Comparison of three treatment protocols with intra-articular low or intermediate molecular weight hyaluronic acid in early symptomatic knee osteoarthritis

Introduction: Viscosupplementation with hyaluronic acid (HA) is indicated for non-responders to non-pharmacological therapy, to analgesics or when non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are contraindicated. The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy, safety and costs of three different HA treatments (Sinovial® Forte, sinovial one and hyalgan). Patients and methods: Ninety patients with grade I/II Kellgren–Lawrence knee osteoarthritis were included in three groups, the first was treated with hyalgan (weekly for 5 weeks), the second with Sinovial® Forte (weekly for 3 weeks) and the third group with a single injection of sinovial one. Results: All three treatments were effective, with an average reduction in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities osteoarthritis index (WOMAC) score of 18.9 points for hyalgan, 18.04 points for Sinovial® Forte and 17.92 points for sinovial one. The comparison of the three groups did not show any statistical difference in terms of efficacy. National health system (NHS) and social costs are, respectively, €419.12 and €853.43 for hyalgan, €338.64 and €599.22 for Sinovial® Forte, €221.56 and €308.42 for sinovial one. Conclusion: All three treatments were equally effective with no statistically significant differences; thus, the treatment with sinovial one may be considered as clinically effective as the other two regimens, but with a very efficient cost profile in early symptomatic knee osteoarthritis

Finding meaning: HIV self-management and wellbeing among people taking antiretroviral therapy in Uganda

© 2016 Russell et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in anymedium, provided the original author and source are credited. The health of people living with HIV (PLWH) and the sustained success of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programmes depends on PLWH's motivation and ability to self-manage the condition over the long term, including adherence to drugs on a daily basis. PLWH's selfmanagement of HIV and their wellbeing are likely to be interrelated. Successful self-management sustains wellbeing, and wellbeing is likely to motivate continued self-management. Detailed research is lacking on PLWH's self-management processes on ART in resourcelimited settings. This paper presents findings from a study of PLWH's self-management and wellbeing in Wakiso District, Uganda. Thirty-eight PLWH (20 women, 18 men) were purposefully selected at ART facilities run by the government and by The AIDS Support Organisation in and around Entebbe. Two in-depth interviews were completed with each participant over three or four visits. Many were struggling economically, however the recovery of health and hope on ART had enhanced wellbeing and motivated self-management. The majority were managing their condition well across three broad domains of self-management. First, they had mobilised resources, notably through good relationships with health workers. Advice and counselling had helped them to reconceptualise their condition and situation more positively and see hope for the future, motivating their work to self-manage. Many had also developed a new network of support through contacts they had developed at the ART clinic. Second, they had acquired knowledge and skills to manage their health, a useful framework to manage their condition and to live their life. Third, participants were psychologically adjusting to their condition and their new 'self': They saw HIV as a normal disease, were coping with stigma and had regained self-esteem, and were finding meaning in life. Our study demonstrates the centrality of social relationships and other nonmedical aspects of wellbeing for self-management which ART programmes might explore further and encourage

TO THE TOPIC ON THE CONTRIBUTION OF INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIO-RESOURCES STOCKS OF THE CASPIAN SEA

Aim. The purpose of the work was to assess the activity of international organizations and determine theirs contribution to the preservation and rational use of water biological resources of the Caspian Sea and their inhabitant in the period after 1991.Results. The work presents a high management level of the state of water-biological resources during the history of the fishery basin. The management level of stocks, carried out by one country, including protection measures and artificial reproduction, allows to quickly respond to the dangers till the end of the XX century. It is shown that the activity of many out-regional and (or) non-state international organizations, heightened during the last the last-day period, is limited to piece of information, comprised of data collection about basin and preparing of the base for the adoption of binding decisions in the international legal field , often there is in a negative context for the Russian Federation. It is noted the leading input of specialized state departments, institutes and organizations to the protection, reproduction, researching of water bio-resources and their inhabitant, the results of which were integrated in the frames of work of the Commission on water bio-resources of the Caspian Sea.Main conclusions. The abstract presents suggestions on activity of designated global institution taking into account the beginning of the Agreement on protection and rational use of water biological resources of the Caspian Sea. The article presents proposals for the activity of international organizations at the Caspian basin

Prevalence and risk f actors influencing the development of arterial hypertension in patients with a gout

