Blood Flow Restriction Increases the Neural Activation of the Knee Extensors During Very Low-Intensity Leg Extension Exercise in Cardiovascular Patients:A Pilot Study

Blood flow restriction (BFR) has the potential to augment muscle activation, which underlies strengthening and hypertrophic effects of exercise on skeletal muscle. We quantified the effects of BFR on muscle activation in the rectus femoris (RF), the vastus lateralis (VL), and the vastus medialis (VM) in concentric and eccentric contraction phases of low-intensity (10% and 20% of one repetition maximum) leg extension in seven cardiovascular patients who performed leg extension in four conditions: at 10% and 20% intensities with and without BFR. Each condition consisted of three sets of 30 trials with 30 s of rest between sets and 5 min of rest between conditions. Electromyographic activity (EMG) from RF, VL, and VM for 30 repetitions was divided into blocks of 10 trials and averaged for each block in each muscle. At 10% intensity, BFR increased EMG of all muscles across the three blocks in both concentric and eccentric contraction phases. At 20% intensity, EMG activity in response to BFR tended to not to increase further than what it was at 10% intensity. We concluded that very low 10% intensity exercise with BFR may maximize the benefits of BFR on muscle activation and minimize exercise burden on cardiovascular patients

Combined Predictors for AF

Background: The ability to identify risk markers for new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) is critical to the development of preventive strategies, but it remains unknown whether a combination of clinical, electrocardiographic, and echocardiographic parameters predicts the onset of AF. In the present study, we evaluated the predictive value of a combined score that includes these parameters. Methods and Results: We retrospectively studied 1,040 patients without AF who underwent both echocardiography and 24-h Holter electrocardiography between May 2005 and December 2010. During a median follow-up period of 68.4 months (IQR, 49.9–93.3 months), we investigated the incidence of new-onset AF. Of the 1,040 patients, 103 (9.9%) developed AF. Patients who developed AF were older than patients who did not. Total heart beats, premature atrial contraction (PAC) count, maximum RR interval, and frequency of sinus pause quantified on 24-h electrocardiography were associated with new-onset AF. LA diameter (LAD) on echocardiography was also associated with the development of AF. On multivariate Cox analysis, age ≥58 years, PAC count ≥80 beats/day, maximum RR interval ≥1.64 s, and LAD ≥4.5 cm were independently associated with the development of AF. The incidence rate of new-onset AF significantly increased as the combined score (i.e., the sum of the risk score determined using hazard ratios) increased. Conclusions: A combined score that includes age, PAC count, maximum RR interval, and LAD could help characterize the risk of new-onset AF

The prediction of early progressive disease in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab

Abstract Background and Aims The IMbrave 150 trial revealed the usefulness of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy in patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), making it now considered the first‐line systemic chemotherapy agent for HCC. The present study investigated factors associated with early tumor progression of atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in patients with advanced HCC in real‐world clinical practice. Methods A total of 184 HCC patients who received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab therapy were studied. We investigated the frequency of early progressive disease (e‐PD; PD within 9 weeks) and analyzed the risk factors for e‐PD. Results There were 47 patients (25.5%) diagnosed as e‐PD. Patients with e‐PD had a worse performance status (PS) and albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) and Child‐Pugh (C‐P) scores and a significantly higher rate of a systemic therapy than those with non‐e‐PD. A multivariate analysis showed that PS ≥1 (odds ratio [OR] = 4.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.9–10, p < 0.001), ALBI score ≥−2.30 (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.0–4.5, p = 0.044) and the history of a systemic therapy (OR = 3.0, 95% CI = 1.4–6.4, p = 0.0038) were significant and independent determinants of e‐PD. When examining the liver function trends in e‐PD patients, the ALBI scores at 3 and 6 weeks after starting therapy were significantly higher than before the treatment (p < 0.001). Conclusions The liver function and systemic therapy are useful predictors of e‐PD in HCC patients treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab in real‐world clinical practice

C5 palsy following anterior decompression and spinal fusion for cervical degenerative diseases

Postoperative C5 palsy is a common complication after cervical spine decompression surgery. However, the incidence, prognosis, and etiology of C5 palsy after anterior decompression with spinal fusion (ASF) have not yet been fully established. In the present study, we analyzed the clinical and radiological characteristics of patients who developed C5 palsy after ASF for cervical degenerative diseases. The cases of 199 consecutive patients who underwent ASF were analyzed to clarify the incidence of postoperative C5 palsy. We also evaluated the onset and prognosis of C5 palsy. The presence of high signal changes (HSCs) in the spinal cord was analyzed using T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. C5 palsy occurred in 17 patients (8.5%), and in 15 of them, the palsy developed after ASF of 3 or more levels. Among ten patients who had a manual muscle test (MMT) grade ≤2 at the onset, five patients showed incomplete or no recovery. Sixteen of the 17 C5 palsy patients presented neck and shoulder pain prior to the onset of muscle weakness. In the ten patients with a MMT grade ≤2 at the onset, nine patients showed HSCs at the C3–C4 and C4–C5 levels. The present findings demonstrate that, in most patients with severe C5 palsy after ASF, pre-existing asymptomatic damage of the anterior horn cells at C3–C4 and C4–C5 levels may participate in the development of motor weakness in combination with the nerve root lesions that occur subsequent to ASF. Thus, when patients with spinal cord lesions at C3–C4 and C4–C5 levels undergo multilevel ASF, we should be alert to the possible occurrence of postoperative C5 palsy