Exercise prescription for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases: part I.

Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies have provided definitive evidence that physical activity is able to improve fitness and reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Moreover, physical exercise also seems to significantly reduce the risk of developing other chronic diseases such as obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, tumours and depression. Promoting physical activity in the general population is therefore one of the primary objectives of our healthcare institutions.

Functional reinnervation of the canine bladder after spinal root transection and genitofemoral nerve transfer at one and three months after denervation.

ABSTRACT In the immediate management of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), patients are typically observed for a period of time to determine whether voluntary control of bladder function returns. Therefore, bladder reinnervation surgeries are not likely to be performed immediately after the injury. We performed genitofemoral to pelvic nerve transfer (GF NT) surgery in canines at 1 and 3 months after bladder denervation (transection of S1 and S2 spinal roots) to determine whether this type of bladder reinnervation surgery has potential clinical feasibility.

Functional reinnervation of the canine bladder after spinal root transection and immediate somatic nerve transfer.

This study was performed to determine whether nerve transfer immediately after spinal root transection would lead to bladder reinnervation in a canine model. In one animal, the left T12 intercostal nerve was mobilized, cut and attached to the severed ends of sacral roots inducing bladder contraction using a graft from the T11 intercostal nerve. On the right side and bilaterally in two other dogs, coccygeal roots innervating tail musculature were cut and attached to the severed bladder sacral roots (coccygeal nerve transfer [CG NT]).

Femural shaft fracture in a newborn infant treated with axial external fixator: a case report.

Background: The authors present a case of femural shaft fracture inanewborn infant treated with axial external fixator.

Methods: The patient presented at the time of birth with a lumbar myelomeningocele and right femural shaft fracture. The common methods of treatment cannot be used, so 24 hours after birth before neurosurgery, we applied a Mini Penning Orthofix External Fixator for fracture stabilization.

Concurrent spinal cord untethering and scoliosis correction: case report.

Study Design: Case report.

Objective: To describe the technique, value, and risk of performing concomitant untethering of the spinal cord and scoliosis correction.

Summary Of Background Data: The incidence of intraspinal anomalies such as tethered cord, syringomyelia, Chiari malformation, and diastematomyelia is as high as 20% in infantile or juvenile and congenital scoliosis.

Phylogenetic analysis of the NS5 gene of dengue viruses isolated in Ecuador.

Dengue virus (DENV) is a member of the genus Flavivirus of the family Flaviviridae. DENV causes a wide range of diseases in humans, from the acute febrile illness dengue fever (DF) to life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever/dengue shock syndrome (DHF/DSS). There is not knowledge of the genetic relations among DENV circulating in Ecuador.

Fusionless treatment of scoliosis.

The recent investigations of convex anterior vertebral body stapling have offered promising early results with use of improved implants and techniques. The use of a shape memory alloy staple tailored to the size of the vertebral body, the application of several staples per level, the instrumentation of the Cobb levels of all curves, and the employment of minimally invasive thoracoscopic approaches all offer substantial improvements over previous fusionless techniques. Patient selection may also play a role in the current success of these fusionless treatments, with perhaps the ideal candidates for this intervention possessing smaller and more flexible curves.

Predictors of change in postoperative pulmonary function in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a prospective study of 254 patients.

Study Design: A multicenter study of prospectively collected pulmonary function testing and radiographic measures in patients surgically treated for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Objective: The objectives of this study were 1) to identify the factors that determine pulmonary function more than 2 years after surgery for AIS; and 2) to determine what factors, if any, can predict an increase or decrease in the percent predicted 2-year pulmonary function.

Summary Of Background Data: Thoracic spinal deformity can lead to significant pulmonary impairment.

Thoracoscopic scoliosis surgery affects pulmonary function less than thoracotomy at 2 years postsurgery.

Study Design: Prospective evaluation of pulmonary function before and 2 years after surgery following anterior scoliosis instrumentation.

