Effects of two exercise interventions on pulmonary functions in the patients with ankylosing spondylitis

ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of two different home-based daily exercise programs on pulmonary functions in the patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS).MethodsFifty-one patients with AS were distributed into three groups. Group 1 (n = 19) was given a conventional exercise regimen. Group 2 (n = 19) received exercises based on the Global Posture Reeducation (GPR) method. Group 3 (n = 13) was accepted as the control group. Patients were assessed according to pain, functional capacity (The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index – BASFI), disease activity (The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index – BASDAI), chest expansion, pulmonary function parameters, and 6-min walk distance (6MWD) test.ResultsAlthough there were significant improvements for BASDAI and BASFI scores in all groups, significant improvements in the VAS pain, chest expansion, pulmonary function parameters and 6MWD test were observed in the exercise groups. The improvements in pain, functional capacity, disease activity, chest expansion, pulmonary function parameters and 6MWD test were better in the exercise groups than in the control group. The GPR method resulted in greater improvements than the conventional exercise program in specific pulmonary function parameters like forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume in 1 s, and peak expiratory flow parameters.ConclusionBoth exercises are efficient in improving pulmonary functions. Since the improvements in pulmonary function tests were greater in the patients who performed the exercise according to GPR method, motivated patients should be encouraged to perform this exercise program.     

Naive CD4+ cells from cord blood can generate competent Th effector cells

BACKGROUND: Umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells have been increasingly used as a source of hematopoietic stem cells for allogeneic transplantation. Previous reports suggest that the low risk of graft-versus-host disease in patients that received cord blood cells seems related to the distinctive nature of cord blood T cells. METHODS: To analyze the maturation of CD4+CD45RA+ cord blood cells, we performed an in vitro differentiation assay to compare the generation of Th effector cells strictly from UCB and adult peripheral blood (APB) CD4+CD45RA+ cells. RESULTS: During the maturation into effector cells, UCB and APB cells acquired a comparable activation level determined by the expression pattern of CD69, CD40L, OX40 and CD62L as well as PD1 and CTLA-4 molecules. Moreover, the expression of CD45RO isoform was induced in most activated effector cells from both UCB and APB. OKT3-restimulated effector cells generated from naive UCB expressed higher levels of CD25 coinciding with the secretion of higher amounts of IL-2. Effector cells from both origins consisted of heterogeneous populations with similar frequencies of Th1 and Th2 cytokine producing cells, secreting equivalent levels of IL-4, IL-5 and IFNgamma. Although, higher levels of IL-10 were detected in the cytokine mRNA profile and in the supernatants of OKT3-restimulated UCB effector cells, blocking endogenous IL-10 with anti-IL-10 mAbs enhanced significantly the proliferative response of UCB as well as APB effector cells (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that Th effector cells generated from naive UCB cells were intrinsically as competent as naive APB to respond to TCR-mediated stimulation. In addition, UCB effector cells produced higher IL-10 but its inhibitory effect on proliferation may be partially compensated by the higher production of IL-2 and enhanced expression of CD25.     

Antioxidative effects of cysteamine,hyaluronan and fetuin on post‐thaw semen quality,DNA integrity and oxidative stress parameters in the Brown Swiss bull

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of antioxidants including cysteamine (2.5, 7.5 mm ), hyaluronan (0.25, 1 mg ml^?1) and fetuin (5, 10 mg ml^?1) in the freezing of Brown Swiss bull semen. The best percentages of CASA motilities were achieved with 10 mg ml^?1 of fetuin and 2.5 mm of cysteamine. For sperm morphology, 10 mg ml^?1 of fetuin and 2.5 mm of cysteamine had better protective effects (P < 0.001). The results of hypo‐osmotic swelling test showed that the percentage values of membrane integrity in all the groups, excluding that supplemented with 5 mg ml^?1 of fetuin, were higher than those of the control group (P < 0.001). Results obtained for the DNA damage of sperm cells demonstrated that 0.25 mg ml^?1 of hyaluronan, and 2.5 and 7.5 mm of cysteamine led to lower rates of spermatozoa with damaged DNA, compared with the control group (P < 0.001). The maintenance of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase antioxidant activities following freeze‐thawing with 2.5 and 7.5 mm of cysteamine and 10 mg ml^?1 of fetuin was demonstrated to be at a higher level in comparison with the control group (P < 0.001). Malondialdehyde formation was found to be lower in the groups supplemented with 0.25 mg ml^?1 of hyaluronan and 7.5 mm of cysteamine after the freeze‐thawing process (P < 0.001).     

