Effects of Exercise on the Amelioration of Fatigue in Cancer Survivors: A Pilot Study.

Aims: To acquire preliminary information in order to assess the efficacy of a university-based exercise program developed to serve members of the community suffering from symptoms associated with cancer fatigue. Study Design: The pilot study included 35 adult cancer patients who underwent intensive medical screenings to ensure that the exercise program would be appropriate for them. Each participant was assigned an individual student to guide him or her through specific exercises for 8 successive weeks, meeting 3 times per week. At the end of each week, the participants filled out the Fatigue Symptom Inventory, designed to assess cancer-related fatigue on three dimensions – intensity, duration, and interference with daily life. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Health and Human Performance, Health and Wellness Center, Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, FL, USA. Between September, 2012-December, 2014. Methodology: Each participant had one student (exercise science or pre-occupational therapy) assigned to work with them and guide them through specific exercises. All exercise routines were specially designed by a registered physical therapist who had conducted all evaluations, had previously designed, and implemented the Exercise Fatigue Program. During the workout, a second measurement of blood pressure and pulse rate was recorded. After the workout was complete, the participants participated in a series of stretching activities. Stretching exercises were followed by a third and final measurement of resting blood pressure and pulse rate. Results: Evidence was found that, among those who remained in the exercise program experienced less intense and shorter duration fatigue levels and reported lower levels of interference in activities of daily living (ADLs) associated with cancer-related fatigue patients. Conclusion: Supervised exercise regimens adapted to the needs of individual cancer patients show promise in reducing the symptoms associated with cancer-related fatigue. However, because of the limited sample size and participant attrition, the results reported here should be considered preliminary in nature. Further work using a larger sample size with more systematic consideration of possible confounding variables is required in order to validate the program.

Public Health Informatics: A Brief Review of the Field.

In the global community of today, the importance of accessing timely and relevant information has increased in value. However, with the exponential increase in data and data sources, innovations to monitor, control, and effectively manipulate data are required, especially to resolve current mysteries. In addition, with the sophistication of informatics systems, consumers are becoming curious to learn about the technology for their own benefit. In learning information technology, tools become available that gives the consumers ideas and knowledge in conducting research about their health and other health information data. For clinicians it is highly useful to become knowledgeable about health information system as well as larger public health issues. PHI is highly utilized in many global health organizations, government agencies, and medical organizations across the United States as well as in the world.

Differentiation of MDMA or 5-MeO-DIPT induced cognitive deficits in rat following adolescent exposure

The so-called "club drug" Foxy or Methoxy Foxy (5-Methoxy-N,N-di(iso)propyltryptamine hydrochloride; 5-MeO-DIPT) is a newer drug of abuse that has recently gained in popularity among recreational users as an alternative to MDMA (Ecstasy). While considerable research into the consequences of MDMA use is available, much remains unknown about the neurobiological consequences of 5-MeO-DIPT use. In the present study, beginning at 35 days of age adolescent rats were given repeated injections of 10 mg/kg of 5-MeO-DIPT, MDMA, or a corresponding volume of isotonic saline. Adult animals (135 days old) were trained and tested on a number of tasks designed to assess the impact, if any, and severity of 5-MeO-DIPT and MDMA, on a series of spatial and nonspatial memory tasks. Both the 5-MeO-DIPT- and the MDMA-treated rats were able to master the spatial navigation tests where the task included a single goal location and all groups performed comparably on these phases of training and testing. Conversely, the performance of both groups of the drug-treated rats was markedly inferior to that of the control animals on a task where the goal was moved to a new location and on a response learning task, suggesting a lack of flexibility in adapting their responses to changing task demands. In addition, in a response learning version of a learning set task, 5-MeO-DIPT rats made significantly more working memory errors than MDMA or control rats. Results are discussed in terms of observed alterations in serotonin activity in the forebrain and the consequences of compromised serotoninergic systems on cognitive processes.