The effects of weekly motivational phone calls on the amount of leisure sports activities and changes in physical fitness

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate whether motivational weekly phone calls are able to promote overall and/or leisure physical activity levels and fitness in an urban population of Romania. Material: Sixty-five adult subjects (30 males and 35 females) were randomly selected and followed over the 8-month study period. Total physical activity and changes in body mass and body mass index (kg/m2) were recorded on a monthly basis. Fitness level was assessed by the participants themselves using three standardized motor tests: push-up test, 1-minute sit-up test and 3-minute step test. Results: The intervention resulted in an increase of physical activity level by approximately 70% in males and females aged 25-39 years. In those aged 40-49 years physical activity levels were enhanced by 77% in males and 18% in females. These changes were associated with improvements (25-31%; p < 0.01) in fitness levels. Changes in physical activity over the 8-month intervention period were negatively correlated with body mass index (r = - 0.721, p < 0.01). Conclusions: This study demonstrates that motivation by regular phone calls was highly effective in increasing leisure sports activities and improving fitness levels in young and middle-aged adults of both sexes

Classic Bioelectrical Impedance Vector Reference Values for Assessing Body Composition in Male and Female Athletes

Bioimpedance standards are well established for the normal healthy population and in clinical settings, but they are not available for many sports categories. The aim of this study was to develop reference values for male and female athletes using classic bioimpedance vector analysis (BIVA). In this study, 1556 athletes engaged in different sports were evaluated during their off-season period. A tetrapolar bioelectrical impedance analyzer was used to determine measurements of resistance (R) and reactance (Xc). The classic BIVA procedure, which corrects bioelectrical values for body height, was applied, and fat-free mass, fat mass, and total body water were estimated. In order to verify the need for specific references, classic bioelectrical values were compared to the reference values for the general male and female populations. Additionally, athletes were divided into three groups: endurance, velocity/power, and team sports. In comparison with the general healthy male and female populations, the mean vectors of the athletes showed a shift to the left on the R-Xc graph. Considering the same set of modalities, BIVA confidence graphs showed that male and female endurance athletes presented lower body fluids, fat mass, and fat-free mass than other sets of modalities. This study provides BIVA reference values for an athletic population that can be used as a standard for assessing body composition in male and female athletes

Regulation of plasma volume in male lowlanders during 4 days of exposure to hypobaric hypoxia equivalent to 3500 m altitude.

Acclimatization to hypoxia leads to a reduction in plasma volume (PV) that restores arterial O &lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; content. Findings from studies investigating the mechanisms underlying this PV contraction have been controversial, possibly as experimental conditions were inadequately controlled. We examined the mechanisms underlying the PV contraction evoked by 4 days of exposure to hypobaric hypoxia (HH) in 11 healthy lowlanders, while strictly controlling water intake, diet, temperature and physical activity. Exposure to HH-induced an ∼10% PV contraction that was accompanied by a reduction in total circulating protein mass, whereas diuretic fluid loss and total body water remained unchanged. Our data support an oncotically driven fluid redistribution from the intra- to the extravascular space, rather than fluid loss, as the mechanism underlying HH-induced PV contraction. Extended hypoxic exposure reduces plasma volume (PV). The mechanisms underlying this effect are controversial, possibly as previous studies have been confounded by inconsistent experimental conditions. Here, we investigated the effect of hypobaric hypoxia (HH) on PV in a cross-over study that strictly controlled for diet, water intake, physical activity and temperature. Eleven males completed two 4-day sojourns in a hypobaric chamber, one in normoxia (NX) and one in HH equivalent to 3500 m altitude. PV, urine output, volume-regulating hormones and plasma protein concentration were determined daily. Total body water (TBW) was determined at the end of both sojourns by deuterium dilution. Although PV was 8.1 ± 5.8% lower in HH than in NX after 24 h and remained ∼10% lower thereafter (all P &lt; 0.002), no differences were detected in TBW (P = 0.17) or in 24 h urine volumes (all P &gt; 0.23). Plasma renin activity and circulating aldosterone were suppressed in HH during the first half of the sojourn (all P &lt; 0.05) but thereafter similar to NX, whereas no differences were detected for copeptin between sojourns (all P &gt; 0.05). Markers for atrial natriuretic peptide were higher in HH than NX after 30 min (P = 0.001) but lower during the last 2 days (P &lt; 0.001). While plasma protein concentration was similar between sojourns, total circulating protein mass (TCP) was reduced in HH at the same time points as PV (all P &lt; 0.03). Despite transient hormonal changes favouring increased diuresis, HH did not enhance urine output. Instead, the maintained TBW and reduced TCP support an oncotically driven fluid redistribution into the extravascular compartment as the mechanism underlying PV contraction

Brain regions essential for improved lexical access in an aged aphasic patient: a case report

BACKGROUND: The relationship between functional recovery after brain injury and concomitant neuroplastic changes is emphasized in recent research. In the present study we aimed to delineate brain regions essential for language performance in aphasia using functional magnetic resonance imaging and acquisition in a temporal sparse sampling procedure, which allows monitoring of overt verbal responses during scanning. CASE PRESENTATION: An 80-year old patient with chronic aphasia (2 years post-onset) was investigated before and after intensive language training using an overt picture naming task. Differential brain activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus for correct word retrieval and errors was found. Improved language performance following therapy was mirrored by increased fronto-thalamic activation while stability in more general measures of attention/concentration and working memory was assured. Three healthy age-matched control subjects did not show behavioral changes or increased activation when tested repeatedly within the same 2-week time interval. CONCLUSION: The results bear significance in that the changes in brain activation reported can unequivocally be attributed to the short-term training program and a language domain-specific plasticity process. Moreover, it further challenges the claim of a limited recovery potential in chronic aphasia, even at very old age. Delineation of brain regions essential for performance on a single case basis might have major implications for treatment using transcranial magnetic stimulation