Efeito do ácido alfa-lipóico sobre biomarcadores de estresse oxidativo, inflamação e fatores de risco cardiovascular em hipertensos

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) is a potent antioxidant with favourable anti-inflammatory, metabolic and endothelial effects, and has been widely investigated due to its potential against cardiovascular risk factors. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of oral ALA supplementation on oxidative stress biomarkers, inflammation and cardiovascular risk factors in patients with hypertension. This is a double-blind placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial, where the intervention was evaluated prospectively comparing results in both groups. The sample consisted of 64 hypertensive patients who were randomly distributed into ALA group (n = 32), receiving 600 mg / day ALA for twelve weeks and control group (n = 32), receiving placebo for the same period. The following parameters were evaluated before and after intervention: lipid peroxidation, content of reduced glutathione (GSH), enzymatic activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismustase, ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), triglycerides, total cholesterol and fractions, fasting glucose and anthropometric indicators. There was a statistically significant reduction (p <0.05) in serum concentrations of total cholesterol, very low density lipoprotein (VLDL), high density lipoprotein (HDL), triglycerides and blood glucose. There was a reduction in body weight and waist, abdominal and hip circumferences in the group that received ALA. In addition, there was a statistically significant increase (p <0.05) in the contents of reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the group receiving ALA. Oral administration of ALA appears to be a valuable adjuvant therapy, which may contribute to decrease the damage caused by oxidative stress and other risk factors associated with the atherosclerotic process

Efeitos do treino de marcha em esteira com adição de carga ao membro inferior não parético de indivíduos com acidente vascular cerebral: ensaio clínico controlado e randomizado

Introduction: Gait after stroke is characterized by a significant asymmetry between the lower limbs, with predominant use of the non-paretic lower limb (NPLL) over using the paretic lower limb. Accordingly, it has been suggested that adding load/weight to the NPLL as a form of restricting the movement of this limb may favor the use of the paretic limb, reducing interlimb asymmetry. However, few studies have been conducted up to this moment, which only investigated the immediate effects of this practice. Objectives: 1) Investigating whether there is an influence of adding load to the NPLL during treadmill training on cardiovascular parameters and on gait performance of individuals with stroke, compared to treadmill training without load addition; 2) Analyzing the effects of treadmill training with and without load added to the NPLL on kinematic parameters of each lower limb during gait; 3) Analyzing the effects of treadmill training with and without load added to the NPLL on measurements of functional mobility and postural balance of these patients. Materials and Methods: This is a randomized single blinded clinical trial involving 38 subjects, with a mean age of 56.5 years, at the subacute post-stroke phase (with mean time since stroke of 4.5 months). Participants were randomly assigned into an experimental group (EG) or control group (CG). EG (n= 19) was submitted to gait training on a treadmill with the addition of load to the NPLL by ankle weights equivalent to 5% of body weight. CG (n= 19) was only submitted to gait training on a treadmill. Behavioral strategies which included home exercises were also applied to both groups. The interventions occurred daily for two consecutive weeks (Day 1 to Day 9), being of 30 minutes duration each. Outcome measures: postural balance (Berg Functional Balance Scale – BBS), functional mobility (Timed Up and Go – TUG; kinematic variables of 180° turning) and kinematic gait variables were assessed at baseline (Day 0), after four training sessions (Day 4), after nine training sessions (Day 9), and 40 days after completion of training (Follow-up). Cardiovascular parameters (mean arterial pressure and heart rate) were evaluated at four moments within each training session. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to compare outcomes between EG and CG in the course of the study (Day 0, Day 4, Day 9 and Follow-up). Unpaired t-tests allowed for intergroup comparison at each training session. 5% significance was used for all tests. Results: 1) Cardiovascular parameters (systemic arterial pressure, heart rate and derivated variables) did not change after the interventions and there were no differences between groups within each training session. There was an improvement in gait performance, with increased speed and distance covered, with no statistically significant difference between groups. 2) After the interventions, patients had increased paretic and non-paretic step lengths, in addition to exhibiting greater hip and knee joint excursion on both lower limbs. The gains were observed in the EG and CG, with no statistical difference between the groups and (mostly) maintained at follow-up. 3) After the interventions, patients showed better postural balance (higher scores on BBS) and functional mobility (reduced time spent on the TUG test and better performance on the 180° turning). All gains were observed in the EG and CG, with no statistically significant difference between groups and were maintained at follow-up. Conclusions: The addition of load to the NPLL did not affect cardiovascular parameters in patients with subacute stroke, similar to treadmill training without load, thus seemingly a safe training to be applied to these patients. However, the use of the load did not bring any additional benefits to gait training. The gait training program (nine training sessions on a treadmill + strategies and exercises for paretic limb stimulation) was useful for improving gait performance and kinematics, functional mobility and postural balance, and its use is suggested to promote the optimization of these outcomes in the subacute phase after stroke.