Pellagra: a sporadic pediatric case with a full triad of symptoms

Pellagra is clinically manifested by a photosensitive dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia. The full triad of symptoms is usually not well developed in infants and children. We report a case of a 14-year-old boy with classic symptoms of pellagra. All his symptoms responded to treatment with nicotinic acid.     

"Stem cell" origin of the hematopoietic defect in dyskeratosis congenita

We have used the long-term bone marrow culture (LTBMC) system to analyze hematopoiesis in three patients with dyskeratosis congenita (DC), two of whom had aplastic anemia, and the third had a normal blood count (apart from mild macrocytosis) and normal BM cellularity. Hematopoiesis was severely defective in all three patients, as measured by a low incidence of colony-forming cells and a low level of hematopoiesis in LTBMC. The function of the marrow stroma was normal in its ability to support the growth of hematopoietic progenitors from normal marrows seeded onto them in all three cases, but the generation of hematopoietic progenitors from patients marrow cells inoculated onto normal stromas was reduced, thus suggesting the defect to be of stem cell origin. The parents and unaffected brother of one of the families have also been studied in LTBMC and all showed normal hematopoietic and stromal cell function. From this study we speculate that there are some similarities between DC and the defect in the W/Wv mouse.     

Effectiveness of diclofenac versus paracetamol in knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled trial in primary care

Background

The effectiveness of diclofenac versus paracetamol in primary care patients with pain caused by knee osteoarthritis is unclear.

Aim

To assess the effectiveness of diclofenac compared with paracetamol over a period of 2, 4, and 12 weeks in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Design and setting

Randomised controlled trial in general practice.

Method

There were 104 patients included in the study, they were aged ≥45 years consulting their GP with knee pain caused by knee osteoarthritis. Patients were randomly allocated to diclofenac (n = 52) or paracetamol (n = 52) for at least 2 weeks. Primary outcomes were daily knee pain severity, and knee pain and function measured with the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS).

Results

Over a period of 2- and 4-weeks follow-up, no significant difference in daily knee pain was found between the patient groups: estimated differences of 0.5 (95% CI = −0.2 to 1.3) and −0.2 (95% CI = −1.0 to 0.7), respectively. Over the 12-weeks follow-up, no significant differences were found between both groups for KOOS pain: estimated difference of −2.8 (95% CI = −10.7 to 5.1) and KOOS function of −2.7 (−10.6 to 5.0).

Conclusion

Over a period of 2- and 4-weeks follow-up no significant difference in daily measured knee pain severity was found between primary care patients with knee osteoarthritis taking paracetamol or diclofenac. Also, over a period of 12-weeks follow-up no significant differences were found regarding KOOS pain and KOOS function between both groups. Patients more frequently reported minor adverse events after taking diclofenac (64%) than paracetamol (46%).     

Age-dependent neurological phenotypes in a mouse model of PRRT2-related diseases

Paroxysmal kinesigenic dyskinesia is an episodic movement disorder caused by dominant mutations in the proline-rich transmembrane protein PRRT2, with onset in childhood and typically with improvement or resolution by middle age. Mutations in the same gene may also cause benign infantile seizures, which begin in the first year of life and typically remit by the age of 2 years. Many details of PRRT2 function at the synapse, and the effects of mutations on neuronal excitability in the pathophysiology of epilepsy and dyskinesia, have emerged through the work of several groups over the last decade. However, the age dependence of the phenotypes has not been explored in detail in transgenic models. Here, we report our findings in heterozygous and homozygous Prrt2 knockout mice that recapitulate the age dependence of dyskinesia seen in the human disease. We show that Prrt2 deletion reduces the levels of synaptic proteins in a dose-dependent manner that is most pronounced at postnatal day 5 (P5), attenuates at P60, and disappears by P180. In a test for foot slippage while crossing a balance beam, transient loss of coordination was most pronounced at P60 and less prominent at age extremes. Slower traverse time was noted in homozygous knockout mice only, consistent with the ataxia seen in rare individuals with biallelic loss of function mutations in Prrt2. We thus identify three age-dependent phenotypic windows in the mouse model, which recapitulate the pattern seen in humans with PRRT2-related diseases.