Structural and functional cardiac adaptations to a 10-week school-based football intervention for 9-10-year-old children.

The present study investigated the cardiac effects of a 10-week football training intervention for school children aged 9-10 years using comprehensive transthoracic echocardiography as a part of a larger ongoing study. A total of 97 pupils from four school classes were cluster-randomized into a control group that maintained their usual activities (CON; two classes, n = 51, 21 boys and 30 girls) and a football training group that performed an additional 3 × 40 min of small-sided football training per week (FT; two classes, n = 46, 23 boys and 23 girls). No baseline differences were observed in age, body composition, or echocardiographic variables between FT and CON. After the 10-week intervention, left ventricular posterior wall diameter was increased in FT compared with CON [0.4 ± 0.7 vs -0.1 ± 0.6 (± SD) mm; P < 0.01] as was the interventricular septum thickness (0.2 ± 0.7 vs -0.2 ± 0.8 mm; P < 0.001). Global isovolumetric relaxation time increased more in FT than in CON (3.8 ± 10.4 vs -0.9 ± 6.6 ms, P < 0.05) while the change in ventricular systolic ejection fraction tended to be higher (1.4 ± 8.0 vs -1.1 ± 5.5%; P = 0.08). No changes were observed in resting heart rate or blood pressure. In conclusion, a short-term, school-based intervention comprising small-sided football sessions resulted in significant structural and functional cardiac adaptations in pre-adolescent children.

[Recklinghausen neurofibromatosis in children]. / Neurofibromatosis Recklinghausen hos børn.

Neurofibromatosis Recklinghausen (NF-1) is a progressive disease, which is inherited as a monogenic, autosomal dominant trait. The NF-1 gene is localized on chromosome 17(17q11.2), allowing antenatal and postnatal diagnostic tests. The prevalence of NF-1 is 1/5000, but the disease may be more prevalent in children and young adults below twenty years of age. The pathophysiological mechanisms are presently unknown, although the gene defect can result in experimental inhibition of tumor suppression. NF-1 in childhood can be associated with a variety of clinical and psycho-social problems, and the diagnostic criteria may not be met at birth. More than six café-au-lait spots in individuals should give rise to suspicion, and axillary and inguinal freckels are considered to be pathognomonic for the disease. Neurofibromas are found in 15% of children below six years of age with NF-1. Sphenoidal dysplasia is pathognomonic (but very rare) in children with NF-1, and pseudoarthrosis of the tibia is seen in three percent of cases. Scoliosis is prevalent, and back deformities are found in 60% of all patients. Malignancies are more prevalent in patients with NF-1, and in children opticus glioma and nonlymphocytic leukaemia are the most frequent. In addition, learning difficulties are found. The treatment and clinical control of children with NF-1 is a specialist task, which requires a centrally coordinated function. This organization has not yet been established in Denmark.