Lower back muscle activity during weight-shifting is affected by ageing and dual-tasking.

Purpose: Postural control deteriorates with age, especially under dual-task conditions. It is currently unknown how a challenging virtual reality weight-shifting task affects lower back muscle activity. Hence, this study investigated erector spinae neuromuscular control during mediolateral weight-shifting as part of an exergame during single- (ST) and dual-task (DT) conditions in young and older adults.

Validity and reliability of Eforto®, a system to (self-)monitor grip strength and muscle fatigability in older persons.

Introduction: We developed Eforto®, an innovative system for (self-)monitoring of grip strength (GS) and muscle fatigability (Fatigue Resistance (FR = time until GS decreased to 50% of maximum during sustained contraction) and grip work (GW = area under the strength-time curve)). The Eforto® system consists of a rubber bulb that is wirelessly connected to a smartphone-based application, and a telemonitoring platform. The aim was to evaluate the validity and reliability of Eforto® to measure muscle fatigability.

Differences in Maximum Voluntary Excitation Between Isometric and Dynamic Contractions are Age-Dependent.

Obtaining true maximum voluntary excitation appears to be more difficult in older populations than in young populations. The aims of this study were (1) to determine whether differences in maximum voluntary excitation obtained from maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) and (sub-)maximum voluntary dynamic contraction [(s-)MVDC] are age dependent, and (2) to determine how normalizing electromyographic signals to corresponding maximum voluntary excitations affects variance between participants and the likelihood of normalized signals exceeding 100%. MVIC, s-MVDC, and MVDC were recorded in 10 young women, and MVIC and s-MVDC were recorded in 19 older women.

Bench stepping with incremental heights improves muscle volume, strength and functional performance in older women.

Aim: Task-specific exercises such as bench stepping can improve functional ability and reduce falling incidents in older adults. However, such exercises are often not optimized to improve muscle volume and force-velocity characteristics. This study determined the effects of a 12-week stepping program using incremental step heights (STEEP), on muscle volume, strength, power, functional ability and balance performance in older women.

A body-fixed-sensor-based analysis of stair ascent and sit-to-stand to detect age-related differences in leg-extensor power.

Human ageing is accompanied by a progressive decline in leg-extensor power (LEP). LEP is typically measured with specialized and expensive equipment, which limits the large-scale applicability. Previously, sensor-based trunk kinematics have been used to estimate the vertical power required to elevate the body's center of mass during functional tests, but the link with LEP and age remains to be investigated.

Weight bearing exercise can elicit similar peak muscle activation as medium-high intensity resistance exercise in elderly women.

Purpose: To assess whether stepping-based weight bearing exercise (WBE) can elicit peak activation of upper leg muscles similar to resistance exercise (RE) at an intensity required to induce strength gains in elderly women.

Methods: Muscular activation of several upper leg muscles was measured during RE and WBE in a cohort of 19 healthy elderly women (69.3 ± 3.

Training load does not affect detraining's effect on muscle volume, muscle strength and functional capacity among older adults.

Research underlines the potential of low-load resistance exercise in older adults. However, while the effects of detraining from high-load protocols have been established, it is not known whether gains from low-load training would be better/worse maintained. The current study evaluated the effects of 24weeks of detraining that followed 12weeks of high- and low-load resistance exercise in older adults.

Less hip joint loading only during running rather than walking in elderly compared to young adults.

Walking and running have been found to increase hip bone mass in postmenopausal women. However, the optimal speed to trigger osteogenesis is still under debate because the exact loading during different speeds is poorly characterized. Moreover, age related differences in gait kinematics/kinetics can potentially result in differences in peak hip loading, making extrapolation of results based on young populations to the elderly misleading.

Severe non-type-1 Legionella pneumophila infection without pneumonia.

We present a patient with myalgia and ongoing fever without respiratory symptoms caused by a Legionella pneumophilia infection. We conclude that in patients with fever of unknown origin legionellosis should be considered, even in the absence of pulmonary symptoms. When considering legionellosis, diagnostic tests should include the urinary antigen test.

Spironolactone in type 2 diabetic nephropathy: Effects on proteinuria, blood pressure and renal function.

Objective: To study the effects of addition of spironolactone to angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibition or angiotensin II (AngII) receptor antagonism on proteinuria, blood pressure (BP) and renal function in overt type 2 diabetic nephropathy.

Design: A placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel-group trial in patients from two outpatient clinics with a follow-up of 1 year.

Methods: Type 2 diabetic patients with macroalbuminuria, despite long-term use of an ACE inhibitor or AngII receptor blocker were allocated to spironolactone, 25-50 mg once daily (n = 29) or placebo (n = 30).

Factitious diabetes mellitus as part of Munchausen's syndrome.

The patient presented here was known to have been suffering from diabetes mellitus for 3 yr, when the suspicion arose that we were dealing with a factitious disease. The coincidence of several other factitious illnesses led us to the diagnosis of Munchausen's syndrome, self-inflicted diabetes mellitus being part of this syndrome.

Glutathione metabolism of human vascular endothelial cells under peroxidative stress.

Glutathione (GSH) plays an important role in the cellular defense against (per-)oxidative stress. The capacity of this cellular defense system may be related to the oxygen tension, cells are normally subjected to in vivo; therefore, we studied the de novo synthesis of glutathione, and the redox turnover under peroxidative stress, in human umbilical vein and artery endothelial cells (HUVEC, HUAEC) and human skin fibroblasts. De novo synthesis in these cell types was studied in vitro by measuring the time course of intracellular GSH recovery after depletion with diamide.

Effects of doxazosin and propranolol administration on lipoprotein lipases in cholesterol-fed rats.

The effects of alpha 1-adrenergic receptor inhibition with doxazosin, and beta-blockade with propranolol on tissue lipoprotein lipases and plasma lipids were studied in rats. In rats fed a normal lab chow, doxazosin increased heart lipoprotein lipase activity (+14%), while propranolol had the opposite effect (-20%). These effects were not statistically significant when compared with nontreated controls, although the difference between the doxazosin and propranolol groups was significant (p less than 0.

Different causes for hypertriglyceridemia in male and female patients with chronic renal failure?

The changes in plasma postheparin lipolytic activities that occur in patients with chronic renal insufficiency were found to be sex dependent. Male patients showed decreased hepatic lipase activity, while female patients exhibited decreased lipoprotein lipase activity. These findings offer 1) an explanation for the hitherto confusing data on postheparin lipolytic activities in chronic renal failure reported in the literature, and 2) a further argument for a role of hepatic lipase activity in the regulation of the breakdown of plasma triglycerides.