Significant Improvement In Muscle Strength Research Articles

Celiac disease presenting with motor neuropathy: Effect of gluten free‐diet

Celiac disease is a rare cause of neuropathy that most commonly presents with symmetric distal sensory disturbances. We describe two patients with celiac disease in whom neuropathy presented unusually with progressive weakness of the limbs. In both patients a gluten-free diet induced a significant improvement of muscle strength and neurophysiological abnormalities, suggesting a direct pathogenetic role of sensitivity to gluten. Celiac disease should be considered in patients with idiopathic neuropathy even when gastrointestinal symptoms are absent.

The Development and Effects of a Self-management Program for Patients with Parkinson's Disease

This study was done to develop and examine the effects of a self-management program (SMP) on physical, psychological functions, and symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease(PD). In a two-group pre-and post-test design, a total of 40 patients were assigned to the experimental group(21) or the control group (19). The experimental group received eight weekly 2-hour sessions for 10-15 literate adults of all ages, while the control group did not receive any intervention. The experimental group showed significant improvements in muscle strength, balance, self-efficacy, depression, quality of life(QL), quality of sleep, and discomfort of constipation. It also reduced the number of participants using assistive walking devices. There were no significant changes in fear of falling and duration of sleep. The eight week SMP in patients with PD was found to be significantly effective in enhancing muscle strength, balance, self-efficacy, QL, and quality of sleep. It also decreased depression, discomfort of constipation, and assistive walking devices. These results suggest that a SMP can have effects on physical, psychological functions and symptoms in patients with PD. Further research with a larger sample and for a longer follow up period is needed to expand our understanding of the effects of a SMP for patients with PD.

High-intensity strength training improves quality of life in cancer survivors

Introduction. Cancer rehabilitation programs mainly involve endurance training, and little attention is paid to strength training. Cancer survivors are generally advised to train at much lower workloads than the standard guidelines for strength training suggest. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of an 18-week high-intensity strength training program in cancer survivors. Methods. Fifty-seven patients (age 24 to 73 years) who had received chemotherapy for lymphomas, breast, gynecologic, testicular, or colorectal cancer completed the program. Outcome measures were changes in muscular strength (one-repetition maximum), cardiopulmonary function (VO2 max), maximal short exercise capacity (MSEC), body composition and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) between baseline and follow-up. Discussion. The high-intensity strength training was well tolerated by all patients. Significant improvements in muscle strength were found, with effect sizes varying from 1.32 to 2.68. VO2 max increased significantly by 10% in men and by 13% in women. Different functional scales of HRQOL improved (p < 0.01), with effect sizes varying from 0.47 to 0.82. Muscle strength correlated significantly with physical functioning before and after the training program. Conclusion. We conclude that a supervised, high-intensity strength training program seems to be an effective means to improve muscle strength, cardiopulmonary function, and HRQOL and should be incorporated in cancer rehabilitation programs. Further randomized trials are needed to confirm the results.

Improvement in the health-related quality-of-life symptoms of hyperparathyroidism is durable on long-term follow-up

Subjective symptoms such as decreased energy, chronic fatigue, and depression are associated with hyperparathyroidism. Studies have shown that these symptoms are improved during short-term follow-up after parathyroidectomy. This study evaluates the durability of this subjective improvement in quality-of-life symptoms in a large population of patients with follow-up greater than 1 year after operation. Between 2002 and 2005, 258 patients underwent parathyroidectomy, 100 (81 females and 19 males) of whom were available for this study. The patients were evaluated with a survey based on the Health Outcomes Institute Health Status Questionnaire. Some answers were quantified on a 1 to 6 scale, while others consisted of "yes" or "no" responses. Patients completed a questionnaire prior to parathyroidectomy and postoperatively at 1 month, 3 to 6 months, and 1 to 2 years or greater intervals. Statistical analysis was used to detect changes attributable to parathyroidectomy. A P value <.05 was considered statistically significant. At 1-month follow-up, patients' perceptions of their overall health, energy level, and mood significantly improved. At 6-month follow-up, significant improvements in muscle strength, health, endurance, and relief of anxiety were documented. At the interval of 1 to 2 years, overall health, energy level, endurance, and relief of anxiety were improved. There was no significant decrement in the quality of life in these patients after parathyroidectomy. Parathyroidectomy for hyperparathyroidism is associated with significant lasting improvement in subjective symptoms. The potential durable improvement in these quality-of-life symptoms is a valid indication for parathyroidectomy.

