Agreement between Accelerometer-Assessed and Self-Reported Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Female Breast Cancer Survivors

An accurate quantitative assessment of physical activity and sedentary lifestyles enables a better understanding of their relationship with the health records of cancer survivors. The objective of this study was to compare the subjective and objective methods of physical activity measurement in female breast cancer survivors. Materials and methods: In total, 135 female breast cancer survivors at the Holycross Cancer Center, Kielce, Poland, were included in this study. A shortened version of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to subjectively assess the participants’ physical activity (PA), and an ActiGraph GT3X-BT accelerometer was used for an objective assessment. In total, 75% of the studied women did not report any vigorous PA, irrespective of the measurement method. The average values of moderate PA and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) measured with IPAQ compared with the accelerometer were sevenfold and tenfold higher, respectively. Conversely, the sedentary behavior values measured with the accelerometer were almost three times higher than those measured with IPAQ. The PA and sedentary behavior measurements were significantly different. Irrespective of PA intensity, the accelerometer-based measurements produced significantly lower results than IPAQ, while higher results were observed for sedentary behavior. The measurement differences between these two methods increased as the average differences grew. Regardless of the measurement method, a negative association was observed between moderate PA with general adiposity and adipose tissue distribution, whereas sedentary behavior demonstrated an opposite trend. This indicates the detrimental role of obesity in limiting PA

A Two-Year Follow-Up Cohort Study—Improved Clinical Control over CVD Risk Factors through Weight Loss in Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Modest weight loss enhances clinical control over cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors in overweight and obese individuals. This study aimed to assess the associations between individual weight loss and predefined criteria for clinical improvement in blood pressure, lipid levels, and glycemia. A two-year follow-up study involved 3388 (37.9% men) aged 45−64 years, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Changes in body weight were calculated as a percentage of baseline weight; outcome variables: systolic (SBP), diastolic (DBP) blood pressure, high-density (HDL-C) and low-density (LDL-C) lipoproteins, fasting blood glucose (FBG), and triglycerides (TG) were construed as the differences between baseline and outcome values. Clinically significant improvement was defined as SBP/DBP reduction by 5 mm/Hg, FBG−20 mg/dL, LDL-C-10 mg/dL, TG−40 mg/dL, and HDL-C increase by 5 mg/dL. Apart from LDL-C, a modest 5%–10% weight loss was associated with clinically significantly improved outcomes. The incident rate ratios and 95% confidence intervals for clinical improvement of SBP were: 1.27 (1.14–1.40), DBP/1.30 (1.12–1.50), HDL/1.54 (1.18–2.02), and TG/1.69 (1.32–2.17). In the higher category of weight loss, associations were still manifest, although the results proved diagnostically challenging (low number of cases). Even though modest weight loss does enhance clinical control over CVD risk factors, offering regular medical guidance to patients is postulated to further boos the anticipated outcomes

Antibody and plasmablast response to 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients--preliminary report.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) leads to significant immune system dysfunction. The predominant clinical presentation in 50% of patients involves recurrent, often severe, infections. Infections are also the most common (60-80%) cause of deaths in CLL patients. The scope of infections varies with the clinical stage of the disease. Treatment-naive patients typically present with respiratory tract infections caused by encapsulated bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. Since 2012, the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13) has been recommended in the United States and some EU countries for pneumococcal infection prevention in patients with CLL (besides the long-standing standard, 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine, PPV23). The aim of this study was to compare the immune response to PCV13 in 24 previously untreated CLL patients and healthy subjects.Both groups were evaluated for: the levels of specific pneumococcal antibodies, the levels of IgG and IgG subclasses and selected peripheral blood lymphocyte subpopulations including the frequency of plasmablasts before and after immunization.Adequate response to vaccination, defined as an at least two-fold increase in specific pneumococcal antibody titers versus pre-vaccination baseline titers, was found in 58.3% of CLL patients and 100% of healthy subjects. Both the CLL group and the control group demonstrated a statistically significant increase in the IgG2 subclass levels following vaccination (P = 0.0301). After vaccination, the frequency of plasmablasts was significantly lower (P<0.0001) in CLL patients in comparison to that in controls. Patients who responded to vaccination had lower clinical stage of CLL as well as higher total IgG, and IgG2 subclass levels. No significant vaccine-related side effects were observed.PCV13 vaccination in CLL patients is safe and induces an effective immune response in a considerable proportion of patients. To achieve an optimal vaccination response, the administration of PCV13 is recommended as soon as possible following CLL diagnosis

EPR dosimetry for actual and suspected overexposures during radiotherapy treatment

International audienceEPR dosimetry was used to estimate the doses on rib bone samples removed from actual and suspected overexposed patient during radiotherapy treatment

Specific antipneumococcal antibody titers before and after PCV13 vaccination in: (a) the control group and (b) CLL patients (P<0.001, and P<0.001, respectively).

<p>Proportion of plasmablasts before and after PCV13 vaccination in: (<b>c</b>) the control group and (<b>d</b>) CLL patients (P = 0.001, and P = 0.0266, respectively). Serum IgG2 levels before and after PCV13 vaccination in: (<b>e</b>) the control group and (<b>f</b>) CLL patients (P = 0.0166, and P = 0.012, respectively). A multiparameter flow cytometric analysis of the percentages of plasmablasts before and 7 days after vaccination. Representative example of gating on CD19+ B-cell subpopulations. Percentages of cells in the different quadrants are shown. CD19+/IgD−/CD27++ plasmablasts (upper left quadrant) and CD19+/IgM/CD38++ plasmablasts (lower left quadrant) before vaccination and CD19+/IgD−/CD27++ plasmablasts (upper right quadrant) and CD19+/IgM/CD38++ plasmablasts (lower right quadrant) after vaccination in: (<b>g</b>) the individual CLL patient who did not respond to PCV13 administration and (<b>h</b>) the individual healthy subject from the control group, who responded to PCV13 administration.</p

(a) Characteristics of CLL patients and control group. (b) Percentages of plasmablasts and serum anti-pneumococcal antibody as well as IgG2 levels before and after PCV13 vaccination in the CLL patients and control group.

<p>(a) Characteristics of CLL patients and control group. (b) Percentages of plasmablasts and serum anti-pneumococcal antibody as well as IgG2 levels before and after PCV13 vaccination in the CLL patients and control group.</p