The type of delivery and antipsychotic medications could modulate clinical features of schizophrenia and nicotine dependence by affecting gut microbiota composition. In this study, we aimed to ...investigate whether the age of disease onset, severity of PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) psychopathology and nicotine dependence might be associated with the type of delivery among two groups of patients with schizophrenia without antipsychotic therapy: first-episode patients, and chronic patients, non-adherent to antipsychotic medications. Information regarding antipsychotic non-adherence, smoking status, and the type of delivery (vaginal delivery or caesarean delivery) was obtained from autoanamnestic and heteroanamnestic data. Age of disease onset was defined as age at the patient’s first hospital admission due to a psychotic episode at which the diagnosis of schizophrenia was used. PANSS evaluation data was taken during the acute state of the illness at the most recent hospitalization. Values of the age of disease onset, PANSS score and PANSS factor and prevalence of early (≤ 26 years) and late (> 26 years) disease onset did not differ significantly between patients born by caesarean delivery and vaginal delivery (p > 0.05). The prevalence of smokers was significantly higher among patients born by caesarean delivery (p = 0.012). The caesarean delivery is associated with ~9%-fold greater risk of nicotine dependence. We did not find any associations of the age of disease onset and PANSS psychopathology with the type of delivery among patients without therapy, but our results implicate that caesarean delivery might be a risk factor for nicotine dependence in that patient group.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Osteoprotegerin (OPG) has an important role in bone remodeling, and it has been proposed that the OPG gene might be a candidate gene for osteoporosis predisposition. Several studies have already ...assessed the connection between OPG gene polymorphism and bone mineral density (BMD). In this study we wanted to analyze the association of two polymorphisms in the OPG gene with BMD and bone turnover markers in women with and without osteoporosis.
In 22 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis (aged 65.6 ±12.6) and 59 women without osteoporosis (aged 60.8 ±8.7) we analyzed the association of two polymorphisms in the OPG gene with BMD, measured by dual energy absorptiometry and with bone turnover markers (crosslaps and osteoprotegerin). A163G, G209A, T245G and G1181C polymorphisms were determined.
No significant differences in age, anthropometry, number of fractures, osteocalcin and cross-laps were found between women with and without osteoporosis. Women with osteoporosis were significantly longer in postmenopause. Significantly more women with osteoporosis had AG polymorphism (p = 0.038) compared to women without osteoporosis, while no significant difference was found in prevalence of TT and GG polymorphism between patients with and without osteoporosis. No relationship was found between investigated polymorphism and bone turnover markers. A significant negative correlation between total hip BMD and crosslaps (p = 0.046) as well as between total hip T score and crosslaps (p = 0.044) was found in women without osteoporosis.
Postmenopausal women with osteoporosis had AG polymorphism more frequently than women without osteoporosis. Our results indicate that A163G polymorphism could have an impact on higher bone loss in postmenopausal women.
The brain is no longer considered an immunoprivileged organ which is completely separated from the circulating immune cells by the blood-brain barrier and which shows a lowered or changed ...immunoreactivity. It has become clear that there are numerous interactions between the neurological, immune and neuroendocrinologic systems. The psychiatric disorder which is supposed to be connected to changes in the functioning of the immune system is depression. One of the hypotheses suggesting the pathophysiology of depression is the cytokine hypothesis of depression. According to it, the behavior changes in depressed patients are a consequence of changes in cytokines. Physiological and psychological effects of the immune activation during an infection, primarily mediated by central activity of peripherally excreted proinflammatory cytokines, are called "sickness behavior". Depression is connected with the activation of the inflammatory response system. When it comes to the immune characteristics of depressive disorders, it should be stressed that depression is a heterogeneous disorder, so different types of depression can differ not only psychopathologically but also at the immune level. Depression is characterized by disorders in noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmission. Proinflammatory cytokines are included in the noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmission in the brain areas that are thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of depression. According to this model, depression can be considered a psychoneuroimmune disease in which the peripheral immune activation is responsible (by excreting the inflammatory mediator) for various behavioral, neuroendocrinologic and neurochemical changes connected to the psychiatric condition.
To explore the relationship between muscle strength and bone density in patients with different rheumatic diseases and to examine whether inflammatory arthritis was more harmful for muscle strength ...and bone loss than degenerative joint diseases.
