Effect of general self-efficacy on promoting health-related quality of life during recovery from radical prostatectomy: a 1-year prospective study.

BACKGROUND: The decline of health-related quality-of-life (QOL) during the year after radical prostatectomy is severe. General self-efficacy (GSE) is an effective psychological factor for long-term regulation of patient behavior and emotions. GSE is expected to facilitate enhanced health-related quality of life. We evaluated changes in GSE and analyzed the relationship between GSE and prostate cancer-specific and general health-related QOL. METHODS: We conducted a longitudinal survey with 104 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy and administered the General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES), Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC), and SF8 Health Survey (SF-8). ANCOVA was performed to compare EPIC and SF-8 between GSES high and low-medium groups. RESULTS: GSES scores increased significantly after 6 months. Regarding EPIC urinary summary scores, high GSES group was significantly higher than low-medium group at 1 month (mean score difference [MSD], 7.3; 95% CI 1.1-13.2, P = 0.016), 3 months (MSD, 6.8; 95% CI 0.7-12.8, P = 0.028), and 6 months (MSD, 6.3; 95% CI 0.9-11.7, P = 0.022). High GSES group had significantly higher SF-8 physical component summary score at 6 months (MSD, 3.2; 95% CI 1.4-5.0, P = 0.001), and significantly higher SF-8 mental component summary score at 1 month (MSD, 2.6; 95% CI 0.4-4.9, P = 0.022), 3 months (MSD, 2.7; 95% CI 0.8-4.6, P = 0.007), and 6 months (MSD, 2.8; 95% CI 1.0-4.6, P = 0.003). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that high GSE was associated with better prostate cancer-specific and general health-related QOL after radical prostatectomy.

Identifying the Effects of Assistive and Resistive Guidance on the Gait of Elderly People Using a Smart Walker.

Progression of technology has expanded applications of smart walkers in clinical fields. However, it is essential to investigate the effects of different types of gait guidance in order to introduce smart walkers more widely throughout these fields. The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of assistive and resistive guidance on the gait of elderly people using a smart walker. Gait parameters, surface electromyography of lower limb muscles, and trunk acceleration were measured. The assistive guidance force significantly increased gait speed, step length, and cadence while increasing trunk acceleration variability. The same amount of resistive guidance force did not change gait parameters; instead, however, it restrained the speed-dependent increase of trunk acceleration variability in the mediolateral direction. An analysis of muscle activity suggested that the lower limb muscle activity could be increased by varying gait parameters including speed, step length, and cadence.

Gait-phase-dependent control using a smart walker for physical training.

Falling has become a key factor that affects the quality of life of the elderly. Currently, the use of a few rehabilitation robots can contribute to the restoration of balance. In this paper, a walker-based rehabilitation robot with a gait-phasedependent control algorithm is proposed to promote dynamic balance in the elderly. It has unique characteristics in that the level of the walker to resist the propulsion force exerted by a user can vary depending on the gait-phase that is estimated using the interaction force between the robot and the user. The robot efficiently improves the muscle power of various muscle groups of the user. Experiments with three young subjects were conducted to validate the effectiveness of the walker with the gait-phase-dependent control algorithm.

[Systemic lupus erythematosus with bilateral salivary gland swelling and clouding of consciousness accompanied by hemophagocytic syndrome--a study of serial determination of serum cytokines].

We investigated changes in various serum cytokines in a case of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) accompanied by hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS). The patient, a 15-year-old male, presented in December 1998 with bilateral salivary gland swelling and a history of fever continuing for more than 10 days. After admission, cerebellar ataxia and clouding of consciousness developed. Laboratory examinations revealed leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, high serum LDH and ferritin, hypercytokinemia, and prominent hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow. Given these findings and positive titers of antinuclear antibody, hypocomplementemia, proteinuria and pericarditis, a diagnosis of HPS with associated SLE was made. The patient was treated with high dose methylprednisolone followed by oral prednisolone and cyclosporine. The patient's clinical symptoms, abnormal blood and urine laboratory data consequently improved, and no recurrence of the symptoms has been documented. However, hemophagocytosis in bone marrow recurred with concomitantly increased serum levels of IL-6 and IL-1 beta. This case indicated that aberrant production of these inflammatory cytokines might be involved in HPS in autoimmune disease.