Dumbbells and ankle-wrist weight training leads to changes in body composition and anthropometric parameters with potential cardiovascular disease risk reduction

Objectives: Promoting physical activity is a global strategy to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease. This study aimed to determine and compare the effect of light resistance training using either dumbbells or ankle-wrist weights on the anthropometric parameters and body composition of adults in Kelantan

Malaysia. Methods: This randomized community trial was conducted in Kelantan, Malaysia, from March through August 2012. Adults with a body mass index [BMI] of more than 23 kg/m2 were randomized into dumbbell [N ¼ 69] and ankle-wrist [N ¼ 69] weight groups. Participants in the dumbbell group performed structured group exercises three times per week using a pair of onekilogram dumbbells. Participants in the ankle-wrist weight group were given one pair of 500 gm ankle weights and one pair of 500 gm wrist weights to be worn during the activities of daily living three days per week for at least 20 min. BMI, waist circumference [WC], waist-tohip ratio [WHR], body fat percentage [BF%] and skeletal muscle percentage [SM%] were measured at baseline, week 6, month 3 and month 6

Results: Eighty-nine participants completed this study. There were significant reductions in BMI only at week six for the dumbbell group. No significant BMI changes were observed for the ankle-wrist weight group. Significant improvements of WC, WHR, BF%, and SM% were observed in both intervention groups from baseline at week 6, month 3, and month 6

Conclusion: Resistance exercise using either dumbbells or ankle-wrist weights produced significant improvements in certain components of body composition and anthropometric parameters

Low prevalence of macroprolactinaemia among patients with hyperprolactinaemia screened using polyethylene glycol 8000

Objectives: Macroprolactinaemia is a known benign cause of hyperprolactinaemia [hyperPRL]. Differentiating macroprolactinaemia and hyperPRL is important, as macroprolactinaemia does not require treatment. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of macroprolactinaemia among hyperPRL patients through the use of polyethylene glycol 8000

Methods: From 2011 to 2013, a cross-sectional study was conducted on patients diagnosed with hyperPRL in Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia [HUSM]. Sera from these patients were measured for PRL using cobas e411 [Roche Diagnostics, Indianapolis, USA] [sandwich principle] and the same sera were treated with polyethylene glycol [PEG] 8000 to differentiate true hyperPRL from macroprolactinaemia. PRL recovery of less than 40% was used as an indicator of the presence of macroprolactin

Results: A total of 133 hyperPRL patients, 120 [90%] women and 13 [9.8%] men, aged 18e68 years, with mean [standard deviation] age 34.37 [11.75] years comprised this study cohort. Nine female patients were found to have macroprolactinaemia with an estimated prevalence of 6.8% [95% CI: 2.4%, 11.1%]

Conclusions: The prevalence of macroprolactinaemia detected using PEG 8000 among patients diagnosed as hyperPRL was low. Screening for macroprolactin using PEG 8000 indicated that the majority of patients who presented with hyperPRL in HUSM were true hyperPRL