ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of physical activity on the secretion of cortisol, melatonin and interleukin-6 (IL-6) in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A controlled prospective study was carried out. Based on anthropometrical measurements and physical examination, which excluded those with an organic pathology or that were further than one standard deviation from the 50th percentile, 74 male children aged 6 or 7 years were included in this study. Forty-one children from a public school (PS) and 33 children from a soccer sport school (SS) were selected and asked to perform three different physical activities. A score was made to evaluate their performance and both before and after physical activity salivary samples were obtained to measure cortisol, melatonin and IL-6 concentrations. RESULTS: The children in the SS group had a better global physical performance score than those from the PS. There were no statistically significant differences in biochemical parameters between the two groups before and after exercise. There was a rise in the cortisol, melatonin and IL-6 levels after physical activity in both groups. The increment in melatonin levels after exercise was significantly higher in the SS group. There was a strong positive correlation between the rise of cortisol and IL-6 levels after exercise. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, controlled physical competitive activity in children 6 or 7 years of age showed no negative repercussion on cortisol secretion or in the liberation of IL-6.
Subject(s)
Exercise , Hydrocortisone/metabolism , Interleukin-6/metabolism , Melatonin/metabolism , Soccer , Child , Humans , Male , Regression Analysis , Saliva/chemistryABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to perform a prospective study to evaluate the effects of competitive sports on the cardiorespiratory system and physical performance in children. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Male children aged 6 and 7 years were selected from a public school (PS) and from a soccer sports school (SS). They underwent anthropometrical measurement. Those boys who were further than one standard deviation from the 50th percentile were excluded from the study. A total of 74 boys were selected with 41 being from the PS and 33 from the SS. Three different physical competitive activities were performed by the children. Hemodynamic measurements [heart rate (HR), systolic, mean and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, MBP and DBP)] and respiratory measurements [respiratory rate (RR), arterial oxygen saturation (SatO2), peak expiratory flow (PEF), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and the FEV1/FVC relationship] were taken before and after the physical activity. RESULTS: Overall we found a significantly higher physical performance in the SS group (p < 0.001). The HR before and after exercise was significantly lower in the SS group. The comparison between constants before and after physical activity in each group showed a significant increase in HR, SBP, MBP and DBP in the PS group, but there was no difference between the SBP before and after physical activity in the SS group. The SS group had a significantly lower RR and better SatO2 in the basal measurement. The relationship between constants before and after physical activity showed a rise in the PEF in the PS group and a decrease in the SatO2 in the SS group. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend controlled physical competitive activity in children because of its benefits on cardiorespiratory function and the absence of adverse effects.
Subject(s)
Cardiac Output/physiology , Expiratory Reserve Volume/physiology , Heart/physiology , Sports , Anthropometry , Child , Female , Hemodynamics/physiology , Humans , Male , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to carry-out a prospective study of newborns with systemic candidiasis admitted to our Neonatology Unit in a teritiary hospital during the period of March 1994-September 1997. PATIENTS AND METHODS: To be included in the study the patient had to have Candida sp recovered from a normally sterile body fluid and clinical signs of sepsis. We analyzed perinatal and neonatal antecedents, risk factors, clinical course, diagnosis, treatment and outcome. RESULTS: The incidence of systemic candidiasis was 0.62% (14 newborns). Two were term infants and 12 preterm infants, 9 of which weighed less than 1500 g. All of the patients had as predisposing factors the use of broad spectrum antibiotics, prolonged intravascular catheterization and parenteral nutrition, while 64% had mechanical ventilation. The mean age at onset of sepsis was 22 days, with non-specific clinical presentation. Four infants were treated with intravenous amphotericin B and 9 with liposomal amphotericin B in association with fluconazole in one patient and with flucytosine and fluconazole in another. No adverse effects were observed. Mortality was 21%. C. parapsilosis was isolated in 7 cases and C. albicans in another 7 patients, with an important increase in C. parapsilosis in the last few years. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical suspicion of invasive candidiasis requires the removal of indwelling catheters and early initiation of systemic ungal therapy to reduce mortality. The increased incidence of species with more epidemic presentation like C. parapsilosis reinforce the importance of control measures such as handwashing for all personnel and aseptic management of intravascular catheters and solutions in order to prevent infections.
