Effect of Baseline BMI and IL-6 Subgroup Membership on Gait Speed Response to Caloric Restriction in Older Adults with Obesity.

BACKGROUND: Prior work shows caloric restriction (CR) can improve physical function among older adults living with obesity. However, the contribution of starting weight and inflammatory burden to CR-associated functional improvements is unclear. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if CR-associated gait speed change varied by body mass index (BMI) and plasma interleukin 6 (IL-6) at baseline and secondarily to determine the contribution of BMI change and IL-6 change to gait speed change. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: Data from eight randomized control trials were pooled, with 1184 participants randomized to CR (n=661) and No CR (n=523) conditions. All studies assessed outcomes before and five or six months after assignment to CR or No CR. MEASUREMENTS: BMI and IL-6 were assessed at baseline using standard procedures. Gait speed was assessed with the six-minute walk test or 400m walk test. Baseline BMI/IL-6 subgroups were constructed using BMI≥35 kg/m2 and IL-6>2.5 pg/mL thresholds. Participants with BMI≥35 kg/m2 were grouped into class 2+ obesity and BMI<35 kg/m2 into class 1- obesity; IL-6>2.5 pg/mL were grouped into high IL-6, and <2.5 pg/mL as low IL-6 (class 2+ obesity/high IL-6: n=288, class 2+ obesity/low IL-6: n=143, class 1- obesity/high IL-6: n=354, or class 1- obesity/low IL-6: n=399). All analyses used adjusted general linear models. RESULTS: Gait speed significantly improved with CR versus non-CR [mean difference: +0.02 m/s (95% CI: 0.01, 0.04)]. CR assignment significantly interacted with BMI/IL-6 subgroup membership (p=0.03). Greatest gait speed improvement was observed in the class 2+ obesity/high IL-6 subgroup [+0.07 m/s (0.03, 0.10)]. No other subgroups observed significant gait speed change. For each unit decrease in BMI, gait speed change increased by +0.02 m/s (p<0.001; R2=0.26), while log IL-6 change did not significantly affect gait speed change [+0.01 m/s (p=0.20)]. CONCLUSIONS: Only the class 2+ obesity/high IL-6 subgroup significantly improved gait speed in response to CR. Improvement in gait speed in this subgroup was driven by a larger decrease in BMI, but not IL-6, in response to CR. Individuals with class 2+ obesity and high IL-6 are most likely to show improved gait speed in response to CR, with improvement predominantly driven by reductions in BMI.

The Effects of a Pain Management-Focused Mobile Health Behavior Intervention on Older Adults' Self-efficacy, Satisfaction with Functioning, and Quality of Life: a Randomized Pilot Trial.

BACKGROUND: This report investigates the impact of a remote physical activity intervention on self-efficacy, satisfaction with functioning, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as assessed by the SF-36 in obese older adults with chronic pain. The intervention was group-mediated in nature and based in social cognitive theory and mindfulness-based relapse prevention. METHODS: Participants (N = 28; 70.21 ± 5.22 years) were randomly assigned to receive either the active intervention, which focused on reducing caloric intake and increasing steps across the day or to a waitlist control condition. RESULTS: Over 12 weeks, intervention participants reported a moderate, positive improvement in self-efficacy for walking relative to control. They also reported large magnitude improvements in satisfaction for physical functioning as well as improvements on pain and the physical functioning subscales of the SF-36. CONCLUSIONS: These findings expand on previous research showing similar effects in response to structured exercise, this time via a protocol that is likely to be scalable and sustainable for many older adults. Additional work on larger and more diverse samples is warranted.

A multi-modal virtual reality treadmill intervention for enhancing mobility and cognitive function in people with multiple sclerosis: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Gait and cognitive impairments are common in individuals with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and can interfere with everyday function. Those with MS have difficulties executing cognitive tasks and walking simultaneously, a reflection of dual-task interference. Therefore, dual-task training may improve functional ambulation. Additionally, using technology such as virtual reality can provide personalized rehabilitation while mimicking real-world environments. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to establish the benefits of a combined cognitive-motor virtual reality training on MS symptoms compared to conventional treadmill training. METHODS: This study will be a single-blinded, two arm RCT with a six-week intervention period. 144 people with MS will be randomized into a treadmill training alone group or treadmill training with virtual reality group. Both groups will receive 18 sessions of training while walking on a treadmill, with the virtual reality group receiving feedback from the virtual system. Primary outcome measures include dual-task gait speed and information processing speed, which will be measured prior to training, one-week post-training, and three months following training. DISCUSSION: This study will provide insight into the ability of a multi-modal cognitive-motor intervention to reduce dual-task cost and to enhance information processing speed in those with MS. This is one of the first studies that is powered to understand whether targeted dual-task training can improve MS symptoms and increase functional ambulation. We anticipate that those in the virtual reality group will have a significantly greater increase in dual-task gait speed and information processing speed than those achieved via treadmill training alone.

Plasma gelsolin promotes re-epithelialization.

Woundhealing disorders characterized by impaired or delayed re-epithelialization are a serious medical problem that is painful and difficult to treat. Gelsolin (GSN), a known actin modulator, supports epithelial cell regeneration and apoptosis. The aim of this study was to estimate the potential of recombinant gelsolin (rhu-pGSN) for ocular surface regeneration to establish a novel therapy for delayed or complicated wound healing. We analyzed the influence of gelsolin on cell proliferation and wound healing in vitro, in vivo/ex vivo and by gene knockdown. Gelsolin is expressed in all tested tissues of the ocular system as shown by molecular analysis. The concentration of GSN is significantly increased in tear fluid samples of patients with dry eye disease. rhu-pGSN induces cell proliferation and faster wound healing in vitro as well as in vivo/ex vivo. TGF-ß dependent transcription of SMA is significantly decreased after GSN gene knockdown. Gelsolin is an inherent protein of the ocular system and is secreted into the tear fluid. Our results show a positive effect on corneal cell proliferation and wound healing. Furthermore, GSN regulates the synthesis of SMA in myofibroblasts, which establishes GSN as a key protein of TGF-ß dependent cell differentiation.

Tissue- and stage-specific expression of a soybean (Glycine max L.) seed-maturation, biotinylated protein.

A cDNA clone GmPM4 which encodes mRNA species in mature or dry soybean seeds was characterized. DNA sequence analysis shows that the deduced polypeptides have a molecular mass of 68 kDa. GmPM4 proteins have a relatively high amino acid sequence homology with a major biotinylated protein isolated from pea seeds, SBP65, but both of these proteins differ markedly from that of presently known biotin enzymes. The accumulation of GmPM4 mRNA is detectable in the leaf primodium and the vascular tissues of the hypocotyl-radicle axis of mature seeds, and the GmPM4 proteins are present at high levels in dry and mature soybean seeds, but not in fresh immature seeds. It degrades rapidly at the early stage of seed germination. These proteins are boiling-soluble and biotinylated when they are present endogenously in soybean seeds; however, the same recombinant protein expressed in Escherichia coli is boiling-soluble, but it is not biotinylated.