Adjuvant therapeutic decisions in elderly breast cancer patients: the role of chemotherapy in a retrospective analysis.

Purpose: Decisions on the type of adjuvant treatment in older breast cancer patients are challenging. Side effects of chemotherapy have to be weighed against life expectancy, comorbidities, functional status, and frailty on the basis of studies usually excluding patients over 69 years. To aid this decision, we analyzed a database of 6000 unselected patients and of those evaluated elderly primary breast cancer patients with hormone receptor-negative tumors from 1963 until 2003 in respect of survival data depending on adjuvant treatment.

Left atrial appendage occlusion for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation: multicentre experience with the AMPLATZER Cardiac Plug.

Aims: To investigate the safety, feasibility, and efficacy of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) with the AMPLATZER Cardiac Plug (ACP) for stroke prevention in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods And Results: Data from consecutive patients treated in 22 centres were collected. A total of 1,047 patients were included in the study.

[Persistent left atrial thrombus in atrial fibrillation under oral anticoagulation].

The case of a 78-year-old female patient who suffered atrial fibrillation and persistent thrombus in the left atrial appendage despite sufficient anticoagulation is reported. The case is chosen to demonstrate the complexity inherent in prophylaxis as well as risk evaluation of thromboembolism on the basis of clinical and echocardiographic criteria. We also discuss transesophageal echocardiography as the standard diagnostic procedure for detection of intracardiac thrombi prior to cardioversion as well as cardiac computer tomography as an alternative.

Ageing of the cardiovascular system during 33 years of aerobic exercise.

Background: increasing age affects aerobic capacity, with an average loss of 10% or more per decade.

Aim: to determine the effect of ageing on the circulatory system in middle-aged men during 33 years of physical training.

Methods: 15 men initially aged 45 years took part in an exercise training programme for 25-33 years.

Cardiovascular changes with age and exercise. A 28-year longitudinal study.

Various studies report a 0-22% per decade decline in circulatory function (VO2max) with advancing age. Twelve exercising men (E) were followed for 28 years, mean age 43 and 71 years, initial to final measurement, while 12 dropouts (C) detrained for 21 years, with a mean age from first to last measurement of 48 and 69 years, respectively. VO2 max in E changed from 45.

Effect of exercise on cardiovascular ageing.

Ageing of the cardiovascular system presents several costly public health problems, loss of quality of life, dependency, and other various health hazards. Large declines of 0-24% per decade in cardiovascular function have been cited in the literature but no long-term longitudinal studies have been reported. Serially measured cardiovascular function was performed on 12 normal men, aged 44-79 years, at 0, 10, 15, 20 and 25 years.

Effects of ageing and physical training on the peripheral sweat production of the human eccrine sweat gland.

Epidemiological studies suggest that thermoregulatory function declines with ageing. Therefore, it was the purpose of this study to examine the effects of physical training and ageing on the peripheral sweat rate of the human sweat gland. Maximum oxygen uptake and peripheral sweat rate (pilocarpine iontophoresis) were determined in 40 male volunteers (10 sedentary younger men, 10 endurance-trained younger men, 10 sedentary older men, and 10 endurance-trained older men).

Effect of training on VO2max, thigh strength, and muscle morphology in septuagenarian women.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a long-term (50 wk) combined aerobic-resistance training program on maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max, thigh strength, and vastus lateralis fiber morphology in healthy septuagenarian women (mean age = 72 +/- 6 yr). Subjects volunteered to be in either an exercise (Ex; N = 17) or control (Con; N = 10) group. Con subjects were 34% less active in winter than in summer, Ex subjects maintained their summer activity level on exercise days in winter.

The Effect of Physical Activity and Inactivity on Aerobic Power in Older Men (A Longitudinal Study).

In brief To assess the decline in maximal aerobic power (V O2max) with age, two groups of men were studied: Fifteen exercisers were followed from age 45 to 68, and 15 controls were measured while training at age 52 and again at age 70 after being detrained for 18 years. Resting blood pressure of 120/78 was unchanged in the exercisers but rose from 135/85 to 150/90 in the nonexercisers. V O2max measured by open circuitry declined 13% in the exercisers from 44.

A Longitudinal Study of Cardiovascular Stability in Active Men Aged 45 to 65 Years.

In brief: Cross-sectional studies of physical performance generally show a linear decline in maximum aerobic power (V O2 max) with increasing age (about 1% to 2% per year). In the study described in this article, 15 men were serially followed for 20 years. They performed exercises consisting of walking, running, swimming, and cycling for an average of 3.

VO2max during horizontal and inclined treadmill running.

The VO2max response of 12 well-trained and highly motivated college males was measured using two treadmill protocols: horizontal (H) and inclined (I). The duration of each test averaged 10 min. In the H test the treadmill bed was horizontal with the running rate held constant for the first 6 min, after which time it was increased at 1-min intervals to near maximal subject running speed, according to the HR response, until exhaustion.

Physiological variables during 10 years of endurance exercise.

The reported decline in Physical Working Capacity (PWC) max is from 9-15 percent during the ages of 45 to 55 years. The use of vigorous physical activity to prevent this decline and to possibly protect against fatal myocardial infarction has been suggested. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an endurance type exercise program on the maximal PWC of middle-aged men during a 10 year span.