RESUMEN
Tuberculous (TB) pericarditis is a well-known manifestation of tuberculosis, particularly in endemic regions. The progression to constrictive pericarditis, while under anti-tuberculosis treatment, is reported to be as high as 30%. This report presents a case of a 56-year-old female patient who complained of cough, pleuritic chest pain, night sweats, and fever, followed by orthopnea, dyspnea, and peripheral edema. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed the early stages of constrictive pericarditis and a small pericardial effusion. Chest computed tomography (CT) showed a thickened pericardium, small pericardial and pleural effusions, and multiple mediastinal lymphadenopathies. Due to a high suspicion of tuberculous pericarditis, the patient was administered empirical anti-TB treatment. A follow-up after two months showed complete resolution of symptoms and echocardiographic findings. Empirical antimicrobial treatment in endemic areas is a well-established strategy for managing tuberculous infection and proved successful in this patient. The early presentation and the significant improvement in signs and symptoms following the medical anti-TB regimen, without the need for pericardiectomy, were unique aspects of this case.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: The decline in adropin over the aging process is associated with cardiometabolic risks, and resistance training may affect this decline. We hypothesized that elastic band resistance training (EBRT) would be an effective exercise for increasing adropin and improving the cardiometabolic profile in elderly women. METHODS: We randomly assigned 28 overweight elderly women (age = 74.04 ± 4.69 years) into one of two groups, EBRT (n = 14) or control (CON; n = 14), to participate in a 12-week (3d/wk) supervised EBRT program. The serum levels of adropin and cardiometabolic risk factors were evaluated at baseline and after the intervention. The exercise training protocol consisted of three supervised training sessions (55 min) per week for 12 weeks. Data were analyzed using two-way repeated-measures ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: EBRT significantly increased serum adropin levels (p = 0.026), number of repetitions in the 30-second chair-stand test (p = 0.016), and number of repetitions in the 30-second arm curl test (p = 0.032). Moreover, EBRT significantly decreased serum levels of insulin (p = 0.035), TNF-α (p = 0.046), hsCRP (p = 0.037), and insulin resistance (p = 0.045) as well as body fat percentage (p = 0.023). There were no significant between-group differences (p > 0.05) in glucose, TC, TG, LDL-C, HDL-C, BMI, and WHR; however, glucose, TC, TG, and BMI significantly changed in the EBRT group (within-group). Furthermore, adropin correlated with body fat percentage (p = 0.020) and BMI (p = 0.014) at pretest and with body fat percentage at posttest (p = 0.016), however, delta values were not significantly related. No correlation was observed between adropin and other biomarkers at any stage of the study. CONCLUSION: EBRT can increase serum adropin levels, which has been associated with improved insulin sensitivity, inflammation, body fat percentage, and physical function in overweight elderly women.