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At least 829 records · Page 46Linked to original sources

Diffuse FDG shoulder uptake on PET is associated with clinical findings of osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to examine the degree and pattern of (18)F-FDG uptake within the shoulder as a potential marker of joint inflammation or injury. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-four patients undergoing (18)F-FDG PET for clinical oncologic assessment completed questionnaires regarding history of shoulder disease, trauma, pain, and/or functional impairment. Thorough physical examination of the shoulder was performed. A clinical diagnosis of specific shoulder derangement or normal was established for each patient. PET scans were evaluated blindly by a nuclear medicine physician and a musculoskeletal radiologist qualitatively for location, distribution, and intensity of shoulder uptake. Standardized uptake values (SUV) were measured. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients had shoulder PET findings. Fourteen had clinical findings consistent with a specific diagnosis in the PET-positive shoulder. The remaining seven PET-positive patients were clinically normal. Three recognizable patterns of uptake were appreciable. Eight of 10 patients with diffuse uptake had findings of osteoarthritis (n = 7) or bursitis (n = 1). Two of four patients with focal greater tuberosity uptake had findings of rotator cuff injury. Two of four patients with focal glenoid uptake had findings of frozen shoulder. SUV showed a positive correlation with subject age (p < 0.01), but no association with clinical findings was identified. CONCLUSION: The pattern of FDG uptake within the shoulder may point to specific clinical entities. While focal uptake is less reliably related to clinical findings, diffuse uptake is associated with signs and symptoms of osteoarthritis or bursitis.

Adult↗

[Effect of exercise on chosen parameters of endothelium function in middle age health humans].

Physical effort is possible to perform by increasing blood flow in working muscles. The endothelial cells produce vasoactive factors that regulate vessel wall tension, among others endothelin 1 (ET1) a potent vasoconstrictor and adrenomedullin (AD1)--vasodilatatory peptide. It was investigated in volunteers whether the ET-1 and ADM concentration in plasma changes by exercise. Bicycle exercise test was performed in 28 healthy persons. There were used standard RIA kits to measure ADM and ELISA method to determine ET-1 concentration in plasma. Average ET-1 and ADM levels in plasma were different before and after the exercise, the standard exercise test significantly decrease ET-1 and ADM concentration in plasma. The investigation indicates that with the decrease of the vessel resistance under the physical exercise the concentration of ET-1 obtains lower level. The lack of stimulating ET-1 influence on secretion of ADM can be the effect of the decrease of ADM concentration.

Adrenomedullin↗

Cancer-related fatigue: evaluation and treatment.

Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common and disabling conditions referred by patients with neoplastic diseases. However, it is one of the symptoms related to cancer and its treatment, oncologists largely underestimate. The guidelines of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network on the diagnosis and treatment of this multifactorial pathology are illustrated. Attention is focused on the most recent evidences present in the literature about the therapeutic benefit of physical exercise and its effects on muscular function, cardiorespiratory performance and life quality of oncologic patients.

Exercise Therapy↗

The American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Core Data Set and derivative "patient only" indices to assess rheumatoid arthritis.

Pooled indices of several measures have been developed to assess and monitor patients with rheumatoid arthritis in clinical trials and clinical care, as no single measure can serve as a "gold standard" in all individual patients. Early indices of disease activity include the Steinbrocker "therapeutic scorecard in rheumatoid arthritis," the Lansbury Index, and Paulus criteria. The most widely used indices at this time are the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Core Data Set and disease activity score (DAS). A simplified disease activity index (SDAI) and clinical disease activity index (CDAI) are derived from the DAS. The ACR Core Data Set includes 7 measures--swollen joint count, tender joint count, patient assessment of global status, an acute phase reactant [erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or C-reactive protein (CRP)], health professional assessment of global status, physical function, and pain; the first four of these measures are included on the DAS. Improvement criteria for the ACR Core Data Set are based on improvement of at least 20% in both tender and swollen joint counts, and three of the five additional measures (ACR 20), and corresponding "ACR 50," and "ACR 70." A pooled index which includes only the three patient self-report questionnaire measures from the Core Data Set, physical function, pain, and patient assessment of global status performs as well as ACR 20 or DAS to discriminate between efficacy of active versus placebo treatment in a clinical trial.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗

Resistance training modes: specificity and effectiveness.

