Regular exercise did not modify significantly superoxide dismutase activity in adolescents with Down's syndrome

Background

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) overexpression in people with Down''s syndrome negatively modifies the equilibrium SOD/glutathione peroxidase+catalase, which may ultimately lead to an increased hydroxyl radical formation.

Objective

To assess the influence of regular exercise on erythrocyte SOD activity to determine the ability of exercise to attenuate increased oxidative damage.

Method

Thirty one male adolescents with Down''s syndrome (mean (SD) age 16.3 (1.1) years) performed a 12 week training programme (three days a week), consisting of a warm up, exercise at a work intensity of 60–75% of peak heart rate (the latter calculated from 194.5 – (0.56 × age)), and a cool down period. The reduction of cytochrome c at 550 nm was used to monitor SOD activity in the supernatant of erythrocyte haemolysates.

Results

Mean (SD) SOD activity in non‐exercised adolescents with Down''s syndrome was 679.0 (82) U/g haemoglobin (95% confidence interval 642.2 to 715.8). After the 12 week training programme, it had increased to 706.8 (91) U/g haemoglobin (95% confidence interval 663.9 to 749.8). This increase was not significant (p  =  0.099).

Conclusion

Regular exercise did not significantly increase SOD activity and consequently did not affect the unbalanced equilibrium SOD/glutathione peroxidase+catalase observed in patients with Down''s syndrome. Further studies are required to assess the behaviour of other antioxidant enzymes included in this pathway in order to highlight potential benefits of regular exercise in redox metabolism of patients with Down''s syndrome.     

Differences in pain and function between adolescent athletes and physically active non-athletes with patellofemoral pain

ObjectivesTo investigate pain level and function limitation in adolescent athletes and physically active non-athletes with PFP.DesignCross-sectional study.SettingAdolescent athletes were recruited at a sport center complex. Adolescent non-athletes were recruited from upper secondary schools.Participants108 adolescents diagnosed with PFP: 42 adolescent athletes and 66 adolescent non-athletes.Main outcome measuresTo evaluate the level of pain, a visual analog scale (VAS) was used and to evaluate the overall function, the Knee Outcome in Osteoarthritis Survey (KOOS) was used.ResultsThe adolescent athletes scored significantly higher in the VAS (Mean difference = 0.97 (95% CI = 0.35; 1.60) p = 0.003) compared to adolescent non-athletes. Adolescent athletes scored lower in the KOOS - Symptoms, Pain, Knee-related quality of life and Sport and recreation dimensions - than the non-athletes, however, the minimally clinically important difference was not achieved in Pain dimension. There was no significant difference in the Activities of daily living dimension of the KOOS.ConclusionsAdolescent athletes presented higher levels of pain and lower physical function status compared with physically active non-athletes. This provides an important insight to the management of PFP in adolescent athletes as worst functional status is linked with poor prognosis in patients with PFP.     

Intensity of physical activity and respiratory function in subjects with and without bronchial asthma

The aim of this study was to assess the intensity of physical activity of asthmatic adults in Finland and the associations between the intensity of physical activity and respiratory function in asthmatic and nonasthmatic persons. The study population ( n =8000) was drawn from the population register to represent the Finnish population aged 30 years or over. Adequate information was available from 7193 subjects (89.9% of the sample). Physical activity at work, at leisure and during commuting was recorded with a standard questionnaire. The responses to the questionnaire were expressed as MET values. Asthma was defined on the basis of self-reports of chronic diseases previously diagnosed by a physician. The spirometric values (VC, FVC, FEV₁, FEV%, and PEF) were negatively correlated with age. The results showed clear and significant associations between spirometric values and intensities of physical activity at work and during leisure time in asthmatic men. Although healthier subjects may select more physically demanding activities, it is an equally possible hypothesis that physical activity may improve respiratory function in subjects with and without bronchial asthma.     

Physical activity domains and cognitive function over three years in older adults with subjective memory complaints: Secondary analysis from the MAPT trial

Objectives

We aimed to examine the associations of physical activity (PA) domains (i.e., PA in leisure-time (LTPA), for housework (HPA), or for gardening (GPA)) with cognitive function in older adults with subjective memory complaints (no-dementia) and to investigate if those associations were dependent on the status of apolipoprotein E allele 4 (APOE4), omega-3 levels and mild cognitive impairment (MCI).