Anti-inflammatory effect by exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) in a patient with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA): brief report

There is extensive evidence for influence of gut microbiota on health. Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) possibly changes gut microbiota, but the exact pathophysiological role is unknown. EEN has been shown to have an anti-inflammatory effect in children with Mb Crohn, an inflammatory bowel disease. The intestinal tract is very scarcely studied in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), but data points to an immunologically important role. The aim of this study was to explore if EEN had any anti-inflammatory effect in children with JIA. The first patient enrolled in the study was followed for 1 year. She had onset of severe polyarticular disease at 3.2 years of age, negative in RF, anti-CCP, ANA, and HLA-B27. She was included in the study at 7.4 years of age. Exclusive enteral nutrition was given in two periods of almost 7 weeks each, several months apart, during the year of the study. Clinical and laboratory status were assessed before, during, and after treatment periods. In this patient, EEN had remarkable anti-inflammatory effect that was sustained for months after each of two separate treatment periods. Exclusive enteral nutrition is a possible anti-inflammatory treatment in patients with JIA, but to what extent EEN is effective in other children with JIA needs to be explored, as well as the possible pathophysiological role of EEN in those children.     

Dental auscultation for nursing personnel as a model of oral health care education: development,baseline, and 6-month follow-up assessments

Oral health care has been shown to have low priority in nursing and has been only partly successful. To create more positive effects than those achieved through traditional oral health care education, this project tested an educational model for nursing staff personnel. In addition to traditional oral health care education, some of the nursing staff members passed an additional dental auscultation period and served as oral care aides. The aides were responsible for the oral health care of the residents at their nursing facilities (intervention group). The intervention nursing facilities were compared with facilities where nursing personnel only received a traditional oral health care education program. Assessments were made at baseline and at a 6-month follow-up. At follow-up it was shown that the nursing staff in the intervention group gave higher priority to the oral health care work than the nursing staff in the control group.     

Effects of a fall prevention program including exercise on mobility and falls in frail older people living in residential care facilities

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Impaired mobility is one of the strongest predictors for falls in older people. We hypothesized that exercise as part of a fall prevention program would have positive effects, both short- and long-term, on gait, balance and strength in older people at high risk of falling and with varying levels of cognition, residing in residential care facilities. A secondary hypothesis was that these effects would be associated with a reduced risk of falling. METHODS: 187 out of all residents living in 9 facilities, > or =65 years of age were at high risk of falling. The facilities were cluster-randomized to fall intervention or usual care. The intervention program comprised: education, environment, individually designed exercise, drug review, post-fall assessments, aids, and hip protectors. Data were adjusted for baseline performance and clustering. RESULTS: At 11 weeks, positive intervention effects were found on independent ambulation (FAC, p=0.026), maximum gait speed (p=0.002), and step height (> or =10 cm, p<0.001), but not significantly on the Berg Balance Scale. At 9 months (long-term outcome), 3 intervention and 15 control residents had lost the ability to walk (p=0.001). Independent ambulation and maximum gait speed were maintained in the intervention group but deteriorated in the control group (p=0.001). Residents with both higher and lower cognition benefited in most outcome measures. No association was found between improved mobility and reduced risk of falling. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise, as part of a fall prevention program, appears to preserve the ability to walk, maintain gait speed, ambulate independently, and improve step height. Benefits were found in residents with both lower and higher cognitive impairment, but were not found to be associated with a reduced risk of falling.     

Low adipocyte-derived plasma protein adiponectin concentrations are associated with the metabolic syndrome and small dense low-density lipoprotein particles: atherosclerosis and insulin resistance study

Circulating plasma adiponectin, an adipocyte-derived protein, has been shown to be decreased in obese subjects as well as in patients with type 2 diabetes and also in subjects who do not have diabetes, but are insulin resistant. We assessed the relationship between plasma levels of adiponectin, the metabolic syndrome and the occurrence of small dense LDL particles (pattern B) in 101 clinically healthy middle-aged subjects recruited from the general population. Low adiponectin levels were associated with the metabolic syndrome and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) particle size (r =.55, P <.001). The relationship between adiponectin and LDL particle size remained in a multiple regression model, in which adiponectin and total body fat explained 30% of the variability in LDL particle size. Furthermore, subjects in the lowest tertile of adiponectin had an increased risk of having pattern B (risk odds ratio [ROR] = 5.6). Because this was a cross-sectional study, no conclusions can be drawn about causality. This is the first population-based study in man demonstrating a relationship between small dense LDL particles and adiponectin.     

