BackgroundExercise confers short-term benefits for individuals with Parkinson disease (PD).ObjectiveThe purpose of the study was to compare short- and long-term responses among 2 supervised exercise programs and a home-based control exercise program.DesignThe 16-month randomized controlled exercise intervention investigated 3 exercise approaches: flexibility/balance/function exercise (FBF), supervised aerobic exercise (AE), and home-based exercise (control).SettingThis study was conducted in outpatient clinics.PatientsThe participants were 121 individuals with PD (Hoehn & Yahr stages 1–3).InterventionsThe FBF program (individualized spinal and extremity flexibility exercises followed by group balance/functional training) was supervised by a physical therapist. The AE program (using a treadmill, bike, or elliptical trainer) was supervised by an exercise trainer. Supervision was provided 3 days per week for 4 months, and then monthly (16 months total). The control group participants exercised at home using the National Parkinson Foundation Fitness Counts program, with 1 supervised, clinic-based group session per month.MeasurementsOutcomes, obtained by blinded assessors, were determined at 4, 10, and 16 months. The primary outcome measures were overall physical function (Continuous Scale—Physical Functional Performance [CS-PFP]), balance (Functional Reach Test [FRT]), and walking economy (oxygen uptake [mL/kg/min]). Secondary outcome measures were symptom severity (Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale [UPDRS] activities of daily living [ADL] and motor subscales) and quality of life (39-item Parkinson's Disease Quality of Life Scale [PDQ-39]).ResultsOf the 121 participants, 86.8%, 82.6%, and 79.3% completed 4, 10, and 16 months, respectively, of the intervention. At 4 months, improvement in CS-PFP scores was greater in the FBF group than in the control group (mean difference=4.3, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.2 to 7.3) and the AE group (mean difference=3.1, 95% CI=0.0 to 6.2). Balance was not different among groups at any time point. Walking economy improved in the AE group compared with the FBF group at 4 months (mean difference=−1.2, 95% CI=−1.9 to −0.5), 10 months (mean difference=−1.2, 95% CI=−1.9 to −0.5), and 16 months (mean difference=−1.7, 95% CI=−2.5 to −1.0). The only secondary outcome that showed significant differences was UPDRS ADL subscale scores: the FBF group performed better than the control group at 4 months (mean difference=−1.47, 95% CI=−2.79 to −0.15) and 16 months (mean difference=−1.95, 95% CI=−3.84 to −0.08).LimitationsAbsence of a non-exercise control group was a limitation of the study.ConclusionsFindings demonstrated overall functional benefits at 4 months in the FBF group and improved walking economy (up to 16 months) in the AE group.

Background: This study evaluates the prevalence of cardiovascular events in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) patients. Methods: We distributed surveys to 1,439 subjects from our ADPKD research database. In total, 426 subjects completed and returned surveys; 7 of these were from children and were excluded from the study. Results: The patients who responded were female (63.2%), nonHispanic (88.1%) and white (93.6%). The mean age of the total group was 53.2 ± 13.7 years; 82.8% had a family history of ADPKD and 32.5% had reached end-stage renal disease (ESRD). With respect to cardiovascular risk factors, 86.6% were hypertensive with a mean age at diagnosis of 36.9 ± 12.9 years and hypertension was significantly more prevalent in males. In addition, 19.6% of the subjects were obese, 20.8% were smokers, 8.7% had diabetes, 45.7% had high cholesterol and 17.8% were sedentary. The most prevalent self-reported cardiovascular events were arrhythmias (25.9%), evidence of peripheral vascular disease (16.5%), heart valve problems (14.4%), cardiac enlargement (9.5%), stroke or cerebral bleeding (7.5%), myocardial infarction (6%) and brain aneurysm (5.0%). The most commonly used antihypertensive medications were renin-angiotensin inhibitors used by 75% of ADPKD patients.Older ADPKD patients and those at ESRD had a significantly higher incidence of cardiovascular events. Conclusion: These findings support the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors and events in ADPKD patients which contribute to a greater mortality risk. Due to the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in the ADPKD population, early diagnosis and clinical intervention are recommended.

Among high metabolic risk individuals there is low awareness of NAFLD. The majority of those surveyed expressed interest in learning about NAFLD. These findings suggest opportunities to raise public awareness of NAFLD, particularly among patients at high metabolic risk, and to provide education to high-risk individuals with the goal of implementing early prevention strategies and optimizing care.

The majority of providers do not identify NAFLD as a clinically important diagnosis and do not refer to GI/Hep. However, 83 % expressed a need for education on NAFLD. Our data reveal practice gaps within NAFLD care and identify opportunities for targeted education to guide PCPs in the evaluation and management of NAFLD.

Comparison of altitude and sea level sleep studies in healthy children reveals significant differences in central apnea, apneahypopnea, desaturation, and periodic limb movement in series indices. Clinical providers should be aware of these differences when interpreting sleep studies and incorporate altitude-adjusted normative values in therapeutic-decision making algorithms.

Varicella is a significant problem in children treated for cancer in Guatemala, where effective post-exposure prophylaxis is limited. In the absence of universal varicella vaccination, strategies to improve recognition of exposure and the future use of novel inactivated vaccines currently under investigation in clinical trials could mitigate this burden.

Purpose The aim of this work is to determine if a relationship exists between thyroid dose and incidence of primary hypothyroidism (PH) in children undergoing craniospinal irradiation (CSI). Methods A total of 22 patients received CSI with evaluable thyroid dose information. All patients received concurrent chemotherapy and 21 patients (95%) received adjuvant chemotherapy. Median follow-up was 42.9 months. Results The incidence of PH in our cohort was 59% at a median time after radiotherapy of 3.5 years (range: 8 months to 7.5 years). Mean thyroid dose appeared to best predict for PH, with a median of 2080 cGy for patients with PH versus 1736 cGy for children without PH (p=0.057). There was no association between the rate of PH and sex, age, CSI dose, minimum thyroid dose and maximum thyroid dose. Conclusions A relationship may exist between the mean thyroid dose and incidence of PH in patients undergoing CSI. Thus, new strategies to protect the thyroid gland may be warranted.

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