Study assessing the efficacy of herbal teas on bone health and quality of life in a population with osteopenia: rooibos actions on melatonin and tulsi actions on quality of life.

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-298
Author(s):  
Fahima Munmun ◽  
Alyssa Linden ◽  
Hunter Hanlon ◽  
Hannah Enderby ◽  
Paula Witt-Enderby
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Bone Health ◽  
Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell ◽  
Melatonin Receptors ◽  
Cooperative Effort ◽  
Translational Study ◽  
Before And After

The purpose of the OsTea translational study was to assess the efficacy of teas (tulsi, rooibos, oolong) compared to placebo (coriander) on markers of bone health and quality of life (QOL) in those with osteopenia and on human mesenchymal stem cell (hMSC) differentiation into osteoblasts to identify potential mechanisms of action. Following consumption of tea (3 times/day; 90 days), participants collected a urine sample during the night (10pm-6am) and filled in questionnaires before and after the study. Rooibos consumption demonstrated a significant decrease in urinary CTX levels vs placebo; trended towards increases in nocturnal melatonin levels (p=0.06); significantly decreased serotonin-producing microbes in the gut; and demonstrated trends towards improvements (p=0.09) in QUALIOST emotional parameters. Tulsi consumption primarily affected subjective measures, such as significantly improved scores for PSS, STAI-trait anxiety, and osteoporosis/osteopenia-related parameters in the QUALIOST. To further identify potential mechanisms underlying these actions of rooibos on CTX and melatonin (urinary and gut), rooibos and melatonin effects on human osteoblastogenesis were carried out for 21 days under oxidative stress conditions to mimic osteopenia.  Although both rooibos and melatonin protected against oxidative stress-induced loss of osteoblasts in vitro, their underlying mechanisms were different.  Melatonin, like tulsi and oolong, demonstrated the greatest protection against oxidative stress at days 10-11 of exposure, which was due to effects on hMSC viability and through melatonin receptors. Rooibos, on the other hand, demonstrated protection at days 10-11 and 20-21, which was through signaling mechanisms involved in differentiation processes and not on cell viability. These findings suggest that the clinical actions of rooibos on decreasing CTX levels in a population with osteopenia may be through a cooperative effort between melatonin and rooibos by protecting hMSC viability against oxidative stress-induced loss and by promoting osteoblast differentiation, respectively.  This study also supports the use of tulsi for improving quality of life in a population susceptible to osteoporosis.

Strategic Role of Zakat in Multidimensional Quality of Life in Sijunjung, Indonesia

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-72
Author(s):  
Herlin Hamimi ◽  
Abdul Ghafar Ismail ◽  
Muhammad Hasbi Zaenal
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Wealth Distribution ◽  
Absolute Poverty ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Status ◽  
Being There ◽  
The Impact

Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam which has a function of faith, social and economic functions. Muslims who can pay zakat are required to give at least 2.5 per cent of their wealth. The problem of poverty prevalent in disadvantaged regions because of the difficulty of access to information and communication led to a gap that is so high in wealth and resources. The instrument of zakat provides a paradigm in the achievement of equitable wealth distribution and healthy circulation. Zakat potentially offers a better life and improves the quality of human being. There is a human quality improvement not only in economic terms but also in spiritual terms such as improving religiousity. This study aims to examine the role of zakat to alleviate humanitarian issues in disadvantaged regions such as Sijunjung, one of zakat beneficiaries and impoverished areas in Indonesia. The researcher attempted a Cibest method to capture the impact of zakat beneficiaries before and after becoming a member of Zakat Community Development (ZCD) Program in material and spiritual value. The overall analysis shows that zakat has a positive impact on disadvantaged regions development and enhance the quality of life of the community. There is an improvement in the average of mustahik household incomes after becoming a member of ZCD Program. Cibest model demonstrates that material, spiritual, and absolute poverty index decreased by 10, 5, and 6 per cent. Meanwhile, the welfare index is increased by 21 per cent. These findings have significant implications for developing the quality of life in disadvantaged regions in Sijunjung. Therefore, zakat is one of the instruments to change the status of disadvantaged areas to be equivalent to other areas.

Quality of Life Before and After Endovascular and Open Repair of Asymptomatic AAAs: A Prospective Study

2000 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 372-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Malina ◽  
Marie Nilsson ◽  
Jan Brunkwall ◽  
Krasnodar Ivancev ◽  
Timothy Resch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Prospective Study ◽  
Open Repair ◽  
Before And After ◽  
A Prospective Study

Effects of use of an eHealth platform e-Vita for COPD patients on disease specific quality of life domains

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Functional State ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Copd Patients ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Ehealth Intervention ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Disease Specific

