Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 27.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Gregory Garrett, BS. MA. Doctoral Research Assistant School of Public Health Texas A&M Health Science Center MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Sedentary behavior in office environments is greatly contributing to obesity, increased body discomfort, and possible reductions in employee productivity. Sit-stand desks have been implemented to aid in reducing sedentary behavior, however employers are concerned that benefits may not offset the initial cost of implementation. In this study, employees with stand-capable workstations were compared to traditional seated employees on an objective measurement of productivity in a call center. The employees were monitored for 6 months and those with the stand-capable workstations were ~46% more productive per hour than their seated counterparts. Additionally, 75% of those with the stand-capable desks reported a significant decrease in body discomfort. (more…)
Author Interviews, Brigham & Women's - Harvard, Colon Cancer, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA / 26.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: NaNa Keum, ScD| Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health Department of Nutrition Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Boston, MA 02115 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Response: While general health benefits of physical activity are well-known, evidence on its specific benefits on cancer endpoints is limited and physical activity guidelines for cancer prevention lack details in terms of the optimal dose, type and intensity of physical activity. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Response: We found that the optimal exercise regime to prevent overall digestive system cancers may be to accumulate 30 MET-hours/week of physical activity primarily through aerobic exercise and regardless of its intensity. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 24.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Deborah A. Cohen, MD, MPH RAND Corporation Santa Monica, CA 90407 MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Cohen: An extensive infrastructure of neighborhood parks supports leisure time physical activity in most U.S. cities; yet, most Americans do not meet national guidelines for physical activity. Neighborhood parks have never been assessed nationally to identify their role in physical activity. We visited a representative sample of 174 parks in 25 cities across the United States and assessed their use as well as local park management policies. MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings? Dr. Cohen: We found that nationwide, the average neighborhood park of 8.8 acres averaged 20 users/hour or an estimated 1,533 person hours of weekly use. Park use was higher in parks that were larger and had more facilities and that were in neighborhoods with a higher population density and lower percentage of households in poverty. Walking loops and gymnasia each generated 221 hours/week of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Seniors represented 4% of park users, but 20% of the general population. Programming and marketing were associated with 37% and 63% more hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity/week in parks, respectively. The lower use of parks in low-income than in high-income neighborhoods was largely explained by fewer supervised activities and marketing/outreach efforts. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 02.05.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Thijs M.H. Eijsvogels, PhD Department of Physiology Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, The Netherlands  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Dr. Eijsvogels: Regular exercise training is known to reduce the risk for future morbidity and mortality in the general and athletic population. For this purpose, national guidelines recommend to exercise 150 min/week at a moderate intensity or 75 min/week at a high intensity. Recent studies explored the dose-response relationship between weekly exercise volume and cardiovascular health and reported a potential U-shaped association, suggesting that high exercise volumes may attenuate the beneficial health effects. The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between lifelong exercise dose and the prevalence of cardiovascular morbidity in a physically active population. Therefore, we collected data in 21,266  participants of the Nijmegen Exercise Study. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease / 14.03.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pei-JieChen, Ph.D. Professor of Exercise Science, President of Shanghai University of Sport MedicalResearch: What is the background for this study? Dr. Pei-JieChen: Traditional Chinese exercises (such as Tai Chi, Qigong, Baduanjin) have been used for 2000 years with great contributions to human health, which are increasingly popular around the world. And traditional Chinese exercise is a low-risk, promising intervention that could be helpful for improving quality of life and depression in patients with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs).However, there appears to be no consensus agreement that traditional Chinese exercises (TCEs) could be effective for CVDs. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to estimate the effectiveness of Traditional Chinese exercise for patients with CVDs. MedicalResearch: What are the main findings? Dr. Pei-JieChen: The pooling revealed that TCEs could decrease systolic blood pressure by 9.12 mmHg and diastolic blood pressure by 5.12 mmHg. Patients performing traditional Chinese exercises were also found superior compared with those in the control group in terms of triglyceride, six-minute walk test, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire results, SF-36 physical function, and Profile of Mood States depression. