This study evaluated the effects of saddle height on the muscle activity and oxygen uptake during bicycling. The subjects were 20 young adult volunteers. Muscle activity and oxygen uptake were measured with the two saddle heights (maximum knee extension of 180degrees and 120degrees) and at two power outputs (70 and 100 watts, respectively.) The pedaling rate was 40 rpm. The exercise time was 1 minute and the resting time between each condition was 3 minutes. The raw electromyogram activity was measured for 1 minute and was converted to a root mean square value. Oxygen uptake was measured during exercise using the mixing chamber mode. The activities of two flexors (the medial hamstring and medial head of gastrocnemius) increased at the high saddle height and the activities of four extensors (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, and tibialis anterior) increased at the low saddle height. The oxygen uptake at the low saddle height was significantly higher than that at the high saddle height. The oxygen uptake positively correlated with the muscle activities of the knee extensors. The muscle activity and oxygen uptake were significantly affected by the postures (saddle heights) in cycle ergometer. The postures should be considered in the exercise test and prescription.
Bicycling ; Exercise Test ; Head ; Humans ; Knee ; Muscles ; Oxygen ; Posture ; Prescriptions ; Quadriceps Muscle ; Young Adult

No abstract available.

Most mediastinal teratomas are histologically well-differentiated tumors and benign. The majority of patients with a mediastinal teratoma are asymptomatic and their tumors are usually discovered incidentally on chest radiography. On rare occasions this tumor will rupture spontaneously into the adjacent organs. A 72-year-old female patient was admitted for dyspnea and she had a multiloculated pleural effusion in the left lung field. Although repeated pleural biopsy and pleural fluid cytology did not prove the presence of malignancy, we assumed that this was a malignant effusion because it revealed consistently high levels of carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9, and the chest CT scan did not show typical fat or bone density in the mass. Secondary infection and an uncontrolled septic condition due to pleural empyema finally compelled the patient to undergo a surgical operation. Mature teratoma was the final diagnosis and she has done well without recurrence for 2 months.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Bone Density ; Carcinoembryonic Antigen ; Coinfection ; Dyspnea ; Empyema ; Empyema, Pleural ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Pleural Effusion ; Recurrence ; Rupture ; Teratoma ; Thorax

OBJECTIVE: To compare the exercise capacity after cardiac rehabilitation (CR) in patients with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHOD: 27 patients who underwent PCI and 18 patients who underwent CABG surgery were included. All the subjects performed supervised exercise training for 6~8 weeks at hospital and self-exercise at community for additional 16~18 weeks. Exercise capacity was measured by symptom limited graded exercise tests at study entry and 6 months later. RESULTS: After 6 months of CR, maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) was significantly increased, resting heart rate (HR) and submaximal rate pressure product (RPP) were significantly decreased in both groups (p<0.05). There were no significant change of maximal HR in both groups (p<0.05). Maximal RPP in CABG increased significantly (p<0.05) but did not change significantly in PCI group. Resting HR was significantly higher, VO2max was significantly lower in CABG group than PCI group at study entry (p<0.05). Resting HR was not significantly different in both groups but, VO2max was still lower in CABG group than PCI group even after 6 months of CR (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The cardiac rehabilitation program was effective in both PCI and CABG group. Although VO2max in PCI group was higher than CABG group after 6 month CR, the range of improvement was greater in CABG group than PCI group.
Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Exercise Test ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Oxygen Consumption ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Transplants

Seven hemiplegic stroke patients suffering elbow flexor spasticity were selected for musculocutaneous nerve (MN) blocks. The MN was identified at the proximal 1/3 area on anteromedial surface of upper arm at supine position. An injectable monopolar EMG needle electrode was inserted into MN under real time ultrasonography. The 7% phenol solution was injected 0.2 ml at a time into MN until biceps brachii and brachialis muscle contractions were completely blocked at a maximum of 5 mA electrical stimulation. The total dose of injected phenol solution was 1.2~2.2 ml. We examined modified Ashworth scale (MAS) of elbow flexor and elbow angle at the standing position. In all the subjects, MAS was decreased and elbow angle was increased after nerve block. Ultrasonography guidance makes it exact to identify MN and to inject neurolytic solution to target. It can lead minimal complications by using the least dosage of neurolytic drug.
Arm ; Elbow* ; Electric Stimulation ; Electrodes ; Humans ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscle Spasticity* ; Musculocutaneous Nerve* ; Needles ; Nerve Block ; Phenol* ; Stroke ; Supine Position ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: To know the characteristics of muscle strength and tendon diameter of rotator cuff in the elite thrower and correlation between both parameters. METHOD: Twenty-four elite throwers (male 16, female 8) without pain and injury were included. Dominant hand was right side in all subjects. Thickness and width of rotator cuff except teres minor were measured with ultrasonography. Concentric strengths of shoulder internal (IR) and external rotators (ER) were measured with isokinetic device. RESULTS: There was no difference between dominant and nondominant shoulder in tendon diameter except that thickness and width of dominant infraspinatus were greater than nondominant. ER/IR peak torque ratio was about 1.0 in both sides. There were significant correlations between subscapularis thickness and IR strength, infraspinatus width and ER strength, supraspinatus thickness and ER strength, supraspinatus width and ER strength, infraspinatus thickness and IR strength, infraspinatus width and IR strength in nondominant side, and subscapularis thickness and ER strength in dominant side. CONCLUSION: It is possible that external rotation peak torque is increased in elite thrower. Muscle strength could not be expected by tendon diameter except nondomiant subscapular thickness and infraspinatus width. This study will be the basis of the next study about elite thrower.
Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Muscle Strength ; Muscles* ; Rotator Cuff* ; Shoulder* ; Tendons* ; Torque ; Ultrasonography