The study included 361 men and women with a mean±standard deviation age of 60.5±11.4 years and different rheumatic conditions: regional syndromes, osteoarthritis of the hands, shoulders, knees, and hips, and inflammatory arthritis. Maximum voluntary back strength was measured by isometric dynamometry. Bone mineral density (BMD; g/cm2) of the lumbar spine, femoral neck, and distal radius was measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Anthropometry and lifestyle characteristics were also assessed.
Back strength was lowest in patients with hand and shoulder osteoarthritis (20.0±17.9 kg), followed by patients with inflammatory arthritis (24.8±19.2 kg). Patients with inflammatory arthritis had the lowest BMD at the mid-radius (0.650±0.115 g/cm2) and femoral neck (0.873±0.137 g/cm2), while patients with hand and shoulder osteoarthritis had the lowest BMD at the mid-radius (0.660±0.101). In both sexes, muscle strength was significantly lower in patients who had lower BMD (T score<-1.0). Multiple regression analysis identified significant predictors of back strength to be spine BMD (P=0.024) and body mass index (P=0.004) in men and femoral neck BMD in women (P=0.004).
Muscle strength decline may be connected to bone loss in patients with rheumatic conditions, especially those with inflammatory joint diseases.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To investigate the effect of a supervised, structured exercise programme on the occurrence and severity of pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain.
Randomized controlled trial.
A total of 45 pregnant ...women were randomly assigned to 2 groups: an experimental group (n = 20; mean age 32.8 (standard deviation (SD) 3.6) years) and a control group (n = 22; mean age 32.2 years (SD 4.9)).
Exercise intervention for the experimental group consisted of aerobic and resistance exercises performed bi-weekly from the date of inclusion into the study until the end of pregnancy, together with at least 30 min of brisk daily walks. A numeric rating scale, Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), and Pelvic Girdle Questionnaire (PGQ) were used to measure outcomes. The control group received only standard antenatal care.
There were significant differences between the 2 groups on the numeric rating scale, PGQ and RMDQ scores in the 36th week of pregnancy (p = 0.017; p = 0.005; p < 0.001, respectively) in favour of the experimental group.
The exercise programme had a beneficial effect on the severity of lumbopelvic pain in pregnancy, reducing the intensity of pain and the level of disability experienced as a result.
Whiplash injury usually occurs in traffic accidents. Persons experienced this injury might have an impairment of proprioception clinically expressed as inability to determine the exact position of ...their heads. The aim of this study was to examine the loss of proprioception in people who had a whiplash injury. The study included 60 subjects with cervical spine injury, aged 20 to 50 years and 60 healthy volunteers matched by sex and age. The instrument used for cervical spine mobility assessment was the Cervical Measurement System (CMS), which determines the ability of subjects to return their head in the exact position as it was before they turned it 30 degrees left or right. Patients with cervical spine injury showed significant impairment of proprioception in comparison with healthy subjects (P < 0.001). The results support the hypothesis that subject with recent cervical spine injury have incorrect perception of their head position. Therefore, their rehabilitation should include the correction of proprioception and head coordination.
The aim of the study was to assess whether the functional disability and the quality of life in patients with chronic back pain was associated with some personality traits and whether the use of pain ...medication in patients with chronic back pain can be predisposed with some personality traits. The study sample comprised 262 older patients with chronic back pain of non-inflammatory origin. The level of disability related to chronic back pain was assessed by Roland-Morris Questionnaire, health-related quality of life was assessed by Short Form 36 and personality traits by Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. Among analyzed personality traits (psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism, lie tendencies), only neuroticism significantly predicted self-reported disability caused by back pain. Patients on pain medication had significantly worse quality of life and disability caused by back pain, but they did not differ significantly in personality traits compared to patients without pain medication. There were no differences in disability due to back pain and in level of neuroticism between patients who had jobs with higher or lower physical demand. People with higher scores on neuroticism inclined more to report a lower functional disability and the quality of life caused by chronic back pain. Patients on pain medication reported more inferior physical than psychological concept of quality of life. Use of pain medication was not associated with personality traits assessed by Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. In our elderly patients with chronic back pain, lower quality of life was associated with elevated neuroticism score and more frequent use of pain medication.
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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