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease / 02.03.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dafna Merom, PhD School of Science and Health University of Western Sydney Penrith New South Wales Australia Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Merom: It is well established that moderate-intensity physical activity can reduced the risk of having cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet we know very little about the CVD benefits  that is associated with specific activity type. Considering that different types of physical activity challenge muscular-skeletal, neurological and cardio-respiratory systems differently, and that they involves different levels of psychosocial or cognitive demands, one may expect that different types of PA/sport may have differential relationships with health. Previous research found that frequent dancing protected against dementia, to a larger extent than walking. Since  cardiovascular disease and dementia share similar risk factors we hypothesised that dancing will also protect against CVD, even more than walking given the multi-dimensional nature of dance; Dance integrate physical, cognitive, emotional and social elements in its execution. We found that light-intensity dancing as well as light-intensity walking were not protective against  cardiovascular disease mortality. However, dancers who were at least slightly out of breath or sweaty had 46% lower risk of Cardiovascular death. Compared to fast walkers, dancing further reduced the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by 21%.” (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Orthopedics / 15.02.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Pamela S. Hinton, Ph.D. Associate Professor Director of Graduate Studies, Nutritional Sciences Department of Nutrition and Exercise Physiology University of Missouri, Columbia MO 65211 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Hinton: Because bone mass declines with age, maximization of peak bone mass is recommended as the most effective way to prevent osteoporosis. Acquisition of at least 90% of peak bone mass occurs by the age of 18 years, with additional gains of 5% to 10% during young adulthood. Because mechanical loading induces a greater adaptive response in young, compared with old, bone, adolescence and young adulthood constitute a unique window of opportunity to increase bone mass via physical activity. Although physical activity during adolescence and young adulthood is a key determinant of peak bone mass and, therefore, of future bone health, exercise after skeletal maturation can also reduce the risk of osteoporosis and related fractures. Therefore, the objective of the present study was threefold: (a) to examine the relationships between current BMD of the whole body, hip, and lumbar spine and physical activity–associated bone loading during adolescence (13-18 years), young adulthood (19-29 years), and current physical activity–associated bone loading; (b) to investigate the effects of current participation in a high-impact physical activity and/or resistance training on BMD of the whole body, total hip, and lumbar spine in apparently healthy, physically active men; and, (c) to evaluate the effects of continuous participation in high-impact activity throughout the life span on BMD of the whole body, total hip, and lumbar spine. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease, JACC / 13.02.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel Kim-Shapiro, PhD Professor and Associate Chair of Physics Harbert Family Distinguished Chair Director, Translational Science Center Wake Forest University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Kim-Shapiro: Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HDPEF) is the most common form of heart failure.  It is characterized by poor perfusion to active muscles which results in poor exercise capacity and a poor quality of life.  Currently, the only effective treatment for this condition is aerobic exercise. Several studies have shown that dietary nitrate, usually in the form of beet root juice, increases nitric oxide bioavaiability in a way that targets areas of low oxygen so that perfusion increases where it is needed.  This action relies on conversion of nitrate to nitrite by oral bacteria with subsequent conversion of nitrite to nitric oxide.  Nitrite from the blood is taken up by salivary glands so that dosing with dietary nitrate can be long-lasting. The main finding of this study was that daily intake of high nitrate containing beet root juice improved exercise endurance in patients with HFPEF. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Nutrition, Protein, Weight Research / 29.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Professor Stuart M. Phillips Ph.D., FACSM, FACN Department of Kinesiology, McMaster University, Canada Exercise Metabolism Research Group – Protein Metabolism Research Lab Director, Physical Activity Centre for Excellence Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Prof. Phillips: During weight loss with diet only people lose both muscle and fat and muscle. The long-term health consequences of losing metabolically active muscle versus fat are not likely to be beneficial. In the context of this study we thought perhaps the preservation of muscle would also be important in very active young men. We wanted to see whether when men were in a very large energy deficit (40% less energy than they required) higher protein (2.4 g/kg/d) could preserve muscle mass and still result in increased function (strength) and fitness. Our results show that during a marked energy deficit that consumption of 2.4 g protein/kg/d was more effective than consumption of a diet containing 1.2 g protein/kg/d in promoting increases in LBM (1.2 vs 0.1kg increase) and losses of fat mass (-4.8kg vs. -3.5kg) when combined with a high volume of resistance and anaerobic exercise. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, JAMA, Orthopedics, Pain Research / 11.01.2016

