Median nerve conduction impairment in patients with diabetes and its impact on patients’ perception of health condition: a quantitative study

INTRODUCTION: Impaired mobility and compromised manual dexterity leading to difficulties with the activities of daily living (ADL) are an inherent part of the clinical picture in diabetes. Hand function in diabetes is influenced by a variety of pathologies: the median nerve, the most important nerve of the hand, can suffer from metabolic disturbances, ischemia and/or entrapment neuropathies. The resulting deterioration in functional capacity is likely to have significant consequences for the ability to perform ADL, influencing adjustment to diabetes and affecting quality of life. The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of hand function as measured by median motor nerve conduction on quality of life, taking into account various aspects of functioning in patients with diabetes, including activities of daily living, psychological status and acceptance of illness. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Seventy one hospital patients with diabetes participated in the study. Electrophysiological recordings of conductance in the median nerve were obtained for both hands and the relationship between hand function and functional status (BI), depression and anxiety (HADS), adjustment to illness (AIS) and their effect on quality of life (SF-36v2 and QLI) was studied. RESULTS: Damage to the median nerve of the left hand was associated with significant differences in functioning in the physical, but not the mental component of the SF-36v2, p = 0.03 and in functional status (p = 0.006). QOL was associated with depression, patient age, acceptance of illness, functional ability and to a small, but significant extent with median nerve damage to the right hand on the measure of conduction velocities (R2 =0.726). CONCLUSIONS: Nerve conductance studies demonstrated a small, but significant effect of hand function on quality of life. Impairment of the median nerve in the left hand was associated with functional difficulties in the activities of daily living and a diminished quality of life in the area of physical functioning. No dependencies of this kind were found for the right hand, which may reflect the greater compensatory capacity of the right hand resulting from improved efficiency due to practice

Charakterystyka postawy ciała dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym regionu bydgoskiego = Characteristics of body posture of Bydgoszcz region pre-school children

Mieszkowska Monika, Kochanowicz Magdalena, Garbin Michał, Srokowski Grzegorz, Tomczyk Maja, Maciejewski Jerzy. Charakterystyka postawy ciała dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym regionu bydgoskiego =Characteristics of body posture of Bydgoszcz region pre-school children. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2016;6(8):637-652. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.61120http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/3795   The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 755 (23.12.2015).755 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7© The Author (s) 2016;This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, PolandOpen Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercialuse, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.Received: 05.08.2016. Revised 25.08.2016. Accepted: 28.08.2016.  Charakterystyka postawy ciała dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym regionu bydgoskiegoCharacteristics of body posture of Bydgoszcz region pre-school children Monika Mieszkowskaa, Magdalena Kochanowicz b, Michał Garbin c, Grzegorz Srokowski c, Maja Tomczyk b, Jerzy Maciejewskid a Poznan University of Medical Sciences, Poznań, Poznan, Poland  b Jędrzej Śniadecki Academy of Physical Education and Sport in Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Polandc Nicolaus Copernicus University Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland`d Multi-Municipal Hospital. Dr. E. Warminski in Bydgoszcz, Bydgoszcz, Poland  Key words: faulty postures, body mass index, Lovett testing, corrective gymnastics,Słowa kluczowe: wady postawy, BMI, testowanie Lovetta, gimnastyka korekcyjna, AbstractIntroduction. The problem of postures faults concerns on the increasing number of children at younger age and significantly affecting their health. Early diagnosis and its correction allow achieving measurable effects influencing on the quality of life in adulthood. The aim of the study was to assess the selected posture parameters of preschool children. Furthermore the aim was to determine their impact of postures faults on the muscle strength of selected muscle groups.Material/Methods. 50 preschool children, 23 girls and 27 boys (average age 5.34 (± 1.09) years) attending to a non-public kindergarten "Ludzikowo" in Bydgoszcz were examined. The study was conducted in the period from January to March 2013 and consisted of three parts: a questionnaire (diagnostic survey), anthropometric survey (weight, height, BMI), visual analyzes - qualitative method (comparison of posture to the reference), assessment of muscle strength of selected muscle groups using a Lovett testing.Results. The study group showed abnormalities at least in one element of the body posture. In the anterior and lateral projection 90%, in the rear projection 96% of examined children showed the presence of posture faults. A comprehensive body structure and posture analysis according to Staffel method showed that only 62% qualify for the so-called normal pattern of body posture. No statistically significant differences in muscle strength were found in whole group.Conclusions. Utility and the simplicity of proposed assessing methods enables their widespread and early uses in preschool children body posture analyzes. The presence of postures faults in preschool age children does not affect their level of muscle strength.  StreszczenieWstęp: Problem wad postawy dotyczy coraz większej liczby dzieci w coraz to młodszym wieku i znacząco rzutuje na ich zdrowie. Wczesna diagnostyka oraz ich korekcja pozwala uzyskać wymierne efekty terapeutyczne znacząco niwelując szkodliwość występujących wad oraz ich wpływ na komfort życia w dorosłości. Celem badania była ocena wybranych parametrów postawy ciała dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym oraz określenie wpływu występujących wad na poziom siły mięśniowej wybranych grup mięśni wg. skali Lovetta.Materiał i metody: Badania obejmowały grupę 50 dzieci, 23 dziewcząt i 27 chłopców (w wieku 5,34 (± 1,09) lata), uczęszczających do niepublicznego przedszkola „Ludzikowo” w Bydgoszczy. Badania przeprowadzono w okresie od stycznia do marca 2013. Badanie obejmowało trzy części: kwestionariusz ankiety (met. sondażu diagnostycznego), badanie antropometryczne (pomiar masy ciała, wzrostu, BMI), badanie wzrokowe - metoda jakościowa (porównanie postawy swobodnej z wzorcem), ocena siły mięśniowej wybranych grup mięśniowych przy pomocy testu Lovetta. Wyniki: Grupa badana wykazywała odchylenia od normy w przynajmniej jednym z obserwowanych elementów postawy ciała. W projekcji przedniej oraz bocznej u 90% dzieci wykazano obecność zaburzeń postawy. W badaniu w projekcji tylnej u 96% badanych wystąpiły odchylenia od prawidłowych wzorców postawy ciała. Całościowa analiza budowy i postawy ciała wg Staffela wykazała, że jedynie 62% kwalifikuje się do tzw. normalnego wzorca postawy ciała. Mimo zaburzeń wzorców postawy nie stwierdzono istotnych statystycznie zaburzeń siły mięśniowej wg. Lovetta.Wnioski: Użyteczność oraz łatwość wykonania zaproponowanych metody oceny postawy ciała pozwala na ich bardzo szerokie zastosowanie i umożliwia wczesną diagnostykę posturalną dzieci przedszkolnych. Obecność wad postawy w wieku przedszkolnym nie rzutuje jeszcze na poziom siły mięśniowej wybranych grup mięśniowych

