Smart and Age-Friendly Cities in Russia: An Exploratory Study of Attitudes, Perceptions, Quality of Life and Health Information Needs.

In Russia, initiatives for healthy ageing have been growing over the last two decades; however, none use an evidence-based (EB) approach. It is proposed that Kazan, a city with a population of over a million in the European part of Russia, has good chances of moving towards age-friendliness and contributing to raising awareness about healthy ageing through Cochrane evidence. One of the eight essential features of age-friendly cities by the World Health Organisation (WHO) directly points to health services. This exploratory study assesses the health information needs of the ageing population of Kazan and the challenges people face in improving their health and longevity. Survey data were used from 134 participants, patients, caregivers and healthcare providers of the Interregional Clinical Diagnostic Centre (ICDC), aged from 30 to over 80 years, and potential associations of the studied parameters with age, gender, quality of life and other characteristics were analysed. Older people (60+) were less positive about their quality of life, took medicines more often on a daily basis (10/16 compared to 29/117 of people under 60), encountered problems with ageing (9/16 compared to 21/117 of people under 60) and rated their quality of life as unsatisfactory (4/14 compared to 9/107 of people under 60). Awareness of EB approaches and Cochrane was higher within health professions (evidence-based medicine: 42/86 vs. 13/48; Cochrane: 32/86 vs. 2/48), and health information needs did not differ between age or gender groups or people with a satisfactory and unsatisfactory quality of life. The minority (10%-13/134) were aware of ageism without age or gender differences. The low awareness calls for the need of Cochrane intervention both for consumers and those in the health profession to raise awareness to contribute to Kazan moving towards an age-friendly city.

Physiotherapy and rehabilitation applications in lipedema management: A literature review.

Lipedema is a chronic and progressive disease of adipose tissue caused by abnormal fat accumulation in subcutaneous tissue. Although there is no known cure for lipedema, possible complications can be prevented with conservative and surgical treatments. One of the conservative treatment options is physiotherapy and rehabilitation (PR). When the literature is examined, few studies focusing on the efficacy of PR were found for this patient group. The purpose of this review is to provide a better understanding of the effectiveness of PR applications by compiling existing studies. A bibliographic PubMed search was performed for published studies regarding PR in lipedema management in June 2019 including the last 58 years (1951-2019). Articles were chosen by reading the abstracts and subsequently data were analyzed by reading the entire text through full-text resources. A total of 15 studies met inclusion criteria. Results document how lipedema patients are benefited by PR and the effectiveness of different types of PR programs. The current review also showed that complex decongestive physiotherapy, gait training, hydrotherapy, aerobic exercise, and resistance exercise training each have value in the management of lipedema. The effects of PR for the treatment of lipedema are variable among studies, although overall PR seems to be effective in lipedema management. Although physiotherapy applications have a potentially important role in the management of lipedema, they should be used in combination with other treatment modalities. More studies with higher quality are needed to fully demonstrate the effect and efficacy of PR in lipedema patients.

Preliminary results with non-centrifuged autologous fat graft and percutaneous aponeurotomy for treating Dupuytren's disease.

The aim of this study was to describe our experience with treating Dupuytren's disease using needle aponeurotomy and non-centrifuged autologous fat grafting. The study included 17 patients (18 hands). Patients were treated with needle aponeurotomy and non-centrifuged autologous fat graft under general anesthesia. The fat grafts were injected into the surgical area so as to stay in contact with the operated site. An extension splint was used for 1 week postoperatively and the patients received hand therapy for 3 weeks. Before the treatment, the contracture in the proximal interphalangeal and metacarpophalangeal joints was a mean of 45.06 ± 13.44 degrees and 36.56 ± 13.09 degrees, respectively. It was 1.61 ± 1.65 and -0.56 ± 3.78 degrees at 3 months, respectively. The difference between these measurements was statistically significant. The mean follow-up period was 12 months. The results were satisfactory and no complications were observed during the follow-up period. Based on the results of the study, percutaneous aponeurotomy with non-centrifuged autologous fat grafting was found to have significantly beneficial effects in the treatment of Dupuytren's disease.

Effects of acute L-carnitine supplementation on nitric oxide production and oxidative stress after exhaustive exercise in young soccer players.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of acute L-carnitine supplementation at two different doses on nitric oxide (NO) production and oxidative stress after exhaustive exercise. METHODS: The subjects were 26 healthy males aged 17-19 years. Subjects were randomly divided into two groups of 13 each and received 3 or 4 g L-carnitine via a glass of fruit juice. After 1 h, the treadmill test was started at a speed of 8 km/h, afterwards increasing the speed 1 km/h every 3 min with a 1 min rest before every speed increase until exhaustion. Venous blood samples were collected again within 5 min following the exercise test. One week later, the test was repeated on the same athletes with placebo fluids. All subjects received a placebo via a glass of fruit juice. 1 h after the same exercise protocol mentioned above was performed and blood samples were drawn immediately. These plasma samples were used for measurement of nitrate-nitrite (NOx), which are known to be the stable end products of NO, TBARs as a lipid peroxidation indicator and an antioxidant glutathione (GSH) levels. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The results of this study have shown that L-carnitine applied at a 3 g dose provides strong antioxidant action by increasing the GSH and NOx level and decreasing the TBARs level.

Effects of moderate altitude on exhaled nitric oxide, erythrocytes lipid peroxidation and superoxide dismutase levels.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of staying at a moderate altitude (2,300 m, 7 d) on the levels of plasma nitrite, exhaled nitric oxide (NO), malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD). Measurements were obtained from 9 female (mean age 18.3 +/- 2) and 9 male (mean age 19.3 +/- 3.7) cross-country volunteer skiers: before, during (1st day, 7th day) and after staying at a moderate altitude. Exhaled nitric oxide levels were measured only before and after staying at the altitude. Nitrite levels increased throughout the stay at the altitude, while MDA levels decreased. In parallel with the nitrite levels, SOD activities were also found to have increased. Exhaled NO values were decreased after the stay at the moderate altitude. These results show that altitude hypoxia causes decreased in NO levels in the lung but increased systemic NO levels in the blood due to inhibition of erythrocyte lipid peroxidation.