Cardiac Hemodynamics, Tissue Oxygenation, and Functional Capacity in Post-COVID-19 Patients.

: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the functional capacity of post-COVID-19 patients with a control group and analyze cardiac hemodynamics and muscle tissue oxygenation responses during assessment protocols in both groups. : A cross-sectional study was conducted involving patients with COVID-19 and a control group who were all aged ≥18 years. Participants underwent two functional capacity tests: the one-minute sit-stand test (1-STS) and the six-minute walk test (6MWT).

Effect of Body Position on Electrical Activity of Respiratory Muscles During Mouth and Nasal Maximal Respiratory Pressure in Healthy Adults: A Pilot Study.

: This study aimed to analyze the impact of seated, 45° inclined, and supine positions on respiratory muscle strength (Maximal Inspiratory Pressure-MIP, Maximal Expiratory Pressure-MEP, Sniff Nasal Inspiratory Pressure-SNIP and Sniff Nasal Expiratory Pressure-SNEP) and the electrical activity of respiratory muscles in healthy adults. Ten healthy subjects were evaluated. : Personal, anthropometric data (weight, height, BMI) and lung function (spirometry) were collected, followed by random assessments of inspiratory (MIP, SNIP) and expiratory (MEP, SNEP) muscle strength.

Reference values for respiratory muscle strength and maximal voluntary ventilation in the Brazilian adult population: A multicentric study.

Aim: To determine reference values and propose prediction equations for respiratory muscle strength, maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure (MEP), and endurance by means of maximal voluntary ventilation (MVV) in healthy Brazilian adults.

Methods: Anthropometric data, level of physical activity, pulmonary function, and respiratory muscle strength and maximal voluntary ventilation of 243 participants (111 men and 132 women) aged 20 to 80 years were assessed at three cities in the southeast and northeast region of Brazil.

Results: Mean maximal respiratory pressures and MVV were higher in men (MIP = 111.

Non-invasive assessment of fatigue and recovery of inspiratory rib cage muscles during endurance test in healthy individuals.

Introduction: Fatigue is defined as loss of capacity to develop muscle force and/or velocity that is reversible at rest. We assessed non-invasively the fatigue and recovery of inspiratory rib cage muscles during two respiratory endurance tests in healthy individuals.

Methods: The sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) was assessed before and after two respiratory endurance tests: normocapnic hyperpnea (NH) and inspiratory pressure threshold loading (IPTL).

A geographical study on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Rio Grande Do Norte, Brazil, from 2005 to 2018.

Objective: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorder with variable incidence and prevalence worldwide. However, clinical-epidemiological studies on ALS are scarce in Brazil. Thus, this study investigated whether ALS incidence had uniform spatial distribution in population-based cluster analysis in Rio Grande do Norte state (Brazil), from 2005 to 2018.

Breathing pattern and muscle activity using different inspiratory resistance devices in children with mouth breathing syndrome.

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the acute effects of different inspiratory resistance devices and intensity of loads nasal airway on the breathing pattern and activity of respiratory muscles in children with mouth breathing syndrome (MBS).

Methods: Children with MBS were randomised into two groups based on inspiratory load intensity (20% and 40% of the maximal inspiratory pressure). These subjects were assessed during quiet breathing, breathing against inspiratory load nasal airway and recovery.

Thoracoabdominal asynchrony and paradoxical motion in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and healthy subjects during cough: A case control study.

Objective: To assess thoracoabdominal asynchrony (TAA) and inspiratory paradoxical motion at different positionings in subjects with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) versus healthy subjects during quiet spontaneous breathing (QB) and cough.

Methods: This is a case control study with a matched-pair design. We assessed 14 DMD subjects and 12 controls using optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) during QB and spontaneous cough in 3 positions: supine, supine with headrest raised at 45°, and sitting with back support at 80°.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress and muscle dysfunction in congenital lipodystrophies.

