To assess the effectiveness of home videogame-based exercise (exergaming) as an additional rehabilitative tool in young patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). After a baseline (T0) evaluation, 40 RA inpatients (18-35 years of age) underwent both a 4-week-lasting traditional rehabilitation program and a training by Nintendo Wii-Fit™ videogame system. At discharge (T1), subjects were randomly assigned (1:1) to two groups: Group A (experimental group), including subjects who continued Wii-Fit training at home for additional 8 weeks, and Group B (control group), including subjects maintaining their habitual activity during the 8-week follow-up (T2).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To assess the prevalence of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis and its relationship with vascular risk factors among patients with congestive heart failure.
Design: Population-based cross-sectional study.
Participants: A total of 584 consecutive patients admitted to a Rehabilitative Cardiology Unit.
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is a well established cardiovascular risk factor, accounting for an increase in cardiovascular morbid-mortality, although how much the magnitude and the kind of LVH could affect cardiovascular outcomes is in large part unknown. We speculate that mild LVH in absence of left ventricular (LV) chamber dilation, could play a protective role towards functional capacity, clinical outcome, cardiovascular and total morbi-mortality in conditions in which LV systolic function is generally reduced. Accordingly to many epidemiological observations, the availability of extra-quote of systolic function could lead to a significative improvement in the final outcome of some kinds of heart patients, as those undergoing bypass-grafting, where the stress for heart and cardiovascular system is always high.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe aim of this study was to evaluate the role of magnesium levels on 3-year survival in the elderly with congestive heart failure (CHF) admitted to the Rehabilitative Cardiology Unit of S. Maugeri Foundation Scientific Institute of Telese/Campoli. All elderly patients > or = 65 years old with a diagnosis of CHF underwent clinical and instrumental examination, and their demographics, co-morbidity, and in-hospital and 3-year mortality rates were recorded.
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