OBJECTIVE: To observe the termination point of graded exercise test (GXT) in cardiac patients and the reasons for the premature termination. METHOD: Cardiac patients taking GXT within 4 weeks after medical intervention or surgery were reviewed. If the GXT was stopped below the respiratory exchange ratio of 1.0, the subjects were chosen as the final study subjects and reviewed for the reason of premature termination. RESULTS: 115 out of a total of 715 subjects terminated GXT prematurely. There were 36 cardiovascular, and 79 non- cardiovascular reasons. The cardiovascular reasons were abnormal blood pressure response (19.1%), dysrhythmia (6.1%), ST abnormality (3.5%), vascular claudication (2.6%). The non-cardio-vascular reasons were subjective dyspnea (45.2%), lower limb fatigue (7.8%), hemiplegic gait (5.2%), arthralgia (3.5%), anxiety (3.5%), neurogenic claudication (2.6%), and abdominal pain (0.9%). The causes of dyspnea were low physical fitness (71.1%), concurrent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (15.4%), poor motivation (5.8%), and secondary gain (7.7%). CONCLUSION: 16.1% of GXT were terminated prematurely and 68.7% of those for non-cardiovascular reasons. The main causes of the non-cardiovascular premature GXT were subjective dyspnea due to low physical fitness.
Abdominal Pain ; Anxiety ; Arthralgia ; Blood Pressure ; Dyspnea ; Exercise Test* ; Fatigue ; Gait Disorders, Neurologic ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Motivation ; Physical Fitness ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Rehabilitation*

BACKGROUND: The overall response (20-30%) to chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is quite poor. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is the rate-limiting enzyme in heme degradation. There is increasing evidence suggesting that the induction of HO-1 might have an important protective effect against oxidative stress including cisplatin containing chemotherapy. This study retrospectively investigated the relationship between HO-1 expression and the response to chemotherapy containing cisplatinin advanced NSCLC patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The medical records including the responses to chemotherapy of fifty nine cases were evaluated retrospectively, and the tissue samples of these patients were immunohistochemically stained for HO-1. RESULTS: Forty three of the fifty nine patients(72.8%) showed positive staining for HO-1 in their cancer tissues. There was no significant difference according to the cell type, stage and tumor size. In addition, there was no correlation between HO-1 expression and the responses to chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: HO-1 expression in tumor tissue dose not predict the response to cisplatin containing chemotherapy in advanced NSCLC. Further prospective studies with a larger number of patients will be needed to confirm these results.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Cisplatin* ; Drug Therapy* ; Heme Oxygenase-1* ; Heme* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Oxidative Stress ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) program on the exercise capacity and secondary prevention in coronary artery obstructive disease (CAOD). METHOD: CR group of 48 CAOD patients had underwent regularly supervised exercise training for 6~8 weeks as well as home exercise continued for 1 year. CR group was advised to control their risk factors by nutrition counsel, abstaining from smoking and reducing their weight. Control group of 16 CAOD patients did not participate in the CR program. Two groups were evaluated for their exercise capacity and risk factors at baseline and after 1 year. RESULTS: CR group showed significantly higher maximal oxygen consumption, maximal rate pressure product and ratings of perceived exertion at stage 3 compared with control group (p<0.05). The number of risk factors per person after 1 year in both groups was significantly lower than baseline (p<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups. CONCLUSION: CR program can improve the exercise capacity and level of risk factor in CAOD patients. Therefore, CR program is recommended for helping CAOD patients improve their functional capacity and reduce the possibility of recurrence.
Coronary Vessels* ; Humans ; Oxygen Consumption ; Recurrence ; Rehabilitation* ; Risk Factors* ; Secondary Prevention ; Smoke ; Smoking

Spasticity has been defined as a motor disorder characterized by a velocity-dependent increase in tonic stretch reflex (muscle tone). Muscle tone consists of mechanical-elastic characteristics, reflex muscle contraction and other elements. The aims of this study were to determine whether to assess spasticity quantitatively, and to characterize biomechanical and electromyographic spasticity assessment parameters. These assessment parameters were described by investigating the correlation between clinical measures and the response to passive sinusoidal movement with consecutive velocity increments. Twenty post-stroke hemiplegic patients and twenty normal healthy volunteers were included in the study. Five consecutive sinusoidal passive movements of the ankle were performed at specific velocities (60, 120, 180, and 240 degrees/ sec). We recorded the peak torque, work, and threshold angle using a computerized isokinetic dynamometer, and simultaneously measured the rectified integrated electromyographic activity. We compared these parameters both between groups and between different velocities. The peak torque, threshold angle, work, and rectified integrated electromyographic activity were significantly higher in the post-stroke spastic group at all angular velocities than in the normal control group. The threshold angle and integrated electromyographic activity increased significantly and linearly as angular velocity increased, but the peak torque and work were not increased in the post-stroke spastic group. Peak torque, work, and threshold angle were significantly correlated to the Modified Ashworth scale, but the integrated electromyographic activity was not. The biomechanical and electromyographic approach may be useful to quantitatively assess spasticity. However, it may also be very important to consider the different characteristics of each biomechanical parameter.
Adult ; Aged ; Ankle/*physiopathology ; Biomechanics ; Cerebrovascular Accident/*physiopathology ; Electromyography ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Spasticity/*physiopathology ; Regression Analysis ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Torque