Our results suggested that muscle strength, HRQoL, depression and anxiety symptomatology were impaired in fibromyalgia patients compared to healthy controls. Low muscle strength is related to reduced HRQoL and increased depression and anxiety symptomatology in patients with fibromyalgia. Also we suggest that performing daily exercises, including aerobic and strength training, as part of one's lifestyle may have beneficial effects in fibromyalgia patients.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of quercetin and fish n-3 fatty acids on the changes in testis induced by ethanol. Forty-five rats divided into five groups, control, ethanol, ethanol+quercetin, ethanol+fish n-3 fatty acids and ethanol+quercetin+fish n-3 fatty acids. At the end of 8 weeks, all the rats were sacrificed. Degenerative changes in histopathological analyses, the decreased body weight gain and seminiferous tubule diameters in ethanol group have been observed. TUNEL assay also showed an increase in apoptotic cell number. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), xanthine oxidase (XO) and testosterone levels were decreased as well as the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and nitric oxide (NO) were increased in ethanol group. Histopathological changes caused by ethanol have been improved by quercetin and fish n-3 fatty acids. It was also found that protection was provided by increasing SOD, CAT and GSH-Px activities in groups administered quercetin, fish n-3 fatty acids and quercetin+fish n-3 fatty acids, and by decreasing the levels of MDA and NO in groups administered both quercetin and fish n-3 fatty acids together. These results suggest that quercetin and fish n-3 fatty acids are beneficial agents to reduce testicular injury induced by ethanol except for testosterone levels.

The aim of this study was to compare aerobic exercise capacity, daily physical activity, pulmonary functions, resting metabolic rate, and body composition parameters in patients with psoriasis and healthy controls. A total of 60 participants (30 [15 men, 15 women] patients with psoriasis, and 30 [15 men, 15 women] healthy controls) ranging in age from 22-57 were included in the study. Maximal aerobic capacity was determined by Astrand exercise protocol. Daily physical activity was measured with an accelerometer. Resting metabolic rate was determined with an indirect calorimeter. Pulmonary function tests were performed with a portable spirometer. Body composition was established with a bioelectric impedance analysis system. Skinfold thicknesses and body circumference measurements were carried out. Short Form 36 quality of life questionnaire was applied to all participants. In both genders, daily physical activity parameters were found to be higher in the psoriasis group compared to the control. Maximal aerobic capacity, resting metabolic rate, pulmonary function tests, body fatness, body fat distributions, and quality of life were not statistically different between patients with psoriasis and controls in males and females. We suggest that patients with psoriasis who do not have psoriatic arthritis or severe psoriasis are well in performing daily physical activities. In addition, we suggest that this lifestyle helped to prevent impairments of body fatness, body fat distributions, resting metabolic rate, pulmonary functions, and quality of life in patients with mild to moderate psoriasis.

Obesity is a strong risk factor for the development and progression of sleep apnea. Responses to exercise by patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) are clinically relevant to reducing body weight and cardiovascular risk factors. This study aimed to clarify the aerobic and anaerobic exercise capacities and their possible relationships with other findings in patients with OSAS. Forty patients (30 males, 10 females) and 40 controls (30 males, 10 females) were enrolled in this study. Questionnaires (excessive daytime sleepiness, daytime tiredness, morning headache, waking unrefreshed, and imbalance), overnight polysomnography, indirect laryngoscopy, and aerobic and anaerobic exercise tests were performed. Triceps, subscapular, abdomen, and thigh skinfold thicknesses were measured. Subcutaneous abdominal fat (abdomen skinfold) was significantly higher in OSAS patients than in controls. Maximal anaerobic power and anaerobic capacity were not different significantly between the patients and controls. We found that aerobic capacity was significantly lower in OSAS patients than in controls. Aerobic capacity was negatively correlated with upper-body subcutaneous fat (triceps and subscapular skinfolds) but not correlated with subcutaneous abdominal fat in OSAS patients. In multivariate analyses using all patients, the apnea-hypopnea index remained a significant independent predictor of aerobic capacity after controlling for a variety of potential confounders including body mass index. Our data confirm that central obesity (subcutaneous abdominal fat) is prominent in patients with OSAS. Our results suggest that lower aerobic exercise capacity in patients with OSAS might be due to daily physical activity that is restricted by OSA itself. This study also suggests that the degree of subcutaneous abdominal fat cannot be used for predicting aerobic capacity level. We think that upper-body subcutaneous fat might be suitable for determining the physical fitness of patients with OSAS.

No abstract