Lipodystrophy syndromes are a group of rare diseases related to the pathological impairment of adipose tissue and metabolic comorbidities, including dyslipidemia, diabetes, insulin resistance, hypoleptinemia, and hypoadiponectinemia. They can be categorized as partial or generalized according to the degree of fat loss, and inherited or acquired disorders, if they are associated with genetic mutations or are related to autoimmunity, respectively. Some types of lipodystrophies have been associated with changes in both redox and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) homeostasis as well as muscle dysfunction (MD).

Maximal Voluntary Ventilation Should Not Be Estimated From the Forced Expiratory Volume in the First Second in Healthy People and COPD Patients.

Purpose: To evaluate the concordance between the value of the actual maximum voluntary ventilation (MVV) and the estimated value by multiplying the forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV) and a different value established in the literature.

Methods: A retrospective study was conducted with healthy subjects and patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Five prediction formulas MVV were used for the comparison with the MVV values.

Effects of Positioning on Cough Peak Flow and Muscular Electromyographic Activation in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Background: Advanced stages of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) result in muscle weakness and the inability to generate an effective cough. Several factors influence the effectiveness of cough in patients with DMD. The aim of this study was to assess whether differences in positioning affect cough peak flow (CPF) and muscular electromyographic activation in subjects with DMD compared with paired healthy subjects.

Effects of Inspiratory Load on Chest Wall Kinematics, Breathing Pattern, and Respiratory Muscle Activity of Mouth-Breathing Children.

Background: We sought to evaluate the acute effects of different inspiratory loads using nasal and oral interfaces on the volumes of the chest wall and its compartments, breathing pattern, and respiratory muscle activation in children with mouth-breathing syndrome.

Methods: Children with mouth-breathing syndrome were randomized into 2 groups, one with an inspiratory load intensity 20% of maximum inspiratory pressure ( = 14), and the other with an inspiratory load intensity 40% of maximum inspiratory pressure ( = 15). The chest wall volumes and electromyography of sternocleidomastoid, rectus abdominis, scalene, and internal intercostal muscles were used to analyze respiration against the 2 load intensities and using 2 interfaces (ie, nasal and oral).

After-Effects of Thixotropic Maneuvers on Chest Wall and Compartmental Operational Volumes of Healthy Subjects Using Optoelectronic Plethysmography.

The volumes assessed by optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP) and based on a three-compartmental model provide an accurate breath-by-breath index of expiratory and inspiratory (ribcage muscles and diaphragm) muscle length. Thus, after performing thixotropic maneuvers, OEP may also provide evidence regarding the history-dependent properties of these muscles. We studied the after-effects of different thixotropic conditionings on chest wall (CW) and compartmental operational volumes of 28 healthy subjects (25.

Chest wall volume and asynchrony in stroke and Parkinson's disease subjects: A case-control study.

Background: The expansion of the rib cage and abdomen occurs in a synchronic way during a coordinated contraction of the diaphragm and the abdominal and intercostal muscles under normal conditions and healthy. The presence of restrictive respiratory disease may lead to uncoordinated action of the respiratory muscles which affects breathing pattern and chest wall volumes. The aim of this study was to evaluate chest wall volumes, chest wall asynchrony and inspiratory paradoxical movement of breathing, as well as the influence of the time of disease diagnosis in subjects with Parkinson's disease and post-Stroke in comparison to healthy individuals.

Acute effects of three pulmonary reexpansion modalities on thoracoabdominal motion of healthy subjects: Randomized crossover study.

Background: Chest physiotherapy can be an alternative to increase lung volumes through pulmonary expansion therapies, but there is still inconsistency in the literature in order to determine which device can promote a greater volume increase at the expense of a better ventilatory pattern. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the chest wall kinematics of healthy subjects submitted to the use of three different devices for pulmonary reexpansion.

Methods: Chest wall compartmental and operational volumes, breathing pattern and thoracoabdominal asynchrony were evaluated in 12 healthy individuals through optoelectronic plethysmography during quiet breathing, pulmonary reexpansion and recovery.

Reference values for the bilateral heel-rise test.

