This article by R Tempier and colleagues from Saskatchewan university in Canada takes a look at the relationships between psychotic disorders and chronic conditions susch as arthritis.
The purpose of this paper is to report Health Utility Index Mark 3 (HUI3) scores, at baseline and at one year, for patients with psychotic disorders. Eighty two randomly selected outpatients from a Montreal teaching hospital completed the HUI3 and other measures of symptoms and side-effects. At baseline, the average Global Utility score was 0.64, which is rated in the “dysfunctional” health status range. Improvements were seen at one year follow-up in the Global, Dexterity, Cognition, and Pain Utility scores. The proportion of individuals rated in the “healthy” health status range improved by 32% from baseline to one year. HUI3 scores were negatively related to measures of psychotic symptoms and side-effects. We propose that the HUI3 should be used to assess health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with psychotic disorders. Scores could be compared with other populations affected with chronic conditions (e.g., Alzheimer dementia, cancer, arthritis, etc.).
The full article can be fund using pubmed identifier 17146727
Posted in comparison studies February 11th, 2007 by admin | No comments
There are lots of resources for sufferers of arthritis, a site that I have been spending a lot of time on recently is a great medical health information resource. It provides regularly updated health information, some, but not all of which is related to arthritis.
As many of our regular readers know, there is a great deal of research carried out in the health field each year; it is very important that researchers are able to get their messages across in laymans terms, health resource sites like this go a long way towards meeting these goals.
Posted in Uncategorized February 9th, 2007 by admin | No comments
The paper by C Tung et al from Taiwans Taichung general veternary hospital looks into the effect of plant thorn synovitis upon arthritis sufferers in Asia.
Plant-thorn synovitis is an uncommon cause of arthritis and has not been reported in Asian countries. Zanthoxylum ailanthoides, an aromatic plant distributed in East Asia, is used as a spice in Taiwan. We reported a case of acute monoarthritis over the third metacarpo-phalangeal joint of the right hand after an injury by the thorn of the Zanthoxylum ailanthoides. A thorn foreign body of 2.7 mm in length was detected in the joint by high-resolution ultrasonography and led to a surgical synovectomy. The patient recovered completely after synovectomy. Plant-thorn synovitis is easily negligible. Early diagnosis is difficult and frequently delayed. The removal of thorn by synovectomy is the only curative treatment for plant-thorn synovitis. Compared to CT and MRI, ultrasonography is inexpensive, nonradioactive, repeatable, and easily accessible. It could detect foreign bodies that are smaller than 0.5 mm. High-resolution ultrasonography is a useful tool for detecting plant thorn and could promote early diagnosis.
The pubmed identifier for this paper is 17273812
Posted in Arthritis causes February 8th, 2007 by admin | No comments