Background. Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) is the leading cause of death for gout. Arterial hypertension is a proven CVD risk factor (CVD-RF).Objective. To assess the factors influencing on development of an arterial hypertension in patients with a gout. Subjects and methods. 286 male patients fulfilling Wallace proposed criteria for gout were included in the study: age 51.2 [42.8; 59.4] years, disease duration - 6.2 [3.8; 12.1] years, number of joints involved during disease course - 7 [4; 12], subcutaneous tophi - in 35% of patients, intraosseous tophi - in 44%, nephrolithiasis - in 69%, abdominal obesity - in 71%. All patients underwent standard clinical examination, C-reactive protein (CRP), total cholesterol, triglycerides, low and high density lipoproteins, serum uric acid, serum creatinine, smoking, family history of arterial hypertension, body mass index (BMI), diabetes mellitus was performed by standard procedure. We estimated the adjusted odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI).Results. There were two groups of patients with arterial hypertension diagnosed on clinical data: group 1 (with arterial hypertension) - 244 (85%) patients, group 2 (without arterial hypertension) - 42 (15%) patients. The group 1 patients were older (52.3 [44.5; 61.1] vs 41.9 [38.3; 50.1] years old), had longer duration of gout (6.7 [3.9; 13.7] vs 4.5 [3; 7.9]), a higher number of joints involved during disease course (8 [4; 12] vs 5 [3; 9]). The frequency of family history of arterial hypertension (68.3 vs 48.8%), abdominal obesity (55.3 vs 33.3%), nephrolithiasis (71 vs 54.7%), intraosseous tophi (48 vs 21%) was higher in group 1 as compared with group 2, р<0,05. BMI and CRP level was higher in group 1 compared with group 2: 30.2 [27.4; 33.1] vs 27.9 [26.3; 30.5] kg/m2, and 12.7 [5.84; 19.2] vs 7.8 [3.7; 16.4] mg/l, respectively, p<0.05. We did not find differences of lipid profile, serum uric acid, and serum creatinine level in groups 1 and 2. We also did not find differences the frequency of smoking, diabetes mellitus, subcutaneous tophi in both groups.Abdominal obesity (OR - 1.247; 95% CI: 1.063-1.462), family history of arterial hypertension (OR - 2.8; 95% CI: 1.5-5.4), disease duration more than 10 years (OR - 4.5; 95% CI: 1.1-19.4), intraosseous tophi (OR - 3.0; 95% CI: 1.4-6.4), increased the risk for arterial hypertension in patients with a gout.Conclusion. The majority (85%) of patients with gout had arterial hypertension. Abdominal obesity, family history of arterial hypertension, disease duration more than 10 years, intraosseous tophi were associated with an increased risk of arterial hypertension in patients with a gout

Cardiac involvement in systemic rheumatic diseases: An update

The high rates of cardiovascular (CV) mortality and morbidity observed in patients with systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs) cannot be fully explained by traditional atherosclerosis risk factors as standard therapy (i.e. corticosteroids and methotrexate), cytokines and disease activity may all contribute to accelerated atherosclerosis. There is considerable evidence showing that chronic inflammation and immune dysregulation play a pathogenetic role in the development of atherosclerosis in patients with SADs. Chronic inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis and functional abnormalities of the endothelium suggest that subclinical CV involvement begins soon after the onset of the disease and progresses with disease duration. All cardiac structures may be affected during the course of SADs (valves, the conduction system, the myocardium, endocardium and pericardium, and coronary arteries), and the cardiac complications have a variety of clinical manifestations. As these are all associated with an unfavourable prognosis, it is essential to detect subclinical cardiac involvement in asymptomatic SAD patients, and begin adequate management and treatment early

Lung ultrasound for the screening of interstitial lung disease in very early systemic sclerosis

Background: A high percentage of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) develop interstitial lung disease (ILD) during the course of the disease. Promising data have recently shown that lung ultrasound (LUS) is able to detect ILD by the evaluation of B-lines (previously called ultrasound lung comets), the sonographic marker of pulmonary interstitial syndrome. Objective: To evaluate whether LUS is reliable in the screening of ILD in patients with SSc. Methods: Fifty-eight consecutive patients with SSc (54 women, mean age 51±14 years) who underwent a high resolution CT (HRCT) scan of the chest were also evaluated by LUS for detection of B-lines. Of these, 32 patients (29 women, mean age 51±15 years) fulfilled the criteria for a diagnosis of very early SSc. Results: At HRCT, ILD was detected in 88% of the SSc population and in 41% of the very early SSc population. A significant difference in the number of B-lines was found in patients with and without ILD on HRCT (57±53 vs 9±9; p<0.0001), with a concordance rate of 83%. All discordant cases were false positive at LUS, providing a sensitivity and negative predictive value of 100% in both SSc and very early SSc. Conclusions: ILD may be detected in patients with very early SSc. The presence of B-lines at LUS examination correlates with ILD at HRCT. LUS is very sensitive for detecting ILD even in patients with a diagnosis of very early SSc. The use of LUS as a screening tool for ILD may be feasible to guide further investigation with HRCT