Physiology international最新文献

Background: Hemiplegia, a common neurological consequence of moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) significantly impacts patients' motor and daily living functions. In China, standard treatments for hemiplegia include physical rehabilitation and traditional acupuncture. Scalp acupuncture, rooted in traditional Chinese medicine, has gained attention as a potential alternative. This study compared the efficacy of scalp acupuncture combined with conventional therapy versus conventional therapy alone in improving limb function recovery in patients with hemiplegia after moderate to severe TBI.

Methods: This open-label, single-site, parallel-group randomized trial included 117 patients with hemiplegia post-TBI. Patients were randomized into a control group (n = 58) receiving conventional interventions, and a scalp acupuncture group (n = 59) receiving scalp acupuncture in addition to conventional care. Scalp acupuncture was administered daily for 8 weeks using standardized acupuncture points. Outcome measures included the Brunnstrom Hemiplegia Motor Function Scale, the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) scale, the modified Barthel Index (MBI), cerebral blood flow assessment (via color Doppler ultrasonography), and serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels.

Results: The scalp acupuncture group demonstrated significantly greater improvements in Brunnstrom scale scores, with higher proportions of patients achieving advanced recovery levels (P = 0.015). FMA and MBI scores showed superior improvements in motor function and daily living abilities in the scalp acupuncture group compared to controls (P < 0.05). Enhanced cerebral blood flow velocities and volumes were observed in the scalp acupuncture group, particularly in the anterior and middle cerebral arteries (P < 0.01). Serum BDNF levels were significantly elevated in the scalp acupuncture group post-treatment, suggesting enhanced neural repair.

Conclusions: This study provides evidence that scalp acupuncture combined with conventional therapy can significantly improve motor function, daily living abilities, and neural recovery markers in patients with hemiplegia following moderate to severe TBI. These findings warrant larger, multicenter trials to evaluate the long-term efficacy of scalp acupuncture and to determine its role as a potential gold standard for hemiplegia treatment in neurological rehabilitation.

Purpose: Scoliosis may create muscle imbalance and disturb muscle metabolism. However, no studies have examined muscle cell metabolism in scoliosis. This study evaluates lactate concentration in female college students with scoliosis.

Methods: One hundred fifty female college students followed this cross-sectional analytic study. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied. Scoliosis was measured using a scoliometer. A scoliometer reading of 5° was considered scoliosis. Lactate concentration was measured using a lactate analyzer, and a lactate value above 2 mg dL-1 was denoted as 'elevated.' Anova and post hoc tests were used to analyze differences in the variables between scoliosis and normal subgroups. The results were significant if P < 0.05.

Results: One hundred participants (66.7%) had a spinal curve angle of more than 5°. Only weight in thoracic scoliosis was lower than normal (P = 0.022). Lactate was significantly higher than normal in all scoliosis subtypes (P < 0.001). Lactate in both types was considerably higher than thoracic and lumbar scoliosis (P = 0.04 and 0.03, respectively).

Conclusion: Lactate concentration increased in female students with scoliosis.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the effects of yoga on the recovery of the cardiac autonomic nervous system and immunosuppression after intense exercise.

Methods: Seven healthy adult men were enrolled in two trials: rest for 30 min in a seated position (CON) and yoga for 30 min (YOG) after a treadmill running for 60 min at 75% V˙ O2max in a randomized crossover design. Natural killer (NK) cell activity, salivary secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA), cortisol, testosterone, and indicators related to heart rate variability, mood states, and muscle soreness were measured before exercise (Pre), immediately (P0) and 60 min (P1) after rest or yoga, and the following morning (P2).

Results: NK cell activity was significantly decreased in the CON trial (P < 0.05) but not in the YOG trial. The decrease in NK cell activity from Pre at P0, P1, and P2 in the CON trial was significantly larger than that in the YOG trial (P < 0.05). Testosterone secretion rate tended to be higher after yoga than at rest (P = 0.052). The square root of the mean squared difference of successive normal-to-normal intervals (RMSSD) at P0 in the YOG trial was significantly higher than that in the CON trial (P < 0.05). Changes in NK cell activity correlated with changes in RMSSD (r = 0.445, P < 0.05).

Conclusion: This study showed that yoga can alleviate the decline of NK cell activity after intense exercise by enhancing parasympathetic nerve activity, thus suggesting that yoga may be an effective recovery method for athlete conditioning.

Associative learning tests are cognitive assessments that evaluate the ability of individuals to learn and remember relationships between pairs of stimuli. The Rutgers Acquired Equivalence Test (RAET) is an associative learning test that utilizes images (cartoon faces and colored fish) as stimuli. RAET exists in various versions that differ in the degree of the complexity of the stimuli used in the given version. It has been observed that differences in stimulus complexity can lead to marked differences in test performance, but the related cortical functional differences remain to be elucidated. In the present study, we introduce a Machine Learning- and Independent Component Analysis-based EEG signal processing pipeline, which can detect such differences. RAET and its reduced stimulus complexity variant, Polygon was administered to 32 healthy volunteers and EEG recordings were made with a 64-channel system. The most remarkable differences between RAET and Polygon were detected in the frontal regions, which can be connected to decision making. On the other hand, the parietal regions showed the lowest number of differences between RAET and Polygon. Some task-related activity in the temporo-occipital region was identified, which shows different dynamics depending on visual stimulus complexity.

