Biomedical subjects

Shuichi Obuchi

Publications and source records attributed to Shuichi Obuchi.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

[Short and long-term changes in physical functions in the elderly in relation to comprehensive geriatric training].

AIM: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the changes of physical functions of subjects who participated in a progressive resistance and balance training program named Comprehensive Geriatric Training (CGT) before and after training, and following lyear. METHODS: Sixty-three community-dwelling elderly participated in CGT. Subject's physical functions (muscle strength, balance, walking speed) were measured. Moreover, we interviewed the subjects about their maintenance of exercise after training. RESULTS: Fifty-five subjects completed CGT, and physical functions were measured in 32 subjects. There were significant differences in all physical functions. In the post-hoc test, there were significant differences between before and after one year (one leg standing with open eyes, flexibility, functional reach, maximum walking speed, timed up and go). Of the 32 subjects, 21 kept training 1 or more days per week after training (TR), but 11 were desisted from training (DT). Between the 2 groups, the main effect at Group, Time, Group x Time interaction were significant with Functional Reach. It was significantly improved after 1 year compared with before training in TR. No physical functions in after 1 year were significantly lower than before training. CONCLUSION: The subjects improved, maintained the physical functions through CGT. Moreover, the physical functions after 1 year did not decrease significantly compared to before CGT. It is possible that this program controlled the decrease in physical functions at one year. This program provided an opportunity to begin and continue exercise training, because more than half of the subjects who did not previously exercise regularly continued resistance training.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2006

[Development of a rating scale for self-efficacy of physical activity in frail elderly people].

AIM: The purpose of the present study was to 1) development the scale of the self-efficacy of physical activity in frail elderly people (SEPAF), 2) investigate the relationship of physical functions and instrumental activity of daily living (IADL). METHODS: The study included 187 community-dwelling elderly people. Subject's SEPAF (walking, stair-climbing, lifting a weight), physical functions (usual gait speed, maximum gait speed, knee extension muscle strength, hand grip) and IADL according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology Index of Competence (TMIG Index of Competence) were measured. The reliability of this scale was examined using Cronbach's alpha, and test-retest correlation. The criterion-related validity and the construct validity were evaluated relatively using physical functions and factor analysis. The score was compared between young-old and old-old and gender. The correlation between SEPAF and TMIG Index of Competence was examined. RESULTS: Cronbach's a showing internal consistency for these scales were 0.78-0.82. The score showed significant differences in gender and age group. There were significant relationships between SEPAF and physical functions, and the TMIG Index of Competence. CONCLUSION: The SEPAF was shown to be highly reliable. Few scale for frail elderly people exist, and it is useful to assess the self-efficacy of physical activities in frail and community-dwelling elderly people.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2006

[The evaluation of the relationships between physical factors and effects of exercise intervention on physical functions in community-dwelling older people].

AIM: It is necessary to determine the effect of exercise on each individual in order to target a person for an exercise regimen intended to prevent specific health defects in the elderly. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between physical conditions and changes in functional measurements after exercise intervention. METHODS: Two hundred seventy-six subjects aged 60 years and older practiced exercise intervention for three months. The measurements were maximal walking speed, one-leg standing with eyes opened or closed, functional reach test, timed up and go test, sit and reach, handgrip strength, and knee extensor strength. We evaluated the associations between physical measurements and changes in functional measurements. RESULTS: Except for one-leg standing with eyes closed, all measurements of physical function were significantly improved after exercise intervention. The changes in functional measurements showed significant negative correlations with the initial physical performance measurements, except for maximal walking velocity. CONCLUSIONS: These results provided valuable information on more effective strategies for improving or maintaining physical functions of community-dwelling older people. Comprehensive approaches that adapt the methods of training to the fitness level of each subject are needed to effectively improve the physical function of older people.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2004

New intervention program for preventing falls among frail elderly people: the effects of perturbed walking exercise using a bilateral separated treadmill.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of a perturbed walking exercise using a bilateral separated treadmill in physically disabled elderly. DESIGN: Participants of the study were 32 long-term care facility residents and outpatients aged 66-98 yrs. Participants were randomly assigned to a usual exercise group or to a treadmill exercise group. Perturbed gait exercise on a treadmill continued for 6 mos. Number of falls and time to first fall during a 6-mo period, balance and gait functions, and reaction time were evaluated before and after intervention. RESULTS: The treadmill exercise group showed significant improvement in balance and reaction time when compared with the usual exercise group. Number of falls in the treadmill exercise group was 21% lower than that in the usual exercise group. However, this difference was not significant. No significant differences were seen in time to first fall. CONCLUSIONS: Gait training with unexpected perturbation seems to have a beneficial impact on physical function in disabled elderly individuals. The results suggest that this program may be used as an exercise intervention to reduce falls in institutional settings.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed2004

[A randomized controlled trial of a treadmill training with the perturbation to improve the balance performance in the community dwelling elderly subjects].

