Effects of Different Doses of Caffeinated Coffee on Muscular Endurance,Cognitive Performance,and Cardiac Autonomic Modulation in Caffeine Naive Female Athletes

Caffeine is widely consumed among elite athletes for its well-known ergogenic properties, and its ability to increase exercise performance. However, studies to date have predominantly focused on the anhydrous form of caffeine in male participants. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of caffeinated coffee ingestion on lower-upper body muscular endurance, cognitive performance, and heart rate variability (HRV) in female athletes. A total of 17 participants (mean ± standard deviation (SD): age = 23 ± 2 years, body mass = 64 ± 4 kg, height = 168 ± 3 cm) in a randomized cross-over design completed three testing sessions, following the ingestion of 3 mg/kg/bm of caffeine (3COF), 6 mg/kg/bm of caffeine (6COF) provided from coffee or decaffeinated coffee (PLA) in 600 mL of hot water. The testing results included: (1) repetition number for muscular endurance performance; (2): reaction time and response accuracy for cognitive performance; (3): HRV parameters, such as standard deviation of normal-to-normal (NN) intervals (SDNN), standard deviation of successive differences (SDSD), root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD), total power (TP), the ratio of low- and high-frequency powers (LF/HF), high-frequency power (HF), normalized HF (HFnu), low-frequency power (LF), and normalized LF (LFnu). A one-way repeated measures ANOVA revealed that 3COF (p = 0.024) and 6COF (p = 0.036) improved lower body muscular endurance in the first set as well as cognitive performance (p = 0.025, p = 0.035 in the post-test, respectively) compared to PLA. However, no differences were detected between trials for upper body muscular endurance (p = 0.07). Lastly, all HRV parameters did not change between trials (p > 0.05). In conclusion, ingesting caffeinated coffee improved lower body muscular endurance and cognitive performance, while not adversely affecting cardiac autonomic function.     

The effects of decontamination methods of dental implant surface on cytokine expression analysis in the reconstructive surgical treatment of peri-implantitis

Odontology - The aim of this trial was to analyze the effect of implant surface decontamination procedures combined with reconstructive surgical treatment (RST) of peri-implantitis on gene...     

Correlation of molecular biomarker concentrations between synovial fluid and saliva of the patients with temporomandibular disorders

Objectives

The synovial membrane and fluid are involved in the pathogenesis of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders. This study aims to assess the relationship between matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), chemerin and prostaglandin (PGE₂) levels in the synovial fluid (SF) and saliva of patients with TMJ disorder regarding their role in inflammation and the value of being a candidate for predictive biomarkers in the disease. Also, it is aimed to find out whether chemerin’s main function triggers the formation inflammatory cytokine markers in the associated area.

Materials and methods

Thirty-two samples of SF and saliva were obtained from patients with disc displacement without reduction with limited opening (DDWORwLO). Mann-Whitney-U test was used for the comparisons of the biomarker levels in SF and saliva. The correlation between chemerin and BMI (Body Mass Index) is analyzed by non-parametric Spearman’s rho correlation coefficient.

Results

For all of the three biomarkers, statistically significant differences were found between SF and saliva. An unexpectedly high level expression of chemerin was observed in SF. A statistically significant, positive correlation was observed between PGE₂ -MMP-2, and chemerin-PGE₂ in saliva, chemerin and MMP-2 in SF, respectively (p = 0.031, r = 0.382 / p = 0.039, r = 0.366 / p = 0.032, r = 0.379). A positive correlation was determined between saliva and SF levels of PGE₂ (p = 0.016, r = 0.421).

Conclusions

Chemerin, MMP-2, and PGE₂ can play a role as an inflammatory factor for the development of TMJ disorder.

Clinical relevance

The search for molecular markers in TMJ and the inhibition of the associated molecular signaling mechanism is important to reduce joint inflammation and cartilage degradation.

     

Electromechanical association: a subtle electrocardiogram artifact

Artifacts on electrocardiogram (ECG) can simulate serious cardiac disorders. Although most common ECG artifacts can be easily recognized, in some exceptional situations, some patterns may hide pretty well even from experienced eyes. We recently reported an unusual ECG artifact caused by radial arterial impulse that closely imitates abnormal T wave. We now report 3 more examples and caught-in-the-act evidence of this subtle and dangerous artifact source.     

Catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardias using remote magnetic navigation: a consecutive case-control study

Remote Magnetic Navigation for VT Ablation. Background: This study aimed to compare acute and late outcomes of VT ablation using the magnetic navigation system (MNS) to manual techniques (MAN) in patients with (SHD) and without (NSHD) structural heart disease. Methods: Ablation data of 113 consecutive patients (43 SHD, 70 NSHD) with ventricular tachycardia treated with catheter ablation at our center were analyzed. Success rate, complications, procedure, fluoroscopy, and ablation times, and recurrence rates were systematically recorded for all patients. Results: A total of 72 patients were included in the MNS group and 41 patients were included in the MAN group. Patient age, gender, and right ventricular and left ventricular VT were equally distributed. Acute success was achieved in 59 patients in the MNS group (82%) versus 27 (66%) patients in the MAN group (P = 0.046). Overall procedural time (177 ± 79 vs 232 ± 99 minutes, P < 0.01) and mean patient fluoroscopy time (27 ± 19 vs 56 ± 32 minutes, P < 0.001) were all significantly lower using MNS. In NSHD pts, higher acute success was achieved with MNS (83,7% vs 61.9%, P = 0.049), with shorter procedure times (151 ± 57 vs 210 ± 96, P = 0.011), whereas in SHD‐VT these were not significantly different. No major complications occurred in the MNS group (0%) versus 1 cardiac tamponade and 1 significantly damaged ICD lead in the MAN group (4.9%, NS). After follow‐up (20 ± 11 vs 20 ± 10 months, NS), VT recurred in 14 pts (23.7%) in the MNS group versus 12 pts (44.4%) in the MAN group (P = 0.047). Conclusions: The use of MNS offers advantages for ablation of NSHD‐VT, while it offers similar efficacy for SHD‐VT. ((J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol, Vol. 23, pp. 948‐954, September 2012)     

Treatment regimen with bevacizumab decreases mean platelet volume in patients with metastatic colon cancer

The risk of thromboemboli is increased in patients with cancer, and this is precipitated by the chemotherapeutic agents. Bevacizumab is an anti-vascular endothelial growth factor monoclonal antibody and has an importance in the treatment of metastatic colon cancer. The association between bevacizumab, which is demonstrated to increase the risk of thromboemboli, and mean platelet volume (MPV), which is a marker of thrombocyte function, has been investigated within study. A total of 74 patients with metastatic colon cancer were included in the study and the levels of platelets (PLTs), MPV, and platecrit (PCT) values were recorded in SPSS 16.0 program both at baseline and at the >third month. There were significant decreases in 3 parameters (PLT, MPV, and PCT) during the treatment period with bevacizumab (P = .009, P = .001, and P = .000, respectively). Unlike cases with thrombosis, there is a significant decrease in MPV in combination treatments with bevacizumab.