Aim: To examine the relationship of the RETN and RARRES2 genes with hand osteoarthritis (HOA) susceptibility risk, clinical severity and pain. Methods: A total of 3740 subjects comprising 1180 participants with HOA and 2560 controls were enrolled. Genetic association was evaluated at both single marker and haplotype levels using PLINK. Results: Two significant hits, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs4721 from RARRES2 and SNP rs3745368 from RETN, were identified as being related to an increased risk of HOA. Significant associations were obtained for SNP rs3745368 with Kellgren–Lawrence grade in HOA patients and SNP rs4721 with pain analog scales of HOA patients. Conclusion: The authors' results indicate that RARRES2 and RETN affect HOA risk and are associated with clinical features and severity in patients with HOA.

Background: Postherpetic neuralgia(PHN) is the most common complication following herpes zoster. It presents as a persistent or paroxysmal stabbing or burning pain, usually beginning≥3 months after complete healing of the skin lesions. Radiofrequency(RF) and pulsed radiofrequency(PRF), as two minimally invasive interventional techniques, have been clinically validated in the treatment of PHN with good results. However, a comparative effect between the two has not been reported so far. The aim of this cohort study to Compare and multivariate analysis of RF and PRF in the treatment of PHN. Methods: A total of 164 PHN patients who received RF or PRF from January 2020 to October 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. There were 68 cases in PRF group and 96 cases in RF group. The pain (visual analogue scale, VAS), quality of life (36-Item Short Form Health Survey, SF-36), sleep quality (Athens insomnia scale, AIS) and postoperative complications were evaluated and compared before and after surgery at 1W, 1M, 3M,6M and 12M. The factors that may affect the treatment effect were also analyzed. Result: The VAS and SF-36 after surgery at 1W, 1M, 3M, 6M and 12M in PRF group and RF group were significantly improved compared with those before operation (P<0.01). VAS decreased more in PRF group than in RF group at 6M after operation (P<0.05).The improvement of mental health SF-36 after surgery at 1W, 3M, 6M and 12M in PRF group was better than that in RF group (P<0.05). The physical functioning of SF-36 in PRF group was significantly higher than that in RF group at 1W, 1M, 3M, 6M and 12M after operation(P<0.01). Social functioning of SF-36 in PRF group increased more after surgery at 3M, 6M and 12M, which was better than that in RF group (P<0.05). In terms of sleep quality, postoperative PRF group and RF group were significantly improved compared with preoperative ones (P<0.01), but there was no significant difference between the two groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, gender, preoperative VAS and complications were the possible factors affecting the postoperative outcome. Conclusion：Both RF and PRF have significant therapeutic effects on PHN. PRF has greater advantages than RF in reducing postoperative pain and improving quality of life. Age, gender, preoperative pain and complications are the possible related factors affecting the efficacy of RF and PRF therapy for PHN.

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Background The growth differentiation factor 5 (GDF5) gene regulates the growth of neuronal axons and dendrites and plays a role in the inflammatory response and tissue damage. The gene may also be associated with chronic postsurgical pain. This study aimed to reveal the relationship between SNPs in the GDF5 gene and orthopedic chronic postsurgical pain in Han Chinese population based on a case-control study. Methods We genotyped 8 SNPs within GDF5 gene in 1048 surgical patients with chronic postsurgical pain as the case group and 2062 surgical patients who were pain free as the control group. SNP and haplotypic analyses were performed, and stratified analyses were conducted to determine the correlations between significant SNPs and clinical characteristics. Results Only rs143384 in the 5′UTR of GDF5 was identified as significantly associated with increased susceptibility to chronic postsurgical pain, and the risk of A allele carriers was increased approximately 1.35-fold compared with that of G allele carriers. Haplotypes AGG and GGG in the LD block rs143384-rs224335-rs739329 also showed similar association patterns. Furthermore, we found that rs143384 was significantly correlated with chronic postsurgical pain in the subgroup aged ≤ 61 years, subgroup with a BMI ≤ 26, subgroup with no-smoking or no pain history, and subgroup with a drinking history. Conclusion Our study provided supportive evidence that genetic variations in the GDF5 gene are potential genetic factors that can increase the risk of chronic postsurgical pain in the Han Chinese population, but further research is necessary to elucidate the underlying mechanism.