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Effect of the prone position on patients with hydrostatic pulmonary edema compared with patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary fibrosis.

This study examined the effect of the prone position on mechanically ventilated patients with hydrostatic pulmonary edema (HPE). Eight patients with acute HPE and mechanically ventilated in the prone position (Group 1) were studied. Six patients with acute HPE and mechanically ventilated in the supine position (Group 2), 20 patients with ARDS (Group 3), and 5 patients with pulmonary fibrosis (PF) (Group 4) served as control patients. Patients with HPE, who after being mechanically ventilated for at least 6 h needed an FI(O(2)) >/= 0.6 to achieve an Sa(O(2)) of approximately 90%, and did not respond to recruitment maneuvers, were turned to the prone position. Parameters of oxygenation, lung mechanics, and hemodynamics were determined in both the supine and prone positions. All patients with HPE exhibited improvement of oxygenation when they were placed in the prone position. The Pa(O(2))/FI(O(2)) ratio increased from 72 +/- 16 in the supine position to 208 +/- 61 after 6 h in the prone position (p < 0.001); the rise in Pa(O(2)) was persistent, without detrimental effect on hemodynamics. Fifteen of 20 patients with ARDS (75%) improved oxygenation when in the prone position. The Pa(O(2))/FI(O(2)) ratio increased from 83 +/- 14 in the supine position to 189 +/- 34 after 6 h in the prone position (p < 0.001). In contrast, 5 of 20 patients with ARDS (25%) and none of the patients with PF responded favorably to prone positioning. Patients with HPE and early ARDS responded better to prone positioning than did patients with late ARDS and PF. Patients with HPE and ventilated in the supine position had a lower Pa(O(2))/FI(O(2)) ratio and the duration of mechanical ventilation was longer compared with that of patients in the prone position. Our results show that the prone position may be a useful maneuver in treating patients with severe hypoxemia due to pulmonary edema. The presence of pulmonary edema, as in early ARDS and HPE predicts a beneficial effect of the prone position on gas exchange. In contrast, the presence of fibrosis, as in late ARDS and pulmonary fibrosis, predisposes to nonresponsiveness to prone positioning.

Adolescent↗

Central and peripheral adverse hemodynamic changes during laparoscopic surgery and their reversal with a novel intermittent sequential pneumatic compression device.

OBJECTIVE: To study the influence of a novel intermittent sequential pneumatic compression device (Lympha-press) on the adverse cardiac and peripheral hemodynamic changes induced by positive-pressure pneumoperitoneum (PPPn) in laparoscopic surgery. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Creation of PPPn is known to cause adverse central and peripheral hemodynamic changes. An intrasubject observational study was undertaken to quantitate these adverse changes and to assess the influence of an intermittent sequential pneumatic compression system on these adverse hemodynamic changes during laparoscopic surgery with PPPn. METHODS: The study involved 16 consecutive patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery with PPPn of 12 mmHg and 30 degrees head-up tilt position. The following peripheral hemodynamic recordings were made using Doppler ultrasound: peak systolic velocity (PSV), end diastolic velocity (EDV), and cross-sectional area of the femoral vein. Central monitoring included cardiac output and stroke volume by transesophageal Doppler, blood pressure, and pulse. The hemodynamic state based on these parameters was assessed before induction of PPPn with the anesthetized patient in the supine position, after induction of PPPn and head-up tilt position with Lympha-press off, and during PPPn and head-up tilt position with Lympha-press on, and after desufflation with the patient in the supine position under general anesthesia. RESULTS: Positive-pressure pneumoperitoneum and the head-up tilt position resulted in a 33% reduction in PSV, a 21% reduction in EDV, and a 29% increase in cross-sectional area of the femoral vein. This was associated with a 20% reduction in cardiac output and an 18% reduction in stroke volume. Activation of Lympha-press during PPPn and the head-up tilt position resulted in a 129% increase in PSV and a 55% increase in EDV by 55%. It also increased the cardiac output by 27% and stroke volume by 16%, with no effect on cross-sectional area. Compared with the pre-PPPn stage, there was no difference in cardiac output or stroke volume, but the PSV was higher by 78% and the EDV by 32%. After abdominal desufflation in the supine position, the cardiac output and stroke volume were restored to the pre-PPPn level, but persistent and significant elevations were observed during the period of study in PSV, EDV, and cross-sectional area. CONCLUSIONS: Significant and individually variable central and peripheral hemodynamic changes are encountered during laparoscopic surgery with PPPn and the head-up tilt position. These are reversed by intermittent sequential pneumatic compression using Lympha-press.