Daniel Steffens, Ph.D. The George Institute for Global Health The University of SydneyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Daniel Steffens, Ph.D. The George Institute for Global Health The University of Sydney Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Steffens: Back pain is a leading cause of disease burden globally. At present, a variety of interventions, such as getting a mattress that can help with back pain, exercise, education, back belts and shoe insoles, are commonly prescribed to prevent an episode of low back pain. Guidelines lack clear recommendations for prevention of low back pain and the effectiveness of the range of possible prevention strategies for low back pain is not clear. Our study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of these interventions for prevention of low back pain. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease, JAMA, Nutrition / 08.01.2016

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dalane W. Kitzman, M.D. Professor, Cardiology Sticht Center on Aging Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine Translational Science Institute Wake-Forest Baptist Health Winston-Salem, NC Medical Research: What is the background of the research? Dr. Kitzman: Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction (HFPEF) is a relatively recently recognized disorder.  It used to be thought that it was rare.  However, we now realize that HFPEF is the dominant form of heart failure in America.  It is also the fastest growing cardiovascular disorder.  Interestingly, this disorder occurs almost exclusively among older persons, particularly women.  The need is great because outcomes in persons with HFPEF (death, rehospitalization, health care costs) are worsening.  This stands in contrast to most other cardiovascular disorders which are on the decline and / or are experiencing greatly improved outcomes.  Remarkably, all of the large studies that have used medications in HFPEF that seemed they should be ‘sure bets’ showed no benefit for their primary outcomes.  Thus, this is also the only major cardiovascular disorder where there is no proven medication treatment.  That means physicians take ‘educated guesses’ in choosing treatment for this large group of patients. The main symptom in patients with chronic HFPEF is shortness of breath and and fatigue with exertion.  We showed in 2002 in JAMA that when we objectively measured this symptom with expired gas analysis (Peak VO2), this was as severely decreased in HFPEF as in patients with HFREF (severely reduced EF), the classic, well accepted form of heart failure.  That and other studies helped lead to acceptance of HFPEF as a true Heart Failure disorder. We first showed 5 years ago that 4 months of exercise training improves peak VO2 and quality of life in patients with HFPEF.  In fact, exercise remains the only proven means to improve these patients’ chronic symptoms. The goal of our study was to determine if weight loss diet also improved peak VO2 and quality of life in HFPEF patients, alone and in combination with exercise training.  This was based on the under-recognized fact that over 80% of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction patients are overweight or obese.  It was already known that weight loss diet in other groups of older persons improves peak VO2 and quality of life.  And small studies of weight loss surgery in the other form of HF (HFREF) suggested that weight loss can improves symptoms, peak VO2, and quality of life.  However, there had never been a study of weight loss, by diet or other means, in HFPEF.  In fact, it had been thought, based on observational data, that weight loss diet might be contraindicated in HFPEF. So we recruited 100 overweight / obese patients age 60 years and older with this disorder from our community; 80% were women.  The exercise was standard exercise training that we’d previously shown was effective.  The meals for the weight loss diet were prepared in our metabolic kitchen by a regisered dietition.  Patients made out menus selecting preferred foods.  Well balanced, healthy, nutritious, but very palatable.  The portions were controlled so that there was a 350 caloric deficit per day deficit, on average.  Pateints made their own breakfast with guidance, unlimited of certain fruits and vegetables, and occasional “free days”, such as for holidays.  Patients loved the meals and wanted to continue after the 5 month study. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 28.12.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Michael Rebold, PhD, CSCS Assistant Professor Department of Exercise Science Bloomsburg University Bloomsburg, PA 17815 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Rebold: The obesity epidemic seen in children.  If we can make children at a young age physically active then maybe they will be more likely to be physically active into their adult years.  Since parents are the primary role models for younger children we must find ways to get the parents involved in physical activity as well, because children will model their parent's behaviors. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Rebold: The main findings from this study are that when parents are actively participating in activities with their children, their children spend more time in physical activities and less time in sedentary activities. When parents are not present and children are alone, then they spend more time engaging in sedentary activities and less time in physical activities.  