The influence of heredity for psoriasis on the ILAR classification of juvenile idiopathic arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how heredity for psoriasis influences classification according to the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR). Heredity for psoriasis is currently both an exclusion and an inclusion criterion for different types of childhood arthritis according to ILAR classification criteria. METHODS: Twenty physicians in 5 Nordic countries prospectively collected data from the incident cases in their catchment areas over an 18 month period beginning July 1, 1997. Clinical and serological data from the first year of disease were collected. RESULTS: Of the 321 patients included who could be classified according to ILAR criteria for childhood arthritis, 50 (15.6%) patients were excluded from 55 classification events and fulfilled criteria for "other arthritis 1" i.e., did not fulfill criteria for any of the other classification categories, primarily because of heredity for psoriasis. If psoriasis in second degree relatives was disregarded as an exclusion criterion, only 8.7% of the patients remained in the "other arthritis 1" subgroup. For 20.6% of the whole group, heredity for psoriasis in a first or second degree relative (or both) and its distribution among arthritis subgroups did not differ except for juvenile psoriatic arthritis. CONCLUSION: We suggest that second degree heredity for psoriasis be withdrawn as an exclusion criterion from the ILAR criteria.     

A description of the characteristics and outcome of patients hospitalized for acute chest pain in relation to whether they were admitted to the coronary care unit or not in the thrombolytic era

OBJECTIVES: To describe the characteristics and outcome of patients hospitalized for acute chest pain in relation to whether they were admitted to the coronary care unit (CCU) or not. DESIGN: Prospective observational study with a follow-up of 2 years. SETTING: Sahlgrenska University Hospital in G?teborg, Sweden. SUBJECTS: All patients hospitalized due to acute chest pain during 6 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mortality, use of medical resources, complications and previous history. RESULTS: In all 1.592 patients were admitted to hospital for chest pain, of whom 1.136 (71%) were not directly admitted to the CCU. These patients differed from those directly admitted to the CCU, being older, including more women, having a higher prevalence of known congestive heart failure and a lower degree of initial suspicion of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Among all patients with confirmed AMI only 58% were directly admitted to CCU. Overall, the occurrence of complications and the use of medical resources were less frequent in the patients not admitted to the CCU. The mortality during the subsequent 2 years was 16.8% for patients not admitted to the CCU and 18.5% for patients admitted to the CCU. When adjusting for various factors at baseline, patients admitted to the CCU had a relative risk of death during 2 years of follow-up being 1.23 0.87-1.73 (P=0.24) as compared with those not admitted to the CCU. CONCLUSION: In a Swedish university hospital, more than two thirds of patients hospitalized for acute chest pain were not directly admitted to the CCU. They differed from those admitted to the CCU in several aspects. However, their unadjusted and adjusted mortality during the subsequent 2 years did not significantly differ from those admitted to CCU.     

Treatment of liver cancer with regional intraarterial 5-FU infusion.

The results of a retrospective three year study of forty-six patients with cancer of the liver treated with regional intraarterial infusion of 5-FU are reported. No primary mortality was noted. Oblective overall remission rate was 43 per cent. Overall median survival from onset of treatment was six months. The one year survival rate was 33 per cent and the two year survival rate 11 per cent. Patients with an objective response had a significantly prolonged survival as compared with nonresponders, especially in the colorectal group: sixteen months versus four months. Survival was not related to tumor size and involvement of the liver. During treatment 42 per cent of the patients developed extrahepatic metastases. Quality of life was improved in 63 per cent of the patients. The results indicate that infusion therapy induces reasonable response and palliation but is inadequate for the control of extrahepatic tumor growth.