Adult↗

Intramyocardial electrogram variability in the monitoring of graft rejection after heart transplantation.

The ventricular evoked response is a well-standardized electrophysiological signal that can be used for noninvasive, long-term cardiac transplant monitoring. Rejection-sensitive and infection-specific parameters extracted from intramyocardial electrograms correlate with clinical results. The influences of pacing rate, transition from intrinsic to paced rhythm and positional changes on the diagnostic parameters were studied. Increasing the pacing rate shortened the ventricular evoked response and directly influenced the infection specific parameter. The rejection-sensitive parameter remained stable at pacing rates between 100 and 120 beats/min. Measurements made immediately after the patient assumed a supine position and after switching to paced rhythm showed a decrease in the rejection-sensitive parameter. A change in position from supine to upright did not influence the rejection-sensitive parameter, but higher values were measured after returning to the supine position. In conclusion, noninvasive recordings of the ventricular evoked response for monitoring of cardiac allograft should be done at the same time of day, at the same pacing rate, and with the patient resting for at least 5 minutes before measurements are made.

Adolescent↗

Knee-chest position improves pulmonary oxygenation in elderly patients undergoing lower spinal surgery with spinal anesthesia.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To define the effect of the knee-chest position on pulmonary oxygenation in patients who underwent lower spinal operations under spinal anesthesia. DESIGN: Clinical, prospective study. SETTING: Inpatient anesthesia and orthopedic surgery clinic at a municipal hospital. PATIENTS: Fifty-six patients (30 males and 26 females) who underwent lower spinal surgery under spinal anesthesia. INTERVENTIONS: After administering hyperbaric tetracaine solution and fixing the anesthesia level in the supine position for 15 minutes, patients were turned to the knee-chest position. They breathed room air normally. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Arterial blood gas tensions were measured in the supine position 15 minutes after administration of the tetracaine solution and 15 minutes after turning patients to the knee-chest position. Patients were classified into six groups according to their age: patients in their teens and 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s. In the supine position, the mean values of the alveolar arterial oxygen tension difference (A-aDO2) of patients in their 50s, 60s, and 70s were significantly higher than those of patients in their teens and 20s, 30s, and 40s. In the knee-chest position, these high values of A-aDO2 in the older patient groups decreased significantly, thereby eliminating any significant difference in A-aDO2 among all age groups. To determine the mechanism of the improvement of pulmonary oxygenation in the elderly patients, the effect of the knee-chest position on lung volumes was studied in eight young volunteers. CONCLUSION: A significant improvement of pulmonary oxygenation was seen in elderly patients who underwent lower spinal operation with spinal anesthesia when they were turned to the knee-chest position. The knee-chest position has a beneficial effect on pulmonary oxygenation in elderly patients who are given spinal anesthesia.

Adolescent↗

Haemodynamic and baroreflex responses to whole-body tilting in exercising men before and after 6 weeks of bedrest.