When parents are actively watching their children, children still engaged in a significant more amount of time in physical activities than sedentary activities when compared to the alone condition but still not as great as with parents participating. Children also liked and were motivated to engage in additional physical activity time when parents were participating with them. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, PNAS / 22.12.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ekaterina Subbotina, Ph.D. Postdoctoral Research Scholar University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine Iowa City, IA 52242  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Subbotina: Exercises represent the most natural and effective way to maintain physical and metabolic well-being. Lack of physical activity can contribute to many preventable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and obesity. It is known that moderate exercise is beneficial for health but the mechanism of this effect is only partially understood. It becomes more and more evident that skeletal muscles function as an organ that produces and secretes biologically active molecules called myokines. Studies of the biological role and mechanism of action of myokines are important for understanding of muscle function under sedentary and exercise conditions. (more…)
Antioxidants, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Nutrition / 14.12.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Néstor Vicente Salar, PhD. Profesor Asociado UMH/ UMH Part-time Assistant Professor Doctor en Biología Diplomado en Nutrición Humana y Dietética (CV00195) Miembro del GE-NuDAFD (AEDN)  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Nowadays, the practising of endurance sport is increasing, running being the sport chosen by many people who decide to start doing exercise. Distances and time are important factors to take in account in amateur as well as in professional runners. Among others, these factors are directly related to the risk of oxidative damage. In fact, oxidative stress has two faces: beneficial and deleterious. Helpful effects include the defence against infectious agents or the function as intracellular signaling molecules in many processes. On the other hand, high and persistent levels of oxidative stress can produce harmful effects if the antioxidant defences are overwhelmed, resulting in structural damage. Antioxidants from diet, for example pomegranate juice, seem to control oxidative stress disorders. However, the studies about the role of pomegranate juice in oxidative stress modulation in athletes are scarce. We have demonstrated that the intake of this kind of juice during 22 days in endurance athletes is capable to modulate the structural damage in macromolecules as proteins and lipids. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Duke, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease, Social Issues / 18.11.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lauren Cooper, MD Fellow in Cardiovascular Diseases Duke University Medical Center Duke Clinical Research Institute Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Cooper: The HF-ACTION study, published in 2009, showed that exercise training is associated with reduced risk of death or hospitalization, and is a safe and effective therapy for patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. Subsequently, Medicare began to cover cardiac rehabilitation for patients with heart failure. However, many patients referred to an exercise training program are not fully adherent to the program. Our study looked at psychosocial reasons that may impact participation in an exercise program. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Dr. Cooper: We found that patients with higher levels of social support and fewer barriers to exercise exercised more than patients with lower levels of social support and more barriers to exercise. And patients who exercised less had a higher risk of cardiovascular death or heart failure hospitalization compared to patients who exercised more. (more…)
Author Interviews, Heart Disease, JAMA, PAD / 09.11.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Farzin Fakhry, MD PhD Candidate Depts. of Epidemiology & Radiology Erasmus MC Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Myriam Hunink MD, PhD Professor Professor of Radiology and Clinical Epidemiology Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam Adjunct Professor of Health Decision Science Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Intermittent claudication is the classical symptomatic form of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and affects approximately 20-40 million people worldwide. These patients experience significant functional disability resulting in a sedentary lifestyle and reduced quality of life. In the Endovascular Revascularization And Supervised Exercise (ERASE) study we compared a combination therapy of endovascular revascularization plus supervised exercise versus the recommended care of supervised exercise only as first-line treatment for patients with intermittent claudication. Results from the ERASE study showed that after one year follow up patients in both groups showed significant improvements in their treadmill walking distance and disease specific quality of life. Yet, patients receiving the combination therapy had more rapid and significantly greater improvement in their walking performance and disease specific quality of life compared to the patients following a supervised exercise program only. (more…)