Clinical course and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in multiple sclerosis patients treated with disease-modifying therapies — the Polish experience

Introduction. The aim of this study was to report the course and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients treated with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) in Poland. A major concern for neurologists worldwide is the course and outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with MS treated with different DMTs. Although initial studies do not suggest an unfavourable course of infection in this group of patients, the data is limited.Materials and methods. This study included 396 MS patients treated with DMTs and confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection from 28 Polish MS centres. Information concerning patient demographics, comorbidities, clinical course of MS, current DMT use, as well as symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, need for pharmacotherapy, oxygen therapy, and/or hospitalisation, and short-term outcomes was collected up to 30 January 2021. Additional data about COVID-19 cases in the general population in Poland was obtained from official reports of the Polish Ministry of Health.Results. There were 114 males (28.8%) and 282 females (71.2%). The median age was 39 years (IQR 13). The great majority of patients with MS exhibited relapsing-remitting course (372 patients; 93.9%). The median EDSS was 2 (SD 1.38), and the mean disease duration was 8.95 (IQR 8) years. Most of the MS patients were treated with dimethyl fumarate (164; 41.41%). Other DMTs were less frequently used: interferon beta (82; 20.70%), glatiramer acetate (42; 10.60%), natalizumab (35;8.84%), teriflunomide (25; 6.31%), ocrelizumab (20; 5.05%), fingolimod (16; 4.04), cladribine (5; 1.26%), mitoxantrone (3; 0.76%), ozanimod (3; 0.76%), and alemtuzumab (1; 0.25%). The overall hospitalisation rate due to COVID-19 in the cohort was 6.81% (27 patients). Only one patient (0.3%) died due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and three (0.76%) patients were treated with mechanical ventilation; 106 (26.8%) patients had at least one comorbid condition. There were no significant differences in the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infection regarding patient age, duration of the disease, degree of disability (EDSS), lymphocyte count, or type of DMT used.Conclusions and clinical implications. Most MS patients included in this study had a favourable course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The hospitalisation rate and the mortality rate were not higher in the MS cohort compared to the general Polish population. Continued multicentre data collection is needed to increase the understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection impact on the course of MS in patients treated with DMTs

Relationship between Joint Position Sense, Force Sense, and Muscle Strength and the Impact of Gymnastic Training on Proprioception