We sought to determine whether the cardiovascular deconditioning that occurs in exercising men after prolonged (42 days) bedrest in the head-down tilt (HDT) position is primarily related to mechanical changes in the heart or to an impaired arterial-cardiacchronotropic baroreflex. Seven subjects were studied before (C, control) and repeatedly after HDT with rapid tilting between the upright and supine positions during steady-state 50-W dynamic leg exercise. Ventricular interdependence was assumed to be an index of cardiac size; it was assessed on the basis of the initial dip of arterial pulse pressure (PP) induced by a sudden tilt from the upright to the supine position (down-tilt). Arterialcardiac-chronotropic baroreflex sensitivity (ABS) was assessed as the ratio between tilt-induced heart rate transients and the preceding (and reciprocal) transient in arterial pressure. On the first day of recovery, the initial PP dip was -4 (2) mmHg (where 1 mmHg is 0.13 kPa), less than half of the control value; on subsequent recovery days, the initial PP dip was not significantly different from the control value. When tilting from the upright to the supine position, mean ABS ranged from 1.02 to 1.06 bpm/mmHg during three separate control sessions. Tilts in the opposite direction gave lower ABS values because of the more sluggish HR response and ranged from 0.43 to 0.45 bpm/mmHg in the control situations. ABS did not change after HDT. Our results indicate that impairments of the cardiovascular system after long-term bedrest are of haemodynamic rather than baroreflex origin.

Adult↗

Fluid conservation in athletes: responses to water intake, supine posture, and immersion.

The roles of antidiuretic hormone (ADH) and aldosterone in the elicited diuretic responses of trained and untrained men to seated, supine, and head-out water immersed conditions were studied. Volunteers were comprised of groups of six untrained individuals, six trained swimmers, and six trained runners. Each subject underwent three protocols, six hours in a seated position, supine position, or immersion (35 degrees C water). The last two protocols were preceded and followed by 1 h of seated position. After 10 h of fasting, 0.5% body wt of water was drunk. One hour later the trained groups had higher urine osmolalities (P less than 0.05) and urinary excretion rates of ADH (P less than 0.05) and lower urine flow rates (P less than 0.05) than untrained subjects. Throughout the sitting protocol, urinary ADH was also higher in both trained groups (P less than 0.05). Both supine posture and immersion resulted in significant decreases in urinary ADH in the untrained subjects (P less than 0.05) but no changes wer noted in swimmers and only during the second hour of immersion in the runners (P less than 0.05). The natriuresis and kaliuresis were greater during immersion than in the supine position but plasma renin activity, measured only in trained groups, and plasma aldosterone, measured in the untrained group, were decreased similarly with both protocols. The increases in urinary sodium excretion and urine flow rate were lower in trained than untrained subjects during the supine and immersion protocols (P less than 0.05). The data are compatible with an increased osmotic but decreased volume sensitivity of ADH control in trained men.

Adult↗

[Are there genuine and pseudo-normal pressure glaucomas? Body position-dependent intraocular pressure values in normal pressure glaucoma].

BACKGROUND: Elevation of intraocular pressure in the supine position has been previously described in literature. Aim of this study is to investigate the elevation of intraocular pressure in normal tension glaucoma and its effect on the morphology of the optic disc, visual field function and capillary blood flow of the retina and optic disc. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 56 eyes of 28 preperimetric and advanced normal tension glaucoma patients were prospectively evaluated. Ten eyes of ten normal patients served as a control group for the measurements of the intraocular pressure. In the course of a 24-h pressure profile applanation tonometry was performed in the morning in a supine and three and ten minutes later in a sitting position with Draeger's and Goldmann's tonometers. Arterial blood pressure was measured at the same time. The optic disc's morphology was evaluated by stereo photographs and Laser Scanning Tomography. As a sensory test computer perimetry was used. Capillary blood flow was measured at defined areas of the retina and optic disc. An intraocular pressure above 21 mm Hg in the supine position was used as a criterium to define two groups of normal tension glaucoma patients. RESULTS: In the supine position a statistically significant elevation of intraocular pressure was observed in 24 normal tension glaucoma patients by 6.2 +/- 2.8 mm Hg up to 21.8 +/- 3 mm Hg. Diastolic blood pressure in the supine position (80 +/- 10.5 mm Hg) was significantly lower than in the sitting position (94 +/- 11 mm Hg, p = 0.021). 12 of 28 normal tension glaucoma patients showed an intraocular pressure lower than 22 mm Hg in the supine position. In these patients a tendency towards a higher incidence for the occurrence of optic disc haemorrhages and significantly higher values for blood flow (p < 0.0005) and volume (p < 0.005) in the retina and optic nerve head could be shown. In this group of normal pressure glaucoma patients a higher incidence of migraine and vasospastic complaints was reported in the patients' history. CONCLUSION: In this study some normal tension glaucoma patients showed intraocular pressures in the supine position higher than 21 mm Hg and a lower diastolic arterial pressure. The higher incidence of haemorrhages and higher values for flow and volume parameters of the optic disc in normal tension glaucoma patients with an intraocular pressure lower than 22 mm Hg implicate the existence of two entities: real and pseudo normal tension glaucomas.

