ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to determine the relations of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and parameters of nerve conduction study (NCS) in diabetic peripheral polyneuropathy patients. METHOD: Prospectively, total 40 patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus were included in the study. NCS was performed on median, ulnar, posterior tibial, deep peroneal, superficial peroneal, and sural nerves. Distal latency and conduction velocity (CV) of compound muscle action potential (CMAP), distal latency and amplitude of sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) were used as parameters of NCS. Multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyze the relations of HbA1c and parameters of NCS, after adjustment for age, height, weight, and disease duration of diabetes mellitus. RESULTS: HbA1c level had an inverse relation to CV of median motor nerve (beta= 1.272, p<0.01), ulnar motor nerve (beta= 1.287, p<0.01), posterior tibial nerve (beta= 0.982, p<0.05), and deep peroneal nerve (beta= 1.449, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that HbA1c level was inversely related to motor nerve CV, and that sustained hyperglycemia may be involved in demyelination of motor nerves. Analysis of motor nerve CV related to HbA1c is expected to be useful in the follow-up or efficacy study of diabetes mellitus neuropathy as baseline data.
Subject(s)
Humans , Action Potentials , Demyelinating Diseases , Diabetes Mellitus , Glycated Hemoglobin , Hyperglycemia , Linear Models , Neural Conduction , Peroneal Nerve , Polyneuropathies , Prospective Studies , Sural Nerve , Tibial NerveABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of back extensor strengthening exercise on improving the pain, activities of daily living (ADL) and bone mineral density in the chronic low back pain patients. METHOD: 21 patients with chronic low back pain participated in back school program. Before program, measurement of lumbar extensor strength with MedX(R) (Ocala, USA), visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, level of ADL and bone mineral density (BMD) with DEXA (Lunar(R), GE, USA) were done. For 12 weeks subjects had received the training for strengthening of back extensor and then, checked up with the above variables again. RESULTS: The results were as follows: 1) After 12 weeks of lumbar extensor strengthening program, isometric lumbar extensor strength was increased significantly (p<0.01), 2) VAS and ADL were significantly improved from 5.1 to 3.3, and 8.1 to 9.9, respectively (p<0.01), 3) BMD of lumbar spine were significantly improved from 1.1 to 0.8 (p<0.05) CONCLUSION: Twelve weeks lumbar extensor strengthening program with pelvic stabilization may be the effective therapeutic program for patients with chronic low back pain.
Subject(s)
Humans , Activities of Daily Living , Bone Density , Low Back Pain , SpineABSTRACT
The present study was performed to investigate the effect on the skin and the intra-articular structures of 5-minutes of cold air application. During and after 5 minutes of cold air application on 20 healthy subjects, the skin and intra-articular temperatures were measured by means of an infrared thermogram and a digital k-wire probe, respectively. The results showed that 1) Skin temperature dropped very rapidly by a total of 22.1 degrees C after 5 minutes of cold air application. 2) Intra-articular temperature dropped by 3.9 degrees C after 5 minutes of cold air application. 3) Two hours after the start of treatment with cold air, intra-articular temperatures had still not returned to their baseline values (p 0.05).
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged , Female , Humans , Male , Body Mass Index , Body Temperature , Cryotherapy , Knee Joint/physiology , Middle Aged , Skin TemperatureABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of growth hormone in reversing glucocorticoid-induced musculoskeletal changes including osteoporosis and myopathy in rats. METHOD: Experimental rats were divided into five groups and each group was composed of 10 rats. The group 1 was administered with saline, group 2 with growth hormone, group 3 with glucocorticoid, group 4 with combined dosages of growth hormone and glucocorticoid, and group 5 with glucocorticoid for 4 weeks and then growth hormone for another 4 weeks. All injections were carried out every other day for 8 weeks. The half of animals were sacrificed after 4 weeks and another half after 8 weeks in each group. The triceps surae muscle was biopsied and examined histologically for the evaluation of mean area of muscle fiber. The femur was removed and dissected for the measurement of its weight, length, and diameter. The bone mineral density of the femur was measured by a dual energy X-ray absorptiometer. RESULTS: Administration of growth hormone partially reversed the complications of steroid such as decrease in body weight, decrease in weight, length, diameter, and bone mineral density of femur, and decrease in mean area of muscle fiber. CONCLUSION: This study indicated that growth hormone could be applied for the management of steroid-induced osteoporosis and myopathy.
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Body Weight , Bone Density , Femur , Growth Hormone , Muscular Diseases , OsteoporosisABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of strengthening exercise for isolated lumbar extensor muscles on chronic low back pain patients. METHOD: 28 patients with chronic low back pain in back school program participated in this study. Initially, isometric lumbar extensor strength, 10 point of Visual analog scale (VAS) and questionnaires related to self-experienced symptoms and daily activity (ADL) were checked. Isometric lumbar extensor strength test and strengthening exercise were performed with MedXTM lumbar extensor machine, which was designed to stabilize the pelvis. After 8 weeks of training program, isometric lumbar extensor strength & other pain related variables were checked again in the same way. RESULTS: The results were as follows: 1) After 8 weeks of lumbar extensor strengthening program, isometric lumbar extensor strength was increased at all the measured points significantly (p<0.01). 2) VAS and ADL were improved from 6.7 to 3.7, and from 6.9 to 9.1 respectively (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: 8 weeks of lumbar extensor strengthening program with pelvic stabilization was effective therapeutic tools for patients with chronic low back pain.
