Telemedicine in Sports under Extreme Conditions: Data Transmission, Remote Medical Consultations, and Diagnostic Imaging.

Telemedical technologies provide significant benefits in sports for performance monitoring and early recognition of many medical issues, especially when sports are practised outside a regulated playing field, where participants are exposed to rapidly changing environmental conditions or specialised medical assistance is unavailable. We provide a review of the medical literature on the use of telemedicine in adventure and extreme sports. Out of 2715 unique sport citations from 4 scientific databases 16 papers met the criteria, which included all research papers exploring the use of telemedicine for monitoring performance and health status in extreme environments.

Intrinsic vs Extrinsic Motivation as Drivers for Early Engagement in Research by Medical Students.

Background: A student's motivation is a key factor in their success in undertaking an education endeavour. However, how this relates to involvement in research by medical students is unclear.

Methods: An electronic questionnaire was sent to all medical students at our institution.

Factors Predictive of Medical Student Involvement in Research: Results from a New Zealand Institution.

Background: Previous studies have elucidated several benefits of engagement in research by medical students. The aim of the current study was to assess if any factors influenced the student's actual involvement (not mere interest) in scholarly activities during medical school.

Methods: All medical students at the University of Otago were invited via e-mail to complete an online questionnaire.

Self-Transcendence in Mountaineering and BASE Jumping.

The "extreme sports" of mountaineering and BASE Jumping are growing in popularity and are associated with significant risk of injury and death. In recent years there have also been increasing numbers of reports of reckless disregard and selfishness in the pursuit of mountaineering goals, including severe environmental degradation. Extant research has focused predominantly on personality variables that contribute to engagement, participation, and stress responsivity in these extreme sports.

Comparison of the Personality Traits of Male and Female BASE Jumpers.

BASE jumping is an extreme adventure sport which consists of jumping from a fixed object with specially adapted parachutes. A few studies of the personality of BASE jumpers have been conducted, but little is known about how the women in this sport compare to the men. The purpose of this study is to compare the personality traits among a sample of men and women who are experienced BASE jumpers, as this provides an interesting and important opportunity to better understand the motivation for extreme sports.

Stress reactivity and personality in extreme sport athletes: The psychobiology of BASE jumpers.

This is the first report of the psychobiology of stress in BASE jumpers, one of the most dangerous forms of extreme sport. We tested the hypotheses that indicators of emotional style (temperament) predict salivary cortisol reactivity, whereas indicators of intentional goal-setting (persistence and character) predict salivary alpha-amylase reactivity during BASE jumping. Ninety-eight subjects completed the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) the day before the jump, and 77 also gave salivary samples at baseline, pre-jump on the bridge over the New River Gorge, and post-jump upon landing.

Rock climbing-related subclavian vein thrombosis.

Paget-Schroetter syndrome, also known as upper extremity deep venous thrombosis (UEDVT), is a rare condition, characterised by a (sub-) total occlusion of the axillary-subclavian venous system due to thrombosis. UEDVT is the most common vascular condition among athletes so far; although the general incidence is low, this problem will become more frequent as a result of increased participation in climbing sports. The purpose of this report is to illustrate two cases in rock climbers where UEDVT developed during rock climbing or bouldering.

Indications of atypical antipsychotics in the elderly.

Atypical antipsychotics (AAP) have become some of the most commonly prescribed medications in primary and specialist care settings. Off-label prescribing accounts for much of the expanded use of AAPs. This has become common in the elderly.

Personality characteristics in a population of mountain climbers.

Objective: Mountaineering and mountain-related sports are growing in popularity and are associated with significant risk of injury. There is a perception that mountaineers possess unique personality characteristics that attract them to the sport. We aim to determine whether there are any identifiable differences between the personality characteristics of experienced mountaineers and a normal control population and to determine whether there is an association between specific personality traits and risk of injury.

Fatalities in wingsuit BASE jumping.

Objective: To analyze fatality data associated with wingsuit use in an international case series of fixed-object sport parachuting (BASE jumping) to identify incident and injury mechanisms and to form a basis for potential prevention measures and future safety recommendations.

Methods: A descriptive epidemiological study was performed of fatal injury events occurring in wingsuit BASE jumping. Fatalities (n = 180) were sequentially analyzed assessing human, equipment, and environmental factors from 1981 to 2011.