Adult↗

Hemodynamic effects of anti-G suit inflation in a 1-G environment.

This study evaluated effects of various anti-G inflation pressures on cardiac volumes and the relationship of these volume changes to mean arterial pressure changes. Ventricular volumes were calculated using two-dimensional echocardiography. An anti-G suit was inflated to 2, 4, and 6 psi in the standing and supine positions for 10 male subjects. In the supine position, mean arterial pressure increased from base line for all three inflation pressures (P = 0.05). The end-diastolic volume increased after 2-psi inflation (P = 0.03). Cardiac output or stroke volume did not change. After standing, mean arterial pressure (P = 0.002), end-diastolic volume (P = 0.002), and stroke volume (P = 0.05) fell after suit deflation. Peripheral vascular resistance fell in the 2- and 4-psi inflation profiles. In the standing protocol, mean arterial pressure, end-diastolic volume, stroke volume, and cardiac output rose with all three inflation pressures (P less than 0.05). After reclining, heart rate increased (P = 0.02) and mean arterial pressure fell (P less than 0.05) in the 4- and 6-psi inflation profiles after suit deflation. Increases in mean arterial pressure are caused by increases in cardiac preload and cardiac output after inflation of the anti-G suit while subjects were standing. Increased cardiac preload was not consistently seen after inflation while subjects were supine. Changes in end-diastolic volume and mean arterial pressure were dependent on the pressure used to inflate the anti-G suit.

Adult↗

Prone positioning improves oxygenation without adverse hemodynamic effects during partial liquid ventilation in a canine model of acute lung injury.

BACKGROUND: Partial liquid ventilation (PLV) and prone positioning can improve the arterial oxygenation (PaO2) in acute lung injury (ALI). We evaluated the effect of prolonged prone positioning during partial liquid ventilation (PLV) in a canine model of acute lung injury. METHODS: Six mongrel dogs (weighing 17.4 +/- 0.7 kg each) were anesthetized, intubated and mechanically ventilated. After 1 hour of baseline stabilization, the dogs' lungs were instilled with 40 mL/kg perfluorocarbon (PFC). PLV was first performed in the supine position for 1 hour (S1), then in the prone position for 3 hours with hourly measurements (P1, P2, P3), and finally, PLV was performed with the animal turned back to the supine position for 1 hour (S2). RESULTS: After instillation of the PFC, the PaO2 significantly increased from 992 +/- 32.6 mmHg at baseline to 198.1 +/- 59.2 mmHg at S1 (p = 0.001). When the dogs were turned to the prone position, the PaO2 further increased to 288.3 +/- 80.9 mmHg at P1 (p = 0.008 vs. S1): this increase was maintained for 3 hours, but the PaO2 decreased to 129.4 +/- 62.5 mmHg at S2 (p < 0.001 vs. P3). Similar changes were seen in the shunt fraction. There were no significant differences for the systemic hemodynamic parameters between the prone and supine positions. CONCLUSION: Prolonged prone positioning during PLV in an animal model of ALI appears to improve oxygenation without any hemodynamic compromise.

Animals↗

Changes in nasal and oral respiratory resistance before and after uvulopalatopharyngoplasty.