Background: Integrated disease management with self-management for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is effective to improve clinical outcomes. eHealth can improve patients’ involvement to be able to accept and maintain a healthier lifestyle. Eventhough there is mixed evidence of the impact of eHealth on quality of life (QoL) in different settings. Aim: The primary aim of the e-Vita-COPD-study was to investigate the effect of use of eHealth patient platforms on disease specific QoL of COPD patients. Methods: We evaluated the impact of an eHealth platform on disease specific QoL measured with the clinical COPD questionnaire (CCQ), including subscales of symptoms, functional state and mental state. Interrupted time series (ITS) design was used to collect CCQ data at multiple time points. Multilevel linear regression modelling was used to compare trends in CCQ before and after the eHealth intervention. Results: Of 742 invited COPD patients, 244 signed informed consent. For the analyses, we only included patients who actually used the eHealth platform (n = 123). The decrease of CCQ-symptoms was 0,20% before the intervention and 0,27% after the intervention; this difference was statistically significant (P=0.027). The decrease of CCQ-mental was 0,97% before the intervention and after the intervention there was an increase of 0,017%; this difference was statistically significant (P=0,01). No significant difference was found in the slopes of CCQ (P=0,12) and CCQ-function (P=0,11) before and after the intervention. Conclusion: The e-Vita eHealth platform had a potential beneficial impact on the CCQ-symptoms of COPD patients, but not on functional state. The CCQ-mental state remained stable after the intervention, but this was a deterioration compared to the improving situation before the start of the eHealth platform. In conclusion, this study shows that after the introduction of the COPD platform, patients experienced fewer symptoms, but their mental state deteriorated slightly at the same time. Therefore, health care providers should be aware that, although symptoms improve, there might be a slight increase in anxiety and depression after introducing an eHealth intervention to support self-management.

Bioactive Peptides Sensitize Cells to Anticancer Effects of Oxaliplatin in Human Colorectal Cancer Xenografts in Nude Mice

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 512-522
Author(s):  
Xian Li ◽  
Long Xia ◽  
Xiaohui Ouyang ◽  
Qimuge Suyila ◽  
Liya Su ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Nude Mice ◽  
Low Dose ◽  
Bioactive Peptides ◽  
Human Colorectal Cancer ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Hct 116

<P>Background: Despite new agent development and short-term benefits in patients with Colorectal Cancer (CRC), metastatic CRC cure rates have not improved due to high rates of oxaliplatin resistance and toxicity. There is an urgent need for effective tools to prevent and treat CRC and reduce morbidity and mortality of CRC patients. Exploring the effects of bioactive peptides on the antitumor to CRC was of vital importance to the clinical application. </P><P> Objective: This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic impact of Anticancer Bioactive Peptides (ACBP) on anticancer effect of oxaliplatin (LOHP) in human colorectal cancer xenografts models in nude mice. </P><P> Methods: HCT-116 cells were cultured in vitro via CCK-8 assays and the absorbance was measured at 450 nm. Apoptosis and cell cycle were assessed by Flow Cytometry (FCM) in vitro. HCT-116 human colorectal cancer cells inoculated subcutaneously in nude mice of treatment with PBS (GG), ACBP, LOHP, ACBP+LOHP (A+L) in vivo. The quality of life was assessed by dietary amount of nude mice, the weight of nude mice, inhibition rates, tumor weight and tumor volume. Immunohistochemistry and RT-qPCR method was conducted to determine the levels of apoptosisregulating proteins/genes in transplanted tumors. </P><P> Results: ACBP induced substantial reductions in viable cell numbers and apoptosis of HCT116 cells in combined with LOHP in vitro. Compared with the control GG group, ACBP combined low dose oxaliplatin (U) group demonstrated significantly different tumor volume, the rate of apoptosis, the expression levels of Cyt-C, caspase-3,8,9 proteins and corresponding RNAs (P<0.05). The expression of pro-apoptotic proteins in the cytoplasm around the nucleus was significantly enhanced by ACBP. Short term intermittent use of ACBP alone indicted a certain inhibitory effect on tumor growth, and improve the quality of life of tumor bearing nude mice. </P><P> Conclusion: ACBP significantly increased the anti-cancer responses of low dose oxaliplatin (L-LOHP), thus, significantly improving the quality of life of tumor-bearing nude mice.</P>

Quality of Life for Children with Persistent Sinonasal Symptoms

2003 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Kay ◽  
Richard M. Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Longitudinal Change ◽  
Good Test ◽  
Routine Clinical Care ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Sinonasal Symptoms

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to validate the SN-5 survey as a measure of longitudinal change in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for children with persistent sinonasal symptoms. DESIGN AND SETTING: We conducted a before and after study of 85 children aged 2 to 12 years in a metropolitan pediatric otolaryngology practice. Caregivers completed the SN-5 survey at entry and at least 4 weeks later. The survey included 5 symptom-cluster items covering the domains of sinus infection, nasal obstruction, allergy symptoms, emotional distress, and activity limitations. RESULTS: Good test-retest reliability ( R = 0.70) was obtained for the overall SN-5 score and the individual survey items ( R ≥ 0.58). The mean baseline SN-5 score was 3.8 (SD, 1.0) of a maximum of 7.0, with higher scores indicating poorer HRQoL. All SN-5 items had adequate correlation ( R ≥ 0.36) with external constructs. The mean change in SN-5 score after routine clinical care was 0.88 (SD, 1.19) with an effect size of 0.74 indicating good responsiveness to longitudinal change. The change scores correlated appropriately with changes in related external constructs ( R ≥ 0.42). CONCLUSIONS: The SN-5 is a valid, reliable, and responsive measure of HRQoL for children with persistent sinonasal symptoms, suitable for use in outcomes studies and routine clinical care.

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