OBJECTIVES To determine whether an intense tai chi exercise program could reduce fear of falling better than a wellness education (WE) program in older adults who had fallen previously and meet criteria for transitioning to frailty. DESIGN Cluster-randomized, controlled trial of 48 weeks' duration. SETTING Ten matched pairs of congregate living facilities in the greater Atlanta area. PART...

BACKGROUND Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is a major cause of pain and functional impairment among elders. Currently, there are neither feasible preventive intervention strategies nor effective medical remedies for the management of KOA. Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese mind-body exercise that is reported to enhance muscle function, balance and flexibility, and to reduce pain, depression and anxiety, may...

BACKGROUND People suffering from neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) and an ineffective bowel regimen often suffer from fecal incontinence (FI) and related symptoms, which have a huge impact on their quality of life. In these situations, transanal irrigation (TAI) has been shown to reduce these symptoms and improve quality of life. AIM To investigate the long-term cost-effectiveness of initiat...

CONTEXT Arthralgia is common and debilitating for a significant proportion of breast cancer survivors (BCSs) and leads to poor adherence to aromatase inhibitors (AIs). Despite increased recognition of the negative impact of arthralgia on function and the poor adherence that results, very few interventions have been developed to target this side effect. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine ...

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) and Takayasu's disease are inflammatory vasculitic syndromes (IVS) causing sudden blindness and widespread arterial obstruction and aneurysm formation. Glucocorticoids and aspirin are mainstays of treatment, predominantly targeting T cells. Serp-1, a Myxomavirus-derived serpin, blocks macrophage and T cells in a wide range of animal models. Serp-1 also reduced markers...

Traumatic axonal injury (TAI) is a progressive and secondary injury following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Despite extensive investigations in the field of forensic science and neurology, no effective methods are available to estimate TAI interval between injury and death. In the present study, Fourier transform IR (FTIR) spectroscopy with IR microscopy was applied to collect IR spectra in the...

STUDY OBJECTIVES To determine the efficacy of a novel behavioral intervention, Tai Chi Chih, to promote sleep quality in older adults with moderate sleep complaints. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial with 16 weeks of teaching followed by practice and assessment 9 weeks later. The main outcome measure was sleep quality, as assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). SETTING Gener...

Objective. To investigate the effects of sitting Tai Chi on muscle strength, balance control, and quality of life (QOL) among survivors with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Methods. Eleven SCI survivors participated in the sitting Tai Chi training (90 minutes/session, 2 times/week for 12 weeks) and eight SCI survivors acted as controls. Dynamic sitting balance was evaluated using limits of stabilit...

Drosophila melanogaster cuticular pheromones consist of unsaturated hydrocarbons with at least one double bond in position 7: 7 tricosene (T) in males and 7,11 heptacosadiene (HD) in females. However, in many African populations like the Tai strain, females possess low levels of 7,11 HD and high levels of its positional isomer 5,9 HD. We have previously isolated a desaturase gene, desat1, from ...

This study examined the effects of Tai Chi, a low-impact mind-body movement therapy, on severity of depression, anxiety, and stress symptoms in centrally obese people with elevated depression symptoms. In total, 213 participants were randomized to a 24-week Tai Chi intervention program or a wait-list control group. Assessments were conducted at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks. Outcomes were severi...