Twelve patients with complaints of sleep apnea were examined with the all-night sleep test. They underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) and were studied with the all-night sleep test again 3 to 6 months after the operation. Nasal and oral respiratory resistance was measured in sitting and supine position before and after surgery using a microrhinograph. The physiological effect of UPPP was also compared with the results of an MRI anatomical study. Nasal and oral respiratory resistance was significantly decreased post-operatively (p <0.05). The decreased value of post-operative nasal respiratory resistance in a supine position was more marked than that of oral resistance, suggesting that UPPP eliminates the obstruction at the soft palate, especially in a supine position. Although our study was performed in awake patients enlargement of the airway in the middle pharyngeal region may improve the nasal and oral respiratory function during sleep.

Airway Obstruction↗

Femoral vein stasis during laparoscopic cholecystectomy: effects of graded elastic compression leg bandages in preventing thrombus formation.

Venous stasis of the legs during laparoscopic cholecystectomy was compared between patients without graded compression leg bandages (Group 1; n = 12) and patients with such bandages (Group 2; n = 12) by measuring mean blood flow velocity and cross-sectional area of the femoral vein using a color Doppler ultrasonography. In Group 1, when velocity and area were measured in the supine position, a significant decrease in velocity (p < .05) and a significant increase in area (p < .05) occurred after abdominal insufflation to 10 mm Hg. These changes were greater during abdominal insufflation in the reverse Trendelenburg position than during abdominal insufflation in the supine position. In Group 2, flow velocity was significantly higher (p < .05) before abdominal insufflation as compared with Group 1. After abdominal insufflation to 10 mm Hg and a postural change, velocity significantly decreased (p < .05) and area significantly increased (p < .05) in Group 2, similar to the results in Group 1. During abdominal insufflation at 5 mm Hg or lower, the use of the graded compression bandage was found to be useful for preventing femoral vein stasis. During abdominal insufflation at 10 mm Hg or in the reverse Trendelenburg position, the bandage did not prevent femoral vein stasis.

Bandages↗

Phacoemulsification performed in a modified waiting room chair.

Patients unable to fully recline represent challenging cases for the cataract surgeon. Various diseases of the heart, lungs, and spine may prevent certain patients from assuming a supine position, complicating the surgical approach and increasing the risk of intraoperative complications. We altered a common waiting room chair to allow these patients to remain in an upright seated position while their heads maintain the usual supine position commonly obtained with patients positioned on an operating room table.

Equipment Design↗

Closing volume and pregnancy.

Measurements of closing volume have been made in 20 women between the 36th and 40th weeks of pregnancy. The patients were studied in the erect and supine positions and the point of airway closure was related to functional residual capacity. The results show that airway closure occurred during tidal ventilation in 10 patients in the erect position and in six patients in the supine position. These results may explain the variation found in maternal arterial oxygen tension during pregnancy.

