Measured and predicted resting energy expenditure in wheelchair rugby athletes

Objective: Report measured resting energy expenditure (REE) in wheelchair rugby athletes and evaluate agreement between REE and the prediction models of Chun, Cunningham, Harris-Benedict, Mifflin, Nightingale and Gorgey, and Owen.

Design: Cohort-based validation study.

Setting. Paralympic team training camp.

Participants: Fourteen internationally competitive athletes who play wheelchair rugby, 13 of whom had cervical spinal cord injuries (SCI).

Outcome Measures: A portable metabolic analyzer was used to measure REE following an overnight fast and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) was used to assess lean body mass for the prediction equations.

Results: REE in the current sample was 1735?±?257?kcal?×?day^?1 ranging from 1324 to 2068?kcal?×?day^{?1 Bhambhani Y. Physiology of wheelchair racing in athletes with spinal cord injury. Sports Med 2002;32(1):23–51.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]}. Bland–Altman analyses revealed negative mean bias but similar limits of agreement between measured REE and scores predicted by Chun, Cunningham, Mifflin, Nightingale and Gorgey, and Owen models in elite athletes who play wheelchair rugby.

Conclusion: Prediction models regressed on persons with and without SCI under-predicted REE of competitive wheelchair rugby athletes. This outcome may be explained by the higher REE/fat-free mass (FFM) ratio of current athletes compared to less active samples. Findings from the current study will help practitioners to determine nutrient intake needs on training days of varied intensity.     

Widely Metastatic Squamous Cell Carcinoma Originating from Malignant Transformation of Hypertrophic Lichen Planus in a 24‐Year‐Old Woman: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Hypertrophic lichen planus (HLP) is a T‐cell‐mediated process typically presenting with hypertrophic or verrucous plaques on the lower limbs. We report the case of a 24‐year‐old woman with a history of HLP since age 3 years presenting with rapid malignant transformation of one lesion into a large squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Subsequent examination revealed progressive, widespread metastatic involvement, and the patient ultimately died from her disease. SCC associated with HLP is rare, with a review of the literature revealing fewer than 50 cases. This case highlights the need to be aware of suspicious changes in HLP and to educate patients as to when to be reevaluated.     

Melatonin reduces oxidative stress and improves vascular function in pulmonary hypertensive newborn sheep

Pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PHN) constitutes a critical condition with severe cardiovascular and neurological consequences. One of its main causes is hypoxia during gestation, and thus, it is a public health concern in populations living above 2500 m. Although some mechanisms are recognized, the pathophysiological facts that lead to PHN are not fully understood, which explains the lack of an effective treatment. Oxidative stress is one of the proposed mechanisms inducing pulmonary vascular dysfunction and PHN. Therefore, we assessed whether melatonin, a potent antioxidant, improves pulmonary vascular function. Twelve newborn sheep were gestated, born, and raised at 3600 meters. At 3 days old, lambs were catheterized and daily cardiovascular measurements were recorded. Lambs were divided into two groups, one received daily vehicle as control and another received daily melatonin (1 mg/kg/d), for 8 days. At 11 days old, lung tissue and small pulmonary arteries (SPA) were collected. Melatonin decreased pulmonary pressure and resistance for the first 3 days of treatment. Further, melatonin significantly improved the vasodilator function of SPA, enhancing the endothelial‐ and muscular‐dependent pathways. This was associated with an enhanced nitric oxide‐dependent and nitric oxide independent vasodilator components and with increased nitric oxide bioavailability in lung tissue. Further, melatonin reduced the pulmonary oxidative stress markers and increased enzymatic and nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity. Finally, these effects were associated with an increase of lumen diameter and a mild decrease in the wall of the pulmonary arteries. These outcomes support the use of melatonin as an adjuvant in the treatment for PHN.     

Gender,race and socioeconomic influence on diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil)

Thyroid diseases are common, and use of levothyroxine is increasing worldwide. We investigated the influence of gender, race and socioeconomic status on the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders using data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil), a multicenter cohort study of civil servants (35-74 years of age) from six Brazilian cities. Diagnosis of thyroid dysfunction was by thyrotropin (TSH), and free thyroxine (FT4) if TSH was altered, and the use of specific medications. Multivariate logistic regression models were constructed using overt hyperthyroidism/hypothyroidism and levothyroxine use as dependent variables and sociodemographic characteristics as independent variables. The frequencies of overt hyper- and hypothyroidism were 0.7 and 7.4%, respectively. Using whites as the reference ethnicity, brown, and black race were protective for overt hypothyroidism (OR=0.76, 95%CI=0.64-0.89, and OR=0.53, 95%CI=0.43-0.67, respectively, and black race was associated with overt hyperthyroidism (OR=1.82, 95%CI=1.06-3.11). Frequency of hypothyroidism treatment was higher in women, browns, highly educated participants and those with high net family incomes. After multivariate adjustment, levothyroxine use was associated with female gender (OR=6.06, 95%CI=3.19-11.49) and high net family income (OR=3.23, 95%CI=1.02-10.23). Frequency of hyperthyroidism treatment was higher in older than in younger individuals. Sociodemographic factors strongly influenced the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders, including the use of levothyroxine.     

COVID-19 and Heart Transplant: A Case Series and Review of the Literature

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in many challenges in patient care, especially among high-risk populations such as heart transplant recipients. Patients with heart transplant experience a significantly higher mortality rate with COVID-19 infection, and management is based on extrapolation from clinical trials done on nontransplant patients and from clinical experience. Here we report 4 cases of patients with heart transplant who presented with COVID-19 infection in late 2020. Patients presented with symptoms similar to those seen in the general population. All 4 patients were admitted to the hospital, and they were all treated with dexamethasone. In addition, 2 patients received remdesivir. Immunosuppressive medications were adjusted to maintain adequate levels of immunosuppression but at the same time allow for an adequate immune response against the infection. All patients were discharged alive from the hospital. We then performed a literature review on studies that included heart transplant patients who developed the infection and developed suggestions for a standardized management approach, which we share in this article.