Search

Introduction: The use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) offers a wide range of benefits. However, there are evidence in favour of cardiotoxicity, including heart conduction disturbances and congestive heart failure., Objective: To determine the effects of HCQ in the resting heart rate (RHR) of SLE patients., Patients and Methods: Included were patients with non active SLE, with a sedentary lifestyle and treated with HCQ. Excluded were patients on beta blocker treatment, trained patients, pacemaker's users and patients with clinical or analytical evidence of anemia, renal disease, obstructive pulmonary disease, obesity, uncontrolled thyroid disease, fever or current infection. Standard 12-lead electrocardiogram was performed in the resting condition (supine decubitus and orthostatic position). Comparison between groups was performed using Mann-Whitney U test. A multiple linear regression was performed. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant., Results: 42 patients were included. Patients were divided in two groups based on the cumulative dose of HCQ (CD-HCQ), considering 365 g as cut-off. There were 24 patients with low-HCQ (<365 g) and 18 patients with high-HCQ (>365 g). Non significant differences were found in age, sex, prednisone dose or SLEDAI. The mean RHR was 73 ± 6 beats/min in the low-HCQ and 65 ± 7 beats/min in the high-HCQ, with a significant decrease of 11% (p = 0.003). In multiple linear regressions, there were non significant association between the decrease of RHR and prednisone dose, age, SLEDAI or TSH, but there was significant association between RHR and CD-HCQ (p = 0.024) and RHR and time of exposure to HCQ (p = 0.029)., Conclusion: CD-HCQ higher than 365 g was associated with a significant decrease (11%) in RHR in non-active SLE patients, although a larger prospective study is required to allow more definitive conclusions., (© The Author(s) 2015 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.)

The implementation of signal filters in a real-time form requires a tradeoff between computation resources and the system performance. Therefore, taking advantage of low lag response and the reduced consumption of resources, in this article, the Recursive Least Square (RLS) algorithm is used to filter a signal acquired from a fiber-optics-based sensor. In particular, a Long-Period Fiber Grating (LPFG) sensor is used to measure the bending movement of a finger. After that, the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) technique allows us to classify the corresponding finger position along the motion range. For these measures to help in the development of an autonomous robotic hand, the proposed technique can be straightforwardly implemented on real time platforms such as Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) or Digital Signal Processors (DSP). Different angle measurements of the finger's motion are carried out by the prototype and a detailed analysis of the system performance is presented.

Unlabelled: The influence of antimalarials on lipids in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has been identified in several studies but not in many prospective cohorts. The aim of this study was to longitudinally determine the effect of antimalarials on the lipoprotein profile in SLE., Patients and Methods: Fasting total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) plasma levels were determined at entry and after 3 months of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) treatment in a longitudinal evaluation of 24 patients with SLE., Results: a significant decrease in TC (198 ± 33.7 vs. 183 ± 30.3 mg/dl, p = 0.023) and LDL levels (117 ± 31.3 vs. 101 ± 26.2 mg/dl, p = 0.023) were detected after the 3 months of HCQ therapy. The reduction of 7.6% in TC (p = 0.055) and 13.7% in LDL levels (p = 0.036) determined a significant decrease in the frequency of dyslipidemia (26% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.013) after HCQ therapy., Conclusion: This longitudinal study demonstrated the beneficial effect of antimalarials on lipids in SLE since this therapy induced a reduction of atherogenic lipoproteins.