We had developed a gait perturbation system based on a treadmill composed of two separate walking belts. The servomotors in this treadmill are controlled by a personal computer. A falling perturbation can be generated by the sudden and random deceleration of the walking belts. The purpose of this study was to determine, in a cohort of community dwelling elderly subjects, whether our treadmill training with the perturbation would improve balance performance. The 29 participants aged over 65 years were randomly assigned to receive either perturbed treadmill training or ordinary treadmill training. The single leg standing time with the eyes opened and closed, the functional reach test (FR), the timed up and go test (TUG), the 10 m maximum gait speed and the latency of the bilateral tibialis anterior muscle (LTA) were measured at the pre training period and after the 4-week training period. These indexes were measured again one month after the training period. There were no significant differences between the perturbed training subjects and the ordinary training subjects in these indexes in the pre-training period. Following training period, the perturbed training subjects were improved in FR (mean +/- SD: pre 30.3 +/- 5.0 cm, post 33.5 +/- 5.0 cm, p<.01). TUG (mean +/- SD; pre 5.13 +/- .68 sec, post 4.86 +/- .53 sec, p<.05) and LTA (the perturbed side, mean +/- SD; pre 134 +/- 30 msec, post 116 +/- 22 msec, p<.01, the non-perturbed side, mean SD:pre 132 +/- 35 msec, post 114 +/- 27 msec, p <.05). On the other hand, the ordinary training subjects were improved only in TUG (mean +/- SD; pre 4.93 +/- . 52 sec, post 4.60 +/- .39 sec. p<.01). Additionally, the improvements of the LTA on the perturbed training subjects were retained one month after the training period (the perturbed side, mean +/- SD: pre 134 +/- 30 msec, after 1-month 117 +/- 19 msec, p<.01, the non-perturbed side, mean +/- SD: pre 132 +/- 35 msec, after 1-month 115 +/- 24 msec, p<.05). The improvements of LTA may represent the improvements of the ability of the stepping reaction which is one of the important factors to avoid the falling. Our treadmill training with perturbation improves the balance performance and may decrease the risk of falling in the community dwelling elderly subjects.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed2004

[Effects of introducing a risk manager for prevention of falls in a long-term care facility].

The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of an effort to prevent accidental falls by supervising residents with a high risk of falling in a long-term care facility. Sixty-four subjects with physical disabilities or cognitive impairment who were receiving residential care participated in this study. The fall-risk manager kept the residents under observation through recreational activities or conversation. The intervention was carried out for 50 days, three times per week (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday), eight hours per day. There was no significant difference in the total number of falls between the intervention days and non-intervention days (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday). However, introducing the fall-risk manager into the long-term care facility resulted in a slight improvement in cognitive function in the residents. Although this study did not show a significant beneficial effect for fall prevention, potential effects of fall-risk reduction were noted by the intervention method through introducing a fall-risk manager in a long-term care facility.

Accidental Falls↗

PubMed2003

Relationship with dynamic balance function during standing and walking.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relationship between dynamic balance functions in young adults and elderly adults while standing and walking. DESIGN: In standing balance tests, the Sensory Organization Test (SOT) of six combinations of three visual and two support-surface conditions was used to measure standing balance, and the Motor Coordination Test (MCT) was used to provoke automatic postural reactions through a series of sudden translations of support surface. The gait test measured maximum anterior acceleration (MAA) and maximum posterior acceleration (MPA) of the trunk during perturbed walking using a bilaterally separated treadmill, and calculated latency until MAA and latency until MPA. RESULTS: The elderly adults showed more significant functional decline than young adults in SOT1, SOT4, SOT6, medium intensity MCT, large intensity MCT, and MPA. In the correlation analysis of the outcome from the standing examinations, close correlations among SOT4, SOT5, and SOT6 conditions were observed in both groups of young adults and elderly adults. In the MCT, there was very close correlation between varied translation intensity in two groups. On the other hand, the only weak correlation between SOT and MCT findings was between SOT4 and large intensity MCT in elderly adults (r = -0.471, P = 0.049). In the gait test, although correlation was not significant in young adults, the significant correlations between MAA and latency until MAA (r = 0.705, P = 0.001) and latency until MAA and latency until MPA (r = 0.497, P = 0.036) were recognized in elderly adults. In the balance function findings of the standing examinations and the gait examinations, there was significant correlation between medium intensity MCT and latency until MAA (r = -0.552, P = 0.018) in young adults, and SOT6 and latency until MPA (r = -0.473, P = 0.047) in elderly adults. However, no relationship was observed in most of other factors. CONCLUSIONS: Most falls experienced by elderly people are caused by tripping or slipping during walking. The fact that walking balance function did not correlate with standing balance function indicates that multifaceted evaluation is important to comprehend dynamic balance function while standing and walking.

Acceleration↗

PubMed2002

Sympathetic nervous activity and myocardial damage immediately after subarachnoid hemorrhage in a unique animal model.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Obvious cardiac dysfunction, including ECG abnormalities and left ventricular asynergy, is known to develop after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). To clarify the close relationship between myocardial damage and sympathetic nervous activity immediately after SAH, a novel experimental animal model was used. METHODS: SAH was provoked by perforation of the basilar artery with the use of a microcatheter inserted through the femoral artery in 18 beagle dogs. Hemodynamic changes were recorded, and plasma concentrations of noradrenaline, adrenaline, and 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy-phenylethylene glycol (MHPG) and serum levels of creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and troponin T were measured at 0, 5, 15, 30, 60, 120, and 180 minutes after SAH. RESULTS: Noradrenaline (pg/mL), adrenaline (pg/mL), and MHPG (ng/mL) increased abruptly from 120+/-70, 130+/-70, and 1.3+/-0.5 before SAH to 1700+/-1200, 5600+/-3500, and 3.2+/-1.2 at 5 minutes after SAH, respectively. Aortic pressure, left ventricular wall motion, and cardiac output increased by 60%, 40%, and 30%, respectively (P<0.001) at 5 minutes and then decreased by 50%, 55%, and 40%, respectively (P<0.001) >60 minutes after SAH compared with baseline values. The peak value of CK-MB correlated positively with the peak values of noradrenaline and adrenaline (r=0.730 and r=0.611, respectively). The peak value of troponin T also correlated positively with the peak values of noradrenaline and adrenaline (r=0.828 and r=0.792, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the elevated activity of the sympathetic nervous system observed in the acute phase of SAH induced myocardial damage and contributed to the development of cardiac dysfunction.

Animals↗