Author Interviews, Endocrinology, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease, Vitamin D / 03.11.2015

Dr Emad Al-Dujaili Reader in Biochemistry and Nutrition, Queen Margaret University Department of Health Science Queen Margaret UniversityMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr Emad Al-Dujaili Reader in Biochemistry and Nutrition, Queen Margaret University Department of Health Science Queen Margaret University Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Al-Dujaili: Recent studies have implicated vitamin D deficiency as a risk factor for Cardiovascular disease and its deficiency is a potential biological predictor of increased rates of CVD. We have done 2 earlier studies investigating the effects of Vitamin D intake on Blood pressure and the stress hormone level cortisol and found that people taking the supplement of Vitamin D had reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure compared to those who took the placebo. Vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus and oxidative stress and reduced exercise performance. For instance, the Framingham offspring study proved that low levels of vitamin D are independently related to Cardiovascular disease incidence. In this placebo-controlled study, We have observed that people given 50ug of Vitamin D daily for 2 weeks showed a significantly reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressure, reduced urinary free cortisol (the hormone that produces stress and high blood pressure if its levels are high. Moreover, the distance cycled in 20 minutes significantly increased by 30% with slightly less efforts compared with that before Vitamin D supplement. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Exercise - Fitness, OBGYNE / 12.10.2015

Katrine M. Owe PhD Department of Psychosomatics and Health Behaviour Norwegian Institute of Public Health Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Women's Health Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet OSLO, NorwayMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Katrine M. Owe PhD Department of Psychosomatics and Health Behaviour Norwegian Institute of Public Health Norwegian National Advisory Unit on Women's Health Oslo University Hospital, Rikshospitalet OSLO, Norway  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Owe: Pelvic girdle pain affects 20-45% of all pregnancies and may lead to functional disability, higher levels of depression, reduced quality of life and higher prevalence of sick leave during pregnancy. Many women with pelvic girdle pain often have difficulties performing daily life activities such as walking, standing, sitting and turning over in bed. The aetiology and pathogenesis of pelvic girdle pain are still unknown but some modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors have been identified. Our results showed that women who exercised before they became pregnant with their first child, had the lowest risk of developing pelvic girdle pain in pregnancy. Even those women who reported low frequencies of exercise had a reduced risk of pelvic girdle pain compared with non-exercisers. Exercising up to five times weekly before pregnancy was protective against pelvic girdle pain and no further benefits were reached with higher frequencies of exercise. It seems that women who are running, jogging, playing ballgames/netball, doing high impact aerobics or orienteering before pregnancy, has the lowest risk of pelvic girdle pain. (more…)
AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease, JACC, University Texas, UT Southwestern / 07.10.2015

Ambarish Pandey, MD Cardiology Fellow, PGY5 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ambarish Pandey, MD Cardiology Fellow, PGY5 University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75390 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Berry: Physical inactivity is considered a major modifiable risk factor for coronary artery disease and the current guidelines recommend atleast 150 min/week (~ 500 MET-min/week) of moderate intensity physical activity to reduce the burden of coronary artery disease. In contrast, the role of physical activity in reducing risk of heart failure is not emphasized in the current guidelines. This is particularly relevant considering the increasing burden of heart failure in the community. Against this background, we performed this study to the dose-response relationship between physical activity levels and risk of heart failure. We observed a dose dependent inverse association between physical activity levels and heart failure risk. Furthermore, we observed that the current guideline recommended physical activity levels (500 MET-min/week) are associated with only modest reduction in HF risk (< 10%). In contrast, a substantial reduction in heart failure risk was observed at twice and four times the recommended physical activity levels (19% and 35% risk reduction respectively) (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Rheumatology / 06.10.2015

