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A combination of chondroitin and glucosamine is widely used in clinical practice as both a symptomatic and structure-modifying agent for the treatment of osteoarthritis (OA). The emergence of new drugs based on this combination substantially expands treatment options for OA therapy.Objective: to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Artroflex® that is a combination of chondroitin sulfate 400 mg and glucosamine sulfate 500 mg (CS + GS) to support joint health in patients with knee and/or hip OA.Patients and methods. When implementing an open observational research program, the results of using the CS + GS complex were assessed in 644 OA patients (74.7% women) (mean age, 58.0±14.6 years) who experienced moderate/severe pain and required to continuously take non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). The CS + GS complex was prescribed in a dose of 2 capsules per day for 3 months. The investigators estimated changes in pain on movement by a 0 to 10 verbal pain scale, general health (GH) by a 0–10 visual analogue scale), the Lequesne index, the need for NSAIDs, and patient satisfaction with treatment and its tolerance.Results and discussion. After 3-month therapy, there were decreases in pain intensity by 49.2±16.8%, GH scores by 45.6±18.1%, the Lequesne index from 9.0 [6.0; 13.0] to 5.0 [3.0; 9.0]; less than half (45.2%) of the patients still needed for NSAIDs. 82.2% of patients were satisfied or completely satisfied with treatment results; 89.6% reported good treatment tolerance.Adverse events (apparently associated with NSAID use) were recorded in 2.2% of cases. There were no serious complications that required CS + GS treatment discontinuation or hospitalization.Conclusion. The findings have indicated that Artroflex® used to support joint health is an effective agent that controls OA symptoms and has a good safety level.

Objective : to analyze the dynamics of quality of life (QOL) in patients with prior osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture during an 18-month follow-up study. Subjects and methods . The investigation enrolled 219 patients (mean age, 67.6 years) with vertebral fracture from seven centers of the Russian Federation. QOL was assessed four times using the EQ-5D (EuroQoL-5D) and TTO (Time Trade-Off) questionnaires during an 18-month prospective follow-up study. The work was done within the framework of the International Multicenter Study ICUROS (The International Costs and Utilities Related to Osteoporotic Fractures Study) organized by the International Osteoporosis Foundation (www.icuros.org). Results and discussion . The patients with vertebral compression fracture showed a statistically significant decrease in QOL throughout the follow-up period. Immediately after the fracture, there was a dramatic decrease in the total EQ-5D score, followed by its gradual increase. However, the emerging trend in QOL recovery proved to be unstable, and by the end of the 18th month, it was significantly lower than that before the fracture. On the contrary, the TTO questionnaire showed that QOL drastically decreased immediately after fracture, but at month 4 it reached the level that was before the fracture, and remained stable until the end of the follow-up period. Conclusion . The performed investigation enabled us to obtain data on QOL using the EQ-5D (QOL assessment from the social point of view) and TTO (individual QOL assessment) in the population of residents of the Russian Federation, in men and women aged 50 years and older with osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture.

To assess the influence of informing patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis about the their probability of 10-year absolute fracture risk calculated by FRAX tool on the patient ’s decision to start treatment and their adherence to therapy during 3 years of follow-up. Materials and Methods. Multicenter open randomized trial included 417 women (mean age 65.9 years). Patients of the 1 group (n=191) were informed about the value of their absolute risk of fracture by FRAX. Patients of the 2 group (the control; n=196) got usual advice and recommendations without calculating FRAX. All patients were recommended to take alendronate in a standard dose (70 mg a week) and calcium/vitamin D supplements. Results. During the first three months after initial visit 96.4% of patients started their treatment. The adherence to treatment at sixth month was 7% higher in the group 1; the compliance in the group 1 was 8% higher, than in the control group. 6.4% of patients developed adverse drug reactions, which led to cancellation of therapy in only 2.9% of patients.

A system of Ornstein-Zernike integral equations is solved numerically to determine the heats of vaporization ΔHV of liquid ethane, propane, and n-butane. It is shown that the calculations (the deformations of valence bonds and bond angles in the liquid-phase molecules are ignored) give rather accurate values of ΔHV, which are in agreement with the corresponding experimental data. On the other hand, it is established that if there are intramolecular rotational degrees of freedom, ΔHV depends on the angle of internal rotation ϕ. The function ΔHV(ϕ) is minimum for trans-conformations (ϕ=0) and maximum for cis-conformations (ϕ=180°). Hence, intermolecular interactions stabilize compact (convolute) conformations. The energy of this effect is of the order of 1 kJ/mole.

Objective. To reveal in a population sample people with joint pain and swelling. Material and methods. A screening questionnaire for revelation arthritis and arthralgia was filled for each adult resident of 18 years or older. Screening examination was performed in country and city samples. Universal examination was performed among country residents, representative sample was formed for city residents. Results. 23438 residents were screened, mean age was 48,1 ±17,6 years. Women were prevalent - 60%. 8016 were city and 15422 - country residents. Joint pain prevalence was 45%, joint swelling - 27%. These symptoms disappeared with time in 7% and 6% respectively. In other people they became chronic. Population prevalence of joint complaints is connected with sex and depends on age. In people younger than 20 years of age prevalence of joint pain was 9% and swelling - 3%. Conclusion. Preliminary analysis of the screening part of the study showed scale of the joint pathology problem and allowed to get the first data on prevalence of arthralgia and arthritis in Russia.