Cross cultural adaptation of the English version of the IOF-QLQ to Polish, to assess the health-related quality-of-life of patients after a distal radius fracture

BACKGROUND: A distal radius fracture (DRF) is a common injury that can cause significant pain and lead to a prolonged decrease in physical, emotional, and social functioning. In modern randomized clinical trials, assessing outcomes after a DRF, health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) is a “must-be” endpoint. Additionally, HRQoL assessments are essential in the clinical decision-making process. The aim of this study to cross-culturally adapt the International Osteoporosis Foundation Quality of Life Questionnaire (IOF QLQ) for patients with a DRF to Polish. METHODS: A standard forward-backward translation procedure and pilot-testing were used to prepare the Polish version of the IOF QLQ for use in this case–control study. Patients were eligible if they were between 18–80 years and were within 1–3 days after a non-comminuted DRF. The study group was gender and aged matched with healthy controls. All DRF patients filled out the Polish version of the IOF QLQ, the SF-36 and a demographic questionnaire. Assessment points were set as soon as possible after the fracture, 7 days, 6 weeks, 3, 6, 12, and 18 months after the fracture. Standard validity and reliability analyses were performed. RESULTS: Ninety-seven patients (73 women – 75.3 %) with a mean age of 62.4 ± 7.1 years agreed to take part in the study. The control group consisted of 81 patients (60 women – 74.1 %) with a mean age 63.9 ± 8.2 years. No significant differences were found between the mean age of patients and controls (p = 0.19). Cronbach’s alpha coefficients showed positive internal consistency (0.79–0.89). The interclass correlations for the IOF QLQ domains and the overall score ranged from 0.85 to 0.92. Satisfactory convergent and discriminant validity of the IOF QLQ was seen. CONCLUSIONS: The Polish version of the IOF QLQ for patients with a DRF is a reliable and valid tool for measuring HRQoL. It can be fully recommended for use in clinical settings in the Polish population. When combined with the SF-36 the IOF QLQ allows to obtain a comprehensive HRQoL assessment in patients with a DRF

Wyniki czynnościowe usprawniania chorych po aloplastykach całkowitych stawu biodrowego endoprotezami krótkotrzpieniowymi i przynasadowymi

Wstęp: Aloplastyki całkowite stawu biodrowego z pewnością zajmują już trwałe miejsce w praktyce operacyjnej choroby zwyrodnieniowej, a także uszkodzeń urazowych szyjki kości udowej. Na przestrzeni ostatnich kilkunastu lat coraz większą uwagę skupiają na sobie tzw. endoprotezy przynasadowe i krótkotrzpieniowe, które niosą ze sobą nowe wyzwania operacyjne i rehabilitacyjne. Celem pracy była ocena wyników czynnościowych aloplastyki całkowitej stawów biodrowych z wykorzystaniem endoprotez krótkotrzpieniowych, przynasadowych oraz niecementowanych z trzpieniem standardowym. Projekt badań: Badanie retrospektywne. Materiał badań: Materiał badań pochodzi z lat 1993-2014 i obejmuje 180 operowanych z powodu zwyrodnienia stawów biodrowych metodą aloplastyki całkowitej, w tym 96 endoprotezą niecementowaną z trzpieniem standardowym typu ABG-1, co stanowi 53,4%, 62 endoprotezą przynasadową typu Proxima, co daje 34,4%, 14 endoprotezą krótkotrzpieniową typu BTS, czyli 7,7% oraz 8 endoprotezą z krótkim trzpieniem typu TL, co stanowi 4,4%. Metoda badań: Kilkukrotnie wykonywany test czynnościowy Harrisa. Wyniki badań: Uzyskane wyniki czynnościowe w poszczególnych grupach operowanych są porównywalne i zbieżne, bez wyraźnych różnic. Wnioski: Analizowane aloplastyki całkowite stawów biodrowych u większości operowanych, zarówno w obserwacji wczesnej, jak i odległej, skutkują bardzo dobrymi i dobrymi wynikami czynnościowymi oraz są porównywalne z wynikami aloplastyk całkowitych endoprotezami z trzpieniem standardowym. Operowani analizowanymi metodami nie wymagają odmiennych programu rehabilitacji o odrębnej charakterystyce biomechanicznej i klinicznej.Introduction: Total hip arthroplasty already has a permanent place among surgical procedures dealing with osteoarthritis, as well as traumatic injuries of the femoral neck. In recent years, there has been an increased interest in metaphyseal-fitting and short-stem endoprostheses, which bring new challenges regarding operating technique and rehabilitation care. The aim of this study was to evaluate functional results of total hip arthroplasty using the following endoprostheses: short-stem, metaphyseal-fitting, and cementless with a standard stem. Research Project: Retrospective study. Materials and methods: The research material covers the period between 1993 and 2014 and includes 180 patients operated on due to hip osteoarthritis using total hip arthroplasty. In 96 patients (53.4%) cementless endoprosthesis with a standard ABG-1 stem was used, in 62 patients (34.4%) the Proxima metaphyseal prosthesis was implanted, in 14 patients (7.7%) the BTS short-stem endoprosthesis was used, and in 8 patients (4.4%) TL short-stem endoprosthesis was used. Each patient was evaluated several times using the Harris Hip Score. Results: Functional results obtained in individual groups of patients who underwent surgery are comparable and consistent, without pronounced differences. Conclusions: Functional results obtained in analysed total hip arthroplasties were excellent and good in the majority of patients, both in the early and late observation periods. They are comparable with results of total hip arthroplasties with standard stem endoprosthesis. Patients operated on using the described methods do not require a different rehabilitation programme with different biomechanical or clinical characteristics when compared to patients with standard stem endoprostheses

Prevalence of infections and co-infections with 6 pathogens in <i>Dermacentor reticulatus</i> ticks collected in eastern Poland

Occurrence of co-infections with various pathogens in ixodid ticks creates a risk of increased severity of tick-borne diseases in humans and animals exposed to bite of the ticks carrying multiple pathogens. Accordingly, co-infections in ticks were subject of numerous analyses, but almost exclusively with regard to Ixodes ricinus complex whereas potential tick vectors belonging to other genera were much less studied. Taking into consideration the role of Dermacentor reticulatus in the transmission of various pathogens, we carried out for the first time the comprehensive statistical analysis of co-infections occurring in this tick species. An attempt was made to determine the significance of the associations between 6 different pathogens occurring in D. reticulatus (Tick-borne encephalitis virus = TBEV, Anaplasma phagocytophilum , Rickettsia raoultii , Borrelia burgdorferi s. l., Babesia spp., Toxoplasma gondii ), using 2 statistical methods: determination of Odds Ratios (ORs) and the Fisher’s exact test. 634 questing Dermacentor reticulatus ticks (370 females and 264 males) were collected in 2011– 2013 by flagging the lower vegetation in 3 localities in the area of Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lakeland, situated in the Lublin region of eastern Poland. The presence of individual pathogens was detected by PCR. Ticks were infected most often with Rickettsia raoultii (43.8%), less with TBEV (8.5%), and much less with Babesia spp., Toxoplasma gondii , Borrelia burgdorferi s.l., and Anaplasma phagocytophilum (2.5%, 2.1%, 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively). The locality-dependent variability proved to be significant for TBEV (χ 2 =11.063; P=0.004) and Toxoplasma gondii (χ 2 =11.298; P=0.0035), but not for other pathogens. Two hundred seventy (42.6%) of the examined ticks were infected only with a single pathogen, and 54 (8.5%) showed the presence of dual co-infections, each with 2 pathogens. The most common were dual infections with participation of Rickettsia raoultii (7.41%); next, those with participation of the TBEV (5.21%), Toxoplasma gondii (1.58%), Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. (1.26%), Anaplasma phagocytophilum (0.95%), and Babesia spp. (0.63%). On the total number of 15 possible associations, in 9 cases co-infections occurred whereas in 6 cases they were not detected. The most noteworthy were positive co-infections with the participation of TBEV, which proved to be weakly significant (0.05&lt;P&lt;0.1) in associations with Toxoplasma gondii and Anaplasma phagocytophilum , with Odds Ratios over 3.3 and 4.4, respectively. The values of Odds Ratios exceeded 3.0 also at the co-infections of Rickettsia raoultii with B. burgdorferi s.l., and T. gondii with Babesia spp., but these associations did not attain a significance level. The co-infections of Rickettsia raoultii with Babesia spp. appeared not to be significant (0.05&lt;P&lt;0.1) with OR below 0.3. In conclusion, co-infections with various pathogens in D. reticulatus ticks seem to be relatively rare and mostly not significant

Valsartan in the treatment of primary hypertension : Polish multicenter, randomised studies

Wstęp Celem pracy jest ocena skuteczności hipotensyjnej i tolerancji walsartanu u pacjentów z łagodnym i umiarkowanym nadciśnieniem tętniczym pierwotnym. Metody Badaniami objęto 93 pacjentów (34K/60M), w wieku 18-80 lat (śr. 50 lat) z nadciśnieniem pierwotnym pochodzących z 6 ośrodków klinicznych w Polsce, u których przy końcu 2-tygodniowego stosowania placebo wartości ciśnienia rozkurczowego (DBP — diastolic blood pressure) mieściły się w granicach 95-115 mm Hg. Walsartan (Diovan®, Novartis) stosowano w jednorazowej dawce dobowej 80 mg przez 8 tygodni, z możliwością dodania hydrochlorotiazydu w dawce 12,5 mg/dobę po 4 tygodniach leczenia pacjentom, u których DBP nie spadło poniżej 95 mm Hg. Ciśnienie mierzono co 2 tygodnie metodą tradycyjną (standaryzowane manometry rtęciowe). Po okresie stosowania placebo (PA), po 4 i 8 tygodniach leczenia aktywnego u pacjentów wykonywano całodobową rejestrację ciśnienia tętniczego (ABPM) aparatem Spacelab 90121. Wyniki W dwóch 4-tygodniowych okresach badania uzyskano istotne statystycznie obniżenie ciśnienia tętniczego w porównaniu z okresem po PA. Ciśnienie skurczowe (SBP — systolic blood pressure) po 8 tygodniach leczenia obniżyło się ze 156 ± 14,8 mm Hg do 136 ± 15 mm Hg — mierzone metodą standardową oraz ze 144 ± 15,3 mm Hg do 134 ± 14,3 mm Hg — w rejestracji dobowej. Ciśnienie rozkurczowe obniżyło się odpowiednio z 103 ± 4,4 mm Hg do 89 ± 8,9 mm Hg — mierzone metodą standardową oraz z 98 ± 12,2 do 90 ± 12,9 mm Hg — w zapisie dobowym ABPM. U 61 osób poddanych monoterapii (Diovan®) po 8 tygodniach leczenia SBP średnio obniżyło się o 20 mm Hg, a DBP o 16 mm Hg — mierzone metodą standardową, a w zapisie dobowym ABPM odpowiednio o 9 i 8 mm Hg. U 32 pacjentów wymagających leczenia skojarzonego SBP po 8 tygodniach leczenia obniżyło się o 21 mm Hg, zaś DBP o 13 mm Hg — mierzone metodą standardową, a w zapisie dobowym odpowiednio o 12 i 9 mm Hg. Działania niepożądane w postaci bólów i zawrotów głowy, osłabienia i zgagi obserwowano u 6 pacjentów stosujących Diovan® i u 8 chorych leczonych metodą skojarzoną. Powyższe dolegliwości były umiarkowane i ustępowały w trakcie dalszego leczenia. Wnioski Walsartan jest skutecznym i dobrze tolerowanym lekiem hipotensyjnym zarówno w monoterapii, jak i w leczeniu skojarzonym z hydrochlorotiazydem.Background The aim of the study was the evaluation of valsartan’s efficacy and tolerance in patients with mild and moderate essential hypertension. Material and Methods The research carried out in six medical centres in Poland included 93 patients (60 male, 34 female), aged 18–80 (mean age: 50), with primary hypertension, whose diastolic blood pressure (DBP) at the end of a two-week placebo treatment ranged 95–115 mm Hg. Valsartan (Diovan®, Novartis) was administered as a single daily dose of 80 mg for 8 weeks. In case of patients whose DBP did not come down below 95 mm Hg after 4 weeks, a daily dose of 12,5 mg hydrochlorothiazide was added to the treatment. Blood pressure was measured with the traditional method (standardised mercurial manometers) every 2 weeks. After the period of placebo administration (PA), and after 4 and 8 weeks of treatment, 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure measurements (APBM) were performed with a Spacelab 90121 recorder. Results In both 4-week treatment periods, statistically significant reduction of blood pressure, as compared to the period of PA, was observed. After 8 weeks of treatment, systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased from 156 ± ± 14,8 mm Hg to 136 ± 15 mm Hg (standard measurement), and from 144 ± 15,3 mm Hg to 134 ± 14,3 mm Hg (ABPM). DBP decreased respectively from 103 ± ± 4,4 mm Hg to 89 ± 8,9 mm Hg (standard method) and from 98 ± 12,2 to 90 ± 12,9 mm Hg in ABPM. After 8 weeks, in 61 patients who underwent only valsartan treatment, SBP decreased by 20 mm Hg on average, and DBP decreased by 16 mm Hg in standard method, and in ABPM by 9 and 8 mm Hg, respectively. After 8 weeks, in 32 patients who required combination treatment, SBP decreased by 21 mm Hg on average, and DBP decreased by 13 mm Hg in standard method, and in ABPM by 12 and 9 mm Hg, respectively. Side effects in form of headache, vertigo, general weakness and pyrosis were observed in 6 patients taking valsartan and in 8 in the combination treatment group. The side effects were moderate and withdrew as the treatment continued. Conclusion Valsartan is an effective and well tolerated antihypertensive drug, both when administered in monotherapy and in combination with hydrochlorothiazide

Structure-Based Drug Design for Cytochrome P450 Family 1 Inhibitors

Cytochromes P450 are a class of metalloproteins which are responsible for electron transfer in a wide spectrum of reactions including metabolic biotransformation of endogenous and exogenous substrates. The superfamily of cytochromes P450 consists of families and subfamilies which are characterized by a specific structure and substrate specificity. Cytochromes P450 family 1 (CYP1s) play a distinctive role in the metabolism of drugs and chemical procarcinogens. In recent decades, these hemoproteins have been intensively studied with the use of computational methods which have been recently developed remarkably to be used in the process of drug design by the virtual screening of compounds in order to find agents with desired properties. Moreover, the molecular modeling of proteins and ligand docking to their active sites provide an insight into the mechanism of enzyme action and enable us to predict the sites of drug metabolism. The review presents the current status of knowledge about the use of the computational approach in studies of ligand-enzyme interactions for CYP1s. Research on the metabolism of substrates and inhibitors of CYP1s and on the selectivity of their action is particularly valuable from the viewpoint of cancer chemoprevention, chemotherapy, and drug-drug interactions

Polymorphism of Butyl Ester of Oleanolic Acid—The Dominance of Dispersive Interactions over Electrostatic

Oleanolic (OA) and glycyrrhetinic acids (GE), as well as their derivatives, show a variety of pharmacological properties. Their crystal structures provide valuable information related to the assembly modes of these biologically active compounds. In the known-to-date crystals of OA esters, their 11-oxo derivatives, and GE ester crystals, triterpenes associate, forming different types of ribbons and layers whose construction is based mainly on van der Waals forces and weak C-H···O interactions. New crystal structures of 11-oxo OA methyl ester and the polymorph of OA butyl ester reveal an alternative aggregation mode. Supramolecular architectures consist of helical chains which are stabilized by hydrogen bonds of O-H···O type. It was found that two polymorphic forms of butyl OA ester (layered and helical) are related monotropically. In a structure of metastable form, O-H···O hydrogen bonds occur, while the thermodynamically preferred phase is governed mainly by van der Waals interactions. The intermolecular interaction energies calculated using CrystalExplorer, PIXEL, and Psi4 programs showed that even in motifs formed through O-H···O hydrogen bonds, the dispersive forces have a significant impact