Nintendo® Wii Fit based sleepiness tester detects impairment of postural steadiness due to 24 h of wakefulness

A field-usable sleepiness tester could reduce sleepiness related accidents. 15 subjects’ postural steadiness was measured with a Nintendo^® Wii Fit balance board every hour for 24 h. Body sway was quantified with complexity index, C_I, and the correlation between C_I and alertness predicted by a three-process model of sleepiness was calculated. The C_I group average was 8.9 ± 1.3 for alert and 7.9 ± 1.4 for sleep deprived subjects (p < 0.001, ρ = 0.94). The Wii Fit board detects the impairment of postural steadiness. This may allow large scale sleepiness testing outside the laboratory setting.     

Cognitive functioning in substance abuse and dependence: a population-based study of young adults

Aims   To investigate whether substance use disorders (SUDs) are associated with verbal intellectual ability, psychomotor processing speed, verbal and visual working memory, executive function and verbal learning in young adults, and to study the associations of SUD characteristics with cognitive performance.
Participants   A population-based sample ( n  = 466) of young Finnish adults aged 21–35 years.
Measurements   Diagnostic assessment was based on all available information from a structured psychiatric interview (SCID-I) and in- and out-patient medical records. Established neuropsychological tests were used in the cognitive assessment. Confounding factors included in the analyses were comorbid psychiatric disorders and risk factors for SUDs, representing behavioural and affective factors, parental factors, early initiation of substance use and education-related factors.
Findings   Adjusted for age and gender, life-time DSM-IV SUD was associated with poorer verbal intellectual ability, as measured with the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Revised (WAIS-R) vocabulary subtest, and slower psychomotor processing, as measured with the WAIS-R digit symbol subtest. Poorer verbal intellectual ability was accounted for by parental and own low basic education, whereas the association with slower psychomotor processing remained after adjustment for SUD risk factors. Poorer verbal intellectual ability was related to substance abuse rather than dependence. Other SUD characteristics were not associated with cognition.
Conclusions   Poorer verbal intellectual ability and less efficient psychomotor processing are associated with life-time alcohol and other substance use disorders in young adulthood. Poorer verbal intellectual ability seems to be related to parental and own low basic education, whereas slower psychomotor processing is associated with SUD independently of risk factors.     

Increased carotid atherosclerosis in andropausal middle-aged men

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the association between carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), serum sex hormone levels, and andropausal symptoms in middle-aged men. BACKGROUND: Male sex hormones may play a dual role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis in men by carrying both proatherogenic and atheroprotective effects. METHODS: We studied 239 40- to 70-year-old men (mean +/- SD: 57 +/- 8 years) who participated in the Turku Aging Male Study and underwent serum lipid and sex hormone measurements. Ninety-nine men (age 58 +/- 7 years) were considered andropausal (i.e., serum testosterone <9.8 nmol/l or luteinizing hormone [LH] >6.0 U/l and testosterone in the normal range), and in both situations, they had subjective symptoms of andropause (a high symptom score in questionnaire). Three were excluded because of diabetes. The rest of the men (age 57 +/- 8 years) served as controls. Carotid IMT was determined using high-resolution B-mode ultrasound, and serum testosterone, estradiol (E2), LH, and sex hormone-binding globulin were measured using standard immunoassays. RESULTS: Andropausal men had a higher maximal IMT compared with controls in the common carotid (1.08 +/- 0.34 vs. 1.00 +/- 0.23, p < 0.05) and in the carotid bulb (1.44 +/- 0.48 vs. 1.27 +/- 0.35, p = 0.003). Common carotid IMT correlated inversely with serum testosterone (p = 0.003) and directly with LH (p = 0.006) in multivariate models adjusted for age, total cholesterol, body mass index, blood pressure, and smoking. CONCLUSIONS: Middle-aged men with symptoms of andropause, together with absolute or compensated (as reflected by high normal to elevated LH) testosterone deficiency, show increased carotid IMT. These data suggest that normal testosterone levels may offer protection against the development of atherosclerosis in middle-aged men.     

The effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy on left ventricular function, myocardial energetics, and metabolic reserve in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and heart failure

OBJECTIVES: The effects of long-term cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on left ventricular (LV) energetics and metabolic reserve were evaluated. BACKGROUND: Cardiac resynchronization therapy is a new therapy for patients with drug-refractory severe heart failure (HF). METHODS: Ten patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy who had undergone implantation of biventricular pacemaker 8 +/- 5 months earlier were studied during two conditions: CRT switched on, and after CRT was switched off for 24 h. Left ventricular function was measured using echocardiography and oxidative metabolism using [(11)C]acetate positron emission tomography. Both measurements were performed at rest and during dobutamine-induced stress (5 microg/kg/min). Basal- and adenosine-stimulated (140 microg/kg/min) myocardial blood flow were quantitated using [(15)O]water. RESULTS: During CRT off, LV stroke volume was significantly reduced at rest (72 +/- 18 ml vs. 63 +/- 15 ml, p < 0.05), but LV oxidative metabolism (K(mono)) remained unchanged (0.046 +/- 0.008 vs. 0.054 +/- 0.016 min(-1)) leading to a significant deterioration of myocardial efficiency of forward work (from 48.2 +/- 16.7 to 36.6 +/- 11.7 mm Hg.l/g, p < 0.05). During dobutamine-induced stress, stroke volume and K(mono) values were not different whether CRT was on or off. However, myocardial efficiency (56.1 +/- 16.1 vs. 49.8 +/- 18.0 mm Hg.ml.g(-1).min(-1), p = 0.099) and metabolic reserve, the response of K(mono) to dobutamine (0.023 +/- 0.014 vs. 0.013 +/- 0.014 min(-1), p = 0.09), tended to reduce when CRT was switched off. Cardiac resynchronization therapy had no effects on myocardial perfusion. Natriuretic peptides increased significantly during CRT-off period. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term CRT has beneficial effects on LV function and myocardial efficiency at rest in patients with HF. These effects are not associated with changes in myocardial perfusion or oxygen consumption. During dobutamine-induced stress, CRT does not affect functional parameters, but myocardial efficiency and metabolic reserve may be increased.     

Acute Kidney Injury Following Aortic Valve Replacement in Patients Without Chronic Kidney Disease

BackgroundThe data on acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients without chronic kidney disease (CKD) after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) are limited. The study sought to compare the incidence of AKI and its impact on 5-year mortality after TAVR and surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients without CKD.MethodsThis registry included data from 6463 consecutive patients who underwent TAVR or SAVR. CKD was defined as estimated glomerular filtration rate <60 mL/min/1.73 m². AKI was defined according to the Kidney Disease Improving Global Outcomes criteria. For sensitivity analysis, propensity-score matching between TAVR and SAVR was performed.ResultsThe study included 4555 consecutive patients (TAVR, n = 1215 and SAVR, n = 3340) without CKD. Propensity-score matching identified 542 pairs. Patients who underwent TAVR had a significantly lower incidence of AKI in comparison to those who underwent SAVR (unmatched 4.7% vs 16.4%, P < 0.001, multivariable analysis: odds ratio, 0.29, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.20-0.41; matched 5.9% vs 19.0%, P < 0.001). Patients with AKI had significantly increased 5-year mortality compared with those without AKI (unmatched 36.0% vs 19.1%, log-rank P < 0.001; matched 36.3% vs 24.0%, log-rank P < 0.001). The adjusted hazard ratios for 5-year mortality were 1.58 (95% CI, 1.20-2.08) for AKI grade 1, 3.27 (95% CI, 2.09-5.06) for grade 2, and 4.82 (95% CI, 2.93-8.04) for grade 3.ConclusionsTAVR in patients without CKD was associated with a significantly less frequent incidence of AKI compared with SAVR. AKI significantly increased the risk of 5-year mortality after either TAVR or SAVR, and increasing severity of AKI was incrementally associated with 5-year mortality.