Muscle protein metabolism in neonatal alloxan-administered rats: effects of continuous and intermittent swimming training

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study aimed to examine the effects of intermittent and continuous swimming training on muscle protein metabolism in neonatal alloxan-administered rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were used and divided into six groups: sedentary alloxan (SA), sedentary control (SC), continuous trained alloxan (CA), intermittent trained alloxan (IA), continuous trained control (CC) and intermittent trained control (IC). Alloxan (250 mg/kg body weight) was injected into newborn rats at 6 days of age. The continuous training protocol consisted of 12 weeks of swimming training in individual cylinder tanks while supporting a load that was 5% of body weight; uninterrupted swimming for 1 h/day, five days a week. The intermittent training protocol consisted of 12 weeks of swimming training in individual cylinder tanks while supporting a load that was 15% of body weight; 30 s of activity interrupted by 30 s of rest for a total of 20 min/day, five days a week.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>At 28 days, the alloxan animals displayed higher glycemia after glucose overload than the control animals. No differences in insulinemia among the groups were detected. At 120 days, no differences in serum albumin and total protein among the groups were observed. Compared to the other groups, DNA concentrations were higher in the alloxan animals that were subjected to continuous training, whereas the DNA/protein ratio was higher in the alloxan animals that were subjected to intermittent training.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It was concluded that continuous and intermittent training sessions were effective in altering muscle growth by hyperplasia and hypertrophy, respectively, in alloxan-administered animals.</p

Prediction of Low Back Pain with Two Expert Systems

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the common problems encountered in medical applications. This paper proposes two expert systems (artificial neural network and adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system) for the assessment of the LBP level objectively. The skin resistance and visual analog scale (VAS) values have been accepted as the input variables for the developed systems. The results showed that the expert systems behave very similar to real data and that use of the expert systems can be used to successfully diagnose the back pain intensity. The suggested systems were found to be advantageous approaches in addition to existing unbiased approaches. So far as the authors are aware, this is the first attempt of using the two expert systems achieving very good performance in a real application. In light of some of the limitations of this study, we also identify and discuss several areas that need continued investigation

Relationship between skin resistance level and static balance in type II diabetic subjects

Diabetes mellitus is major cause leading to pathological changes in skin foot plantar area (SFPA) and affected the static standing balance duration (SSBD). Skin resistance level (SRL) is related to skin conductance which changes in the presence of sweat. This study aims to find out the relationship between the SRL and SSBD in type II diabetic patients. Sixty-eight voluntary students, 30 type II diabetic patients and 30 healthy non-diabetic subjects, were participated to the study. The SSBD was measured on dominant and non-dominant legs. SRLs were recorded with two surface electrodes over the metatarsus heads and heel. The SSBD of the healthy young group was found to be higher than the other groups (P < 0.001). The SRL values of the non-dominant leg in the diabetic group was found to be lower than the others (P = 0.014). For dominant and non-dominant legs within each group, only the healthy young group has statistically difference (P = 0.012). A significant correlation was seen to be between the SRL and SSBD for only healthy non-diabetic group for the non-dominant leg. The relation between the SRL and SSBD is poor but very promising. Measurement of the SRL can be used in evaluating the inflammation of the diabetic foot. © 2008 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Non specific low back pain in a Turkish population based sample of school children: A field survey with analysis of associated factors

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) among school children and the consequences that this problem may have in relation to gender. This study was designed as a cross-sectional 22-question questionnaire-based on LBP completed by a 10- to 18-year-old Turkish sample. The subjects were 624 school children (335 boys and 289 girls) who were attending primary, secondary or high schools in Denizli, Turkey (mean age = 13.91 years, SD = 2.34). Each subject completed the questionnaire under supervision by an investigator during school time. Data were analysed comparing the two genders. Two hundred and ninety-two school children (46.7%) had LBP. Boys were 153 (52.4%) and girls 139 (47.6%). Both boys and girls with LBP reported that LBP did not interfere negatively with their school performance (67.5%) and with daily activities (87.5%). The risk factors should be investigated at early stages of the life. Therefore, a national LBP prevention program should be performed at community level. © 2006 VSP

Effect of combined spa and physical therapy on pain in various chronic diseases

Objective: The purpose of this study was to exhibit the effect of combined therapy (spa and physical therapy) on pain in various chronic diseases. Methods: Retrospectively, 472 (58.1% female and 41.9% male) spa and physical therapy patients with a mean age of 53.4 ± 12.5 years were evaluated during 2001-2004 from the archives of Dumlupinar University TUTAV Thermal Cure Center. Before, after therapy and before discharging, visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, heart and respiratory rates, systolic and diastolic blood pressures were measured for hemodynamic evaluations. Results: Arthrosis (230 patient, 48.7%) was found to be the main problem in our patients. Ankle arthrosis, fibromyalgia and cervical disc herniation were found with the highest VAS values compared to other pathologies before spa therapy (p0,05), Heart and respiratory rate were statistically increased (p0.05) immediately after spa therapy. Before discharging, all hemodynamic parameters were found statistically decreased before treatment and immediately after spa therapy (p<0.01). Conclusion: A combination of spa and physical therapy decreases pain and improves functional capacity without any hemodynamic risk in rheumatological, neurological and cardiac patients

various chronic diseases

Objective: Spa therapy is commonly used in the treatment of daily chronic diseases practice, but its benefits are still the subjects of discussion. This study investigates possible effects of a combined spa and physical therapy program on pain and hemodynamic responses in various chronic diseases.Methods: The pain intensity and hemodynamic responses of 472 patients involved in a spa and physical therapy program were studied retrospectively. Assessment criteria were pain [Visual Analog Scale (VAS)] and hemodynamic responses (heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate). Assessments took place before, immediately after treatment, and after completion of the spa program (before discharge).Results: The patients with ankle arthrosis, fibromyalgia and cervical disc herniation reported the highest VAS score before treatment program (P 0.05). On discharge, all hemodynamic responses decreased significantly compared to before and immediately after initiation of the therapy program (P < 0.01).Conclusion: To decrease pain and high blood pressure without hemodynamic risk, a combined of spa and physical therapy program may help to decrease pain and improve hemodynamic response in patients with irreversible pathologies. (C) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

nonspecific low back pain

Background: Low back pain (LBP) is a common disease among people under the age of 20. To the best of our knowledge few studies have been carried out on LBP among school children in Turkey, and none of them studied the correlation between pain intensity and related variables with LBP.Material/Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out to investigate the risk factors and their correlations with pain intensity among 222 school children (106 girls and 116 boys) aged 10-18 years in the city of Denizli. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect the data. The regression tree method (RTM) was used to determine the risk factors by using the STATISTICA program package. Pain intensity was the outcome variable, and 8 independent variables (body mass index (BMI), sex, regular exercise habit, studying posture, transportation to/from school, duration of studying, bag handling, and type of bed) were used to detect their effect on pain intensity.Results: The results showed that pain intensity is significantly affected by 4 independent variables: duration of studying, type of bed, transportation to/from school, and BMI. The overall mean and standard deviation of pain intensity was 2.58 +/- 0.86 (minimum = 1, maximum = 5).Conclusions: Results from the literature, as well as our study, show that taking parents' and teachers' concerns seriously is of vital importance. Our results indicate that parents and teachers should be informed about duration of studying, type of bed, transportation and obesity as risk factors predicting NLBP in school children