Review of the Effects of Resistance Training in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure: Potential Effects Upon the Muscle Hypothesis

Resistance training (RT) has been proposed as a potential management technique for persons with congestive heart failure (CHF) with the possibility of improving the vicious CHF cycle of pump failure, neuroendocrine abnormalities, skeletal muscle myopathies, dyspnea, fatigue, increased ventilation, and increased sympathetic nervous system activity (the Muscle Hypothesis of CHF). However, very little research has examined the effects of RT in persons with CHF or the effects of RT on the Muscle Hypothesis. The purposes of this paper are to describe the long-term effects of RT in persons with CHF and attempt to describe how these effects will impact the Muscle Hypothesis of CHF. A Medline search of English articles on RT in CHF was performed with the following keywords: resistance training, strength training, weight training, resistance exercise, heart failure, and muscle hypothesis. The references of published articles were further reviewed for additional articles pertaining to RT in CHF and the potential effects on the Muscle Hypothesis. Inclusion criteria for this review were studies of RT alone or RT with aerobic exercise (AE) in persons with CHF. Three review articles and 24 studies of RT were found of which 6 studies examined RT alone, 7 studies examined RT with short bouts of AE (< 5 minutes of continuous AE), and 11 studies examined the effects of RT combined with long bouts of AE. The results of these studies revealed significant improvements in muscle strength and endurance, peak oxygen consumption, forearm blood flow, left ventricular function, and quality of life with very few complications from RT. Differences in the methods of RT were found which likely affected the observed results. Chronic RT alone or with AE appears to favorably influence many aspects of the muscle hypothesis of chronic CHF. The improvements in skeletal muscle strength and endurance, peak oxygen consumption, forearm blood flow, left ventricular function, and quality of life in persons with CHF suggest that RT prescribed alone or with AE can be done safely and has favorable effects on the CHF Muscle Hypothesis. Further examination of isolated RT and RT with short versus long bouts of AE is needed.

Endurance and Strength Training in Patients With COPD

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of endurance training only to endurance plus strength (combined) training in a randomized trial of patients with COPD. Twenty-four patients completed the study: 11 patients in the combined training group (FEV(1) 45 +/- 5% predicted), and 13 patients in the endurance training group (FEV(1) 40 +/- 4% predicted) [mean +/- SE]. Muscle strength, quality of life, exercise performance, and quadriceps fatigability were measured before and after rehabilitation. Combined training led to significant improvements in quadriceps (23.6%), hamstring (26.7), pectoralis major (17.5%), and latissimus dorsi (20%) muscle strength. Endurance training alone did not produce significant improvements in muscle strength: quadriceps (1.1% decrease), hamstring (12.2% increase), pectoralis major (7.8% increase), and latissimus dorsi (2.8% decrease). The increase in strength after training was significantly greater in the combined group compared to the endurance group for the quadriceps and latissimus dorsi muscles but not for the hamstring and pectoralis major muscles. Six-minute walk distance, endurance exercise time, and quality of life (as measured by the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire) significantly increased in both groups after rehabilitation with no significant differences in the extent of improvement between groups. The extent of improvement in quadriceps fatigability after training (assessed by quadriceps twitch force before and after exercise) was not significantly different between groups. Strength training can lead to significant improvement in muscle strength in elderly patients with COPD. However, this improvement in muscle strength does not translate into additional improvement in quality of life, exercise performance or quadriceps fatigability compared to that achieved by endurance exercise alone.