Spondyloarthritis in China.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Although scientists in China have generated a considerable amount of new information about spondyloarthritis (SpA) in recent years, part of it was published in Chinese. The aim of this review is to summarize all SpA articles for the benefit of English readers. RECENT FINDINGS: In the field of epidemiology, prevalence of SpA in China has been updated, especially with regard to psoriatic arthritis (PsA). In the field of genetics, Chinese scientists have discovered new single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) sites association with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) in Han Chinese. In the field of treatment, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) antagonists are wildly used almost as a routine. The usefulness of certain Chinese traditional medicine is undergoing vigorous testing. In the field of diagnosis, ultrasound has been incorporated into the testing tools. In the field of monitoring of disease activity, Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Scores (ASDAS) has been validated in a cohort of Chinese SpA patients. SUMMARY: Chinese scientists are using cutting-edge technology in the fields of research, diagnosis and management in SpA. What is needed are new approaches that can accommodate the large variations in socioeconomic status of various localities in the vast Chinese continent.

Musculoskeletal symptoms and associated risk factors among office workers with high workload computer use.

OBJECTIVE: Although the prevalence of reported discomfort by computer workers is high, the impact of high computer workload on musculoskeletal symptoms remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms for office workers with high computer workload. The association between risk factors and musculoskeletal symptoms was also assessed. METHODS: Two questionnaires were posted on the Web sites of 3 companies and 1 university to recruit computer users in Tainan, Taiwan, during May to July 2009. The 12-item Chinese Health Questionnaire and Musculoskeletal Symptom Questionnaire were chosen as the evaluation tools for musculoskeletal symptoms and its associated risk factors. Chinese Health Questionnaire greater than 5 and computer usage greater than 7 h/d were used to as the cutoff line to divide groups. Descriptive statistics were computed for mean values and frequencies. χ(2) Analysis was used to determine significant differences between groups. A 0.05 level of significance of was used for statistical comparisons. RESULTS: A total of 254 subjects returned the questionnaire, of which 203 met the inclusion criteria. The 3 leading regions of musculoskeletal symptoms among the computer users were the shoulder (73%), neck (71%), and upper back (60%) areas. Similarly, the 3 leading regions of musculoskeletal symptoms among the computer users with high workload were shoulder (77.3%), neck (75.6%), and upper back (63.9%) regions. High psychologic distress was significantly associated with shoulder and upper back complaints (odds ratio [OR], 3.46; OR, 2.24), whereas a high workload was significantly associated with lower back complaints (OR, 1.89). Females were more likely to report shoulder complaints (OR, 2.25). CONCLUSIONS: This study found that high psychologic distress was significantly associated with shoulder and upper back pain, whereas high workload was associated with lower back pain. Women tended to have a greater risk of shoulder complaints than men. Developing an intervention that addresses both physical and psychologic problems is important for future studies.

Effect of task constraint on reaching performance in children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

The purposes of the study were to examine the effect of task constraint on the reaching performance in children with spastic cerebral palsy (CP) and to examine the correlations between the reaching performance and postural control. Eight children with CP and 16 typically developing (TD) children participated in the study. They performed a reach-and-return task with a seated posture on a stool. The target for reaching was set at a 120% arm-length distance in three directions (anterior, medial, and lateral). Reaching speed was modulated with a metronome at a rate of 46 beats/min. A motion analysis system recorded the kinematic data of reaching at a sampling rate of 150 Hz. Postural control was assessed with a pediatric reaching test. Movement time (MT), straightness ratio (SR), hand peak velocity (PV), and movement unit (MU) of reaching were compared between groups and among task conditions with repeated measure ANOVAs. Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficients were used to examine the correlations between reaching and postural control. Children with CP presented longer MT, larger SR and more MU than did TD children. Further, the children with CP showed larger SR while reaching medially and laterally than anteriorly. But TD children were not affected by these task constraints. Moderate correlations between postural control ability and SR and MU were noted. In conclusion, the children with CP showed a slower, more skewed, less efficient and less coordinated pattern of reaching than the TD children. Reaching laterally and medially seemed to impair the reaching performance (more skewed and less efficient) of the children with CP, but not of the TD children. Reaching laterally and medially may involve trunk rotation which produces more postural challenges than reaching anteriorly. This finding may explain the difference in the effect of task constraint on hand reaching performance between the two groups of children. Moreover, the better the postural control ability, the straighter, and more efficient and coordinated reaching performance the children showed.

[Reducing oxidative DNA damage by adding antioxidants in human semen samples undergoing cryopreservation procedure].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the protective effects of oxidative DNA damage by adding antioxidants: ascorbate, catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in human semen samples undergoing cryopreservation procedure. METHODS: Semen sample form 30 fertile men were mixed with modified cryoprotectant and divided into six groups according to the category and concentration of antioxidants: ascorbate 300 micromol/L, ascorbate 600 micromol/L, CAT 200 U/ml, CAT 400 U/ml, SOD 200 U/ml, and SOD 400 U/ml. Comet assay was conducted to measure the percentage of comet cells, and the nuclear DNA damaged parameters: tail DNA percentage (TD%) and Olive tail moment (OTM). Flow cytometry was used to detect the reactive oxidative species (ROS). The motility (a + b grade), viable recovery rate, nuclear DNA integrity and reactive oxidative species (ROS) of all groups were analyzed before and/or after freeze-thawing. RESULTS: (After cryopreservation, compared with the control group, the a + b grade sperm rates of the ascorbate 300 micromol/L, CAT 200 U, and CAT 400 U groups were all higher than that of the control group (all P < 0.05), however, the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) of the ascorbate 300 micromol/L, CAT 200 U, and CAT 400 U groups were 30 +/- 13, 30 +/- 11, and 30 +/- 11 respectively, all significantly lower than that of the control group (37 +/- 17 , all P < 0.05). The viable recovery rates of the ascorbate 300 micromol/L , CAT 200 U, and CAT 400 U groups were 67% +/- 14%, 68% +/- 14%, and 69% -/+ 15% respectively, all significantly higher than that of the control group (59% +/- 10%, all P < 0.05). (2) The TD% levels of the ascorbate 300 micromol/L, CAT 200 U, and CAT 400 U groups were 41% +/- 4%, 40% +/- 7%, 40% +/- 6%, all similar to that of the raw semen (all P > 0.05), but significantly lower than that of the control group (46% +/- 6%, all P < 0.01). The OTM levels of the ascorbate 300 micromol/ L, CAT 200 U, and CAT 400 U groups were 7.7 +/- 1.2, 7.5 +/- 1.6, and 7.8 +/- 1.9, all similar to that of the raw semen (all P > 0.05), but significantly lower than that of the control group (10.1 +/- 3.1, all P < 0.01) too. The TD% and OTM levels of the other groups were all significantly higher than that of the raw semen (all P < 0.01), but not significantly different from those of the control group (all P > 0.05). (3) ROS was significantly negatively correlated with the motility in all groups (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). Apart from the ascorbate 600 micromol/L group, the TD% and OTM of the other groups were all significantly positively correlated with the ROS (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Supplementation of ascorbate or CAT reduces the level of ROS that induces sperm nuclear DNA damage, and improves the human sperm quality in the process of freeze-thawing.