Peripheral Vascular Disease: The Beneficial Effect of Exercise in Peripheral Vascular Diseases Based on Clinical Trials.

Intermittent claudication (IC) due to peripheral artery diseases (PAD) is one of the disabling disease that can affect quality of life (QOL) and functional status of capacity. It is characterized by cramping pain which develops with exercise and eliminated by rest secondary to decrease blood flow to the muscles. The annual incidence rate is increased with age. Exercise rehabilitation has a great impact in improving the functional capacity and prevent the functional disability. The available evidences from current studies have showed that exercise therapy is considered the primary treatment in PAD, which in consequently improves the QOL. In this chapter we will illustrate the current available evidences which support exercise benefit and outcomes in PAD with IC.

The implication of tissue Doppler echocardiography and cardiopulmonary exercise in early detection of cardiac dysfunction in systemic lupus erythematosus patients.

OBJECTIVE: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can present limitations to exercise capacity and quality of life (QoL) because of various clinical conditions, such as pulmonary disease or heart disease. Tissue Doppler echocardiography (TDE) offers the promise of an objective measurement to quantify regional and global ventricular function through the assessment of myocardial velocity data. This study aimed to assess the intensity of left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) systolic and diastolic dysfunction in SLE patients by means of TDE and cardiopulmonary exercise (CPX) testing to determine their impact on QoL. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Overall, 56 SLE patients within two tertiary healthcare centers as well as 50 healthy controls were examined with TDE after the exclusion of cardiovascular risk factors. TDE was performed for maximal systolic (S), early diastolic (E'), and late diastolic (A') velocities of the mitral and tricuspid annulus. Pulsed wave (PW) Doppler of mitral and tricuspid valve inflow was performed in addition to the estimation of the left ventricle ejection fraction and assessment of right ventricle systolic function by tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion (TAPSE). Disease activity was assessed by the Systemic Lupus Activity Measure (SLAM), and the damage index was assessed by the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics (SLICC)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Damage Index (SDI). CPX tests according to the modified Bruce protocol were performed. RESULTS: SLE patients in both subgroups had more or less similar laboratory data and statistically higher values of ESR, CRP, and anticardiolipin (aCL) antibodies compared to the control group. LV function showed statistically insignificant EF compared to the control group, being lower in the patient group. Tissue Doppler image revealed that E' and A' of the mitral annulus were lower in the patient group than in the control group. Concerning RV, TAPSE in the patient group was statistically lower than in the control group, and there was a statistical difference between SLE groups Ia and Ib; also, S wave was lower in group Ib than in group Ia. RV diastolic dysfunction in the form of lower E' and A' values was observed for the SLE group compared to the control group, especially in the medial annulus of the tricuspid valve. A higher A wave velocity with PWD of mitral and tricuspid inflows was observed in the patient group compared to the control group. CONCLUSION: SLE patients have an increased prevalence of subclinical systolic and diastolic LV and RV dysfunction. This result advocates for regular follow-up and early screening of SLE patients. Accordingly, treatment focused on improving diastolic heart function may have a role in enhancing QoL and improving the prognosis of SLE patients.

Prevalence and clinical significance of nonorgan specific antibodies in patients with autoimmune thyroiditis as predictor markers for rheumatic diseases.

Autoimmune diseases are considered the 3rd leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the industrialized countries. Autoimmune thyroid diseases (ATDs) are associated with high prevalence of nonorgan-specific autoantibodies, such as antinuclear antibodies (ANA), antidouble-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (anti-dsDNA), antiextractable-nuclear antigens (anti-ENAs), rheumatoid factor (RF), and anticyclic-citrullinated peptides (anti-CCP) whose clinical significance is unknown.We aimed to assess the prevalence of various nonorgan-specific autoantibodies in patients with ATD, and to investigate the possible association between these autoantibodies and occurrence of rheumatic diseases and, if these autoantibodies could be considered as predictor markers for autoimmune rheumatic diseases in the future.This study had 2 phases: phase 1; in which 61 ATD patients free from rheumatic manifestations were assessed for the presence of these nonorgan-specific autoantibodies against healthy 61 control group, followed by 2nd phase longitudinal clinical follow-up in which cases are monitored systematically to establish occurrence and progression of any rheumatic disease in association to these autoantibodies with its influences and prognosis.Regarding ATD patients, ANA, anti-dsDNA, Anti-ENA, and RF were present in a percentage of (50.8%), (18%), (21.3%), and (34.4%), respectively, with statistically significance difference (P < 0.5) rather than controls. Nearly one third of the studied group (32.8%) developed the rheumatic diseases, over 2 years follow-up. It was obvious that those with positive anti-dsDNA had higher risk (2.45 times) to develop rheumatic diseases than those without. There was a statistically significant positive linear relationship between occurrence of disease in months and (age, anti-dsDNA, anti-CCP, RF, and duration of thyroiditis). Anti-dsDNA and RF are the most significant predictors (P < 0.0001).ATD is more associated with rheumatic diseases than previously thought. Anti-dsDNA, RF, and anti-CCP antibodies may be used as predictive screening markers of systemic lupus erythematosus and RA, with early referral to rheumatologists for close follow-up and early diagnoses for appropriate disease management of the disease, as early disease control will allow better quality of life.