[Effect of physical exercise during drug therapy of chronic cholecystoangiocholitis (clinicophysiological study)].
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BACKGROUND: Cardiac rehabilitation is widely recognized as a medical management procedure that reduces mortality, but the cardiovascular safety of exercise training has not been clearly established. Published data are retrospective or outdated, as patient management has substantially progressed in recent years. The aim of this prospective registry was to determine the current complication rate during exercise performed in the course of cardiac rehabilitation. METHODS: This study was conducted by the Functional Evaluation and Cardiac Rehabilitation Working Group of the French Society of Cardiology. During a 1-year period, 65 cardiac rehabilitation centers reported that serious events had occurred during or 1 hour after an exercise stress test or a training session. Severe cardiovascular events were validated by a scientific committee. RESULTS: A total of 25,420 patients (78% men; mean age, 61.3 years) were included in the study. Initial indications for cardiac rehabilitation were post-cardiac surgery (coronary bypass, 34.3%; valvular surgery, 18.4%); recent percutaneous coronary intervention (21.6%); and other coronary (13.2%) and noncoronary (12.5%) conditions. The study population underwent 42,419 exercise stress tests and 743,471 patient-hours of exercise training. Twenty severe cardiac events were reported: 5 were related to exercise testing and 15 were related to exercise training. The event rate was 1 per 8484 exercise stress tests and 1 per 49,565 patient-hours of exercise training; the cardiac arrest rate was 1.3 per million patient-hours of exercise. Neither fatal complications nor emergency defibrillations were reported. CONCLUSION: The frequency of major cardiovascular complications during supervised exercise training in France is quite low.
CONTEXT: Pelvic floor electrical stimulation (PFES) has been shown to be effective for stress incontinence. However, its role in a multicomponent behavioral training program has not been defined. OBJECTIVE: To determine if PFES increases efficacy of behavioral training for community-dwelling women with stress incontinence. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective randomized controlled trial conducted from October 1, 1995, through May 1, 2001, at a university-based outpatient continence clinic in the United States. PATIENTS: Volunteer sample of 200 ambulatory, nondemented, community-dwelling women aged 40 to 78 years with stress or mixed incontinence with stress as the predominant pattern; stratified by race, type of incontinence (stress only vs mixed), and severity (frequency of episodes). INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to 8 weeks (4 visits) of behavioral training, 8 weeks (4 visits) of the behavioral training plus home PFES, or 8 weeks of self-administered behavioral treatment using a self-help booklet (control condition). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary outcome was percentage reduction in the number of incontinent episodes as documented in bladder diaries. Secondary outcomes were patient satisfaction and changes in quality of life. RESULTS: Intention-to-treat analysis showed that incontinence was reduced a mean of 68.6% with behavioral training, 71.9% with behavioral training plus PFES, and 52.5% with the self-help booklet (P =.005). In comparison with the self-help booklet, behavioral training (P =.02) and behavioral training plus PFES (P =.002) were significantly more effective, but they were not significantly different from each other (P =.60). The PFES group had significantly better patient self-perception of outcome (P<.001) and satisfaction with progress (P =.02). Significant improvements were seen across all 3 groups on the Incontinence Impact Questionnaire but with no between-group differences. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment with PFES did not increase effectiveness of a comprehensive behavioral program for women with stress incontinence. A self-help booklet reduced incontinence and improved quality of life but not as much as the clinic-based programs.
