BackgroundCardiac rehabilitation (CR) is an essential part of contemporary coronary heart disease management. However, patients exiting a center-based CR program have difficulty retaining its benefits.ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate the added benefit of a home-based CR program with telemonitoring guidance on physical fitness in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) completing a phase II ambulatory CR program and to compare the effectiveness of this program in a prolonged center-based CR intervention by means of a randomized controlled trial.MethodsBetween February 2014 and August 2016, 90 CAD patients (unblinded, mean age 61.2 years, SD 7.6; 80/90, 89.0% males; mean height 1.73 m, SD 0.7; mean weight 82.9 kg, SD 13; mean body mass index 27.5 kg/m2, SD 3.4) who successfully completed a 3-month ambulatory CR program were randomly allocated to one of three groups: home-based (30), center-based (30), or control group (30) on a 1:1:1 basis. Home-based patients received a home-based exercise intervention with telemonitoring guidance consisting of weekly emails or phone calls; center-based patients continued the standard in-hospital CR, and control group patients received the usual care including the advice to remain physically active. All the patients underwent cardiopulmonary exercise testing for assessment of their peak oxygen uptake (VO2 P) at baseline and after a 12-week intervention period. Secondary outcomes included physical activity behavior, anthropometric characteristics, traditional cardiovascular risk factors, and quality of life.ResultsFollowing 12 weeks of intervention, the increase in VO2 P was larger in the center-based (P=.03) and home-based (P=.04) groups than in the control group. In addition, oxygen uptake at the first (P-interaction=.03) and second (P-interaction=.03) ventilatory thresholds increased significantly more in the home-based group than in the center-based group. No significant changes were observed in the secondary outcomes.ConclusionsAdding a home-based exercise program with telemonitoring guidance following completion of a phase II ambulatory CR program results in further improvement of physical fitness and is equally as effective as prolonging a center-based CR in patients with CAD.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02047942; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02047942 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/70CBkSURj)

Background Home-based interventions might facilitate the lifelong uptake of a physically active lifestyle following completion of a supervised phase II exercise-based cardiac rehabilitation. Yet, data on the long-term effectiveness of home-based exercise training on physical activity and exercise capacity are scarce. Objective The purpose of the TeleRehabilitation in Coronary Heart disease (TRiCH) study was to compare the long-term effects of a short home-based phase III exercise programme with telemonitoring guidance to a prolonged centre-based phase III programme in coronary artery disease patients. The primary outcome was exercise capacity. Secondary outcomes included physical activity behaviour, cardiovascular risk profile and health-related quality of life. Methods Ninety coronary artery disease patients (80 men) were randomly assigned to 3 months of home-based (30), centre-based (30) or a control group (30) on a 1:1:1 basis after completion of their phase II ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation programme. Outcome measures were assessed at discharge of the phase II programme and after one year. Results Eighty patients (72 (91%) men; mean age 62.6 years) completed the one-year follow-up measurements. Exercise capacity and secondary outcomes were preserved in all three groups ( Ptime > 0.05 for all), irrespective of the intervention ( Pinteraction > 0.05 for all). Eighty-five per cent of patients met the international guidelines for physical activity ( Ptime < 0.05). No interaction effect was found for physical activity. Conclusion Overall, exercise capacity remained stable during one year following phase II cardiac rehabilitation. Our home-based exercise intervention was as effective as centre-based and did not result in higher levels of exercise capacity and physical activity compared to the other two interventions. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02047942. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02047942

BackgroundPulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disorder characterized by hypertension in the pulmonary arteries. PAH leads to symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, leg edema and chest pain, impacting heavily on quality of life. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the effect of exercise training to improve physical fitness and functionality in patients with PAH.MethodsA search was conducted for controlled trials using the databases Medline, Embase, SPORT Discus and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials. Studies were included if at least 80% of the participants presented with group 1 PAH and if the intervention consisted of an exercise training program of at least 3 weeks duration. Data were extracted on study quality, participant and exercise intervention characteristics, and outcomes. Data were pooled by the generic inverse variance method using random effect models and were expressed as weighted means and 95% confidence intervals (CI).ResultsOf 110 identified abstracts, 5 studies with 106 patients (exercise: 53; control: 53; mean age 49.7 years) were included. Disease severity ranged from mild to severe; 96 patients suffered from PAH, 10 patients had chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Exercise training led to an increase in 6 minute walk distance (72.5 m; 95% CI 46.0 m to 99.1 m; p < 0.0001) and peak oxygen uptake (2.16 mL/kg/min; 95% CI 2.16 to 3.93; p = 0.02). No severe adverse events during exercise were reported.ConclusionsOur findings suggest that an exercise training program positively influences exercise tolerance and functional capacity in patients with PAH.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12890-015-0031-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Severe mucocutaneous (MCL) and diffuse (DCL) forms of American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL

Miltefosine produced a dramatic clinical and parasitological response in patients with DCL and improvement continued during drug administration, but with a single exception all patients presented new lesions after suspension of treatment. There was no histological or skin test evidence to suggest the development of CMI during treatment, which may be an indispensable criterion for the evaluation of potentially effective drugs against DCL.