There is considerable demand for information on the effectiveness of various resistance exercises for improving physical performance, and on how exercise programs must match functional activities to produce the greatest performance gains (training specificity). Evidence supports exercise-type specificity; the greatest training effects occur when the same exercise type is used for both testing and training. Range-of-motion (ROM) specificity is supported; strength improvements are greatest at the exercised joint angles, with enough carryover to strengthen ROMs precluded from direct training due to injury. Velocity specificity is supported; strength gains are consistently greatest at the training velocity, with some carryover. Some studies have produced a training effect only for velocities at and below the training velocity while others have produced effects around the training velocity. The little, mainly isokinetic, evidence comparing different exercise velocities for improving functional performance suggests that faster exercise best improves fast athletic movements. Yet isometric exercise can improve actions like the vertical jump, which begin slowly. The rate of force application may be more important in training than actual movement speed. More research is needed into the specificity and efficacy of resistance exercise. Test populations should include both males and females of various ages and rehabilitation patients.

Exercise↗

[Sex chromosome aberration with the 48 XYYY karyotype. A case report of the phenotype of a rare sex chromosome aneuploidy].

This is a case report on a 19-year-old patient with the chromosome constellation 48, XYYY. The patient showed signs of dysmorphism, mental retardation and problems in psychosocial functioning. A literature review revealed that individuals with this karyotype have widely varying phenotypes with regard not only to physical signs but also to brain functions and cognitive performance.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗

Falls in the elderly.

Falls in the elderly are a common problem with potentially serious consequences. Elderly persons who fall may incur physical injuries that result in hospitalization or even institutionalization. Fear of falling may cause the elderly to restrict their activities and become socially isolated. A fall is usually the result of a combination of factors involving the patient and the environment. A patient's risk of falls may be assessed on the basis of a complete history, including a drug review and an evaluation of the patient's environment, as well as a thorough physical examination with emphasis on neurologic components and functional performance. Correction or adjustment of even a few of these risk factors may allow the elderly patient to avoid falls.

Accidental Falls↗

Clinical overview of instability in the elderly.

Falling is often a multifactorial syndrome that can be viewed from several perspectives, including pathophysiologic, biomedical, functional, and ecologic models. The history, physical examination, and performance testing are the cornerstones of evaluation. Diagnostic testing in selected cases and environmental evaluation when feasible are additional elements. Management is directed toward correcting reversible problems, improving deficits amenable to partial correction, and providing adaptation to fixed deficits.

Accidental Falls↗

Renal assessment: back to basics.

Nurses caring for patients over time may observe subtle changes when performing physical assessments. Relating the observed changes to the function of various body systems allows prompt interventions. Nurses need to correlate their knowledge of physiology to assessment findings. This article will assist nurses in relating physical assessment findings to renal system physiology.

Humans↗

The impact of chronic illness on patients.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of chronic illness on patients in relation to its physical, psychological, and social effects, and its effects on activities of daily living. A structured questionnaire was used to interview 177 patients. Chronic illness had the greatest effect on psychological functioning, followed by physical and social functioning. The least affected aspects of a patient's functioning were related to performing activities of daily living (ADLs). Results indicated that the diagnosis, duration of disease, and developmental stage of the patient's children were useful in predicting the impact of a chronic illness on a patient's physical functioning. Diagnosis, duration of disease, and economic status had a significant impact on a patient's psychological functioning. Diagnosis, duration of disease, age, sex, occupation, education, and marital and economic status were important factors relative to social functioning. Diagnosis, age, marital status, the developmental stage of the children, and the primary caregiver were the most important factors related to the effects of chronic illness on ADLs. The results of the study serve as a guide for a comprehensive assessment of chronically ill patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Physical performance: differences in men and women with and without low back pain.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent to which there may be major differences in scores on a battery of physical performance tasks among men with nonspecific, mechanical low back pain (LBP), women with LBP, healthy men, and healthy women. DESIGN: Case series survey. SETTING: A referral-based orthopedic clinic. PATIENTS: Thirty-three men and 46 women with LBP. Control Subjects: Twenty-one men and 25 women healthy controls. INTERVENTION: Completion of six clinician-assessed physical performance tasks and self-report inventories. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Performance scores on distance walked in 5 minutes, 50-foot walk at fastest speed, repeated sit-to-stand, repeated trunk flexion, loaded forward reach, and the Sorensen fatigue tasks. RESULTS: Discriminant function analysis revealed that the four groups of subjects performed the physical tasks significantly different in two major ways: (1) healthy control subjects outperformed LBP patients, irrespective of gender, on tasks involving trunk control, coordination, and stability while withstanding heavy or quickly changing loads on the spine; (2) men outperformed women, irrespective of patient or nonpatient status, on tasks involving anthropometric features of limb length. The findings provide guidance on reasonable performance expectations for men and women patients with LBP. Future studies of treatment effectiveness also will be able to assess physical performance change in terms of the intersection between standards set by the men and women healthy control subjects and those of men and women patients. However, whether a return to nonpatient status is an appropriate treatment goal is left to future research.