Physical activity can provide health benefits if done regularly and of sufficient duration and intensity. The World Health Organization recommends adults do 150-300 min of moderate-intensity activity per week, 75-150 min of vigorous-intensity activity, or an equivalent combination.Physical inactivity is the fourth leading cause of early death globally, with 31% of the world's population not getting enough physical activity. Aging is defined by rapid decline in physical activity, loss of mobility, and premature morbidity.Low testosterone levels in men decline from 30 to 40 years of age, and this continues until death. Antiaging strategies, such as caloric restriction, balanced diet, regular exercise, weight management, diabetes control, and smoking cessation can prevent and treat aging-related diseases. Exercise significantly boosts testosterone production, with levels varying based on type, frequency, volume, intensity, and duration. It increases muscle steroidogenesis, total testosterone, and free testosterone in the elderly. Testosterone replacement therapy in elderly men improves physical function, strength, protein synthesis, cholesterol, bone density, sexual desire, erectile function, and overall cognition. However, some studies suggest dehydroepiandrosterone supplementation may provide health improvements without negative effects, potentially reversing arterial aging and reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Senolytic therapeutics focus on cellular senescence, and stem cell transplantation investigates the therapeutic potential of older stem cells.

Objectives: Sesamol, a polyphenolic compound isolated from roasted sesame seeds exhibits significant anti-inflammatory effect, but the molecular mechanism is poorly understood. Peritoneal macrophages play a pivotal role in the control of infections and inflammatory pathologies and are also found in injured tissues along with resident macrophages. The present study aimed to examine the anti-inflammatory effect of sesamol and the molecular mechanisms involved, particularly the role of sesamol in modulating SIRT1- and SIRT1-mediated deacetylation of NF-κB p65 using in vivo activated peritoneal macrophages.

Materials: Sprague Dawley rats were injected with LPS to induce inflammation and sesamol was intraperitoneally administered to study its anti-inflammatory effect. ELISA and real time PCR were used to study the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. Effects of sesamol on iNOS and COX-2 were studied with activity assays and ELISA. ICAM-1, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 expressions were analysed by ELISA, RT PCR and zymography. Western blot analysis was performed to determine p65 acetylation. Nuclear translocation of p65 was evaluated by ELISA. The gene and protein expression of SIRT1 was analysed with ELISA and real time PCR.

Results: Sesamol downregulated the expression of proinflammatory markers TNF-α, IL-6, iNOS, COX-2, TLR-4, ICAM-1 and MMP-9 in rat peritoneal macrophages. Additionally, sesamol upregulated SIRT1expression and attenuated the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 by promoting its deacetylation. Inhibition of SIRT1 by its specific inhibitor EX527 diminished the inhibitory effect of sesamol on TNF-α and IL-6. Moreover, EX527 reduced the suppressive impact of sesamol on p65 acetylation and subsequent nuclear translocation.

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the anti-inflammatory effect of sesamol involves upregulation of SIRT-1, leading to the downregulation of the nuclear translocation of NF-κB p65 through its deacetylation. Therefore, the dietary bioactive compound sesamol shows potential as a promising strategy for preventing inflammatory diseases by modulating SIRT1 expression.

Background: In the international literature, several questionnaires measuring everyday activities are known with the aim of examining patients' quality of life. In the Hungarian language, few validated questionnaires focus on daily activities, examining both basic and moderately difficult physical activity, as well as mental health.

Objective: Our goal was to translate the Functional Status Questionnaire (FSQ) into Hungarian and examine its reliability and validity.The validation of the questionnaire into Hungarian followed the six-step principle formulated in 2000. In our cross-sectional study, 376 participants took part. For convergent validity, we used the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) and the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) questionnaires. The examination of internal consistency was performed through Cronbach's alpha calculations. Test-retest reliability within the class was assessed with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). We conducted discriminant validity for pain and general health.

Results: Internal consistency values demonstrated reliability. Participants' demographic data showed that the majority live in cities and have secondary education. The individuals included in the study exhibited unusually high levels of sports activity compared to the Hungarian average. Convergent validity examinations revealed significant relationships between dimensions of health-related quality of life of the different measurement tools.

Conclusions: The validated Hungarian questionnaire is valid and reliable. Similar to the original questionnaire, it is quickly and easily completed, allowing healthcare professionals in clinical settings to assess the patient's functional status before initiating examinations.

Introduction: Smoking and alcohol consumption remain the two most important risk factors for the development of oropharyngeal tumours, but there is an increasing number of younger patients (age <50 years) with human papillomavirus (HPV) association origin, also known as positivity. The role of radiotherapy (RT) in the treatment of this disease is paramount.

Aim: To describe the radiotherapy results for oropharyngeal tumours and to search for prognostic parameters that influence the response of these malignant lesions to radio-chemotherapy.

Methods: 95 patients underwent definitive radio- or radio-chemotherapy (RCT) for histologically squamous cell, oropharyngeal carcinoma at our Institute between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2020, of which 51 (54%) received the latter. The mean age was 61.9 years (37-82 years) and the male-female ratio was 69:26. The average total dose was 69 Gy (range: 54-70 Gy).

Results: The 5-year local control (LC), cancer-specific survival (CCS), and overall survival (OS) calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method were 71, 69, and 58%, respectively. Forty-four cases (46%) were confirmed to have HPV involvement. HPV positive (+) tumours showed significantly better behaviour compared to HPV negative (-) cases in LC, CCS and OS. Smoking had a significant negative effect on cure rates: LC, CCS and OS were better in non-smokers. A significant negative effect of smoking on survival was also observed in HPV-associated cases. For HPV- lesions, RCT had a stronger effect on LC than RT alone (64 vs 43%, P = 0.03).

Conclusions: HPV-associated malignancies show better survival outcomes to radio ± chemotherapy than their HPV- counterparts. In all cases, smoking worsens the response to treatment. For HPV- tumours, chemotherapy with radiation, compared to irradiation alone, has a more significant effect on survival outcomes, whereas for HPV+ tumours this effect is less pronounced.