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“Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) suffer PU-H71 research buy from muscle loss, causing reduced muscle strength and endurance. The current study aimed to: (1) evaluate the effects of combined strength and endurance training (CT) on disease activity and functional ability in patients with RA and (2) investigate the benefits of a 6-month supervised CT program on muscle strength, cardio-respiratory fitness, and body composition of RA patients. Forty patients with RA, aged 41-73 years, were recruited for the current study. Twenty of these patients (19 females, one male) were randomly assigned to a 6-month supervised CT program; 20 patients (17 females,
three males) served as controls. Within the CT program, strength training consisted of sets of weight bearing exercises for all major muscle groups. In addition to strength training, systematic endurance training was performed on a cycle ergometer two times per week. For RA patients involved in CT, disease activity (p=0.06) and pain (p=0.05) were reduced after the 6-month Selleck Compound C training period while general health (p=0.04) and functional ability (p=0.06) improved. Cardio-respiratory endurance was
found to have improved significantly (by 10%) after 6 months of CT (p<0.001). The overall strength of patients undertaking CT increased by an average of 14%. Lean body mass increased, and the percentage ABT737 of body fat was found to decrease significantly (p<0.05). A combination of strength and endurance training resulted in considerable improvements in RA patients’ muscle strength and cardio-respiratory endurance, accompanied by positive changes in body composition and functional ability. Long-term training
appears to be effective in reducing disease activity and associated pain and was found to have no deleterious effects.”
“Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the possibility of virtually designing and manufacturing a template for reconstruction plate bending, to be used during treatment of congenital or acquired bony entities. The outcome was compared with plates bent by the freehand approach in a stereolithographic skull model.
Materials and Methods: From a computed tomography examination, a polygon skull was created and the corresponding stereolithographic model retrieved. A polygon mesh of a Compact UniLock 2.4-mm plate was obtained from Synthes (Bettlach, Switzerland). The polygon plate was bent virtually around the mandible and rendered in all 3 dimensions, and a template was created. Five 10-hole plates were bent using this template, and five 10-hole plates were bent using a stereolithographic model as the template. The 2 groups were compared using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. P values less than .001 was considered to be statistically significant.
Results: No statistical difference was seen between the 2 methods.