Adult↗

Recommendations for physical activity in patients with multiple sclerosis.

For many years, patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, have been advised to avoid exercise. MS is believed to be autoimmune in origin, mediated by activated T cells which penetrate the blood-brain barrier and attack myelin. The pathophysiology, with respect to function is an impairment of saltatory conduction, specifically, slowing of conduction speed and/or conduction block. Symptoms can temporarily worsen on exposure to heat or during physical exercise. Exercise programmes must be designed to activate working muscles but avoid overload that results in conduction block. Fatigue, often severe, affects about 85% of MS patients and, along with motor and sensory symptoms, results in decreased mobility and reduced quality of life. Physical activity and recreation are reduced in patients with MS. Before developing recommendations, physical activity patterns and the physical effects of MS should be assessed in individual patients. Patients may then be functionally classified. Physical activity can also be classified in a pyramid structure, with the most basic functions forming the base and the most integrated functions on top. The muscular fitness pyramid progresses through passive range of motion, active resistive, specific strengthening and integrated strength exercises Overall physical activity may be increased according to functional level by performing activities of daily living, incorporating inefficiencies into daily living, pursuing more active recreation and eventually developing a structured exercise programme. The importance of the proper exercise environment, balance and coordination issues and factors related to adherence are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Skeletal muscle fibre types, enzyme activities and physical performance in young males and females.

Differences in skeletal muscle characteristics, metabolic profiles and functional performance between males and females were investigated using young (15--24 yrs) male and female twins as subjects. The comparison included such variables as anthropometry, muscle strength, mechanical power, maximum oxygen uptake, electrical activation of muscle, muscle fibre composition (m. vastus lateralis), and activities of several skeletal muscle enzymes. The results disclosed the following primary differences between males and females: In the various functional tests the performance of females was from 61.1 to 84.6% of that in males; distribution of slow twitch fibres in m. vastus lateralis of the females (49.1 +/- 7.7%) was lower (p less than .05) than that of the males (55.9 +/- 11.9); activities of enzymes Ca2+ stimulated ATPase, CPK, phosphorylase and LDH1a leads to py were higher (p less than .05--0.1) in the males, whereas the distribution pattern of LDH-1 isozyme was higher (p less than .05) in the females. A pronounced difference between the two groups was a almost 100% longer rise time of isometric force in females. It is concluded that the males as compared to the females demonstrate higher aerobic and strength performance capacity, more efficient neuromotoric output during contraction, more slow twitch muscle fibres and more pronounced contractile and glycolytic profiles in the skeletal muscles.

Adenosine Triphosphatases↗

Toileting device for patients with decreased hand function.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation is involved with aiding patients in the performance of activities of daily living. The ability to independently perform the acts involved in personal hygiene is important to a disabled person's self-esteem. This report describes a patient with weak distal upper limbs secondary to Guillain-Barré neuropathy, his difficulty with independent hygiene, and the device designed to aid independence in toileting. This device is easy and inexpensive to fabricate, and simple to use. It has applications beyond the Guillain-Barré population including patients with arthritis and burns and those with limited distal upper limb function.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Effects of physical training on end-diastolic volume and myocardial performance of isolated rat hearts.

