Rehab Centers: Effectiveness of an Exercise Program on Postural Control in Frail Older Adults.
Effectiveness of an exercise program on postural control in frail older adults.
Filed under: Rehab Centers
Clin Interv Aging. 2012; 7: 593-8
Alfieri FM, Riberto M, Abril-Carreres A, Boldó-Alcaine M, Rusca-Castellet E, Garreta-Figuera R, Battistella LR
Exercise programs have proved to be helpful for frail older adults. This study aimed to investigate the effects of an exercise program with a focus on postural control exercises in frail older adults.Twenty-six older adults (76.7 ± 4.9 years) deemed clinically stable, chosen from the Falls Unit, University Hospital Mútua Terrassa, Barcelona, Spain, participated in this single-group study. Volunteers’ postural control was evaluated using the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) and the Guralnik test battery, and their static and dynamic posturography were evaluated using the Synapsys Posturography System(®). These evaluations were performed before and after the intervention program, which included an educational session and two weekly 1-hour sessions over an 8-week period of stretching exercises, proprioception, balance, and motor coordination. Data were analyzed using the Student’s t-test or the Wilcoxon test, with a significance level of 5%.The TUG and Guralnik tests did not show significant differences. Concerning static posturography, there was improvement in the base of support (P = 0.006), anteroposterior displacement with eyes open (P = 0.02) and closed (P = 0.03), and the total amplitude of the center of pressure with eyes closed (P = 0.02). Regarding dynamic posturography, a decrease of the oscillation speed in the anteroposterior direction (P = 0.01) was observed in individuals with their eyes open.The program used in this study was safe and was able to promote some improvement in postural control, especially in the anteroposterior direction and in the base of support. However, it is noteworthy that further improvements could be obtained from a program of longer duration and greater frequency.
HubMed – rehab
Incidence and costs of hip fractures vs strokes and acute myocardial infarction in Italy: comparative analysis based on national hospitalization records.
Filed under: Rehab Centers
Clin Interv Aging. 2012; 7: 575-83
Piscitelli P, Iolascon G, Argentiero A, Chitano G, Neglia C, Marcucci G, Pulimeno M, Benvenuto M, Mundi S, Marzo V, Donati D, Baggiani A, Migliore A, Granata M, Gimigliano F, Di Blasio R, Gimigliano A, Renzulli L, Brandi ML, Distante A, Gimigliano R
As osteoporotic fractures are becoming a major health care problem in countries characterized by an increasing number of older adults, in this study we aimed to compare the incidence and costs of hip fragility fractures in Italian elderly people versus those of major cardiovascular diseases (strokes and acute myocardial infarctions [AMI]) occurring in the whole adult population.We analyzed hospitalization records maintained at the national level by the Italian Ministry of Health for the diagnosis of hip fractures (ICD-9-CM codes 820-821), AMI (code 410), hemorrhagic (codes 430, 431, 432) and ischemic strokes (codes 433-434), and TIA (code 435) between 2001-2005. Cost analyses were based on diagnosis-related groups.The incidence of hip fractures in elderly people has increased (+12.9% between 2001 and 2005), as well as that of AMI (+20.2%) and strokes (hemorrhagic: +9.6%; ischemic: +14.7) occurring in the whole adult population; conversely, hospitalization due to TIA decreased by a rate of 13.6% between 2001 and 2005. In 2005, the hospital costs across the national health care system that were associated with hip fragility fractures in the elderly were comparable to those of strokes (both hemorrhagic and ischemic), which occurred in the whole Italian adult population. Moreover, these costs were higher than those generated by AMI and TIA. Rehabilitation costs following strokes reached about 3 billion Euros in 2005, but rehabilitative costs of hip fractures and AMI were comparable (about 530 million Euros in 2005).The burden of hip fragility fractures in Italy is comparable to that of AMI and strokes.
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Mucosal Plasma Cell Barrier Disruption During Intestine Transplant Rejection.
Filed under: Rehab Centers
Transplantation. 2012 Dec 27; 94(12): 1236-1242
Ningappa M, Ashokkumar C, Ranganathan S, Schmitt L, Higgs BW, Sun Q, Branca M, Mazariegos G, Zeevi A, Abu-Elmagd K, Squires R, Rudolph J, Alissa F, Hakonarson H, Sindhi R
BACKGROUND: Intestinal allograft mucosa undergoes repopulation with host immunocytes. However, critical changes within key immunocyte subsets are not known. METHODS: To explain acute cellular rejection after intestine transplantation (ITx) on the basis of altered mucosal immunocytes, rejecting and rejection-free ITx allografts (n=17) were compared with genome-wide expression arrays. Cells identified by cell/lineage-specific genes were evaluated by immunohistochemistry. The corresponding phenotype and donor-specific alloreactivity were characterized in peripheral blood. Time-dependent changes in candidate cell(s) were evaluated in biopsies from an independent cohort of 12 children with ITx. RESULTS: Among 107 differentially expressed genes, three B-cell lineage-specific genes, CCR10, STAP1, and IGLL1, were down-regulated during ITx rejection and were selected for and achieved technical quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction replication. Down-regulation of the immunoglobulin (Ig)A+ plasma cell-specific CCR10 gene correlated with decreased mature mucosal CD138+ plasma cell numbers in corresponding biopsy specimens (r=0.761, P=0.006) and inversely correlated with enhanced alloreactivity of CD154+ T-cytotoxic memory cells (r=-0.56, P=0.031), which predict acute cellular rejection with high sensitivity. An independent cohort of serial biopsy specimens from 12 ITx recipients (1) confirmed relative CD138+ plasma cell depletion during rejection (P=0.042) and (2) showed increased IgG+-to-IgA+ cell ratios within 4 hr of reperfusion in rejection-prone allografts (P=0.037) and during ITx rejection (P=0.025), compared with rejection-free allografts. No differences existed late after ITx. Increased peripheral IgG+ CD27+ CD19+ memory B cells (P=0.004) were seen during ITx rejection in archived peripheral blood lymphocyte from test and replication cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: Protracted depletion of the mucosal CD138+ plasma cell barrier and early mucosal infiltration with memory IgG+ cells characterize the rejection-prone intestine allograft. Mucosal IgA+ plasma cell barrier reconstitution may augur resolution of ITx rejection.
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