CONTEXT: Randomized controlled trials have been developed essentially in the context of pharmacological treatments (ie, oral drugs; intra-articular injection; and topical, intramuscular, and intravenous treatments), but assessment of the effectiveness of nonpharmacological treatments (ie, surgery, arthroscopy, joint lavage, rehabilitation, acupuncture, and education) presents specific issues. OBJECTIVES: To compare the quality of articles of nonpharmacological and pharmacological treatments of hip and knee osteoarthritis and to identify specific methodological issues related to assessment of nonpharmacological treatments. DESIGN AND SETTING: We searched MEDLINE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for articles of randomized controlled trials published between January 1, 1992, and February 28, 2002, in 28 general medical and specialty journals with high impact factors and assessing nonpharmacological and pharmacological treatments in patients with hip or knee osteoarthritis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The quality of the methods reported in the selected articles was assessed by 2 independent reviewers using the Jadad scale, the Delphi list, and guidelines found in the Users' Guides to the Medical Literature. Investigators also used a checklist of items developed by the authors to analyze study characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 110 articles were included in the analysis; 50 (45.5%) assessed nonpharmacological treatments and 60 (54.5%) assessed pharmacological treatments. Reports of nonpharmacological treatments had a lower global quality score than did reports of pharmacological treatments as measured by the Jadad scale (mean [SD] score, 1.4 [1.3] vs 3.0 [1.3]) and the Delphi list (mean [SD] score, 5.2 [1.5] vs 7.5 [1.1]). Lack of reporting adequate random sequence generation and intention-to-treat analyses were found in both nonpharmacological and pharmacological articles. Nonpharmacological treatments were less often compared with a placebo than were pharmacological treatments (28.0% of articles vs 71.7%). Compared with pharmacological articles, nonpharmacological articles less often described blinding of patients (26.0% vs 96.7%), care providers (6.0% vs 81.7%), and outcome assessors (68.0% vs 98.3%). Care providers' skill levels could influence treatment effect in 84.0% of nonpharmacological articles vs 23.3% of pharmacological articles. CONCLUSIONS: In this analysis of reports of hip and knee osteoarthritis therapy, nonpharmacological articles scored lower than pharmacological articles in terms of quality. Assessments of nonpharmacological treatments must take into consideration additional methodological issues.
BACKGROUND: Bladder training is widely used for the treatment of urinary incontinence. It is generally used for the treatment of people with urge incontinence or detrusor instability, although it is also thought that it might be of use for people with mixed incontinence or stress incontinence. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of bladder training for the treatment of urinary incontinence. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Incontinence Group trials register up to July 1999. Date of the most recent search: July 1999. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised or quasi-randomised trials of bladder training for the treatment of incontinence. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently extracted data that were then cross-checked by the third reviewer. All three reviewers assessed trial quality. MAIN RESULTS: We found seven eligible trials with a total of 259 predominantly female patients with urinary urge incontinence. The quality of trials was variable. Three trials involving 92 women compared bladder training with no bladder training. These tended to favour bladder training but data were available for only a limited number of pre-specified outcomes that varied across the three trials. No data describing long term follow up are available. One trial compared bladder training with drug therapy, but was inconclusive. Another trial compared bladder training with an electronic prompt device. The trial was small and included only 20 women. Data were not presented in a form suitable for quantitative analysis. Two further trials compared bladder training supplemented by drug therapy with bladder training alone. Again, the limited data provided insufficient evidence on which to draw conclusions. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Bladder training may be helpful for the treatment of urinary urge incontinence, but this conclusion can only be tentative, based on the evidence available. There was not enough evidence to show whether drug therapy was better than bladder training or useful as a supplement to it.
BACKGROUND: Urinary incontinence is a common and distressing problem. Bladder training aims to increase the interval between voids and is widely used for the treatment of urinary incontinence. OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of bladder training for the treatment of urinary incontinence. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Incontinence Group trials register (January 2003). The reference lists of relevant articles were searched, and trialists contacted for details of other trials. Date of the most recent search: January 2003. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised or quasi-randomised trials of bladder training for the treatment of any type of urinary incontinence. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers assessed trial quality and independently extracted data. Five primary outcomes were prespecified: participant's perception of cure of urinary incontinence; participant's perception of improvement of urinary incontinence; number of incontinent episodes; number of micturitions; and quality of life. Adverse events were also noted. Three hypotheses were tested: bladder training is better than no bladder training; bladder training is better than other treatments; and combining bladder training with another treatment is better than that other treatment alone. MAIN RESULTS: We assessed 73 reports of 36 potentially relevant trials; 28 reports of ten trials were eligible for inclusion with a total of 1366, predominantly female, participants. Not all participants' with overactive bladder, in five trials had urinary incontinence. Data from five trials with 467 participants, all female, are therefore included in the review. The quality of trials was variable. Few data describing long term follow up are available.Is bladder training better than no bladder training? Data were available for 149 women from two trials comparing bladder training with no bladder training. These described only a limited number of prespecified outcomes, which varied across the two trials. Point estimates of effect favoured bladder training however confidence intervals were wide and no statistically significant differences were found for primary outcome variables.Is bladder training better than other treatments? Only two trials including 125 women compared bladder training with drugs: one with oxybutynin and one with imipramine plus flavoxate. In the former trial the only outcomes demonstrating a statistically