The unloading reflex was tested on both sides of a patient with asymmetrical Parkinsonism. The motor activity after the silent period was significantly greater on the more affected side. The findings support the hypothesis that the response to unloading and the shortening reaction share a common mechanism which is exaggerated in Parkinsonism.

Judge AR, Koncarevic A, Hunter RB, Liou H-C, Jackman RW, Kandarian SC. Role for I B , but not c-Rel, in skeletal muscle atrophy. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 292: C372–C382, 2007. First published August 23, 2006; doi:10.1152/ajpcell.00293.2006.—Skeletal muscle atrophy is associated with a marked and sustained activation of nuclear factorB (NFB) activity. Previous work showed that p50 is one of the...

OBJECTIVES Previous small animal models for simulation of mechanical unloading are solely performed in healthy or infarcted hearts, not representing the pathophysiology of hypertrophic and dilated hearts emerging in heart failure patients. In this article, we present a new and economic small animal model to investigate mechanical unloading in hypertrophic and failing hearts: the combination of ...

Nanoindentation-induced formation of high pressure crystalline phases Si-III and Si-XII during unloading has been studied by Raman micro-spectroscopy, cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy XTEM , and postindentation electrical measurements. For indentation in crystalline silicon c-Si , rapid unloading 1000 mN/s results in the formation of amorphous silicon a-Si only; a result we have...

Pressure support ventilation (PSV) provides a range of ventilatory support from partial respiratory muscle unloading, where inspiratory work is shared between the patient and the mechanical ventilator, to total respiratory muscle unloading, where inspiratory work is performed solely by the ventilator. This study is designed to determine if minimizing work fully accounts for relief of tachypnea ...

Counteracting muscle atrophy induced by mechanical unloading/inactivity is of great clinical need and challenge. A therapeutic agent that could counteract muscle atrophy following mechanical unloading in safety is desired. This study showed that natural product Icaritin (ICT) could increase the phosphorylation level of Phosphatidylinositol 3 kinase (PI3K) at p110 catalytic subunit and promote P...

Unloading skeletal muscle results in atrophy and weakness. Inhibition of calpain activity during unloading reduced atrophy, but the impact on force generation has not been determined. Our hypothesis was that inhibition of calpain, through muscle-specific overexpression of calpastatin, would prevent the disruption of sarcomere structure and decreased specific force (kN/m(2)) observed during unlo...

Tendon unloading following rupture of one of the rotator cuff tendons can induce alterations in muscle physiology and tendon structure, which can subsequently affect reparability and healing potential. Yet little is known about the effects of muscle and tendon unloading on the molecular response of the rotator cuff. We determined the effect of mechanical unloading on gene expression and morphol...

The replication clamp PCNA is loaded around DNA by replication factor C (RFC) and functions in DNA replication and repair. Regulated unloading of PCNA during the progression and termination of DNA replication may require additional factors. Here we show that a Saccharomyces cerevisiae complex required for the establishment of sister chromatid cohesion functions as an efficient unloader of PCNA....

This study sought to investigate the effects of mechanical unloading on myocardial energetics and the metabolic perturbation of heart failure (HF) in an effort to identify potential new therapeutic targets that could enhance the unloading-induced cardiac recovery. The authors prospectively examined paired human myocardial tissue procured from 31 advanced HF patients at left ventricular assist d...