Exercise, illness and drug use: guiding principles for approaching a complex triad

Regular, low to moderate intensity exercise is considered beneficial to the human body, not only having ergogenic advantages, but also being anti-inflammatory, cardio- and neuroprotective.1 On the other hand, although high intensity training (HIT) is able to exaggerate cardiac conditions, e.g., hypertension2 as well as exacerbate inflammatory and oxidative stress responses,1,3 such exercise programs are becoming more popular as they too have shown demonstrable health benefits if performed appropriately. Indeed, various studies have reported on the superior beneficial cardiac and vascular effects of high intensity exercise programs over that of moderate intensity continuous training (MICT),4-7 contributing to the growing popularity of such time-efficient programs. As such, exercise can accurately be described as a double-edged sword ­ able to induce positive, beneficial physiological effects when performed chronically at lower intensities, but generating harmful effects when performed at high intensities without sufficient recovery periods. From a toxicological point of view, exercise mediates hormesis, i.e., the biphasic dose response to an environmental agent characterised by a low dose stimulation or beneficial effect and a high dose inhibitory or toxic effect.8

Factores de riesgo asociados al diagnóstico de esquizofrenia en pacientes menores de 18 años, Hospital Hernán Henríquez Aravena, Temuco / Risk factors associated to the diagnosis of schizophrenia in patients under 18 years, Hospital Hernán Henríquez Aravena, Temuco

La detección precoz y la identificación de los mecanismos que subyacen al desarrollo de Esquizofrenia (5), constituyen areas de relevancia clínica en el curso y pronóstico de la enfermedad (7,8). Los resultados de múltiples investigaciones proporcionan evidencia, sobre alteraciones del neurodesarrollo en etapas precoces de la infancia y su asociación con Esquizofrenia y síntomas psicóticos en la niñez y la edad adulta(1). Los sujetos con este riesgo comparten características similares con pacientes que ya tienen la enfermedad, incluyendo alteraciones cognitivas, síntomas afectivos, aislamiento y déficit en la función social(2,3,4). En este estudio se identificaron algunos de los factores de riesgo, descritos en la literatura, en aparición de Esquizofrenia, en nuestra población de consultantes en el Hospital Dr. H. Henríquez Aravena, Temuco. Los pacientes esquizafrénicos incorporados en este estudio tienen mayor frecuencia de marcadores del desarrollo y factores de riesgo antes que se manifieste la psicosis, en comparación con grupo control.

The early detection and the identification of the mechanisms that underlie the development of Schizophrenia (5), constitute areas of clinical relevancy in the course and prognosis of this disease (7,8). The results of many investigations provide evidence on early-childhood developmental impairment that is specifically associated with schizophrenia and that predicts psychotic symptoms both in childhood and adulthood (1). The subjects with this impairment share similar characteristics with patients who already have the disease, including cognitive alterations, affective symptoms, social isolation and decline in social functioning. (2,3,4). In this study some of the risk factors for the appearance of schizophrenia described in the literature were identified in our patients of the Dr H. Henriquez Aravena Hospital, Temuco. The schizophrenic patients of this study have a higher frequency of the developmental risk factors prior to the manifestation of the psychosis compared with the control group.