significant difference were participant's perception of cure at six months (RR 1.69; 95% CI 1.21 to 2.34) and adverse events (RR 0.03; 95% CI 0.00 to 0.44), both favouring bladder training. In the latter trial participant's perception of cure immediately after treatment just achieved statistical significance (RR 1.50; 95% CI 1.02 to 2.21) favouring bladder training, and this difference was maintained at approximately two months post treatment. One comparison of bladder training with pelvic floor muscle training plus biofeedback included 132 women: none of the differences in the primary outcomes achieved statistical significance.Is combining bladder training with another treatment better than that other treatment alone? One trial compared pelvic floor muscle training plus biofeedback supplemented with bladder training versus pelvic floor muscle training plus biofeedback alone and included 125 women. Of the primary outcomes both participants' perception of improvement and quality of life, both immediately after treatment, achieved statistical significance, favouring the bladder training combined with pelvic floor muscle training and biofeedback group (perception of improvement: RR 1.18; 95% CI 1.01 to 1.39; quality of life: MD -47.20; 95% CI -87.03 to -7.37), this was not sustained at three months. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: The limited evidence available suggests that bladder training may be helpful for the treatment of urinary incontinence, but this conclusion can only be tentative as the trials were of variable quality and of small size with wide confidence intervals around the point estimates of effect. There was also not enough evidence to determine w evidence to determine whether bladder training was useful as a supplement to another therapy. Definitive research has yet to be conducted: more research is required.
BACKGROUND: Physical training may form an important part of the care package for patients with cystic fibrosis. OBJECTIVES: To determine whether a prescribed regime of physical training produces improvement or prevents deterioration in physiological and clinical outcomes in cystic fibrosis compared to no training. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Cystic Fibrosis and Genetic Disorders Group specialist trials register which comprises references identified from comprehensive electronic database searches, handsearching relevant journals and handsearching abstract books of conference proceedings. Date of the most recent search: August 2001. SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised controlled clinical trials in which a prescribed regime of physical training is compared to no physical training in patients with cystic fibrosis. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently selected trials for inclusion, assessed methodological quality and extracted data. MAIN RESULTS: Of the sixteen trials identified six trials, which included 184 patients, met the inclusion criteria. Exercise tolerance in the short term, during an acute admission was improved in patients who received physical training. In a three year study there was no improvement in exercise tolerance at the end of the study period. Over three years there was a significantly greater mean annual rate of decline in FVC in the control group compared to the exercise group WMD 2.17 (95%CI 0.47, 3.87). Changes in other lung function parameters showed a similar trend, but these were not statistically significant. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Conclusions about the efficacy of physical training in cystic fibrosis are limited by the small size, short duration and incomplete reporting of most of the trials included in this review. Physical training is already part of the care package offered to most patients with cystic fibrosis and there is no evidence to actively discourage this. Further research is needed to assess comprehensively the net benefit of the addition of physical training to the care of cystic fibrosis patients.
BACKGROUND: Overactive Bladder Syndrome (OAB) is defined as urgency, with or without urgency incontinence, usually with frequency and nocturia. Pharmacotherapy with anticholinergic drugs is often the first line medical therapy, either alone or as an adjunct to various non-pharmacological therapies. The commonest non-pharmacologic therapies are: bladder training, pelvic floor muscle training with or without biofeedback and electric stimulation to affect detrusor muscle activity. OBJECTIVES: To compare the effects of various anticholinergic drugs with various non-pharmacologic therapies for idiopathic overactive bladder syndrome in adults. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Incontinence Group Specialised Register (searched 29 November 2005), The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE (January 1966 to September 2004), PREMEDLINE, Dissertation Abstracts and the reference lists of relevant articles. SELECTION CRITERIA: All randomised, or quasi-randomised, controlled trials of treatment with anticholinergic drugs for overactive bladder syndrome or urge urinary incontinence in adults, in which at least one management arm involved a non-drug new therapy. Trials amongst patients with neuropathic bladder dysfunction were excluded. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two authors evaluated the trials for appropriateness for inclusion and methodological quality. Three authors were involved in the data extraction. Data extracted was based on predetermined criteria. Data analysis was based on standard statistical approaches used in Cochrane reviews. MAIN RESULTS: Thirteen trials with 1770 participants were included; all were designed as parallel groups except for one cross-over trial. Trial groups were well matched for baseline characteristics in all trials. Treatment duration was 3 to 12 weeks, with one trial carrying out a follow-up analysis at 24 weeks after starting treatment. During treatment, symptomatic improvement was more common amongst those on anticholinergic drugs compared with bladder training (RR 0.73; 95% CI 0.59 to 0.90). Combination of anticholinergics with bladder training was also associated with more improvement than bladder training alone but with wide confidence intervals (RR 0.55; 95% 0.32 to 0.93). Similarly, the limited data favoured a combination of anticholinergics with bladder training compared with anticholinergics during treatment but the difference was not statistically significant (RR for improvement 0.81; 95% CI 0.61 to 1.06). For all comparisons, there were too few data to compare symptoms after treatment had ended. Adverse effects, such as dry mouth, were reported by around a third of those taking anticholinergics. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS: The use of anticholinergic drugs in the management of OAB is well established. During initial treatment there was more symptomatic improvement when (a) anticholinergics were compared with bladder training alone, and (b) anticholinergics combined with bladder training were compared with each modality alone. Anticholinergics have well recognised side effects, such as dry mouth. There were too few data to assess whether or not effects are sustained after stopping treatment.