Anja Bye, PhD, Senior Researcher Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG) K.G. Jebsen Center of Exercise in Medicine National Council of Cardiovascular Disease Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging Medical Faculty Norwegian University of Science and TechnologyMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Anja Bye, PhD, Senior Researcher Cardiac Exercise Research Group (CERG) K.G. Jebsen Center of Exercise in Medicine National Council of Cardiovascular Disease Department of Circulation and Medical Imaging Medical Faculty Norwegian University of Science and Technology Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Bye: The background was that we know that this type of training is superior to exercise at lower intensities in cardiovascular risk reduction in several patients groups. As it was not tested in patients with rheumatic disease, we set out to determine if this type of exercise would be tolerated in these patients, and of they would experience the same benefits on the cardiovascular system as other patients groups, and healthy young and elderly individuals. Hence the main goal was not to treat the rheumatic disease, but to study whether the exercise training would be tolerated, as we assumed they would have equal benefits from this type of exercise as everyone else. I think the most interesting findings were that all of the participants were capable of participating in this type of high-intensity exercise program, without reporting any negative side-effects. Of course the great increase in VO2max, and  the trend towards a reduction in the inflammation after the exercise intervention was very interesting. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 04.10.2015

Prof. Ismail Laher Department of Anesthesiology Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics Faculty of Medicine University of British Columbia Vancouver, CanadaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Prof. Ismail Laher Department of Anesthesiology Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics Faculty of Medicine University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Laher: There are several groups based in various parts of the world looking to create an exercise pill. We examined the proposed candidates and summarized how these agents work at the cellular level. The main finding is that each of these agents each acts on a select aspect of physical exercise does in humans —these agents seem to interact with only some of the molecular signals activated by regular physical exercise, for example in skeletal muscle. What they fail to do is to provide all the other benefits of exercise such as improved bone strength, better blood supply to many areas of the body, improved activity of insulin and other glucose lowering drugs. Basically these exercise pills will help some athletes reach their goal of faster and stronger muscles even faster—of course this opens the door to doping in human and animal sporting competitions. (more…)
Author Interviews, Cognitive Issues, Exercise - Fitness, Nutrition / 21.09.2015

Beetroot juice WikipediaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Chris Thompson BSc MSc ANutr AFHEA University of Exeter St. Luke's Campus Exeter Devon Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Dietary nitrate has been shown to favourably alter the contractility of type II muscle fibres and enhance blood flow to working muscles that are predominantly type II. Dietary nitrate may also improve perfusion to areas of the brain responsible for cognitive function. It is therefore possible that through these mechanisms, nitrate-rich beetroot juice supplementation may improve both physical and cognitive performance during exercise which reflects the high intensity intermittent nature of team sport play. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: Participants were able to complete greater total work during an intermittent sprint test following nitrate-rich beetroot juice supplementation. We also found that dietary nitrate enabled a reduction in response time to decision making during the cognitive tasks performed throughout the exercise test. (more…)
Author Interviews, BMJ, Exercise - Fitness / 21.09.2015

Yi-Wen Chen PhD Candidate, and Darlene Reid, BMR(PT), PhD Professor and Chair Department of Physical Therapy University of Toronto Toronto, OntarioMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Yi-Wen Chen PhD Candidate, and Darlene Reid, BMR(PT), PhD Professor and Chair Department of Physical Therapy University of Toronto Toronto, Ontario Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: Tai Chi is a time-honored exercise in China, developed during the Sung Dynasty, which has gained increased popularity in Western society. Most styles of Tai Chi consist of slow rhythmic movements that often emphasize typical attributes of exercise including range of motion, strengthening, balance, and postural alignment. In addition, there are spiritual aspects of Tai Chi that focus on relaxation, breath control, and cultivating internal energy. Several studies have demonstrated its multifaceted benefits in the elderly and in people living with chronic diseases including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory disorders and arthritis. If you were interested in seeing videos of beginner practices, check out some tai chi online to better clarify the motions previously described. Many individuals that require increased exercise and physical fitness also have one or more comorbidities; 9 out 10 Canadians live with more than one chronic condition and this proportion increases to 98% in adults over the age of 65 years. Increased fitness can increase quality of life and decrease risk of mortality and morbidity in older persons and in many chronic conditions. However, treatment, including exercise is often prescribed within a single specialty. Rarely is information provided to health professionals that integrates therapeutic approaches across several common chronic disorders. Accordingly, we performed a systematic review to determine if Tai Chi is an effective physical activity that improves symptoms, physical function, quality of life and depression in cancer, osteoarthritis (OA), heart failure (HF) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)? We also examined if Tai Chi had similar effects for the same outcome measures across different chronic conditions? (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Orthopedics, Rheumatology / 14.09.2015

