This intensity is well tolerated, with no exercise-related deaths

This intensity is well tolerated, with no exercise-related deaths reported in a systematic review of published exercise training involving over 100 000 patient hours of exercise (Smart 2011). Wisloff et al (2007) evaluated

a novel, high intensity aerobic interval training (AIT) approach and found this produced significant benefits over moderate, continuous aerobic exercise. These findings raise the question: has the traditional approach been too conservative? Before exercise practitioners rush to adopt high intensity exercise prescription in clinical groups, such as heart failure, Ceritinib supplier several salient points related to the study should be considered: first, the investigators were a highly trained and specialised group which included cardiologists; second, the study was performed in carefully screened and selected patients who were clinically stable and on optimal medical therapy; and third, all participants were at least 12 months post myocardial infarction. Accordingly, their risk of adverse events is markedly less than for many patients referred to clinical programs. Importantly, the study documents only 200 hours of experience p38 MAPK inhibitor with AIT, a ‘drop in the ocean’ compared with that of moderate continuous aerobic exercise, so assumptions about safety are premature. Also

noteworthy is that perceived exertion levels during AIT averaged 17 (‘very hard’). Ongoing adherence to such effort requires high personal motivation, a trait less common in the broader patient population very than study volunteers. The study by Wisloff et al (2007) challenges convention. However, practitioners should inhibitors always apply due prudence when translating research into clinical practice.


“Summary of: Vasseljen O et al (2012) Effect of core stability exercises on feedforward activation of deep abdominal muscles in chronic low back pain: a randomized controlled trial Spine 37: 1101–1108. [Prepared by Margreth Grotle and Kåre B Hagen, CAP Editors.] Question: Does timing of abdominal muscle activation in response to rapid shoulder flexion change after 8 weeks with low-load core stability exercises (CSE), high-load sling exercises (SE), or general exercises (GE) in chronic nonspecific low back pain (LBP) patients? Design: A randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation. Setting: Patients were recruited from general practitioners, physiotherapists, or by advertising at a regional hospital in Norway. Participants: Men and women, aged 18–60 years, with chronic nonspecific LBP for 3 months or more, and pain score of 2 or more on a 0–10 numeric rating scale were included. Key exclusion criteria included radiating pain below the knee or neurological signs from nerve root compression, and former back surgery. Randomisation of 109 participants allocated 36 to CSE, 36 to SE, and 37 to GE. Interventions: Patients in the three groups attended treatment once a week for 8 weeks, supervised by a physiotherapist.

Another theory relates to deficiencies in key neurotransmitters s

Another theory relates to deficiencies in key neurotransmitters such as serotonin (5-HT), noradrenaline, or acetylcholine leading

to phase advance of sleep rhythms in depression. screening assay Evidence for both S and C processes being implicated in depression is contained in the phenomenon of total sleep deprivation improving mood the next day in major depression, which has been known and used for many years.27 This is an extension of Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the well-known feature seen in many patients with severe depression that mood is worse in the mornings and gradually improves during the day, to the point that it can be in the normal range just before bed – only to revert back to depression during sleep. However, keeping patients awake all night is difficult to perform, and once they are allowed uninterrupted sleep all the beneficial effects of sleep Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical deprivation disappear. Recent, research has refined the methods of manipulation of sleep and circadian rhythm to maximize its effects on mood by bringing the sleep period forward,27 and there have been several strategies proposed to prolong the therapeutic effect such as adding drug interventions and strictly

controlling Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical the amount and type of sleep allowed in the following days.28,29 It can be argued that this intervention works to increase the pressure for sleep (homeostatic process) and on basic circadian function in the brain, supporting a “phase advance” of circadian rhythm in depression which is corrected by sleep manipulation. Further evidence is gained from studies showing that those patients who respond to sleep deprivation and to light treatment are those in whom phase advance has been demonstrated Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical by actimetry

(a technique which measures sleep-wake cycles also using movement sensors worn for many weeks on the wrist).30 There is evidence from animal studies of an immediate increase in 5-HT, noradrenaline, and dopamine function in rat brain after sleep deprivation.31 Ncuroimaging studies provide some evidence that in depressed patients, the metabolic hyperactivity seen in the anterior cingulate in depression is corrected by sleep deprivation.32,33 Thus the effects of sleep deprivation may be mediated via multiple brain systems. Sleep in depressed patients may be more sensitive to life events which disrupt daily rhythms. Haynes et al3“ rated these events in a group of depressed patients and measured sleep disruption by actigraphy.