A 12-week vigorous exercise protocol in a healthy group of persons over 65: study of physical function by means of the senior fitness test

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of vigorous exercise on functional abilities bymeans of a Senior Fitness Test (SFT) in a group of elderly adults. Twenty healthy and inactive people performed vigorous exercise (VE: 12 men and 8 women, aged 69.6 ± 3.9 years). At the beginning of the study (T0) and after 3months (T1), each subject’s functional ability was tested formuscular strength, agility, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and balance.The VE was designed with continuous and interval exercise involving large muscle activities. Functional exercises were performed between 60% and 84% of heart rate reserve (HRR) for a duration of 65 minutes. Five out of the 6 SFTs performed were found significantly improved: Chair Stand (T0 12.4 ± 2.4, T1 13.5 ± 2.6, < 0.01), Arm Curl (T0 14.2 ± 3.6, T1 16.6 ± 3.6, < 0.01), 2 min step (T0 98.2 ± 15.7, T1 108.9 ± 16.2, < 0.01), Chair Sit-and-Reach (T0 −9.9 ± 7.7 cm, T1 1.7 ± 6.3 cm, < 0.01), and Back Scratch (T0 −15.8 ± 10.9 cm, T1 −8.4 ± 13.1 cm, < 0.01). Our results suggest that a high intensity protocol and functional exercises can improve functional mobility and muscle endurance in those over 65 years of age. SFTs are an effective method for assessing improvements in the functional capacity of elderly adults

Reproducibility of histologic classification of gastric cancer

A panel review of histologic specimens was carried out as part of a multi-centre case-control study of gastric cancer (GC) and diet. Comparisons of diagnoses of 100 GCs by six pathologists revealed agreement in histologic classification for about 70-80% of the cancers. Concordance was somewhat higher when using the Lauren rather than the Ming or World Health Organization classification systems. Histologic types from reading biopsy tissue agreed with those derived from surgical specimens for 65-75% of the 100 tumours. Intra-observer agreement in histologic classification, assessed by repeat readings up to 3 years apart by one pathologist, was 95%. The findings indicate that, although overall concordance was good, it is important to standardise diagnoses in multi-centre epidemiologic studies of GC by histologic type

C2-phytoceramide perturbs lipid rafts and cell integrity in Saccharomyces cerevisiae in a sterol-dependent manner

Specific ceramides are key regulators of cell fate, and extensive studies aimed to develop therapies based on ceramide-induced cell death. However, the mechanisms regulating ceramide cytotoxicity are not yet fully elucidated. Since ceramides also regulate growth and stress responses in yeast, we studied how different exogenous ceramides affect yeast cells. C2-phytoceramide, a soluble form of phytoceramides, the yeast counterparts of mammalian ceramides, greatly reduced clonogenic survival, particularly in the G2/M phase, but did not induce autophagy nor increase apoptotic markers. Rather, the loss of clonogenic survival was associated with PI positive staining, disorganization of lipid rafts and cell wall weakening. Sensitivity to C2-phytoceramide was exacerbated in mutants lacking Hog1p, the MAP kinase homolog of human p38 kinase. Decreasing sterol membrane content reduced sensitivity to C2-phytoceramide, suggesting sterols are the targets of this compound. This study identified a new function of C2-phytoceramide through disorganization of lipid rafts and induction of a necrotic cell death under hypo-osmotic conditions. Since lipid rafts are important in mammalian cell signaling and adhesion, our findings further support pursuing the exploitation of yeast to understand the basis of synthetic ceramides' cytotoxicity to provide novel strategies for therapeutic intervention in cancer and other diseases.This work was supported by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia through projects PTDC/BIA-BCM/69448/2006 and PEst-C/BIA/UI4050/2011, and fellowships to A. P. (SFRH/BPD/65003) and F. A. (SFRH/BD/80934/2011), as well as by FEDER through POFC - COMPETE. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

The effects of two different 8-week stretching protocols on postural stability in amateur sportsmen

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the long-term effects of a static versus proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching protocols by means of spinometry and baropodometry. We hypothesized that PNF may be more effective than static stretching in supporting the static and dynamic balance. Methods: Thirty-six sport science students were divided into three groups: the first group attended a warm-up protocol on the treadmill only (warm-up group) while the other two carried out the same warm-up protocol followed by a static stretching (static group) or by a Contract Relax Antagonist Contract stretching (CRAC group). Stretching programs were performed three times per week on lower limb muscles and the postural stability of each participant was evaluated at entry (pre) and after 8 weeks of training (post). Results: The ellipse area after a warm-up-only protocol did not change; after the static stretching protocol, it was significantly increased (from 111.3 ± 35.8 to 135.0 ± 32.3, p &lt; 0.05), while after the CRAC protocol, it significantly decreased (from 119.1 ± 23.0 to 88.2 ± 19.8, p &lt; 0.01). CRAC group had a significant reduction in average forces (− 3.9% from pre to post, p &lt; 0.05) and in load response (− 0.6% from pre to post, p &lt; 0.05). Pelvic inclination was reduced from 2.22 to 1.33 mm (p &lt; 0.01) and pelvic torsion decreased by 0.94 ± 0.22° (p &lt; 0.05) after the CRAC protocol. Conclusions: Eight-week CRAC protocol was an excellent training for static and dynamic balance improvement and it was more effective than static stretching

Relationship between static and dynamic balance abilities in Italian professional and youth league soccer players

Objectives: To assess the existence of correlations between static and dynamic balance abilities in young and professional elite soccer players. Design: Cross-sectional. Participants: Fifty-one elite players who regularly compete at national level divided into two groups: Professional (age 18e34, n ¼ 20) and Under 15e17 (age 14e16, n ¼ 31). Main outcome measures: Dynamic balance was assessed for the case of a single-leg landing task by means of vertical time to stabilization (TTS) and postural sway calculated on the basis of center-of-pressure (COP) trajectories (sway area, COP displacements in antero-posterior and medio-lateral direction, COP path length). The same parameters were also measured for a 20 s one-legged stance to assess static balance abilities. Results: No significant correlations were found between static and dynamic balance parameters except for TTS and COP displacements in the antero-posterior direction (r = 0.29, p = 0.003). Professional players are characterized by lower TTS in comparison with youth leagues players (0.767 vs. 1.188 s for the dominant limb, p < 0.001) and exhibit reduced sway area (of 34e40%, p < 0.05) for both conditions tested. Conclusion: The assessment of balance in soccer players should be performed with both dynamic and static tests, considering that the postural control performances in the two cases are not related

Chordoma of the cervical spine. Case report.

We present a case of chordoma of cervical spine with spinal cord compression at the level C4-C5-C6 in a woman of 65 years old. The diagnosis depends on the results of the histological studies and especially the studies of the labeled elements as protein S 100. For the operation was used an anterior approach and a somatectomy of the interested vertebrae. The cervical spine was synthesized using a bone autograft and the stabilization was made possible through a HaloVest. The patient then underwent radiotherapy (50 Gy); the preoperative deficit disappeared totally and at the present moment there are no signs of clinical on radiological relapse