Acute effects of exergames on cognitive function of institutionalized older persons: a single-blinded, randomized and controlled pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Improvements on balance, gait and cognition are some of the benefits of exergames. Few studies have investigated the cognitive effects of exergames in institutionalized older persons. AIMS: To assess the acute effect of a single session of exergames on cognition of institutionalized older persons. METHODS: Nineteen institutionalized older persons were randomly allocated to Wii (WG, n = 10, 86 ± 7 year, two males) or control groups (CG, n = 9, 86 ± 5 year, one male). The WG performed six exercises with virtual reality, whereas CG performed six exercises without virtual reality. Verbal fluency test (VFT), digit span forward and digit span backward were used to evaluate semantic memory/executive function, short-term memory and work memory, respectively, before and after exergames and Δ post- to pre-session (absolute) and Δ % (relative) were calculated. Parametric (t independent test) and nonparametric (Mann-Whitney test) statistics and effect size were applied to tests for efficacy. RESULTS: VFT was statistically significant within WG (-3.07, df = 9, p = 0.013). We found no statistically significant differences between the two groups (p > 0.05). Effect size between groups of Δ % (median = 21 %) showed moderate effect for WG (0.63). DISCUSSION: Our data show moderate improvement of semantic memory/executive function due to exergames session. It is possible that cognitive brain areas are activated during exergames, increasing clinical response. CONCLUSION: A single session of exergames showed no significant improvement in short-term memory, working memory and semantic memory/executive function. The effect size for verbal fluency was promising, and future studies on this issue should be developed. PROTOCOL NUMBER OF BRAZILIAN REGISTRY OF CLINICAL TRIALS: RBR-6rytw2.

Effects of Blood Pressure Lowering Agents on Cardiovascular Outcomes in Weight Excess Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Obesity hypertension is an ongoing pandemic. The first-line medications to treat this condition are still subject to debate. We compared diuretics, calcium-channel blockers (CCB), beta-blockers (BB), angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB) as an initial antihypertensive therapy for prevention of cardiovascular morbimortality of hypertensive individuals who are overweight or obese. METHODS: We conducted a search of the literature for randomized clinical trials in which at least 50% of the participants were overweight or obese. The primary outcomes were all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, acute myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure (HF), stroke, or end-stage renal disease. RESULTS: Our search yielded 16 randomized studies. Comparisons of two classes of drugs with at least two studies indicated that (1) CCB and ACEI increased the risk of HF [relative risk (RR) = 2.26; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.16-4.40] and stroke [hazard ratio (HR) = 1.13; 1.00-1.26]), respectively, compared to diuretics; and (2) CCB showed a reduction in stroke (HR = 0.77; 0.66-0.89) and total mortality (HR = 0.94; 0.87-1.01) compared to the BB atenolol. Comparisons of two classes of antihypertensive medications with only one study showed that the risk of MI was higher with ARB valsartan versus CCB (HR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.02-1.38, p = 0.02). In contrast, losartan lowered the risk of a composite cardiovascular outcome compared to atenolol (HR = 0.87; 95% CI 0.77-0.98, p = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: In hypertensive subjects with excess weight, diuretics are more effective for preventing HF and stroke than CCB and ACEI, respectively. CCB are a good first-line choice for prevention of cardiovascular disease, except HF.

Effect of Exercise on Inflammatory Profile of Older Persons: Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses.

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins increase with aging, promoting a chronic low-grade inflammation. Studies have shown a positive effect of exercise on inflammatory markers in older persons. Interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP) are the main biomarkers investigated. However, it is unclear if exercise could decrease all these biomarkers. PURPOSE: The aim was to analyze the effect of chronic exercise on IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP levels in older persons. METHODS: Preferred Reporting Items in Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines were adopted. Original articles that investigated the effect of chronic exercise on inflammatory profile of the elderly persons were eligible for this review. The databases PubMed, PEDro, EBSCO, and BioMed Central were searched. Three reviewers evaluated each publication for reducing bias. Data about IL-6, TNF-α, and CRP were collected and analyzed. A standardized mean difference based on estimated pooled effect size was calculated considering heterogeneity index (I2) and random effect. RESULTS: Seventy-six studies were retrieved from databases, and 8 of them were analyzed. IL-6 and CRP levels decreased after chronic exercise (overall effect P < .05). CONCLUSION: Regular exercise decreases IL-6 and CRP levels in older persons. The effect of exercise on TNF-α remains unclear.