Arteries↗

A population pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic analysis of regadenoson, an adenosine A2A-receptor agonist, in healthy male volunteers.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of regadenoson (CVT-3146) in healthy, male volunteers. METHODS: Thirty-six healthy, male volunteers aged 18-50 years were included in this randomised, double-blind, crossover, placebo-controlled study to evaluate single intravenous bolus doses of regadenoson that ranged from 0.1 to 30.0 micro g/kg. Subjects received one dose of regadenoson or placebo on successive days while supine, then the same dose of regadenoson or placebo on successive days while standing. As part of the safety evaluation, vital signs and adverse events were monitored and recorded throughout the course of the study in all subjects. Up to 20 plasma samples were collected for regadenoson concentration determination within the 24 hours after each supine dosage. All urine was collected during the 24-hour time period post-dose and an aliquot was used for the determination of the regadenoson concentration. Heart rate and blood pressure were recorded at many of the same timepoints that the samples for the pharmacokinetic analysis were taken. A non linear mixed-effect modelling approach, using the software NONMEM, was utilised in modelling the plasma and urine concentration-time profiles and temporal changes in heart rate after regadenoson administration in the supine position. The influences of several covariates, including bodyweight, body mass index and age, on pharmacokinetic model parameters were investigated. RESULTS: Adverse events were more prevalent at regadenoson doses above 3 micro g/kg, and the increase in the occurrence of adverse events was dose-related. Most of the adverse events were related to vasodilation and an increase in heart rate and were generally of mild to moderate severity. Based on the severity and frequency of adverse events, the maximum tolerated doses of regadenoson were deemed to be 10 micro g/kg in the standing position and 20 micro g/kg in the supine position. The pharmacokinetics of regadenoson were successfully described by a three-compartment model with linear clearance. Following intravenous bolus dose administration, regadenoson was rapidly distributed throughout the body, followed by relatively slower elimination (terminal elimination half-life of approximately 2 hours). The clearance was estimated to be 37.8 L/h, with renal excretion accounting for approximately 58% of the total elimination. The volume of distribution of the central compartment and the volume of distribution at steady state were estimated to be 11.5L and 78.7L, respectively. Individual pharmacokinetic parameter estimates were fixed in the pharmacodynamic model, where changes in heart rate were related to plasma drug concentrations using a Michaelis-Menten model. The maximum heart rate increase (Emax) and plasma regadenoson concentration causing a 50% increase in the maximum heart rate (EC50) were estimated to be 76 beats per minute and 12.3 ng/mL, respectively. None of the tested covariates was found to be correlated with any of the pharmacokinetic model parameters. CONCLUSIONS: The pharmacokinetics and the effects of regadenoson on heart rate were successfully described using pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic modelling. The lack of a correlation between the model estimates and various baseline patient demographics supports unit-based dose administration of regadenoson.

Adenosine A2 Receptor Agonists↗

[Pharmaco-epidemiologic evaluation of rilmenidine in 18,235 hypertensive patients].

OBJECTIVES: Assess the effects of rilmenidine in routine clinical practice. METHODS: 18,235 patients with high blood pressure--mean age 61.2 years, arterial systolic pressure in supine position (SSP) over arterial diastolic pressure in supine position (SDP) at day 0: 174.58 +/- 0.12/101.51 +/- 0.06 mmHg--were followed by 2,072 general physicians. Treatment was initiated with a daily dose of 1 mg rilmenidine which was adapted as needed at different times in the study. At inclusion, diastolic pressure was between 90 and 115 mmHg in 84.5% of the patients; 1,126 patients had severe hypertension (SDP > or = 115 mmHg); 16,496 of these patients (81.5%) were followed for one year. RESULTS: Mean fall in blood pressure between day 0 and month 12 was -28.7/-19.3 mmHg in the overall study population and -27.4/-18.9 mmHg in patients treated with 1 mg/day. Mean fall in blood pressure was comparable in the 8 risk populations identified. The percentage of patients who achieved normalized blood pressure status was 96.2% (SDP < or = 90 mmHg); 59.1% with a 1 mg daily dose, 23.7% with 2 mg/day, 11.6% with two-drug treatment and 1.8% with three-drug treatment. Acceptability, taking into account all possible imputabilities (more than 35,000 coprescriptions) and associated diseases, the incidence of undesirable side effects never exceeded 5.6% of the overall study population (5.2% in single-drug treatment, 8.3% in two- or three-drug treatment) and only 3.6% of the patients withdrew from the study due to an undesirable effect whether imputable to the treatment or not. There was little change in heart rate (mean--3 beats per minute between day 0 and month 12); variations observed depended on the rate at study onset. Laboratory tests (blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides, potassium, creatinine, uric acid) were not changed in any of the population groups. CONCLUSIONS: This pharmaco-epidemiologic study showed that the benefit/acceptability ratio for rilmenidine is quite satisfactory and confirms the contribution of rilmenidine as first line treatment for hypertension.

Adult↗

[Venous hum and innominate vein flow velocity in chronic anemia: a pulsed Doppler echocardiographic study].

