Vaccine breakthrough hypoxemic COVID-19 pneumonia in patients with auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs

Life-threatening `breakthrough' cases of critical COVID-19 are attributed to poor or waning antibody response to the SARS- CoV-2 vaccine in individuals already at risk. Pre-existing autoantibodies (auto-Abs) neutralizing type I IFNs underlie at least 15% of critical COVID-19 pneumonia cases in unvaccinated individuals; however, their contribution to hypoxemic breakthrough cases in vaccinated people remains unknown. Here, we studied a cohort of 48 individuals ( age 20-86 years) who received 2 doses of an mRNA vaccine and developed a breakthrough infection with hypoxemic COVID-19 pneumonia 2 weeks to 4 months later. Antibody levels to the vaccine, neutralization of the virus, and auto- Abs to type I IFNs were measured in the plasma. Forty-two individuals had no known deficiency of B cell immunity and a normal antibody response to the vaccine. Among them, ten (24%) had auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs (aged 43-86 years). Eight of these ten patients had auto-Abs neutralizing both IFN-a2 and IFN-., while two neutralized IFN-omega only. No patient neutralized IFN-ss. Seven neutralized 10 ng/mL of type I IFNs, and three 100 pg/mL only. Seven patients neutralized SARS-CoV-2 D614G and the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) efficiently, while one patient neutralized Delta slightly less efficiently. Two of the three patients neutralizing only 100 pg/mL of type I IFNs neutralized both D61G and Delta less efficiently. Despite two mRNA vaccine inoculations and the presence of circulating antibodies capable of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2, auto-Abs neutralizing type I IFNs may underlie a significant proportion of hypoxemic COVID-19 pneumonia cases, highlighting the importance of this particularly vulnerable population

Determination of the effects of playing soccer on physical fitness in individuals with transtibial amputation

BACKGROUND: The aim of this paper is to determine the effects of playing soccer on various components of physical performance such as body composition, muscular endurance, anaerobic power, flexibility, balance, and speed of individuals with transtibial amputation. METHODS: Twelve amputee football players aged 26.67 +/- 7.76 years and twelve sedentary individuals aged 33 +/- 6.7 years were involved in this study. Body composition, and isotonic and isometric endurance of trunk muscles were assessed. Vertical jump test, sit-and-reach test, modified Thomas test, Berg Balance Scale, L test, and figure-of-eight walk (F8W) test were used to assess other physical fitness parameters. RESULTS: The Body Mass Index, waist circumference and body fat percentages of the amputee soccer players were significantly lower than the sedentary amputees (P0.05). Balance was higher in the soccer group (P=0.023). The completion period of the F8W test was significantly lower in the soccer group (4.54 +/- 0.9 s) than in the control group (7.71 +/- 2.25 s) (P<0.001). No significant difference was observed in the numbers of steps measured during the F8W test (P=0.231). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study which investigates the effects of sports on the physical fitness of individuals with transtibial amputation with the inclusion of a control group. Overall findings present the benefits of participating in playing soccer on physical fitness parameters of amputees, but further studies with randomized controlled trials, with larger populations, and with other sport branches should be conducted to motivate all amputees to participate in sports

The relationship of trunk control with balance, upper extremity and lower extremity functions in stroke patients

The center of the body is the trunk. For distal extremity movements, balance, and functional tasks, proximal trunk control is crucial. The aim of the study is to examine the relationship of trunk control with balance, upper extremity and lower extremity functions in stroke patients. Thirty-six stroke patients were included in this cross-sectional descriptive study. Trunk control was assessed using the Trunk Impairment Scale (TIS), Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was used for balance evaluation, Fugl-Meyer Lower Extremity Scale (FML) was used for lower extremity function evaluation, Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Scale (FMU) was used for upper extremity function evaluation. The mean age of the included stroke patients was 62±11 years. There was a moderate negative correlation between TIS and BBS (r=-0.610, p [Med-Science 2023; 12(4.000): 1154-7

Evaluation of the 12 minute swim and the 12 minute run test performances in swimmers ages 10 to 15 years

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the 12-min swim and run as two field tests of cardiorespiratory fitness in non-elite young swimmers and to compare the results of those in boys and girls. Materials and methods: Thirty boys and 21 girls aged between 10 to 15 years who had at least two years swimming training were included in this study. Swimmers performed the 12-min swim and run tests as cardiorespiratory fitness tests. Results: Mean (±SD) the 12-min swim and run performances were 737.07 ± 112.93 m and 2293 ± 67 m respectively for boys, and 683.29 ± 81.63 m and 1988.57 ± 199.02 m respectively for girls. The correlations between the two test performances were r=0.74, p 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study demonstrate that boys had a stronger relationship between the 12-min swim and run test than girls and there were no gender differences for the 12-min swim performance in trained swimmers. Further research evaluating the 12-min swim test in more young swimmers is needed

Effects of different segmental spinal stabilization exercise protocols on postural stability in asymptomatic subjects: Randomized controlled trial

WOS: 000304912300006PubMed ID: 22684202Background and objectives: The aim was to assess and compare the postural stability effects of the "Progressive Dynamic Spine Stabilization Exercise Protocols" (PDSSEP) which were designed for different spinal segments. Material and Method: The asymptomatic, sedentary, and female volunteers (21.26 +/- 1.30 years old) were allocated randomly into Cervical (n = 22), Lumbar (n = 21), Thoracic (n = 20), Combined (n = 20), and Control (n = 21) Groups. All training groups participated into the related PDSSEP for six weeks, 3 days/week. The assessments were carried out at the baseline, after 6th week, and on the 12th week. "Tetrax Interactive Posturography and Balance System" (Tetrax System, Ramat Gan, Israel) was used to assess the overall postural stability (SI), weight distribution (WDI) and somatosensory reactions. "Kruskal Wallis Test" for the differences of the pre-6th weeks, pre-12th weeks within the groups, "Mann-Whitney U Test" for control and inter-group comparisons were used. Results: The differences were observed for eyes closed SI, and WDI in head right rotated position (p < 0.05) between the baseline and after completing the programs. Eyes closed SI in solid surface was shown statistically different in Thoracic group in comparison to controls (p < 0.02). SI on soft surface, SI head left rotated position and somatosensory reactions with head flexed position improved in Thoracic Group at the 12th week (p < 0.01). WDI significantly improved in Cervical Group (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Thoracic spine can be considered as a hidden source for improving overall postural stability. It may be appropriate to focus on thoracic region in the kinetic chain for the treatment or training

Heterotopic ossification in the maxillary sinus

We report a case of heterotopic ossification of the maxillary sinus in a 30-year-old female who was treated surgically in our department. Heterotopic ossification (HO) refers to the formation of mature lamellar bone in nonosseous tissues. We present the radiographic and computed tomographic appearance, and discuss the surgical treatment, histopathologic results, and differential diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, no other case of HO of the maxillary sinus has been reported yet