Dr. Kristi Elisabeth Heiberg PhD Post.doc Department of Medical Research Baerum Hospital Vestre Viken Hospital TrustMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Kristi Elisabeth Heiberg PhD Post.doc Department of Medical Research Baerum Hospital Vestre Viken Hospital Trust Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Dr. Heiberg: This study is a long term follow-up of 60 patients who suffered from hip osteoarthritis and were treated with total hip arthroplasty (THA) approximately 5 years earlier. In a prior study, the patients participated in a RCT study, examining the effects of a supervised walking skill training program on physical functioning, pain and self-efficacy (1). The training program was performed between three and five months after surgery, and it was compared to a control group without supervised physiotherapy in the same time span. The results showed that immediately after the walking skill training intervention was completed, several outcome variables were statistically significant more improved in the training group than in the control group, and at one year after surgery the statistically significant effect on walking capacity (measured by the 6-min walk test) still sustained. Few long-term follow-up of RCTs regarding physical functioning in patients after total hip arthroplasty are previously published. Furthermore in another prior study, we examined the recovery of the total group of the same patients from preoperatively to one year after surgery (2). The results showed that the patients were statistically significant improved in all outcomes of physical functioning, pain and self-efficacy during the first year, but they still did not quite reach the level of healthy peers in walking capacity. In line with this, they also reported one year after surgery that they wanted to further improve their ability to walk and to participate in recreational activities (3). However, it seems that patients’ desires regarding physical activity are poorly understood and have received relatively little evaluation, although regular physical activity is considered to be one of the most important lifestyle behaviors affecting health. Only few prior studies have examined the long term recovery of physical functioning and the impact on physical activity. Therefore, in this present 5-year follow-up study after total hip arthroplasty the aims were threefold.
  • First, to examine the long-term effect from the supervised walking skill training program on physical functioning, pain and self-efficacy;
  • Second, to examine the long-term recovery of physical functioning from one to five years; and
  • Third, to identify predictors of physical activity outcome five years after THA among personal and preoperative variables (4).
(more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Heart Disease / 09.09.2015

Carl "Chip" Lavie MD, FACC FACP, FCCP Medical Director, Cardiac Rehabilitation and Prevention Director, Exercise Laboratories John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute Professor of Medicine Ochsner Clinical School-UQ School of Medicine Editor-in-Chief, Progress in Cardiovascular DiseasesMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Carl "Chip"  Lavie MD, FACC FACP, FCCP Medical  Director, Cardiac  Rehabilitation and Prevention Director, Exercise Laboratories John Ochsner Heart and Vascular Institute Professor of Medicine Ochsner Clinical  School-UQ School of Medicine Jefferson, LA Editor-in-Chief, Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases  Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Lavie: My co-authors and I reviewed the published literature on the impact of running on chronic diseases and cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality. Although we reviewed substantial running literature, the major 4 studies were from Dr. Paul Williams and 18 of his papers from the National Runners' and Walkers' Study, The National Aging Runners Study, 2 papers from the Copenhagen City Heart Study, and 2 reports from DC Lee and Steven Blair and one from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study. Medical Research: What should clinicians and patients take away from your report? Dr. Lavie: This data showed tremendous impact of running to  lower weight and prevent obesity, dyslipidemia,  hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Runners also had less osteoarthritis, need for hip replacement, lower disability with aging, less benign prostatic hypertrophy, lower mortality from several cancers and lower stroke, but the most impressive impact was the large reductions in cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, particularly the dramatic impacts of quite low running doses. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Mental Health Research / 07.09.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Eric A.F. Herbst MSc Ph.D. student Human Health and Nutritional Sciences University of Guelph Guelph, ONEric A.F. Herbst MSc Ph.D. student Human Health and Nutritional Sciences University of Guelph Guelph, ON Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: Many neurological diseases result in declines in mitochondrial content and function in the brain. Therefore, the purpose for this study was to determine if mitochondrial content could be enhanced in the brain through exercise, as previously demonstrated in skeletal muscle, and also to determine if similar exercise-signaling pathways are activated between the two tissues in the process. This study found that despite reproducing similar findings in skeletal muscle, acute and chronic exercise did not activate traditional signaling mechanisms (AMPK, ERK1/2, CAMKII, P38) in either the cortex or striatum of the brain, nor did it result in sustained increases in mitochondrial respiration, DNA copy number, or protein content. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Lifestyle & Health / 11.08.2015