BACKGROUND: Prolotherapy is an injection-based treatment for chronic low-back pain. Proponents of prolotherapy suggest that some back pain stems from weakened or damaged ligaments. Repeatedly injecting them with irritant solutions is believed to strengthen the ligaments and reduce pain and disability. Prolotherapy protocols usually include co-interventions to enhance the effectiveness of the injections. OBJECTIVES: To determine the efficacy of prolotherapy injections in adults with chronic low-back pain. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched CENTRAL (2004, issue 1), MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and Science Citation Index from their respective beginnings to January 2004, with no restrictions on language. We consulted content experts to ensure we had not missed any references. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing prolotherapy injections to control injections, either alone or in combination with other treatments, were included. Studies had to include measures of pain and disability before and after the intervention. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Two reviewers independently selected the trials and assessed them for methodological quality. Treatment and control group protocols varied from study to study, making meta-analysis impossible. MAIN RESULTS: We included four high quality studies with a total of 344 participants. All trials measured pain and disability levels at six months, three measured the proportion of participants reporting a greater than 50% reduction in pain or disability scores from baseline to six months.Two studies showed significant differences between the treatment and control groups for those reporting over 50% reduction in pain or disability. Their results could not be pooled. In one, co-interventions confounded interpretation of results; in the other, there was no significant difference in mean pain and disability scores between the groups. In the third study, there was little or no difference between groups in the number of individuals who reported over 50% improvement in pain and disability. The fourth study reporting only mean pain and disability scores showed no differences between groups. REVIEWERS' CONCLUSIONS: There is conflicting evidence regarding the efficacy of prolotherapy injections in reducing pain and disability in patients with chronic low-back pain. Conclusions are confounded by clinical heterogeneity amongst studies and by the presence of co-interventions. There was no evidence that prolotherapy injections alone were more effective than control injections alone. However, in the presence of co-interventions, prolotherapy injections were more effective than control injections, more so when both injections and co-interventions were controlled concurrently.
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OBJECTIVE: To determine the test-retest reliability of the 6-minute walk test in people with fibromyalgia. METHODS: Twenty-six subjects (27-59 years of age) performed 3 walk tests over consecutive days before and after a 4-week treatment program. Reliability was determined using a one-way repeated measures analysis of variance and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2,1). RESULTS: Reliability of the 6-minute walk test was excellent both at program intake (ICC2,1 = 0.91) and program completion (ICC2,1 = 0.98). On program intake, significant differences (P < 0.01) were found between test 1 (478 +/- 61 m) and test 2 (492 +/- 57 m), and between test 1 and test 3 (495 +/- 60 m). On program completion, there were no significant differences across the 3 replicate tests (507 m, 505 m, and 509 m). CONCLUSIONS: The 6-minute walk test is a reliable measure in people with fibromyalgia. In this study, two trials were required to achieve a stable walk performance before a treatment program. This learning effect was not present following the intervention.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if supervised cardiovascular training improves exercise tolerance, aerobic capacity, depression, functional capacity, and quality of life in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Sixty women with SLE (ages 18-55 years) were evaluated using Short Form 36, visual analog scale for pain, scale for fatigue, Beck Depression Inventory, and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), and participated in a training protocol of incremental load on a treadmill with computed gas metabolic analysis. Maximum oxygen consumption (VO(2max)) and anaerobic threshold VO(2) were calculated with a SensorMedics Vmax29C analyzer (Sensor Medics, Yorba Linda, CA), and heart rate was measured by electrocardiogram. Patients