Background: The bilateral heel-rise test is an instrument that evaluates the performance of the triceps surae. Normative parameters need to be established for the use of the heel-rise test in clinical practice.

Objective: To determine the reference values for the bilateral heel-rise test.

Noninvasive assessment of respiratory muscle strength and activity in Myotonic dystrophy.

Objective: To evaluate sensitivity/specificity of the maximum relaxation rate (MRR) of inspiratory muscles, amplitude of electromyographic activity of the sternocleidomastoid (SCM), scalene (SCA), parasternal (2ndIS) and rectus abdominis (RA) muscles; lung function and respiratory muscle strength in subjects with Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) compared with healthy subjects.

Design And Methods: Quasi-experimental observational study with control group. MRR of inspiratory muscles, lung function and amplitude of the electromyographic activity of SCM, SCA, 2ndIS and RA muscles during maximum inspiratory pressure (PImax), maximum expiratory pressure (PEmax) and sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) tests were assessed in eighteen DM1 subjects and eleven healthy.

Air Stacking: A Detailed Look Into Physiological Acute Effects on Cough Peak Flow and Chest Wall Volumes of Healthy Subjects.

Background: Air stacking (AS) is a lung insufflation method that requires the use of a manual insufflator to provide air volumes higher than inspiratory capacity. Neuromuscular patients benefit the most from the maneuver; however, the acute effects of AS in healthy subjects are still unclear.

Methods: Twenty healthy subjects (8 males) were studied by optoelectronic plethysmography to investigate the immediate effects of AS on cough peak flow, operational volume variations, distribution of these volumes in the chest wall compartments (pulmonary rib cage, abdominal rib cage, and abdominal), breathing pattern, and shortening velocity of the respiratory muscles during a protocol that included vital capacity maneuvers and spontaneous coughs before and after AS.

Effects of positive expiratory pressure on pulmonary clearance of aerosolized technetium-99m-labeled diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid in healthy individuals.

Objective:: To evaluate the effects of positive expiratory pressure (PEP) on pulmonary epithelial membrane permeability in healthy subjects.

Methods:: We evaluated a cohort of 30 healthy subjects (15 males and 15 females) with a mean age of 28.3 ± 5.

Reference values for sniff nasal inspiratory pressure in healthy subjects in Brazil: a multicenter study.

Objective: The objectives of this study were to determine reference values for sniff nasal inspiratory pressure (SNIP) and to propose reference equations for the population of Brazil.

Methods: We evaluated 243 healthy individuals (111 males and 132 females), between 20 and 80 years of age, with an FVC and FEV1/FVC ratio > 80% and > 85% of the predicted value, respectively. All of the subjects underwent respiratory muscle strength tests to determine MIP, MEP, and SNIP.

Influence of neck circumference on respiratory endurance and muscle strength in the morbidly obese.

Background: Respiratory function decline has been reported mainly in the morbidly obese. Little is known about the influence of adiposity pattern on the ability to generate strength in respiratory muscles. This study evaluated strength and respiratory endurance in the morbidly obese in preoperative bariatric surgery to determine if such variables were affected by different anthropometric markers (body mass index (BMI), waist-hip ratio (WHR), and neck circumference (NC)).

[Domiciliary respiratory muscle training in myotonic dystrophy].

A 42-year-old man diagnosed with myotonic dystrophy experienced loss of respiratory muscle strength over a period of 6 months. We report the application of a domiciliary training program targeting both inspiratory and expiratory muscles. Maximal inspiratory and expiratory pressures, forced vital capacity, and forced midexpiratory flow rate were measured 6 months before start of training, just before commencement of the program, and immediately after 12 weeks of training.

Effects of 8-week, interval-based inspiratory muscle training and breathing retraining in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis.

Study Objective: To assess the effect of interval-based inspiratory muscle training (IMT) combined with breathing retraining (BR) in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis (MG) in a partial home program.

Design: A randomized controlled trial with blinding of outcome assessment.

Setting: A secondary-care respiratory clinic.