Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a major health problem in Korea. To explore the effects of regular exercise on pain, fatigue, and disability, a descriptive study was conducted in 435 Korean patients with RA. Exercisers were defined as those who are currently exercising more than 3 times a week, for at least 20 minutes, and for more than 6-consecutive months after being diagnosed with RA. The primary finding was that exercisers had significantly less fatigue and disability compared with nonexercisers. Results suggest that regular exercise has advantages for patients with RA to decrease fatigue and disability.
from pubmed Id 16980807
Posted in Uncategorized September 19th, 2006 by admin | No comments
Miyati et al
Department of Internal Medicine and Molecular Therapeutics, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, 18-15 Kuramoto-cho 3, Tokushima, 770-8503, Japan, ssone@clin.med.tokushima-u.ac.jp.
Human cathepsin G (EC 3.4.21.20) has been reported to have the in vitro chemotactic activity for human monocytes. In this study, we examined the role of cathepsin G in monocyte involvement in joint inflammation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) as a monocyte chemoattractant. Eighteen patients with RA and four patients with osteoarthritis (OA) were used in this study. Thiobenzylester substrate, Succ-Phe-Leu-Phe-S-Bzl, was used to measure the activity of cathepsin G in synovial fluids. Monocyte migration induced by cathepsin G and synovial fluids was assessed by a 48-well microchemotaxis chamber technique. Immunohistochemical staining was performed to determine the cellular origin of cathepsin G in RA synovial tissue. A very low activity of cathepsin G was detected in synovial fluids from patients with OA. On the other hand, significantly increased activity of cathepsin G was detected in patients with RA when compared with the value of OA patients. A considerable monocyte chemotactic activity was detected in the synovial fluid of RA patients, and the activity was partially decreased by the treatment with inhibitors for cathepsin G, alpha1-antichymotrypsin and phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride. The activity of cathepsin G was significantly correlated with the neutrophil counts in synovial fluids and the concentration of interleukin-6. Immunohistochemical studies showed that cathepsin G was strongly expressed by synovial lining cells, and weakly expressed by macrophages and neutrophils in synovial tissues. This study indicates that the monocyte chemotactic activity of cathepsin G may have a role in the pathogenesis of RA synovial inflammation.
PMID: 16977463 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Posted in Uncategorized September 18th, 2006 by admin | No comments
This abstract comes from the work of J Tomaka from the niversity of Texas in El Paso USA.
OBJECTIVE: This study examined relations between social isolation, loneliness, and social support to health outcomes in a sample of New Mexico seniors.
METHOD: We used random-digit dialing to obtain a random sample of 755 southern New Mexico seniors. Participants answered questions pertaining to demographics, social isolation and loneliness, social support, and disease diagnosis including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, liver disease, arthritis, emphysema, tuberculosis, kidney disease, cancer, asthma, and stroke. The sample allowed for comparison of Caucasian and Hispanic participants.
RESULTS: Correlational and logistic analyses indicated that belongingness support related most consistently to health outcomes. Ethnic subgroup analysis revealed similarities and differences in the pattern of associations among the predictor and outcome variables.
DISCUSSION: The results demonstrate the importance of social variables for predicting disease outcomes in the elderly and across ethnic groups.
The abstract was published in the June 2006 edition of the journal of aging and health. the pubmed identifier is 16648391 and the article starts on page 359.
Posted in Uncategorized May 5th, 2006 by admin | No comments