To assess the hemodynamic correlates of the cervical venous hum in patients with chronic anemia, 14 patients (mean age; 49 years, mean hemoglobin (Hb); 7.3 g/dl) and 14 control subjects (mean age; 50 years, mean Hb; 14 g/dl) without cardiac disease were studied by auscultation, phonocardiography and Doppler echocardiography in two positions (supine and sitting). Venous hum was detected in the sitting position in 11 of the 14 anemic patients whose Hb was less than 9 g/dl, and in six anemic patients in the supine position, while venous hum was absent in the control subjects in both positions. Pulsed Doppler echocardiography with the transducer in the supraclavicular fossa revealed significantly (p less than 0.01) higher peak velocity in the innominate vein in the 11 anemic patients with venous hum (supine; 71 +/- 12, sitting; 111 +/- 24 cm/sec, mean +/- SD) than in the control subjects (supine; 46 +/- 15 sitting; 76 +/- 27 cm/sec) in both positions. Intensity of venous hum increased concomitantly with increased innominate vein flow velocity when the body position was changed from supine to sitting. Peak velocity in the innominate vein correlated significantly with Hb in all study subjects (r = 0.65, p less than 0.01). In conclusion, the cervical venous hum in patients with chronic anemia is related to the hemoglobin concentration and flow velocity in the innominate vein.

Adolescent↗

Standing strength training of the ankle plantar and dorsiflexors in older women, using concentric and eccentric contractions.

Many studies have reported strength gains in older adults following high-intensity resistance training. However, the muscle contraction types examined have been primarily isometric (static) or concentric (CONC; shortening). Less is known about how eccentric (ECC) strength in older adults responds to training or about the efficacy of ECC contractions as training stimuli in these subjects, even though muscle contractions of this type are performed in most training regimens and daily physical activities. In this study, 15 physically active, healthy older women [68 (5) years; mean (SD)] completed an 8-week resistance training program of two sessions per week. Training consisted of three sets of eight repetitions of CONC ankle plantar flexion (PF) and ECC dorsiflexion (DF), at greater than 80% of the initial peak torque, in a standing position only. Subjects were tested in standing and supine positions for: (1) strength over a range of 10 degrees DF to 20 degrees PF for both CONC and ECC; DF and PF (2) passive resistive torque of the plantar flexors at 6 degrees/s; and (3) DF and PF rate of torque development. All strength testing and training was done at 30 degrees/s. Significant increases (P < 0.01) were found for both CONC DF (increases 30%) and ECC DF (increases 17%) peak torque in the standing position. No significant changes occurred for DF strength as measured with the subjects in the supine position, PF strength in either position, passive resistive torque, or rate of torque development. In summary, strength gains occurred only in the dorsiflexors, which were trained using ECC contractions. Improvements in DF strength were specific to the position of training, which has implications for the transferability of strength gains to functional tasks such as maintaining gait.

Aged↗

Neurobehavioral and autonomic effects of hammock positioning in infants with very low birth weight.

PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine whether supine positioning of infants born preterm in a hammock instead of the prone position affects their neuromuscular maturity, growth, and autonomic stability. METHODS: Twenty healthy infants who were born premature with very low birth weight (VLBW) (<1500 g) were randomized into two groups. Subjects were pair-matched for weight (difference less than 100 g), gestational age (difference less than eight days), and postnatal age (difference less than eight days). Ten infants were placed supine in a hammock for three hours daily for ten consecutive days, and ten infants were maintained nested in the prone position. Neuromuscular maturity (based on three neurological parameters adopted from the Ballard examination), heart rate, respiratory rate, and weight gain (g/cal) were compared between the groups. RESULTS: Compared with nested prone positioning, supine positioning in a hammock was associated with a higher neuromuscular maturity score (p < 0.003) and a more relaxed condition, as expressed by lower heart rate and respiratory rate (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Maintaining infants who were born preterm with VLBW in the supine position in a hammock may positively affect their autonomic stability and neuromuscular maturity.

Journal Article↗