Subject(s)
Humans , Activities of Daily Living , Education , Low Back Pain , Muscles , Pelvis , Surveys and Questionnaires , Visual Analog ScaleABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Aims of this study are to assess the activities of daily living (ADL) for disabled persons in some rural communities using an appropriately developed ADL scale and to analyse the relationship between severity of impairment and ADL score. METHOD: ADLs of 98 disabled persons in two myeons of Kyunggido were assessed from May 1996 to August 1997. The newly developed ADL index composed of eight basic ADL (B-ADL) and two instrumental ADL (I-ADL) parameters were used. Impairment defined by the National Reparation Law was divided into a severely disabled group, grades 1 to 6 and a mildly disabled group, graded 7 to 14. Correlations between the impairment grade of each body part and the assessed ADL score were studied. RESULTS: 1) The most dependent ADL item of ten ADL parameters was performance in the public office (37.8%) and, the most independent ADL item was feeding (98.0%). 2) With severe impairment of the upper or lower limb, all ADL scores except for feeding were significantly low (p<0.05). In addition, with severe hearing impairment, scores of performance in public office were accessed low (p<0.05). 3)With severe lower limb impairment, average scores of I-ADL and B-ADL were low (p<0.05). 4) With severe language impairment, the average I-ADL score was also low (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The task of performance in the public office was the most difficult ADL item for disabled persons. All ADL parameters except feeding were affected for disabled persons with lower or upper limb impairment. We think this pilot study may be used to develop more appropriate ADL scales for community based rehabilitation in the future.
Subject(s)
Humans , Activities of Daily Living , Disabled Persons , Hearing Loss , Jurisprudence , Lower Extremity , Pilot Projects , Rehabilitation , Rural Population , Upper Extremity , Weights and MeasuresABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To compare key-person method with census method on the prevalence of physically disabled students and to obtain the prevalence of the physically disabled students in rural community. METHOD: Total 4,890 students of 20 schools in Kyungaido province were surveyed in 1997. Two-thousands and twenty-two students of 8 schools were surveyed by a census method and 2,868 students of 12 schools by a key-person method. RESULTS: The prevalence of the physically disabled students in rural community was 0.53% of the population. The prevalence of the physically disabled students was 0.69% by a census method and 0.42% by a key-person method. This result suggests that there is no significant difference in the prevalence of physically disabled students between the two survey methods (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: A key-person method is as effective as a census method for prevalence survey of physically disabled students in rural communities because of cost effectiveness and less personnel.
Subject(s)
Humans , Censuses , Cost-Benefit Analysis , Surveys and Questionnaires , Disabled Persons , Prevalence , Rural PopulationABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of epidural injections of hypertonic saline, steroid and local anesthetics in patients with low back pain and sciatica. METHOD: Retrospective study of 325 patients with low back pain and sciatica. Group I, 261 patients, were treated with epidural injection of steroid (Depo-medrol ) weekly for 2 weeks and local anesthetics (lidocaine and bupivacaine) daily via epidural catheter. Group II, 64 patients, were treated with epidural injection of hypertonic saline for three successive days and same method of group I via epidural catheter. The efficacy was assessed with Visual Analog Scale (VAS) on the day of pre- and post- (2weeks later) epidural injection. RESULTS: (1) VAS score changes from pre- to post-epidural injections were from 6.1+/-3.6 to 3.6+/-1.8 (p<0.05) in Group I and from 6.2+/-1.6 to 2.6+/-1.4 (p<0.05) in Group II. (2) VAS score decrease of Group II was more than that of Group I (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Epidural injections of hypertonic saline, steroid and local anesthetics are effective for patients with low back pain and sciatica in the short term, and more effective than that of steroid and local anesthetics, but prospective long-term follow up studies will be necessary in the future.
Subject(s)
Humans , Anesthetics, Local , Catheters , Follow-Up Studies , Injections, Epidural , Low Back Pain , Retrospective Studies , Sciatica , Visual Analog ScaleABSTRACT
The purposes of this study are to investigate the effect of the cold air application in the skin and intraarticular temperature changes and to observe the rebound temperature changes after cooling. We recorded the changes of the skin surface and intraarticular temperatures of knees during and after the cold air application. The intraarticular temperature was measured by a temperature probe inserted into the knee joint cavity and the skin temperature by the infrared system. Eighteen healthy subjects were examined. The knee was cooled by a 5-minutes application of CRAis (Kyung-won Century, Korea) machine and the intraarticular and skin temperatures of knees were measured at every 0.5-minute during and after the cold therpy, then at every minute for 5 minutes, and every 5-minute for the next 110 minutes. We also evaluated the variables that might affect the skin and intraarticular temperature changes. Results showed that the mean skin temperature dropped from 31.8oC to 10.5oC immediately after the cold air application for 5-minutes. The mean intraarticular temperature dropped from 33.9oC to 30.0oC after the cold air application for 5-minutes. Two hours after the initiation of treatment with cold air, the mean intraarticular temperatures did not recover to the baseline values(p<0.01). No significant correlations were found between the body mass index with the intraarticular and surface temperatures of knees. A highly significant correlation was noted between the baseline skin surface and intraarticular temperatures(p<0.01). In conclusion, the reduction of the joint temperature by the cold air application using CRAis machine can be a useful treatment method for the synovitis of knees.