pain is a risk factor for frailty, and frailty is a risk factor for pain. People living with frailty also commonly have cognitive impairment, which can make assessment of pain and monitoring of pain management even more difficult.

A multiyear time series (2004-2012) of bacterial and archaeal community dynamics in a changing Arctic Ocean.

Climate change is profoundly impacting the Arctic, leading to a loss of multiyear sea ice and a warmer, fresher upper Arctic Ocean. The response of microbial communities to these climate-mediated changes is largely unknown. Here, we document the interannual variation in bacterial and archaeal communities across a 9-year time series of the Canada Basin that includes two historic sea ice minima (2007 and 2012).

Influence of central aspects of pain on self-management in people with chronic low back pain.

Objective: This observational study investigated whether central aspects of pain are associated with self-management domains in individuals with chronic low back pain (CLBP) undertaking a pain management program.

Methods: Individuals with CLBP provided pain sensitivity and self-management data at baseline (n = 97) and 3-months (n = 87). Pressure pain detection threshold (PPT) at the forearm, temporal summation (TS) and conditioned pain modulation (CPM), Widespread Pain Index (WPI), and a Central Aspects of Pain factor (CAPf) were considered as central aspects of pain.

Chronic Low Back Pain with and without Concomitant Osteoarthritis: A Retrospective, Longitudinal Cohort Study of Patients in England.

Objective: Despite the high prevalence of chronic low back pain (CLBP) and osteoarthritis (OA), few estimates of the economic cost of these conditions in England have been published. The aim of the present analysis was to characterise the economic burden of moderate-to-severe pain associated with CLBP + OA and CLBP alone compared with general population-matched controls without CLBP or OA. The primary objective was to describe the total healthcare resource use (HCRU) and direct healthcare costs associated with the target patient populations.

Effects of Analgesics on Self-Reported Physical Function and Walking Ability in People With Hip or Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Hip and knee osteoarthritis are among the leading causes of global disability, and one of the main aims of the management is to improve physical function. The objective of this review was to investigate the effect of analgesics on physical function (self-reported physical function and walking ability).

Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the findings were performed.

Reproducible microbiome composition signatures of anxiety and depressive symptoms.

The gut microbiome is a significant contributor to mental health, with growing evidence linking its composition to anxiety and depressive disorders. Gut microbiome composition is associated with signs of anxiety and depression both in clinically diagnosed mood disorders and subclinically in the general population and may be influenced by dietary fibre intake and the presence of chronic pain. We provide an update of current evidence on the role of gut microbiome composition in depressive and anxiety disorders or symptoms by reviewing available studies.

The Web-Based Pain-at-Work Toolkit With Telephone Support for Employees With Chronic or Persistent Pain: Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Feasibility Trial.

Background: Chronic or persistent pain affects one's ability to work or be productive at work, generating high societal and economic burden. However, the provision of work-related advice and support for people with chronic pain is variable or lacking. The Pain-at-Work (PAW) Toolkit was cocreated with people who live with pain, health care professionals, and employers.

Associations of Muscle Strength with Central Aspects of Pain: Data from the Knee Pain and Related Health in the Community (KPIC) Cohort.

Knee pain is associated with lower muscle strength, and both contribute to disability. Peripheral and central neurological mechanisms contribute to OA pain. Understanding the relative contributions of pain mechanisms to muscle strength might help future treatments.

The interrater and test-retest reliability of 3 modalities of quantitative sensory testing in healthy adults and people with chronic low back pain or rheumatoid arthritis.

Introduction: Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) modalities used to assess central pain mechanisms require different protocols in people with different musculoskeletal conditions.

Objectives: We aimed to explore the possible effects of musculoskeletal diagnosis and test site on QST interrater and test-retest reliability.

Methods: The study included participants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA, n = 18; QST conducted on lower leg) and low back pain (LBP, n = 25; QST conducted on forearm), plus 45 healthy control participants (n = 20 QST on lower leg and n = 25 QST on forearm).