We studied the performance of ventricular muscle and cardiac function of hearts from rats conditioned by swimming (CH) and from sedentary rats (SH) in an isolated working heart apparatus modified to measure end-diastolic volume by dye dilution. Instantaneous aortic flow, left ventricular (LV) pressure and oxygen consumption were measured. Heart rate and mean aortic pressure were kept constant, and atrial filling pressure was varied from 5 to 20 cm H2O. Heart weights of SH and CH were equal and end-diastolic pressures and volumes were similar at all atrial pressures. However, ejection fraction, calculated circumferential fiber velocity, peak systolic pressure, peak aortic flow, cardiac output, and stroke work were all greater in CH than in SH, and the differences increased as atrial pressure was increased. Maximal negative dP/dt was greater in CH than SH at all preloads (P less than 0.001). Oxygen consumption of CH was increased in proportion to the increase in work. These results indicate that the improved pumping performance of CH is due to a change in ventricular muscle function. Faster relaxation is a prominent effect of physical training on the rat heart and may foster more complete filling at high heart rates.

Animals↗

The impact of kyphosis on daily functioning.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether moderate or severe kyphosis is associated with decrements in physical function, especially mobility. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of a cohort study. SETTING: The Johns Hopkins Functional Status Laboratory, a multidisciplinary, standardized, quantitative assessment center. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 231 community-dwelling volunteers aged 59 and older who participated in a 1-day evaluation. MEASUREMENTS: Age, gender, self report of physical function, standardized measurement of: kyphosis (both qualitatively clinical criteria and quantitative assessment), time to walk 5 meters (0.1 seconds), and time to climb a flight of stairs (0.1 seconds) at usual pace. RESULTS: Using multivariate step-wise regression analysis, the presence and severity of kyphosis, measured qualitatively, was independently associated with time to walk 5 meters and to climb a flight of stairs (P = .015, P < .001, respectively), adjusting for moderate-severe scoliosis, heart rate response to exercise, arthritis, vertigo, age, and gender. Similarly, quantitative kyphosis was associated independently with stair climb time (P = .005). Qualitative kyphosis was also associated with difficulty reaching (OR = 2.21 (95% CI: 1.14 to 4.29)) and difficulty performing heavy housework (OR = 1.64 (95% CI: 1.03 to 2.61)), adjusting for prior diagnosis of moderate-severe scoliosis, prior diagnosis of arthritis, age, and gender. CONCLUSION: Kyphosis, by both clinical and quantitative assessment, is associated with diminished function, especially performance of mobility tasks. This association should be verified prospectively. If predictive, the impact of kyphosis on physical function should be considered in osteoporosis prevention and treatment counseling.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Cognitive and psychological outcomes of exercise in a 1-year follow-up study of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

This study evaluated outcomes of self-directed exercise activity on cognitive functioning and psychological well-being among 28 adults with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Participants had completed an intensive 10-week program of exercise training and were given an exercise prescription to follow. One year later, participants completed comprehensive assessments of physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning. At follow-up, 39% (n=11) had continued with a regular program of moderate intensity exercise. Repeated measures analysis of variance indicated that exercise adherent participants maintained gains they had achieved in the initial exercise intervention, but nonexercise participants experienced declines in functional capacity, cognitive performance, and psychological well-being. Continued exercise among patients with COPD is associated with maintenance of physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning.

Aged↗

Baseline health-related quality-of-life data as prognostic factors in a phase III multicentre study of women with metastatic breast cancer.

The potential value of baseline health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) and clinical factors in predicting prognosis was examined using data from an international randomised phase III trial which compared doxorubicin and paclitaxel with doxorubicin and cylophosphamide as first line chemotherapy in 275 women with metastatic breast cancer. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and the related breast module (QLQ-BR23) were used to assess baseline HRQOL data. The Cox proportional-hazards regression model was used for both univariate and multivariate analyses of survival. In the univariate analyses, performance status (P<0.001) and number of sites involved (P=0.001) were the most important clinical prognostic factors. The HRQOL variables at baseline most strongly associated with longer survival were better appetite, physical and role functioning, as well as less fatigue (P<0.001). The final multivariate model retained performance status (P<0.001) and appetite loss (P=0.005) as the variables best predicting survival. Substantial loss of appetite was the only independent HRQOL factor predicting poor survival and was strongly correlated (/r/>0.5) with fatigue, role and physical functioning. In addition to known clinical factors, appetite loss appears to be a significant prognostic factor for survival in women with metastatic breast cancer. However, the mechanism underlying this association remains to be precisely defined in future studies.

Adult↗