Effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in Parkinson's disease patients: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials of the last 10 years.

BACKGROUND: Given the relative importance of cognitive impairment, there was considerable interest in identifying the cognitive profile of PD patients, in order to ensure specific and appropriate therapeutic interventions. PURPOSE: To determine the effects of physical exercise programs on cognitive function in PD patients, compared with the control group. DATA SOURCES: Medline, Cochrane, Scopus, PEDro and Web of Science (last searched in September 2016). STUDY SELECTION: Randomized clinical trials examining the effects of physical exercise programs and cognitive function in PD patients. Nine studies fulfilled the selection criteria and were included in this review. DATA EXTRACTION: Characteristics of the publication, characteristics of the participants, test used for cognitive screening, cognitive domain assessed, tools used to assess cognitive function, characteristics of the experimental intervention, characteristics of the control group, mean results and standard deviation of function cognitive. The PEDro score was used to evaluate methodological quality. DATA SYNTHESIS: Most eligible studies showed good methodological quality based on the PEDro scale. Studies have shown that adapted tango for PD patients, cognitive training combined with motor training, and treadmill training promote the preservation or improvement of cognitive function in PD patients. LIMITATIONS: The diversity of cognitive tests used to assess cognitive function and the high heterogeneity identified between the physical exercise programs. CONCLUSIONS: Physical exercise programs promote positive and significant effects on global cognitive function, processing speed, sustained attention and mental flexibility in PD patients, at a mild to moderate stage for patients with a 6-year clinical diagnosis of PD. However, treadmill training performed 3 times a week for about 60 minutes and for a period of 24 weeks produced larger improvements in cognition.

Strength Training with Repetitions to Failure does not Provide Additional Strength and Muscle Hypertrophy Gains in Young Women.

This study investigated the effects of a 10-week resistance training to failure on neuromuscular adaptations in young women. Eighty-nine active young women were randomly assigned to one of three groups: 1) repetitions to failure (RF; three sets of repetitions to failure); 2) repetitions not to failure with equalized volume (RNFV; four sets of 7 repetitions); and 3) repetitions not to failure (RNF; three sets of 7 repetitions). All groups performed the elbow flexor exercise (bilateral biceps curl) and trained 2 days per week using 70% of 1RM. There were significant increases (p<0.05) in muscle strength after 5 (15.9% for RF, 18.4% for RNF, and 19.9% for RNFV) and 10 (28.3% for RF, 26.8% for RNF, and 28.3% for RNFV) weeks of training, with no significant differences between groups. Additionally, muscular endurance increased after 5 and 10 weeks, with no differences between groups. However, peak torque (PT) increased significantly at 180°.s-1 in the RNFV (13.7%) and RNF (4.1%) groups (p<0.05), whereas no changes were observed in the RF group (-0.5%). Muscle thickness increased significantly (p<0.05) in the RF and RNFV groups after 5 (RF: 8.4% and RNFV: 2.3%) and 10 weeks of training (RF: 17.5%, and RNFV: 8.5%), whereas no significant changes were observed in the RNF group (3.9 and 2.1% after 5 and 10 weeks, respectively). These data suggest that short-term training of repetitions to failure do not yield additional overall neuromuscular improvements in young women.

microRNAs involved in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review.

The aim of the present study was to determine the expression of blood microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in PD in humans. For this purpose the following electronic databases were selected: MEDLINE by Pubmed, Scopus and Web of Science. The search strategy included the proposed descriptors in the Medical Subject Headings. There were no restrictions with respect to the language of the publication. In the study selection two independent reviewers initially evaluated studies that were identified by the search strategy according to titles and abstracts. The reviewers evaluated (also unassisted) the complete articles and selected studies according to the eligibility criteria specified above. Studies that were not in accordance with the adopted criteria were excluded according to the boundaries imposed by the search strategy. The following data were extracted from the selected studies: Publication identification, location where the study was conducted, study design, the sample size, the participants' characteristics, the miRNAs involved in PD, the miRNA detection and analysis method, and the type of miRNA dysregulation in PD. Through this systematic review of the literature published over the last 10 years, the expression of 91 different miRNAs were analyzed in the context of PD, with the expression of 39 of these miRNAs differing significantly between individuals with PD and healthy controls and/or between treated and untreated patients with PD. The miRNAs were extracted from mononuclear cells, leukocytes, plasma, serum and peripheral blood, and the majority of the studies used reverse transcription­quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR), which is considered to be the gold standard for miRNA analysis.

Estudo comparativo entre somatotipias e técnicas de saídas de circundução e agarre da natação / Comparisons of grab and conventional start techniques and individual somatotype in swimming

Este estudo teve por objetivo analisar as técnicas de saída em natação do tipo circundução e agarre e comparar a somatotipia dos sujeitos com os desempenhos obtidos nos dois tipos de saída. Para tal, considerou-se (a) o desempenho dos sujeitos na fase inicial (subaquática), no nado de crawl e (b) a comparação entre o somatotipo do sujeito e o tipo de saída executada. Fizeram parte da amostra 40 atletas de triatlo, de ambos os sexos, com idade entre 20 e 25 anos. Os testes consistiam na execução dos dois tipos de saída, seguidos do nado livre para as distâncias de 6, 7 e 8 metros. Para determinação do somatotipo dos sujeitos, foi utilizado o método antropométrico de Heath-Carter. Os resultados mostraram que, em geral, o tempo médio para execução da saída de circundução foi maior (p<0.05) quando comparado à saída de agarre, independentemente do sexo e da somatotipia dos sujeitos. No entanto, para sujeitos do sexo feminino, de somatotipo ectomorfo-mesomorfo, a saída de circundução mostrou-se mais eficiente, nas distâncias de 7 e 8 metros, já que os testes revelaram menores tempos médios sob essas condições.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate two different techniques of swimming starts (conventional and grab) and compare individual somatotypes with performances achieved by tested athletes. The following points were considered: (a) the performance (time) of the swimmer in crawl style; and (b) relationships between swimmers somatotypes and the start applied. The sample was composed by 40 triathletes (age 20-35, male and females). Individuals were tested for the two racing starts in the distances of 6, 7 and 8 meters from the starting block. For somatotypes determination was used the anthropometric method of Heath-Carter. Individuals were distributed in 3 groups according to their somatotype and sex. The results of this study showed an expressive difference (p<0.05) independent on sex and somatotype. In general, the average time of traditional start (rotation) was larger than the average time of grab start in distances of 6, 7 and 8 meters, although ectomorph-endomorph females performed rotation star more efficiently than grab start for distances of 7 and 8 meters long.