Safety of recreational scuba diving in type 1 diabetic patients: the Deep Monitoring programme.

Aim: To verify whether, with thorough practical and theoretical training, well-controlled, non-complicated diabetic patients can safely go diving underwater with no additional medical or metabolic risks.

Methods: Twelve diabetic patients participated in the study after undergoing training focused on their diabetic status. Two dives per day were scheduled during two five-day stays on the island of Ventotene (Italy).

Energy cost of walking with lesions of the foot.

The oxygen consumption during walking was measured in patients affected by chronic lesions of the foot. Only subjects with rigidity of the talocalcaneal joint showed increased oxygen consumption, which reached 5 to 20 per cent above normal. They also showed an increased step frequency, probably as a compensatory mechanism to reduce the mechanical work performed during each step.

A simple relation between performance in running and maximal aerobic power.

As the cost of running amounts to about 1 cal per m covered and per kg of body weight, when the aerobic power (VO2, ml/min kg) is known and the energy from glycolysis assumed to be about equal to the energy from oxidations in 1 min, the time employed to cover a given distance can be predicted: a nomogram is given to facilitate the calculation. Conversely from the time employed to cover a given distance the aerobic power in VO2, ml/kg times min can be calculated.