were divided into 2 groups: a training group (41 patients) that participated in the supervised cardiovascular training program and a control group (19 patients) that did not participate in the program. All variables were analyzed at baseline and after 12 weeks for both groups. The training program occurred in the morning for 60 minutes, 3 times a week for 12 weeks. Statistical analysis included Wilcoxon's rank sum test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test. P values <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. RESULTS: The 2 groups were homogeneous and comparable at baseline. The training group showed a significant improvement of aerobic capacity measured by anaerobic threshold VO(2) (14.67 +/- 3.03 versus 17.08 +/- 3.35 ml/kg/minute, P < 0.001). Comparison of the training group and control group after 12 weeks showed a significant difference relating to VO(2max) (24.31 +/- 4.61 versus 21.21 +/- 3.88 ml/kg/minute, P = 0.01) and anaerobic threshold VO(2) (17.08 +/- 3.35 versus 13.66 +/- 2.82 ml/kg/minute, P < 0.0001). After cardiovascular training, we found a significant improvement of Beck inventory score (8.37 +/- 12.79 versus 2.90 +/- 3.00, P < 0.001) and HAQ score (0.14 +/- 0.21 versus 0.06 +/- 0.19, P < 0.01) in the training group. CONCLUSION: This study showed significant improvement in exercise tolerance, aerobic capacity, quality of life, and depression after a supervised cardiovascular training program in patients with SLE.
BACKGROUND: It remains unclear whether patients with large-size myocardial infarction (MI) achieve the same benefit from exercise training as do those with small- to medium-size MI. HYPOTHESIS: This study was designed to determine the magnitude and mechanisms underlying improvement in exercise capacity in patients with large-size MI after cardiac rehabilitation. METHODS: In all, 296 patients who participated in a cardiac rehabilitation program after acute MI were divided into two groups according to the peak serum creatine phosphokinase (CPK) level: the group with large infarction (Group 1) (> or = 5000 U/l peak CPK, 64 patients) and the group with less extensive infarction (Group 2) (< 5000 U/I, 232 patients). Exercise capacity was assessed before and after a 3-month cardiac rehabilitation program that included exercise training. RESULTS: Before exercise training, both the peak work rate (p < 0.05) and peak oxygen uptake (VO2) (p < 0.01) were significantly lower in Group 1 than in Group 2. After exercise training, the changes in peak work rate and peak VO2 were significantly greater in Group 1 than in Group 2 (both p < 0.01). The infarction size measured by the peak CPK level correlated significantly with both the baseline exercise capacity and its improvement after exercise training, although these correlations were insignificant in a multivariate analysis. In the multivariate analysis, the improvement in exercise capacity is determined by age and baseline exercise capacity, which is determined by the duration of inactivity, minute ventilation (VE)/VCO2 slope and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with patients with small- to medium-size myocardial infarction, patients with large infarction gain a greater improvement in exercise capacity after exercise training due to reversal of physical deconditioning and improvement in congestive heart failure.
To investigate the suitability of rowing for cardiac rehabilitation, the cardiocirculatory and metabolic reactions during rowing (RE) and cycle (CE) ergometry were compared. Ten male normotensive subjects of an outpatient heart group (age 56 +/- 7 years, maximum performance on CE 2.0 +/- 0.4 W.kg-1) carried out a stepwise increasing test on an isokinetic rowing ergometer and a CE (increasing by 25 W every 3 min). In a 1-min break after each step, heart rate and blood pressure, blood concentrations of lactate, and the free catecholamines adrenaline and noradrenaline were measured. Four patients showed signs of myocardial ischemia occurring almost one step earlier on RE than on CE. In RE, the endurance and maximum performance were about 20 W lower than on CE. At similar workloads, heart rate, blood pressure, and concentrations of lactate and catecholamines measured significantly higher on RE than on CE. At workloads above the individual anaerobic threshold, the increase in adrenaline and noradrenaline was significantly higher on RE than on CE. The results can be explained by the lower work efficiency, the higher isometric demands with increased cardiac pressure load, and the higher mental stress in RE. Rowing is only suitable in cardiac rehabilitation when well-defined prerequisites have been considered.
