Since the 3rd WIN meeting in 1982 more than 500 participants join the meeting in Val D'Isere every year [1]. One of our authors has attended the meeting more than 10 times. He experienced many physical illnesses while travelling from South Korea to Val D'Isere in France, which is located in the Alps mountain near the border between France and Italy. In order to get there, it is necessary to take airplane, train, and/or bus with a heavy suitcase. During the trip which usually takes more than 15 hours, he experienced headache, gastrointestinal trouble, sleep disturbance and other additional physical illnesses. Therefore, we reviewed the itinerary to Val D'Isere and presented physical illnesses which occurred during a long trip for an academic activity by specialized professionals such as university hospital professors. In addition, we discussed the mechanism of such illnesses and offered possible solutions including medical treatment.
Aircraft ; France ; Headache ; Italy ; Korea* ; Travel Medicine

Previously, we found that high doses of genistein show an inhibitory effect on uterine leiomyoma (UtLM) cell proliferation. In this study, using microarray analysis and Ingenuity Pathways Analysis(TM), we identified genes (up- or down-regulated, > or = 1.5 fold, P < or = 0.001), functions and signaling pathways that were altered following treatment with an inhibitory concentration of genistein (50 microg/ml) in UtLM cells. Downregulation of TGF-beta signaling pathway genes, activin A, activin B, Smad3, TGF-beta2 and genes related to cell cycle regulation, with the exception of the upregulation of the CDK inhibitor P15, were identified and validated by real-time RT-PCR studies. Western blot analysis further demonstrated decreased protein expression of activin A and Smad3 in genistein-treated UtLM cells. Moreover, we found that activin A stimulated the growth of UtLM cells, and the inhibitory effect of genistein was partially abrogated in the presence of activin A. Overexpression of activin A and Smad3 were found in tissue samples of leiomyoma compared to matched myometrium, supporting the contribution of activin A and Smad3 in promoting the growth of UtLM cells. Taken together, these results suggest that down-regulation of activin A and Smad3, both members of the TGF-beta pathway, may offer a mechanistic explanation for the inhibitory effect of a high-dose of genistein on UtLM cells, and might be potential therapeutic targets for treatment of clinical cases of uterine leiomyomas.
Activins/*genetics/metabolism/pharmacology ; Anticarcinogenic Agents/*pharmacology ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cell Proliferation/drug effects ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p15/genetics/metabolism ; Down-Regulation ; Female ; Genistein/*pharmacology ; Humans ; Leiomyoma/*metabolism ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Signal Transduction/drug effects ; Smad3 Protein/*genetics/metabolism ; Transforming Growth Factor beta/*genetics/metabolism ; Up-Regulation ; Uterine Neoplasms/*metabolism

INTRODUCTION: Several studies on the effectiveness of exercise in improving sleep quality in the elderly have been done but have conficting results. This meta-analysis aimed to determine the effect of low- to moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in improving sleep quality among the elderly. METHODS: EBSCO, ClinicalKey, PubMed, Wiley Online Library, and Cochrane Library were searched for articles using the terms “exercise AND sleep quality AND elderly”. The risk of bias assessment was done using the Cochrane Collaboration tool and encoded using RevMan 5.4. Data on outcome measures were subjected to meta-analysis using inverse variance methods. RESULTS: Seven articles with a total of 225 participants were included. There was a statistically signifcant improvement in sleep quality with low to moderate intensity aerobic exercise (MD = -3.87 points; 95% CI -5.56, -2.19 points; p < 0.001). There was a statistically signifcant decrease in total sleep time after intervention (MD = -8.86; 95% CI -16.31, -1.41 points; p = 0.02). There was no improvement in sleep effciency. CONCLUSION Low and moderate intensity exercise improves sleep quality in the elderly and may be used as a non-pharmacologic intervention to enhance sleep quality.