Reliability and clinical correlates of the Astrand-Rhyming sub-maximal exercise test in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder

Cardiovascular fitness is reduced in people with schizophrenia and is related to an increased morbidity and mortality. There is mounting interest in the accurate measurement of cardiovascular fitness in schizophrenia, yet existing measures used in the general population have not been tested on validity and reliability in this high-risk group. Therefore, we examined the reproducibility and feasibility of the Astrand-Rhyming sub-maximal exercise test in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Secondary aims were to assess minimal detectable changes, practice effects and the presence of clinical symptoms that are associated with cardio-respiratory fitness (expressed as estimated oxygen uptake). From 47 patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder two trials of the Astrand-Rhyming test, administered within three days, were analysed. The intraclass correlation coefficient for the estimated oxygen uptake between the two tests was 0.92 (95% confidence interval: 0.85 to 0.95). The minimal detectable change was 6.5 mlO2/min/kg. No practice effect could be detected. A backward regression analysis demonstrated that illness duration, negative symptoms and level of physical activity explained 63.0% of the variance in estimated oxygen uptake. The current study demonstrates that the Astrand-Rhyming test can be recommended for evaluating the aerobic fitness in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder

Longitudinal linear growth and final height is impaired in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia survivors after treatment without cranial irradiation

Objective: To evaluate long-term growth and final height (FH) in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who were treated without cranial radiation therapy and underwent evaluation of growth hormone (GH) status at the end of treatment. Study design: Data on longitudinal growth (collected at the start of treatment, end of treatment, and 1 year thereafter) and FH of 67 adult survivors of childhood ALL who had been treated according to European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer 58831/2 protocols with chemotherapy as the only treatment modality were reviewed retrospectively. Height data were expressed as SDS for national references. The relative role of sex, age at diagnosis, intensity of chemotherapeutic regimen, and GH status at the end of treatment as contributing factors were analyzed. Results: A modest but significant loss in FH (change in SDS [Delta SDS] = -0.59 +/- 0.86; P < .001) was found. Two-thirds of the height deficit observed from diagnosis until FH occurred during treatment. The height deficit was more severe in the male patients (P = .036). The Delta SDS for height from diagnosis to FH was not correlated with age at diagnosis or intensity of treatment. No correlation was found between the results of the GH stimulation test and Delta SDS for height from diagnosis or the end of treatment to FH. Conclusion: Adult survivors of childhood ALL treated with chemotherapeutic regimens of moderate intensity without cranial radiation therapy exhibit a modest loss in SDS for height at FH irrespective of GH status at the cessation of treatment

Nutritional red flags in children with cerebral palsy

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) are at risk for under-nutrition. The European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) guidelines identified anthropometric nutritional red flags for neurologically impaired children: weight for age z-score (WFA) 2 and dysphagia were associated with a higher risk for lower scores of nearly all nutritional indices. CONCLUSIONS: Underweight was detected in almost three quarters of CP patients with GMFCS 5 classification, whereas deficits in subcutaneous fat and arm muscle reserve were observed in one fifth. Nutritional red flags, present in about 40% of the Flemish CP children, were apparently not successfully addressed in clinical practice, since up to one-fifth of CP patients with warning signs lost even further weight in the following 6 months. Beside a GMFCS >2, dysphagia was one of the most common conditions influencing the presence of low nutritional indices.status: publishe

Walking capacity is associated with health related quality of life and physical activity level in patients with schizophrenia: a preliminary report

To examine walking capacity in patients with schizophrenia and the relation with quality of life and physical activity level.status: publishe

Het belang van autonome motivatie in het aangaan van een actieve levensstijl bij patiënten met schizofrenie: een multi-centrische studie

status: publishe

The Rg-1 encoded regeneration capacity of tomato is not related to an altered cytokinin homeostasis

Item does not contain fulltextCytokinin (CK) metabolism was analyzed in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) Rg-1 hybrids during in vitro shoot organogenesis from root explants. Data were obtained by combining physicochemical analysis with quantification and in situ detection methods. Although exogenous zeatin is added in all classical regeneration protocols, we show here that regenerating (Rg(+)) tomato explants did not require an exogenous CK source for regeneration. Irrespective of the presence or absence of exogenous zeatin, the endogenous CK levels were not affected by Rg-1 in the initial explants or in the early callus phase. In a later stage, and related to the presence of numerous shoots, the Rg(+) explants showed much lower endogenous CK concentrations than the nonregenerating (rg(-)) explants. Cells of rg(-) explants were not able to differentiate, despite their high endogenous CK content, and did not respond to exogenously applied CKs. We show that the insensitivity of rg(-) explants to a hormonal signal, normally initiating regeneration, is not related to an altered endogenous CK metabolism. We therefore postulate that Rg-1 action involves a regeneration-specific CK receptor or a regeneration-specific CK signal transduction pathway