Five times sit-to-stand test completion times among older women: Influence of seat height and arm position

published_or_final_versio

Assessing the influence of seat height and arm position on FTSTS completion times of older female adults

Department of Rehabilitation SciencesRefereed conference pape

Five Times Sit-To-Stand test completion times among older women : influence of seat height and arm position

202211 bckwVersion of RecordRGCPublishe

Sustained disease remission after spontaneous HBeAg seroconversion is associated with reduction in fibrosis progression in chronic hepatitis B Chinese patients

Recently, controversies have arisen about whether hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) seroconversion can result in regression of fibrosis, thus improving the clinical outcome of Chinese patients with chronic hepatitis B. In this study, we determined if spontaneous HBeAg seroconversion is associated with regression of fibrosis in Chinese chronic hepatitis B patients. We evaluated the histology of liver samples from 128 HBeAg-positive treatment-naive Chinese patients who had undergone 2 liver biopsies over the years. Regression of fibrosis was defined as a decrease in fibrosis stage of at least 1 point. Sustained disease remission was defined as HBeAg seroconversion and hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA < 10 4 copies/ml at follow-up liver biopsy. The mean duration (± standard error of the mean) between the initial and follow-up liver biopsies was 43.9 ± 3.4 months. Regression of fibrosis was higher in patients with sustained disease remission (5 of 13 [38.5%] versus 22 of 115 [19.1%], P < 0.00005), patients who were younger (20-29 years old) at initial liver biopsy (17 of 54 [31.5%] versus 10 of 74 [13.5%], P = 0.0004), and patients with genotype B (17of 43 [39.5%] versus 10 of 85 [11.8%], P = 0.004). On multivariate analysis, sustained disease remission (relative risk [RR] 3.00, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.29-7.01, P = 0.01) and being 20-29 years old at initial liver biopsy (RR 2.94, 95% CI 1.01-8.62, P = 0.04) were independently associated with regression of fibrosis. The rate of fibrosis progression was lower in patients with sustained disease remission than in those who remained HBeAg positive (median 0 fibrosis units/year, range -2.00 to -0.70 fibrosis units/year, versus median 0.51 fibrosis units/year, range 0 to +2.03 fibrosis units/year, P = 0.02). Conclusion: Spontaneous sustained remission of disease is associated not only with little progression of fibrosis but also with regression of fibrosis. Copyright © 2007 by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

48 Weeks pegylated interferon alpha-2a is superior to 24 weeks of pegylated interferon alpha-2b in achieving hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B infection

Background/aim: Although 48-week therapy with pegylated-interferons has been shown to be effective for the treatment of chronic hepatitis B virus infection, the efficacy of a shorter duration of therapy with pegylated interferons is unknown. Method: We reviewed 53 hepatitis B e antigen positive Chinese patients treated with 48 weeks of pegylated interferon alpha-2a or 24 weeks of pegylated interferon alpha-2b. Sustained virological response was defined as hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion and hepatitis B virus DNA <105 copies/mL at week 72. Results: Twenty-nine patients were treated with 48 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alpha-2a and 24 patients with 24 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alpha-2b. At the end-of-therapy, hepatitis B e antigen seroconversion and hepatitis B virus DNA <105 copies/mL were similar between the two groups of patients [9/29 (31.0%) vs. 2/24 (8.3%), respectively, P = 0.09]. At week 72, 10 of the 29 patients (34.5%) treated with 48 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alpha-2a compared with two of the 24 patients (8.3%) treated with 24 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alpha-2b had sustained virological response (P = 0.04). By logistic analysis, 48 weeks of pegylated-interferon- alpha-2a was independently associated with sustained virological response (P = 0.04 adjusted hazards-ratio 9.37). Conclusion: Further studies are required to determine the optimal duration of therapy with pegylated interferons in chronic hepatitis B. © 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.link_to_subscribed_fulltex

48 Weeks pegylated interferon alfa-2a is superior to 24 weeks of pegylated interferon alfa-2b in achievingHBeAg seroconversion in chronic hepatitis B infection

Background/Aim Although 48-week therapy with pegylated-interferons has been shown to be effective for the treatment of chronichepatitis B virus (HBV) infection, the efficacy of a shorter durationof therapy with pegylated interferons is unknown.Method We retrospectively compared the efficacy of 48 weeks treat-ment with pegylated-interferon-alfa-2a to a 24-week regime withpegylated-interferon-alfa-2b in 53 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positive Chinese patients. Sustained virological response (SVR) wasdefined as HBeAg seroconversion and HBV DNA less than 105copies/ml at 24 weeks after the end-of-therapy (EFU).Results Twenty-nine patients were treated with 48 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alfa-2a and 24 patients with 24 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alfa-2b. The baseline characteristics were com-parable between the 2 groups. At the end-of-therapy, 9 of the 29patients (31.0%) treated with 48 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alfa-2a compared with 2 of the 24 patients (8.3%) treated with 24weeks of pegylated-interferon-alfa-2b had HBeAg seroconversion andHBV DNA less than 105 copies/ml (p = 0.09). At the EFU, 10 of the29 patients (34.5%) treated with 48 weeks of pegylated-interferon-alfa-2a compared with 2 of the 24 patients (8.3%) treated with 24weeks of pegylated-interferon-alfa-2b had SVR (p = 0.04). There wasno withdrawals from treatment in both groups. Adverse events werecomparable between the 2 groups.Conclusion A 48-week course of pegylated-interferon may be asso-ciated with a higher SVR when compared with 24-week of pegylated-interferon-alfa-2b.link_to_subscribed_fulltex