Objectives: To determine if thoracoscopic anterior scoliosis correction with instrumentation affected pulmonary function less than open thoracotomy approaches at 2 years follow-up.

Summary Of Background Data: The thoracoscopic approach has been shown to have a smaller reduction in pulmonary function tests (PFTs) compared with an open thoracotomy approach following anterior thoracic instrumentation for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis in the immediate postoperative period; however, it is unclear if a difference remains 2 years following the procedure.

Reduced time in bed and obstructive sleep-disordered breathing in children are associated with cognitive impairment.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if reduced time in bed as well as the degree of obstructive sleep-disordered breathing predicted the risk of impaired cognitive function in children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy suspected of having obstructive sleep-disordered breathing.

Design: We studied 56 children, aged 6 to 12 years, with adenotonsillar hypertrophy referred for suspected obstructive sleep-disordered breathing. Children were given a sleep diary and underwent wrist actigraphy for 6 consecutive days and nights.

Behaviour of nitric oxide synthase isoforms in inflammatory human joint diseases: an immunohistochemical study.

Nitric oxide (NO) is produced by nitric oxide synthases (NOS) expressed in various human tissues and, depending on the amount of NO produced in each tissue, the physiological function of NO is determined. Since increased inducibile nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and NO generation are associated with pathogenesis of idiopatic osteoarthritis of synovial tissue and data about constitutive nitric oxide isoform (cNOS) in this tissue are scarce, in this study we investigated the localization and distribution of nitric oxide isoforms in normal, acute and chronic diseased synovium. The immunohistochemical and histologic analysis was performed in human synovial tissue obtained from 10 patients with post-traumatic inflammation, 14 patients with idiopatic osteoarthritis and normal synovial specimens were obtained from 7 patients undergoing surgery for reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament.

High-resolution CT grading of tibial stress reactions in distance runners.

Objective: The purpose of this study was twofold: to determine whether asymptomatic distance runners exhibit cortical tibial abnormalities on CT and to determine the diagnostic accuracy of CT in athletes with medial tibial stress syndrome.

Materials And Methods: A cross-sectional study with high-resolution CT of both tibiae was performed on 41 subjects: 20 asymptomatic distance runners, 11 distance runners with unilateral or bilateral pain due to medial tibial stress syndrome (14 painful tibiae), and 10 volunteers not involved in a sport. The group was composed of 13 women and 28 men, ranging in age from 18 to 26 years.

A novel type of zinc finger DNA binding domain in the Agrobacterium tumefaciens transcriptional regulator Ros.

Transcriptional factors bearing a Cys(2)His(2) zinc finger were thought to be confined to eukaryotes, but recent studies have suggested their presence also in prokaryotes. In this paper, we report the first complete functional characterization of the DNA binding domain present in the putative Cys(2)His(2) zinc finger-containing prokaryotic transcriptional regulator Ros from Agrobacterium tumefaciens. We demonstrate that in the single zinc binding motif present in the Ros protein the metal ion is coordinated by two cysteines (Cys79 and Cys82) and two histidines (His92 and His97), separated by a shorter spacer with respect to the eukaryotic classical Cys(2)His(2) domains.

Cognitive function and behavior of children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy suspected of having obstructive sleep-disordered breathing.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine whether risks of impaired cognitive function could be predicted for children or groups of children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy who were suspected of having obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, from historical and polysomnographic variables used separately or in combination.

Methods: We studied 114 consecutive 6- to 12-year-old children with adenotonsillar hypertrophy, who were referred because of suspected obstructive sleep-disordered breathing, with questionnaires, assessment of tonsil size, general and memory cognitive tests, and attended polysomnography with the use of nasal pressure recording to detect flow.

Results: There were important significant relationships between snore group (snored every night versus less often), sleep efficiency, and race and 2 of 3 general cognitive tests (vocabulary and similarities).

Functional reinnervation of the canine bladder after spinal root transection and immediate end-on-end repair.