The aims of this study were (1) to assess the relationship between joint position (JPS) and force sense (FS) and muscle strength (MS) and (2) to evaluate the impact of long-term gymnastic training on particular proprioception aspects and their correlations. 17 elite adult gymnasts and 24 untrained, matched controls performed an active reproduction (AR) and passive reproduction (PR) task and a force reproduction (FR) task at the elbow joint. Intergroup differences and the relationship between JPS, FS, and MS were evaluated. While there was no difference in AR or PR between groups, absolute error in the control group was higher during the PR task (7.15 ± 2.72°) than during the AR task (3.1 ± 1.93°). Mean relative error in the control group was 61% higher in the elbow extensors than in the elbow flexors during 50% FR, while the gymnast group had similar results in both reciprocal muscles. There was no linear correlation between JPS and FS in either group; however, FR was negatively correlated with antagonist MS. In conclusion, this study found no evidence for a relationship between the accuracy of FS and JPS at the elbow joint. Long-term gymnastic training improves the JPS and FS of the elbow extensors

Antifungal Agent 4-AN Changes the Genome-Wide Expression Profile, Downregulates Virulence-Associated Genes and Induces Necrosis in Candida albicans Cells

In the light of the increasing occurrence of antifungal resistance, there is an urgent need to search for new therapeutic strategies to overcome this phenomenon. One of the applied approaches is the synthesis of small-molecule compounds showing antifungal properties. Here we present a continuation of the research on the recently discovered anti-Candida albicans agent 4-AN. Using next generation sequencing and transcriptional analysis, we revealed that the treatment of C. albicans with 4-AN can change the expression profile of a large number of genes. The highest upregulation was observed in the case of genes involved in cell stress, while the highest downregulation was shown for genes coding sugar transporters. Real-time PCR analysis revealed 4-AN mediated reduction of the relative expression of genes engaged in fungal virulence (ALS1, ALS3, BCR1, CPH1, ECE1, EFG1, HWP1, HYR1 and SAP1). The determination of the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) showed that the combination of 4-AN with amphotericin B is synergistic. Finally, flow cytometry analysis revealed that the compound induces mainly necrosis in C. albicans cells

Serum levels of bone formation and resorption markers in relation to vitamin D status in professional gymnastics and physically active men during upper and lower body high-intensity exercise

Purpose/introduction To compare serum levels of bone turnover markers in athletes and non-athletes, and to evaluate the relationship between serum levels of vitamin D metabolites and exercise-induced changes in biomarker levels. Methods Sixteen elite male artistic gymnasts (EG; 21.4 ± 0.8 years-old) and 16 physically active men (the control group, PAM; 20.9 ± 1.2 years-old) performed lower and upper body 30-s Wingate anaerobic tests (LBWT and UBWT, respectively). For biomarker analysis, blood samples were collected before, and 5 and 30 min after exercise. Samples for vitamin D levels were collected before exercise. N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (PINP) was analysed as a marker of bone formation. C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (CTX) was analysed as a marker of bone resorption. Results UBWT fitness readings were better in the EG group than in the PAM group, with no difference in LBWT readings between the groups. UBWT mean power was 8.8% higher in subjects with 25(OH)D3 levels over 22.50 ng/ml and in those with 24,25(OH)2D3 levels over 1.27 ng/ml. Serum CTX levels increased after both tests in the PAM group, with no change in the EG group. PINP levels did not change in either group; however, in PAM subjects with 25(OH)D3 levels above the median, they were higher than those in EG subjects. Conclusion Vitamin D metabolites affect the anaerobic performance and bone turnover markers at rest and after exercise. Further, adaptation to physical activity modulates the effect of anaerobic exercise on bone metabolism markers

Analysis of side effects following vaccination against COVID-19 among individuals with multiple sclerosis treated with DMTs in Poland

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Since vaccination against COVID-19 is available for over a year and the population of immunized individuals with autoimmune disorders is higher than several months before, an evaluation of safety and registered adverse events can be made. We conducted a large study of side effects following the COVID-19 vaccine among patients with multiple (MS) sclerosis treated with disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) and analyzed factors predisposing for particular adverse events. METHODS: We gathered data of individuals with MS treated with DMTs from 19 Polish MS Centers, who reported at least one adverse event following COVID-19 vaccination. The information was obtained by neurologists using a questionnaire. The same questionnaire was used at all MS Centers. To assess the relevance of reported adverse events, we used Fisher's exact test, t-test, and U-Menn-Whutney test. RESULTS: A total of 1,668 patients with MS and reports of adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination were finally included in the study. Besides one case marked as “red flag”, all adverse events were classified as mild. Pain at the injection site was the most common adverse event, with a greater frequency after the first dose. Pain at the injection site was significantly more frequent after the first dose among individuals with a lower disability (EDSS ≤2). The reported adverse events following immunization did not differ over sex. According to age, pain at the injection site was more common among individuals between 30 and 40 years old, only after the first vaccination dose. None of the DMTs predisposed for particular side effects. CONCLUSIONS: According to our findings, vaccination against COVID-19 among patients with MS treated with DMTs is safe. Our study can contribute to reducing hesitancy toward vaccination among patients with MS