The accuracy of wrist worn heart rate monitors based on photoplethysmography (PPG) is not fully clinically accepted. Therefore, we aimed to validate heart rate measurements of a commercially available PPG heart rate monitor, i.e. the Garmin Forerunner 225. Twelve healthy volunteers (six women; mean age: 28 years) performed a treadmill protocol consisting of: five minutes sitting, five minutes standing, 10 minutes walking at 4 km/h, 10 minutes walking at a gradient of 5% and intensity of 4-6 metabolic equivalents (METs), 10 minutes walking at a gradient of 8% and intensity of seven METs or more. Walking speeds were individually determined. Walking bouts were separated by a standardised five minute rest period. Heart rate was measured as the average of the last three minutes standing and of each walking bout. A three lead patch-based electrocardiogram (ECG; Zensor) was used as criterion method. Statistical analyses included Pearson's correlation (r), paired t-tests, root mean squared error (RMSE) and Bland?Altman plots. The mean values per three minutes of every condition did not differ significantly between the Garmin Forerunner 225 and the Zensor. RMSE was 3.01 beats per minute (bpm) or 2.89%. The Bland-Altman bias was 1.57 bpm. Limits of agreement (LoA) were wide, ranging from 32.53 to 29.40 bpm. However, Pearson's r ranged from 0.650 to 0.868 suggesting moderate to strong validity. Generally, mean heart rates, r values, RMSE and the Bland-Altman bias indicated good overall agreement in this sample of healthy adults, but wide LoA are making it difficult to trust individual measurements.

To determine if athletes' muscle mass affects the usefulness of urine specific gravity (U(sg)) as a hydration index. Nine rugby players and nine endurance runners differing in the amount of muscle mass (42 +/- 6 vs. 32 +/- 3 kg, respectively; P = 0.0002) were recruited. At waking during six consecutive days, urine was collected for U (sg) analysis, urine osmolality (U(osm)), electrolytes (U[Na+], U[K+] and U[Cl-]) and protein metabolites (U([Creatinine]), U([Urea]) and U([Uric acid])) concentrations. In addition, fasting blood serum osmolality (S(osm)) was measured on the sixth day. As averaged during 6 days, U(sg) (1.021 +/- 0.002 vs. 1.016 +/- 0.001), U(osm) (702 +/- 56 vs. 554 +/- 41 mOsmol kg(-1) H(2)O), U([Urea]) (405 +/- 36 vs. 302 +/- 23 mmol L(-1)) and U([Uric acid]) (2.7 +/- 0.3 vs. 1.7 +/- 0.2 mmol L(-1)) were higher in rugby players than runners (P < 0.05). However, urine electrolyte concentrations were not different between groups. A higher percentage of rugby players than runners (56 vs. 11%; P = 0.03) could be cataloged as hypohydrated by U(sg) (i.e., >1.020) despite S (osm) being below 290 mOsmol kg(-1) H(2)O in all participants. A positive correlation was found between muscle mass and urine protein metabolites (r = 0.47; P = 0.04) and between urine protein metabolites and U(sg) (r = 0.92; P < 0.0001). In summary, U(sg) specificity to detect hypohydration was reduced in athletes with large muscle mass. Our data suggest that athletes with large muscle mass (i.e., rugby players) are prone to be incorrectly classified as hypohydrated based on U(sg).

This report describes the isolation of a Leishmania chagasi strain from a bat (Carollia perspicillata), and its identification using biological methods and molecular characterization. The parasites were isolated in an artificial culture medium from a blood sample extracted from a bat heart. The isolate was then inoculated into the footpads of Balb/c mice, which subsequently developed a typical nodular leishmanial lesion; the parasites were confirmed as Leishmania by smear and histopathology. Molecular characterization of the parasites was performed by polymerase chain reaction with species-specific primers, kDNA restriction pattern following Hae III endonuclease digestion and dot blot hybridization using a kDNA probe. This report demonstrates that bats can be hosts for L. chagasi species and suggests the need for studies to determine whether they may be involved in foci of visceral leishmaniasis.