The goal of this study was to transect and immediately repair ventral roots, selected by their ability to stimulate bladder contraction, to assess the feasibility of bladder reinnervation in a canine model. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was delivered via an osmotic pump (0.5 or 5 mg/mL) to a cuff surrounding the reanastomosis site to the two root bundles on one side.

Scoliosis in the child with cerebral palsy.

Scoliosis is common in children with cerebral palsy. The incidence and curve pattern depend on the degree of neurologic involvement. These children carry a higher risk of complications because of the increased presence of associated medical comorbidities.

Peptide-based molecules in angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis refers to the process of remodeling the vascular tissue characterized by the branching out of a new blood vessel from a pre-existing vessel. Angiogenesis is particularly active during embryogenesis, while during adult life it is quiescent and limited to particular physiologic phenomena. Recently, the study of molecular mechanisms of angiogenesis has stirred renewed interest due to the recognition of the role played by angiogenesis in several pathologies of significant medical impact, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease, and due to the pharmacologic interest rising from the possibility of modulating these phenomena.

Increases in overweight after adenotonsillectomy in overweight children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing are associated with decreases in motor activity and hyperactivity.

Objective: To examine the effect of adenotonsillectomy (T&A) in children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing on growth, hyperactivity, and sleep and waking motor activity.

Methods: We studied 54 children who were aged 6 to 12 years and had adenotonsillar hypertrophy and an obstructive apnea-hypopnea index of > or =1 before and 12 months after they all received adenotonsillectomy (T&A). We measured their height, weight, percentage overweight (patient BMI - BMI at 50th percentile)/BMI at 50th percentile x 100) and obtained a hyperactivity score from parent report on a standardized behavior questionnaire scale.

The usefulness of Doppler myocardial imaging in the study of the athlete's heart and in the differential diagnosis between physiological and pathological ventricular hypertrophy.

Athlete's heart is a cardiac adaptation to long-term, intensive training, which includes changes as increased ventricular cavity diameters, wall thickness and mass, produced with a degree consistent with sports activities and exercise programs. The Doppler myocardial imaging (DMI) permits characterization of the velocities of each ventricular myocardial segment by placing the sample volume at the center of the cardiac muscle. Even if the standard two-dimensional (2D) echocardiography represents an irreplaceable method in the evaluation of cardiac adaptations to physical exercise, the data currently available suggests the usefulness of DMI in the assessment of the myocardial systolic and diastolic functions of the athlete's heart.

Relationship of energy settings and impedance in different anatomic areas using a radiofrequency device.

Background: Radiofrequency (RF) used for volumetric heating into the deep dermis has been used effectively for rejuvenation of the face. The delivery of the RF energy depends on several variables, including the electrical impedance of the underlying tissue.

Objective: To describe the effects of impedance on energy delivery into the treated site.

Activity of anchored human matrix metalloproteinase-1 catalytic domain on Au (111) surfaces monitored by ESI-MS.

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of Zn-dependent endo-peptidases known for their ability to cleave several components of the extracellular matrix, but which can also cleave many non-matrix proteins. There are many evidences that MMPs are involved in physiological and pathological processes, and a huge effort has been put in the development of possible inhibitors that could reduce the activity of MMPs, as it is clear that the ability to monitor and control such activity plays a pivotal role in the search for potential drugs aimed at finding a cure for several diseases such as pulmonary emphysema, rheumatoid arthritis, fibrotic disorders and cancer.A powerful method currently available to study enzyme-inhibitor interactions is based on the use of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique.

Targeting angiogenesis: structural characterization and biological properties of a de novo engineered VEGF mimicking peptide.

Modulating angiogenesis is an attractive goal because many pathological conditions depend on the growth of new vessels. Angiogenesis is mainly regulated by the VEGF, a mitogen specific for endothelial cells. In the last years, many efforts have been pursued to modulate the angiogenic response targeting VEGF and its receptors.