BACKGROUND: There is considerable literature on managing depression, burden and psychological morbidity in caregivers of people with dementia (CG). Anxiety has been a relatively neglected outcome measure but may require specific interventions. OBJECTIVE: To synthesise evidence regarding interventions that reduce anxiety in CGs. METHODS: Twenty-four studies met our inclusion criteria. We rated the methodology of studies, and awarded grades of recommendation (GR) for each type of intervention according to Centre for Evidence Based Medicine guidelines, from A (highest level of evidence) to D. RESULTS: Anxiety level was the primary outcome measure in only one study and no studies were predicated on a power calculation for anxiety level. There was little evidence of efficacy for any intervention. The only RCT to report significantly reduced anxiety involved a CBT and relaxation-based intervention specifically devised to treat anxiety, and there was preliminary evidence (no randomised controlled trials) that caregiver groups involving yoga and relaxation without CBT were effective. There was grade B evidence that behavioural management, exercise therapies and respite were ineffective. LIMITATIONS: Many interventions were heterogeneous, so there is some overlap between groups. Lack of evidence of efficacy is not evidence of lack of efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: CBT and other therapies developed primarily to target depression did not effectively treat anxiety. Good RCTs are needed to specifically target anxiety which might include relaxation techniques. Some of the interventions focussed on reducing contact with the care recipients but caregivers may want to cope with caring and preliminary evidence suggests strategies to help CGs manage caring demands may be more effective.
Effects of two different training regimens on the contractile properties of the quadriceps muscle were studied in six individuals with spinal cord injury. Each subject had both limbs trained with the two regimens, consisting of stimulation with low frequencies (LF) at 10 HZ or high frequencies (HF) at 50 HZ; one limb of each subject was stimulated with the LF protocol and the other with the HF regimen. Twelve weeks of daily training increased tetanic tension by approximately 20%, which was not significantly different between training regimens. Interestingly, after HF but not LF training, the unusual high forces at the low frequency range of the force-frequency relationship decreased, possibly due to a reduced activation per impulse. After LF but not HF training, force oscillation amplitudes declined (by 33%) as relaxation tended to slow, which may have opposed possible effects of reduced activation as seen after HF training. Finally, fatigue resistance also increased rapidly after LF training (by 43%) but not after HF training. These results indicate that different types of training may selectively change different aspects of function in disused muscles.
Paretic human muscle rapidly loses strength and oxidative endurance, and electrical stimulation training may partly reverse this. We evaluated the effects of two training protocols on the contractile and metabolic properties of the wrist extensor in 12 C-5/6 tetraplegic individuals. The wrist extensor muscles were stimulated for 30 min/day, 5 days/week, for 12 weeks, using either a high-resistance (Hr) or a low-resistance (Lr) protocol. Total work output was similar in both protocols. The nontrained arm was used as a control. Maximum voluntary torque increased in the Hr (P < 0.05) but not the Lr group. Electrically stimulated peak tetanic torque at 15 HZ, 30 HZ, and 50 HZ were unchanged in the Lr group and tended to increase only at 15 HZ (P < 0.1) in the Hr group. Resistance to fatigue, however, increased (P < 0.05) in both Hr (42%) and Lr (41%) groups. Muscle metabolism was evaluated by (31)P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((31)P-NMRS) during and following a continuous 40-s 10-HZ contraction. In the Hr group the cost of contraction decreased by 38% (P < 0.05) and the half-time of phosphocreatine (PCr) recovery was shortened by 52% (P < 0.05). Thus, long-term electrically induced stimulation of the wrist extensor muscles in spinal cord injury (SCI) increases fatigue resistance independent of training pattern. However, only the Hr protocol increased muscle strength and was shown to improve muscle aerobic metabolism after training. Muscle Nerve 27: 72-80, 2003
Patients with mitochondrial myopathies (MM) usually suffer from exercise intolerance due to their impaired oxidative capacity and physical deconditioning. We evaluated the effects of a 12-week supervised randomized rehabilitation program involving endurance training in patients with MM. Twenty MM patients were assigned to a training or control group. For three nonconsecutive days each week, patients combined cycle exercise at 70% of their peak work rate with three upper-body weight-lifting exercises performed at 50% of maximum capacity. Training increased maximal oxygen uptake (28.5%), work output (15.5%), and minute ventilation (40%), endurance performance (62%), walking distance in shuttle walking test (+95 m), and peripheral muscle strength (32%-62%), and improved Nottingham Health Profile scores (21.47%) and clinical symptoms. Control MM patients did not change from baseline. Results show that our exercise program is an adequate training strategy for patients with mitochondrial myopathy.