The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of steroid anabolic androgenic hormones use on lean mass gain in elderly men through a systematic review with a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies. We systematically searched PubMed database until 4th October 2013. We included randomized placebo-controlled trials (RCT) that studied testosterone replacement therapy in men over 60 years of age, with total testosterone levels ≤550 ng/dl, observing gains in weight, lean mass tissue and fat mass as outcome. We excluded duplicated studies, studies which mixed men and women, and studies using weak androgens such as dehydroepiandrosterone or androstenedione. The initial search yielded 2681 articles, of which 26 were selected for full text analysis. In the end, 11 studies were included. However, 3 studies were not included in the metaanalysis. Meta-analysis showed that mean weight increased (lean mass), ranging from 1.65 (95 % CI, AGE (2015) ) kg, although it was heterogeneous (I 2 =98 %). Effect estimate was 3.59 [2.38-4.81]. Androgen therapy decreased fat mass; effect estimate was −1.78 [−2.57, −0.99] that analysis had also a high level of heterogeneity (I 2 =81 %). The results suggest that testosterone replacement therapy is able to increase muscle mass in elderly men and that is affected by the time that the treatment is carried out and the method of administration of the drug.

Ballroom dancing consists in the performance of rhythmic movements guided by music, which provide sensorimotor integration and stimulate feelings. The body schema is the unconscious sensorimotor representation that allows the individual to perceive his anatomical body in space. Comprising tactile, proprioceptive, kinesthetic, and environmental information, it is directly related to movement. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of non-competitive practice of ballroom dancing on body perception. The projection point test was applied to 30 volunteers before and after a period of 3 mo.; 15 controls attended lectures on body perception and 15 participants took dance lessons. It was observed that ballroom dancing brought perceptual benefits for those who practiced it.

BackgroundDuring almost one-third of our life, maturation of the nervous system promotes strength and muscle mass increase. However, as age advances, the nervous system begins to suffer a slow and continue reduction of its functions. Neuromuscular junction (NMJ) is one of the structures of which change due to aging process. Physical training leads to significant adjustments in NMJs of young and aged animals. Nevertheless, studies that aimed to investigate this effect have, in many cases, methodological variables that may have some influence on the result. Thus, this study aimed to carry out a systematic review about the effects of exercise training on the NMJ compartments of young, adult and aged animals.ResultsWe searched PubMed, Google Scholar, Science Direct, Scielo and Lilacs databases for animal experimental studies that studied exercise effects on the NMJs components across age. After inclusion and exclusion criteria, we included nine articles in systematic review and two for meta-analysis (young/adult NMJ).ConclusionsWe identified that exercise training cause NMJ hypertrophy on young animals and NMJ compression on aged ones. However, many methodological issues such as age, skeletal muscle and fibers type, and type of exercise and training protocol might influence the results.Graphical abstract:Flow gram is actually to be show at results section as Fig 1

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Our study showed many implications for the knowledge about the effects of aging with or without testosterone administration on old animals' liver.

TANASOV, V. S.; NETO, W. K.; GONÇALVES, L.; MAIFRINO, L. B. M.; DE SOUSA, R. R. & GAMA, E. F. Use of anabolic steroid altered the liver morphology of rats. Int. J. Morphol., 32(3):756-760, 2014. SUMMARY:The aim of this research was to investigate the effect of testosterone propionate administration in the liver of rats. The rats were divided in the following groups: Initial control (SC), Aged control (SE) and Anabolic group (SA). Testosterone propionate was administered three times per week during 16 weeks. Using morphoquantitative techniques, we quantified the volume densities of lobular and non-lobular parenchyma, area and number of nuclei of hepatocytes. The data were analyzed statistically using mean and standard deviation, ANOVA one-way and level of significance about p≤0.05. Our results showed an increase in capillaries, perisinusoidal spaces and biliary ducts in SE group compared to SC. SA group showed a decrease in hepatic cells, non-lobular volume density and hepatocytes nuclei area, but also an increase in capillaries, perisinusoidal spaces, biliary ducts, number of hepatocytes and non-hepatocyte nuclei compared to SC. We conclude that a direct toxicity may have occurred, with consequent loss of the cells.

O envelhecimento produz perda progressiva das aptidões funcionais e da integração social, e a dança vem contribuir na melhora e/ou manutenção dessas perdas, refletindo positivamente na qualidade de vida dos idosos. Pelo fato de a produção científica ser um processo contínuo que traz a dinâmica da descoberta, contribuindo com a ciência e fortalecendo o ensino e o saber científico, desenvolveu-se esta pesquisa, com o objetivo de realizar uma análise da produção científica sobre a temática dança e o idoso nas bases de dados LILACS, MEDLINE e SciELO acessadas pela Biblioteca Virtual de Saúde (BVS), especificando: tipo de publicação, título, autoria e gênero, estrutura discursiva dos resumos, tipo de pesquisa, estratégias e tipo de análise. Os descritores utilizados foram dança e idoso(s) e dança e envelhecimento. Foram levantados 82 artigos; mas 14 artigos foram excluídos devido a ausência de resumo, totalizando 68 artigos para a análise. Os resultados metacientíficos revelaram que: 92,64% eram artigos; melhor adequação do título quanto ao número de vocábulos; 89,9% publicações de autoria múltipla produzida por ambos os gêneros; estrutura dos resumos adequada; as pesquisas de campo (82,35%), descritivas (57,36%) e a análise quantitativa (45,6%) são as mais utilizadas. Conclui-se que os resumos estão adequados aos parâmetros metacientíficos, exceto pelo título, porém há necessidade de novas pesquisas sobre o tema com delineamentos experimentais baseados em evidências e análises inferências dos resultados para o avanço do conhecimento sobre dança e envelhecimento.

The cardiac plexus of the Wistar rat was investigated in whole-mount preparations of the atria by NADH-diaphorase staining and by the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) histochemical technique. The plexus lies over the muscular layer of the atria, dorsal to the muscle itself, in the connective tissue of the subepicardium. The plexus contains on average 975 ± 150 neurons, occurring singly or gathered in packed ganglia. The ganglia are found regularly in certain situations, namely, cranially to the pulmonary veins (44% of total); cranially and to the left of superior vena cava (10%); in the interatrial groove (21%); to the left of the left pulmonary vein (11%); caudally to the pulmonary veins (12%) and in the wall of the coronary sinus (1%). Ganglia are never found on the auricular appendages. For the histochemical demonstration of AChE, the ‘direct coloring’ copper ferrocyanide method was used. Extrinsic nerves enter the atria along the superior vena cava, along the pulmonary veins and along the coronary sinus, forming ganglion-containing plexuses. From specific sites of these plexuses, nerves proceed to the ganglia located to the left of the superior vena cava, to the ventral and dorsal ventricular wall and to the wall of the right atrium, where they form a delicate plexus accompanying the muscle fibers. Most of the neurons of the plexuses displayed AChE activity in the cytoplasm though they presented different reaction intensities. The distribution of cardiac nerves from groups of neurons located at discrete sites may indicate that postganglionic nerves selectively project to and thus control specific cardiac regions and/or functions.