Fisioterapia respiratória em crianças com pneumonia: revisão sistemática

Introduction: Pneumonia is an inflammatory lung disease and it is the greatest cause of deaths in children younger than five years of age worldwide. Chest physiotherapy is widely used in the treatment of pneumonia because it can help to eliminate inflammatory exudates and tracheobronchial secretions, remove airway obstructions, reduce airway resistance, enhance gas exchange and reduce the work of breathing. Thus, chest physiotherapy may contribute to patient recovery as an adjuvant treatment even though its indication remains controversial. Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of chest physiotherapy in relation to time until clinical resolution in children (from birth up to 18 years old) of either gender with any type of pneumonia. Methods: We searched CENTRAL 2013, Issue 4; MEDLINE (1946 to May week 4, 2013); EMBASE (1974 to May 2013); CINAHL (1981 to May 2013); LILACS (1982 to May 2013); Web of Science (1950 to May 2013); and PEDro (1950 to May 2013). We consulted the ClinicalTrials.gov and the WHO ICTRP registers to identify planned, ongoing and unpublished trials. We consulted the reference lists of relevant articles found by the electronic searches for additional studies. We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that compared chest physiotherapy of any type with no chest physiotherapy in children with pneumonia. Two review authors independently selected the studies to be included in the review, assessed trial quality and extracted data. Results: Three RCTs involving 255 inpatient children are included in the review. They addressed conventional chest physiotherapy, positive expiratory pressure and continuous positive airway pressure. The following outcomes were measured: duration of hospital stay, time to clinical resolution (observing the following parameters: fever, chest indrawing, nasal flaring, tachypnoea and peripheral oxygen saturation levels), change in adventitious sounds, change in chest X-ray and duration of cough in days. Two of the included studies found a significant improvement in respiratory rate and oxygen saturation whereas the other included study failed to show that standardised respiratory physiotherapy and positive expiratory pressure decrease the time to clinical resolution and the duration of hospital stay. No adverse effects related to the interventions were xvi described. Due to the different characteristics of the trials, such as the duration of treatment, levels of severity, types of pneumonia and the techniques used in children with pneumonia, as well as differences in their statistical presentation, we were not able to pool data. Two included studies had an overall low risk of bias whereas one included study had an overall unclear risk of bias. Conclusion: Our review does not provide conclusive evidence to justify the use of chest physiotherapy in children with pneumonia due to a lack of data. The number of included studies is small and they differed in their statistical presentation

Efeitos dos exercícios aeróbio contínuo e intervalado na variabilidade da frequência cardíaca em adultos jovens saudáveis. Ensaio clínico aleatório

The high-intensity interval exercise has been described as an option for increasing physical activity and its use also being suggested in the therapeutic management of many conditions such as diabetes mellitus and heart failure. However, the knowledge of its physiological effects and parameters that can assure greater safety for interval exercise prescription; especially its effect on short- and medium-term (24 hours after exercise) exercise recovery, need to be clarified. This study objective was to evaluate the effect of continuous and interval aerobic exercise on the cardiac autonomic control immediate and medium term (24 hours), by assessing heart rate variability (HRV). The present study is a randomized crossover clinical trial in which healthy young individuals with low level of physical activity had the VFC 24 hours measured by a heart rate sensor and portable accelerometer (3D eMotion HRV, Kuopio, Finland) before and after continuous aerobic exercise (60-70% HR max, 21 min.) and interval exercise (cycle 1 min. 80-90% HR max, 2 min. at 50-60% HR max, duration 21 min.). HRV was measured in the time and frequency domain and the sympathovagal balance determined by the ratio LF / HF. Nonlinear evaluation was calculated by Shannon entropy. The data demonstrated delayed heart rate recovery immediate after exercise and lower HR after 24 hours compared to pre intervention values, especially in the interval exercise group. There was a tendency to higher predominance and representatives index values of sympathetic stimulation during the day in interval exercise group; however, without statistical significance. The study results help to clarify the effects of interval exercise on the 24 hours following interval exercise, setting parameters for prescription and for further evaluation of groups with metabolic and cardiovascular diseases.

Reabilitação cardíaca na insuficiência cardíaca crônica: efeitos de 12 semanas de treinamento intervalado x contínuo na função cardiopulmonar e qualidade de vida

Background: Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) has effect on mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) chronic, and the exercise of the treatment of this patient. The most common exercise is ongoing training. Recently we have been studying the effects of interval training, but there is no consensus on the optimal dose of exercise. Objective: To evaluate the effects of interval aerobic training are superior to continuous aerobic training in patients with chronic HF. Methods: The clinical trial evaluated patients through cardiopulmonary test (CPX) and quality of life before and after the RC (3 times / 12 weeks). Patients were randomized into Group Interval Training (GTI - 85% of heart rate reserve - FCR), Continuous Training Group (GTC - 60% of HRR) and control group (CG) who received guidelines. Results: 18 patients were evaluated (mean age 44.7 ± 13.2 years and 35.2 ± 8.9% of left ventricular ejection fraction [LVEF]). Both groups were efficient to increase the peak VO2 and 15.1% (P = 0.02) in GTI and 16.1% (P = 0.01) GTC. As for the quality of life the GTI GTC showed improvement compared to the control group (P = 0.006). Hemodynamic mismatch events during the CPX were reduced after training in more GTC (patients 1 to 4) than in the GTI (5 to 3). Cardiac risk also decreased in the GTC (3 patients left the severe risk to take after training). Conclusion: Continuous training becomes more appropriate for improving fitness with little chance of developing cardiac event patients with chronic HF.