Rapid shift in peak melatonin secretion associated with improved performance in short shift work schedule.

We studied the performance and adaptability of 40 nurses (median age 35 years), 20 on permanent day shift and 20 on permanent night shift with fast rotation of work and days off, matched for age, gender, and socio-familial responsibilities. For 15 days prior to the study, subjects maintained sleep logs and trained for performance tests. Questionnaires were administered to evaluate adaptability to shift work.

Relationship between maximal oxygen uptake on different ergometers, lean arm volume and strength in paraplegic subjects.

The present experiment was designed to study the importance of strength and muscle mass as factors limiting maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) in wheelchair subjects. Thirteen paraplegic subjects [mean age 29.8 (8.

[Visual, auditory and somatosensory potentials in the diagnosis of vitamin B12 deficiency].

We describe visual, brain stem auditory, and somatosensory evoked (VEP, BAEP, SEP) in a 49-year old male patient presenting with subacute degeneration of the spinal cord due to vitamin B12 deficiency. Neurological signs included tetraplegia with a C4-C5 spinal cord compression that was unchanged after surgical decompression. Before treatment, the duration of the bilateral VEP was slightly increased, though their amplitude and morphology were not modified.

Long-term effects of nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation on pulmonary function and sleep architecture in patients with neuromuscular diseases.

Study Objective: This article evaluates the long-term clinical and physiologic effects of nocturnal nasal intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (NIPPV) in patients with neuromuscular disease.

Methods: Before and after 18 +/- 2 months of NIPPV, we measured during the daytime arterial blood gases, lung mechanics, and respiratory muscle strength in 8 patients (51 +/- 5 years; mean +/- SEM). Sleep parameters were also evaluated at 10 +/- 2 months.

Rapid shift in sleep time and acrophase of melatonin secretion in short shift work schedule.

Tolerance to shift work and adaptability to shifting schedules is an issue of growing importance in industrialized society. We studied 40 registered nurses, 20 on fixed day-shifts and 20 on fixed night-shifts, to assess whether workers with rapidly shifting schedules were able to adapt their melatonin secretion and sleep-wake cycles. The day-shift worked 5 days with 2 days off and the night-shift worked 3 nights with 2 off.