Smaller rectus femoris size measured by ultrasound is associated with poorer outcomes after cardiac surgery.

Objective: We sought to evaluate the association of low rectus femoris cross-sectional area (RFCSA) with hospital length of stay and poorer outcomes in patients undergoing cardiac surgery.

Methods: A single right-leg RFCSA was measured with ultrasound preoperatively and baseline characteristics, clinical data, and outcomes recorded. Patients were categorized as low rectus femoris muscle size (lowRF) or normal rectus femoris muscle size (normalRF), if they were in the lowest quartile or not, respectively.

Pick bodies in a family with presenilin-1 Alzheimer's disease.

Presenilin-1 (PS-1) mutations can cause Pick's disease without evidence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We describe a family with a PS-1 M146L mutation and both Pick bodies and AD. Sarkosyl-insoluble hyperphosphorylated tau showed three bands consistent with AD, although dephosphorylation showed primarily three-repeat isoforms.

Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on foot/ankle volume during standing.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess whether the increase in foot and ankle volume after 30 min of motionless standing in healthy subjects could be minimized by neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES).

Methods: A crossover, counterbalanced design was used where foot and ankle volume in 20 healthy subjects was measured using water volumetry before and after 30 min of motionless standing and standing with NMES applied to the lower leg muscles. The NMES produced repeated tetanic contractions of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles causing slight ankle dorsi- and plantar-flexion.