Interventions: The PRT program was designed according to the American College of Sports Medicine recommendations, and consisted of 3 sets of 8 repetitions with a load corresponding to 80% of the 1-repetition
maximum with 1–2 minutes of rest between the sets. The exercises (leg press, chest press, leg extension, seated rowing, leg curl, triceps extension, standing calf raises, and bicep curl) were performed twice a week for 24 weeks on a multi-stack machine in a community gym. The control group sessions included 10 minutes Adriamycin of low-intensity ROM exercises twice weekly at home, considered as insufficient intensity to elicit muscle hypertrophy. Outcome measures: The outcomes were collected immediately following the training period and included: total and regional lean body mass (LBM), maximal voluntary isometric knee extensor strength at 90° flexion (KES), objective physical function
measures (30-second arm curl, 30-second chair stand, and 50-foot walking) and patient-reported function (The Multidimensional Health Assessment Questionnaire). Results: 13 participants (72%) in the PRT group and 15 (83%) in the control group completed Cyclopamine the study. Participants in the PRT group completed on average 73% of the sessions, and participants in the control group completed on average 54% of the sessions. At baseline, the mean (SD) total LBM in the PRT group was 37.2 (3.9) kg compared to 40.4 (8.9) kg in the control group. PRT increased total LBM by 1.5 (1.5) kg compared to a slight decrease in the control group (p = 0.006 for between group difference). KES and objective physical function CYTH4 measures increased between 17% and 119% in the PRT grouped compared to
no change in the control group (p values ≤ 0.027 for between group differences). Self reported function remained unchanged in both groups. Conclusion: Progressive resistance training can restore the muscle mass and the functional capacity in patients with established, stable RA. Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with impaired physical function, loss of lean body mass, adiposity, and increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. Thus, the present study focusing on the efficacy of Progressive Resistance Training (PRT) in restoring muscle mass in patients with RA is of utmost importance, both for the patients and for health care providers. The exercise intervention followed current guidelines for PRT from the American College of Sports Medicine (2009). To our knowledge, this is the first study of an isolated PRT intervention in RA patients. The present study demonstrated that PRT is effective in restoring muscle mass and physical function in RA patients with low degree of disability (function class I and II). From a clinical perspective the PRT group was supervised during each training session.