Efectos del bicarbonato sódico sobre la acidosis láctica y el rendimiento en pruebas sucesivas de 300 m

Este estudio pretendía comprobar el efecto de la ingestión de bicarbonato sódico (NaHCO3) sobre el rendimiento. Diez atletas de alto nivel ingirieron una hora antes de las pruebas 300 mg/kg de bicarbonato de sodio. Posteriormente realizaron en dos ocasiones separadas entre si por seis días, repetidas series de 300 m al 80-83 % de la mejor marca en esa prueba hasta la extenuación o bien hasta que el rendimiento empeoró por debajo de ese porcentaje. Los sujetos fueron aleatoriamente divididos en dos grupos y se les administró bien bicarbonato de sodio en un zumo de frutas para enmascarar el sabor o nada, de manera que uno de los días realizaron las series con carga de bicarbonato y el otro no. Los resultados evidenciaron diferencias significativas, ya que los sujetos fueron capaces de realizar mayor número de series al 80-83% con el bicarbonato que sin él. A la vista de los resultados obtenidos podríamos sugerir que el bicarbonato sódico podría ser utilizado en entrenamientos para lograr mayores adaptaciones metabólicas

Cáncer de pulmón y tabaco en Asturias. Un estudio de casos y controles

ResumenObjetivoExaminar la relación entre el consumo de tabaco y cáncer de pulmón en Asturias.Material y métodosSe realizó un estudio de casos y controles de base hospitalaria. Los casos fueron pacientes con diagnóstico nuevo de cáncer de pulmón (casos incidentes) y los controles procedían de los servicios quirúrgicos. La información obtenida incluyó el consumo de tabaco, las exposiciones ocupacionales y las variables demográficas.ResultadosSe incluyeron en el análisis 197 casos y 196 controles. La odds ratio (OR) ajustada de cáncer de pulmón fue de 5,77 (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%, 2,96-11,22) para el consumo de cigarrillos. El riesgo aumentaba con la cantidad de cigarrillos fumados por día, el número de paquetes/ día, la edad de inicio del hábito, y disminuía con el número de años desde el abandono.ConclusionesLa relación entre el tabaco y el cáncer de pulmón en Asturias es similar a la encontrada en otros estudios llevados a cabo en el mundo occidental. La magnitud de la asociación puede explicar la frecuencia de cáncer de pulmón en Asturias.AbstractObjectiveLung cancer in Asturias is 1.4-fold greater than the Spanish average, while the proportion of smokers is similar. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between lung cancer and smoking in Asturias.Material and methodsWe performed a hospital-based, incident case control study. The cases were newly diagnosed lung cancer patients and controls were patients from the surgical wards. Information was sought on smoking, occupational exposures, and demographic variables. The analysis was performed by means of odds ratios (OR).ResultsOne hundred ninety-seven cases and 196 controls were included in the analysis. The adjusted OR of cigarette smoking was 5.77 (95% CI, 2.96-11.22). The risk increased with the number of cigarettes smoked per day (χ2 = 56.3), the number of packs/year (χ2 = 48.4), and the age at which smoking started (χ2 = 76.5). The OR diminished with the number of years of cessation (χ2 = 39.9).ConclusionsThe relationship between smoking and lung cancer in Asturias is similar to that found in other studies carried out in other parts of the western world. The magnitude of the OR may explain the frequency of lung cancer in Asturias. Greater efforts should be devoted to controlling this problem

Gaze following in ungulates: Domesticated and non-domesticated species follow the gaze of both human and conspecifics in an experimental context

Gaze following is the ability to use others’ gaze to obtain information about the environment (e.g., food location, predators, and social interactions). As such, it may be highly adaptive in a variety of socio-ecological contexts, and thus be widespread across animal taxa. To date, gaze following has been mostly studied in primates, and partially in birds, but little is known on the gaze following abilities of other taxa and, especially, on the evolutionary pressures that led to their emergence. In this study, we used an experimental approach to test gaze following skills in a still understudied taxon, ungulates. Across four species (i.e., domestic goats and lamas, and non-domestic guanacos and mouflons), we assessed the individual ability to spontaneously follow the gaze of both conspecifics and human experimenters in different conditions. In line with our predictions, species followed the model’s gaze both with human and conspecific models, but more likely with the latter. Except for guanacos, all species showed gaze following significantly more in the experimental conditions (than in the control ones). Despite the relative low number of study subjects, our study provides the first experimental evidence of gaze following skills in non-domesticated ungulates, and contributes to understanding how gaze following skills are distributed in another taxon—an essential endeavor to identify the evolutionary pressures leading to the emergence of gaze following skills across taxa

Stroke prevalence among the Spanish elderly: an analysis based on screening surveys

BACKGROUND: This study sought to describe stroke prevalence in Spanish elderly populations and compare it against that of other European countries. METHODS: We identified screening surveys -both published and unpublished- in Spanish populations, which fulfilled specific quality requirements and targeted prevalence of stroke in populations aged 70 years and over. Surveys covering seven geographically different populations with prevalence years in the period 1991–2002 were selected, and the respective authors were then asked to provide descriptions of the methodology and raw age-specific data by completing a questionnaire. In addition, five reported screening surveys in European populations furnished useful data for comparison purposes. Prevalence data were combined, using direct adjustment and logistic regression. RESULTS: The overall study population, resident in central and north-eastern Spain, totalled 10,647 persons and yielded 715 cases. Age-adjusted prevalences, using the European standard population, were 7.3% for men, 5.6% for women, and 6.4% for both sexes. Prevalence was significantly lower in women, OR 0.79 95% CI 0.68–0.93, increased with age, particularly among women, and displayed a threefold spatial variation with statistically significant differences. Prevalences were highest, 8.7%, in suburban, and lowest, 3.8%, in rural populations. Compared to pooled Spanish populations, statistically significant differences were seen in eight Italian populations, OR 1.39 95%CI (1.18–1.64), and in Kungsholmen, Sweden, OR 0.40 95%CI (0.27–0.58). CONCLUSION: Prevalence in central and north-eastern Spain is higher in males and in suburban areas, and displays a threefold geographic variation, with women constituting the majority of elderly stroke sufferers. Compared to reported European data, stroke prevalence in Spain can be said to be medium and presents similar age- and sex-specific traits

