Rheumatology international
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Effects of muscle strengthening versus aerobic exercise program in fibromyalgia.
The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of aerobic training with a muscle-strengthening program in patients with fibromyalgia. Thirty women with fibromyalgia were randomized to either an aerobic exercise (AE) program or a strengthening exercise (SE) program for 8 weeks. Outcome measures included the intensity of fibromyalgia-related symptoms, tender point count, fitness (6-min walk distance), hospital anxiety and depression (HAD) scale, and short-form health survey (SF-36). ⋯ Bodily pain subscale of SF-36 and physical component summary improved significantly in the AE group, whereas seven subscales of SF-36, physical component summary, and mental component summary improved significantly in the SE group. When the groups were compared after treatment, there were no significant differences in pain, sleep, fatigue, tender point count, fitness, HAD scores, and SF-36 scores. AE and SE are similarly effective at improving symptoms, tender point count, fitness, depression, and quality of life in fibromyalgia.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A comparison of two different intra-articular hyaluronan drugs and physical therapy in the management of knee osteoarthritis.
The aim of this study was to compare the effects of physical therapy agents (PTA) and two different intra-articular hyaluronan drugs (sodium hyaluronate (NaHA) and hylan G-F 20) on knee osteoarthritis (OA). The randomised, single-blind study, with 12 months of follow-up, was performed on 80 patients diagnosed as knee OA. The patients were randomly divided into two treatment groups: patients in group 1 were given weekly intra-articular hyaluronan treatment which consisted of either hylan G-F 20 or NaHA during the first 3 weeks and in the sixth month; PTA was applied to each patient in group 2 five times a week for 3 weeks with a series of infrared, short-wave diathermy-pulsed patterns and interferential therapy. ⋯ No serious local or systemic effects were observed following injections. Although all patients had improvement, PTA was superior to hyaluronan group for no activity-related pain and functional performance. On the other hand, this study supports the preferential use of hylan over NaHA in patients with knee OA.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
A prospective randomised controlled clinical trial comparing the efficacy of different molecular weight hyaluronan solutions in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.
Viscosupplementation consists of injecting exagenous hyaluronan (HA) into the synovial joints to restore the normal rheological environment which deteriorates severely in osteoarthritic (OA) joints. Efficacy might be related to the rheological properties and molecular weight (MW) of the hyaluronan preparations. This prospective, controlled, double-blind, randomised clinical trial was aimed at comparing the elastoviscous properties of a high molecular weight viscosupplement, hylan G-F 20, with that of a lower molecular weight hyaluronan product in order to determine the relationship of elastoviscosity to efficacy, alongside placebo, in the treatment of patients with knee OA. ⋯ Patients treated by injection of either of two hyaluronan preparations showed clinical improvement for pain, though no different from the placebo group; WOMAC stiffness scores were better than placebo in the HA groups, whereas PGA scores showed improvement in all groups but HA groups were better than placebo. PhGA scores were worse in the placebo group, but not to a statistically-significant extent. The HA groups did not differ in terms of clinical efficacy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Association between dynamic exercise therapy and IGF-1 and IGFBP-3 concentrations in the patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
We aimed to evaluate the relationship between short-term dynamic exercise therapy and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) levels in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. Forty RA patients were assigned into dynamic or range of motion (ROM) exercise groups. Also control group carried out the same dynamic exercise protocol. ⋯ Also no significant changes were observed on IGFBP-3 in three groups. Our results suggest that short-term dynamic exercise therapy increases serum IGF-1 in RA patients. The manipulation of serum IGF-1 levels by dynamic exercise therapy may indicate the beneficial effects of dynamic exercise in RA patients.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Early effect of nasal salmon calcitonin on the bone marker Crosslaps.
The aim of this study was to investigate the early effect of nasal salmon calcitonin on a bone-resorption marker, "Crosslaps", in postmenopausal osteoporotic women. In this randomized, single-blind and placebo-controlled study we included 78 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, between 45 and 65 years of age, with at least 5 years duration of menopause. Patients were randomly divided into two groups, the treatment and the placebo groups. ⋯ Crosslaps levels in the treatment group were significantly lower (P < 0.05) than in the placebo group. Other bone marker levels at the end of the study were not significantly lower (P > 0.05) than those at baseline in both treatment and placebo groups, however. Salmon calcitonin affects bone turnover within a few months and bone-resorption markers such as Crosslaps can be used to monitor the effect of nasal salmon calcitonin in the early phase of treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis.