The area of prosthetic design has long focused on the lightest and presumably most energy efficient designs of prosthetics. Tests to measure energy efficiency are often time consuming or require ...expensive metabolic equipment. Therefore, it has been assumed that lighter designs are better than heavier ones. However, simple measures such as maximum ambulation time have been shown to be useful for determining functional status in clinical populations. In the study described, a 1-lb weight was attached to the ankle to simulate prosthetic design changes: specifically, to manipulate weight asymmetry between legs. Normal controls and amputees were analyzed with and without added weight during a maximum ambulation time test and during walking on a treadmill. In addition to metabolic data, kinematic data were analyzed to obtain biomechanical gait parameters.< >
A double-blind controlled clinical trial on the medical treatment of the acute episode of duodenal ulcer and the prevention of symptomatic relapses was performed. A total of 164 patients with active ...duodenal ulcer were either treated with cimetidine 1 g/day (70 patients), diethylaminepersilate (DAP) 1.5 g/day (64 patients) or DAP 2.5 g/day (30 patients). DAP is an allegedly protective agent stimulating mucosal prostaglandin synthesis. Cumulative healing rates after 4 weeks in the 3 groups were 66, 28 and 28% and after 8 weeks 94, 70 and 63%, respectively. One hundred and five patients with healed duodenal ulcer received, in a second double-blind study, either DAP 0.5 g/day or placebo. Thus, ulcer healing was more rapid with cimetidine than with DAP. DAP did not prevent relapses. No presenting characteristic was associated with slow healing. Three presenting characteristics--smoking, teetotalling and bleeding episode in the past--were associated with early symptomatic relapse. The present study was compared with a previous study performed by the same group of investigators using a similar study protocol. In both trials, an early relapse was associated with smoking. No other presenting characteristic was identified which in both trials was associated with slow healing or early symptomatic relapse. Thus, smoking appears to be the only one of the commonly available presenting characteristics which allows a prediction of the course of duodenal ulcer disease.