Ischemic stroke incidence in Santa Coloma de Gramenet (ISISCOG), Spain. A community-based study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Spain, stroke is one of the major causes of death and the main cause of severe disability in people over 65 years. We analyzed the incidence of ischemic stroke, stroke subtypes, case fatality and disability at 90 days after the event in a Spanish population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A prospective community-based register of ischemic strokes was established in Santa Coloma de Gramenet (Barcelona) [116,220 inhabitants of all ages, according to the municipal census of December 31,2001], from January 1 to December 31, 2003.</p> <p>Standard definitions and case finding methods were used to identify all cases in all age groups. Every patient underwent a complete clinical evaluation and systematic tests including neuroimaging (CT/MRI) and vascular studies (carotid duplex ultrasound intra and extracranial and MR angiography).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Over a one year period, 196 ischemic strokes were registered [107 men; median age = 76 years (range 39–98)], being the first event in 159 patients (81.1%) and a recurrent stroke in 37 (18.9%). After age-adjustment to the European population, the incidence of ischemic stroke per 100,000 inhabitants was 172 (95% CI, 148–196); 219 (176–261) in men and 133 (105–160) in women, with an annual incidence for first ischemic stroke of 139 (118–161); 165 (128–201) in men and 115 (89–140) in women. The incidence of stroke increased with age.</p> <p>Stroke subtypes (TOAST classification criteria) were lacunar in 28.8%, atherothrombotic in 18.6%, cardioembolic in 26.6% and undetermined in 26.0% of patients. At 90 days, the case-fatality was 12%, and among survivors, moderate-to-severe disability was present in 45 % at 3 months.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This prospective community-based study shows one of the lowest incidences of stroke in Europe, as well as one of the lowest case fatality and disability rates at 90 days after stroke.</p

Alcohol consumption and the risk of morbidity and mortality for different stroke types - a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Observational studies have suggested a complex relationship between alcohol consumption and stroke, dependent on sex, type of stroke and outcome (morbidity vs. mortality). We undertook a systematic review and a meta-analysis of studies assessing the association between levels of average alcohol consumption and relative risks of ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes separately by sex and outcome. This meta-analysis is the first to explicitly separate morbidity and mortality of alcohol-attributable stroke and thus has implications for public health and prevention.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using Medical Subject Headings (alcohol drinking, ethanol, cerebrovascular accident, cerebrovascular disorders, and intracranial embolism and thrombosis and the key word stroke), a literature search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, CABS, WHOlist, SIGLE, ETOH, and Web of Science databases between 1980 to June 2009 was performed followed by manual searches of bibliographies of key retrieved articles. From twenty-six observational studies (cohort or case-control) with ischemic or hemorrhagic strokes the relative risk or odds ratios or hazard ratios of stroke associated with alcohol consumption were reported; alcohol consumption was quantified; and life time abstention (manually estimated where data for current abstainers were given) was used as the reference group. Two reviewers independently extracted the information on study design, participant characteristics, level of alcohol consumption, stroke outcome, control for potential confounding factors, risk estimates and key criteria of study quality using a standardized protocol.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The dose-response relationship for hemorrhagic stroke had monotonically increasing risk for increasing consumption, whereas ischemic stroke showed a curvilinear relationship, with a protective effect of alcohol for low to moderate consumption, and increased risk for higher exposure. For more than 3 drinks on average/day, in general women had higher risks than men, and the risks for mortality were higher compared to the risks for morbidity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results indicate that heavy alcohol consumption increases the relative risk of any stroke while light or moderate alcohol consumption may be protective against ischemic stroke. Preventive measures that should be initiated are discussed.</p

Cáncer de pulmón y tabaco en Asturias: un estudio de casos y controles

Objetivo: Examinar la relación entre el consumo de tabaco y cáncer de pulmón en Asturias. Material y métodos: Se realizó un estudio de casos y controles de base hospitalaria. Los casos fueron pacientes con diagnóstico nuevo de cáncer de pulmón (casos incidentes) y los controles procedían de los servicios quirúrgicos. La información obtenida incluyó el consumo de tabaco, las exposiciones ocupacionales y las variables demográficas. Resultados: Se incluyeron en el análisis 197 casos y 196 controles. La odds ratio (OR) ajustada de cáncer de pulmón fue de 5,77 (intervalo de confianza [IC] del 95%, 2,96-11,22) para el consumo de cigarrillos. El riesgo aumentaba con la cantidad de cigarrillos fumados por día, el número de paquetes/día, la edad de inicio del hábito, y disminuía con el número de años desde el abandono. Conclusiones: La relación entre el tabaco y el cáncer de pulmón en Asturias es similar a la encontrada en otros estudios llevados a cabo en el mundo occidental. La magnitud de la asociación puede explicar la frecuencia de cáncer de pulmón en Asturias