Lucas J. Carr, PhD Department of Health and Human Physiology University of Iowa Iowa City IA 52242MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Lucas J. Carr, PhD Department of Health and Human Physiology University of Iowa Iowa City IA 52242 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Carr: Office employees are exposed to hazardous levels of sedentary work which is now known to contribute negatively to both physical and mental health. This study tested the effect of retrofitting standard office desks with portable elliptical machines for the purpose of increasing the physical activity levels of sedentary office workers while they are at work. This approach is slightly different that traditional approaches which ask employees to be more active during non-working hours.  We found employees provided the pedal devices became more active while at work and pedaled an average of 50 minutes per day over four months. These findings suggest this approach was successful at increasing physical activity levels of employees while at work and over a fairly long period of time. (more…)
Aging, Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness / 30.06.2015

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Andreas Vigelsø PhD, research assistant University of Copenhagen Faculty of Health Sciences Center for Healthy Aging Dept. of Biomedical Sciences Copenhagen Denmark Medical Research: What is the background for this study? Response: According to the UN, the number of individuals more than 60 years old is expected to more than double, from 841 million worldwide today to more than 2 billion in 2050. Furthermore, the aging process is associated with a reduction in muscle mass, strength and fitness level. Collectively, this may contribute to frailty and may limit independent living. In addition, disease or injuries that can cause short-term immobilization are a further threat to independent living for older individuals. Despite its clinical importance for an increasing population of older individuals, few studies have examined older individuals after immobilization. Thus, our aim was to determine the effect of aerobic retraining as rehabilitation after short-term leg immobilization on leg strength, leg work capacity, and leg muscle mass in young and older men. Medical Research: What are the main findings? Response: Interestingly, our study reveals that inactivity affects the muscular strength in young and older men equally. Having had one leg immobilized for two weeks, young people lose up to a third of their muscular strength, while older people lose approx. one fourth. A young man who is immobilized for two weeks loses muscular strength in his leg equivalent to ageing by 40 or 50 years. Moreover, short-term leg immobilization had marked effects on leg strength, and work capacity and 6 weeks’ retraining was sufficient to increase, but not completely rehabilitate, muscle strength, and to rehabilitate aerobic work capacity and leg muscle mass. (more…)
Author Interviews, Exercise - Fitness, Parkinson's / 03.06.2015

Dr. Lori P. Altmann Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration University of Florida, Gainesville, FloridaMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Lori P. Altmann Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Altmann: There are a multitude of studies from our labs and others examining the effects of doing a variety of different cognitive tasks while walking or while maintaining postural control, and the results across studies are consistent—motor performance usually declines.  These “dual task effects” are exaggerated in healthy older adults, and are even more pronounced in people with Parkinson disease (PD).  Our study investigated dual task effects during cycling in healthy older adults and people with Parkinson disease.  In contrast to most studies of this type which typically contrast dual task effects of two cognitive tasks, we used an array of 12 cognitive tasks of graded difficulty, from very very easy to extremely difficult.  One of our primary goals was to establish that the dual task effects were directly related to the difficulty of the cognitive task. Our primary findings were that, instead of cycling slower when doing various cognitive task, both groups of participants sped up, and the amount they sped up was directly related to the difficulty of cognitive tasks.  In the easiest task, cycling speed increased by an average of about 25%, With some participants actually doubling their single task speed. There was no evidence that this increase in cycling speed came as a result of prioritizing cycling over the cognitive tasks, as scores on the cognitive tasks either remained the same or got slightly better.  Interestingly, people with Parkinson disease still showed faster cycling during the easiest tasks, but did not benefit as much from the dual task as the healthy adults. We attribute our findings to arousal that is triggered by both the cycling and the cognitive tasks which increases attentional resources that can be used for both motor and cognitive processing.  We believe the findings haven’t been documented before because most studies use gait or balance as the motor tasks, and these are much more difficult tasks that demand more attentional resources, leading to the typical findings of dual task costs instead of dual task benefits. The decrease in dual task benefits experienced by people with Parkinson disease, we believe, is due to the effects of Parkinson disease on neurotransmitters.  Both cognitive and physiological arousal increase the production of dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain, and disease processes in Parkinson disease interfere with production of these neurotransmitters, thus limiting arousal-based increases in attentional resources. (more…)