Prevention of diabetes mellitus in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance in the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study: results from a randomized clinical trial.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is increasing worldwide largely as a result from increasing obesity and sedentary lifestyle. The Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) is the first individually randomized controlled clinical trial to test the feasibility and efficacy of lifestyle modification in high-risk subjects. We randomly assigned 522 (172 men, 350 women) middle-aged (mean age 55 yr), overweight (mean body mass index 31 kg/m(2)) subjects with impaired glucose tolerance either to the lifestyle intervention or control group.

Serum concentrations of collagen degrading enzymes and their inhibitors after downhill running.

In the present study the release of proteins degrading extracellular matrix compounds to circulation was measured after damaging exercise in humans. Muscle damage was induced by downhill running; furthermore, the exercise was performed at both cold temperature (5 degrees C) and room temperature (22 degrees C) to study also the possible effect of environmental temperature on serum concentrations of matrix metalloproteinases MMP-2 and MMP-9, tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases TIMP-1 and TIMP-2, and MMP-2/TIMP-2 complex, and muscle damage monitored by serum creatine kinase measurements. Results were compared with those obtained from patients having rhabdomyolysis, myositis and Becker muscular dystrophy.

Prevention of Type II diabetes in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance: the Diabetes Prevention Study (DPS) in Finland. Study design and 1-year interim report on the feasibility of the lifestyle intervention programme.

Unlabelled: AIMS/HYPOTHESIS; The aim of the Diabetes Prevention Study is to assess the efficacy of an intensive diet-exercise programme in preventing or delaying Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus in subjects with impaired glucose tolerance, to evaluate the effects of the intervention programme on cardiovascular risk factors and to assess the determinants for the progression to diabetes in persons with impaired glucose tolerance.

Methods: A total of 523 overweight subjects with impaired glucose tolerance ascertained by two oral glucose tolerance tests were randomised to either a control or intervention group. The control subjects received general information at the start of the trial about the lifestyle changes necessary to prevent diabetes and about annual follow-up visits.

The effects of moderate altitude on circulating thyroid hormones and thyrotropin in training athletes.

Objective: To study the effect of moderate altitude on thyroid hormones among training athletes.

Experimental Design: Serum total and free triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), and thyrotropin (TSH) concentrations were measured among eight training athletes at sea level and subsequently during training for 12 days at the altitude of 1100-2700 m.

Setting: Deaconess Institute of Oulu, and Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Physiology, University of Oulu, Finland.

EMG-activity and muscular performance of lower leg during stretch-shortening cycle after cooling.

To test the effect of cooling on EMG-activity of muscles working as an agonist and antagonist in the lower leg, 12 men dressed in shorts and jogging shoes performed a drop-jump exercise after 60 min exposures to 27 degrees C and 10 degrees C. Cooling decreased mean skin temperature 5.6 +/- 0.