Diagnóstico ecocardiográfico e tratamento de cardiomiopatia dilatada em tamanduá- bandeira ( Myrmecophaga trydactila ) mantido em cativeiro: relato de caso / Echocardiographic diagnosis and treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy in captive giant anteater (Myrmecophaga trydactila): case report

A cardiomiopatia dilatada é uma doença de caráter crônico, que compromete a função cardíaca, resultando em desequilíbrio da circulação sanguínea e da homeostase corporal do animal. Este relato apresenta a evolução do quadro clínico e o tratamento de cardiomiopatia dilatada em um exemplar cativo de tamanduá-bandeira. O animal apresentou quadro clínico de insuficiência cardíaca e foi submetido a duas baterias de exames laboratoriais e de imagem em um período de três meses. Posteriormente, foi iniciado o tratamento com pimobendan e suplementação de taurina, resultando em resposta positiva e melhora dos sinais clínicos do paciente. Os achados ecocardiográficos do caso foram compatíveis com cardiomiopatia dilatada com sinais evidentes de diminuição progressiva das frações de ejeção, bem como encurtamento e aumento expressivo das câmaras cardíacas, quando se comparou este caso ao de cães de grande porte e animais saudáveis da mesma espécie. O tratamento com inotrópico positivo, suplementação dietética de taurina e diuréticos se mostrou eficiente em controlar os sinais clínicos do animal.(AU)

The dilated cardiomyopathy it is a chronic disease that leads to a cardiac dysfunction, resulting in unstable blood circulation and specimen body homeostasis. This description shows the dilated cardiomyopathy evolution and treatment in a giant anteater captive model. The patient presented cardiac insufficient clinical condition and was submitted to two sets of laboratorial and image exams in three months. Furthermore, the treatment started with pimobendam and taurine supplementation, leading to satisfactory response to treatment and clinical improvement. The echocardiographic findings were compatible with dilated cardiomyopathy, moreover clear evidence of progressive reduction at the ejection portions and shortening and expressive increase of the cardiac chamber when compared to large dogs and healthy animals of the same species. Treatment with positive inotropic and taurine dietary supplement revealed as effective in clinical managementr.(AU)

Stress injury to the bone among women athletes.

Women's participation and recognition in sports have grown dramatically in the last 30 years, and this trend is expected to continue. In the last decade exciting research has centered on the unique medical and musculoskeletal aspects of the female athlete. Scientists have elucidated significant findings in the area of bone health, amenorrhea, disordered eating, osteoporosis, and stress fractures. Stress fractures are a common problem in female athletes and they appear to occur more commonly in the sacrum, pelvis, and femoral neck. Certain risk factors place women at a greater risk for stress injury to the bone, such as amenorrhea, low calcium intake, disordered eating, bone geometry, and leg length discrepancy. The best treatment for a stress fracture is prevention. Moreover, any woman with a stress fracture must be evaluated for the female athlete triad. Most stress fractures can be treated with relative rest and correction of the underlying factors that contributed to the injury. Certain stress fractures occur in areas of relative hypovascularity and are at risk for nonunion or avascular necrosis. In these cases surgery should be considered.

Acute effects of acupuncture on physiological and psychological responses to cycle ergometry.

OBJECTIVE: Recent research has reported an improvement in exercise capacity following a series of acupuncture treatments. We examined the immediate effects of a single acupuncture treatment on perceived exertion and physiological responses during submaximal dynamic exercise, and maximal exercise capacity in human subjects. DESIGN: Ten healthy subjects (5 men, 5 women) participated in the study. After demonstrating consistency in using the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) scale, each subject underwent graded continuous maximal exercise testing on a cycle ergometer after genuine acupuncture, sham acupuncture, and rest without needles being inserted. Treatment conditions were randomized for each subject, and tests were conducted at least 72 hours apart. Heart rate and oxygen uptake were measured, and RPE was requested during the last 30 seconds of each 3-minute exercise stage. Data were analyzed with repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences among conditions for RPE, oxygen uptake, heart rate, respiratory exchange ratio, ventilation, and ventilatory equivalent for oxygen at submaximal workloads. In addition, none of the physiological measures at peak exertion or the duration of exercise differed among conditions. CONCLUSIONS: A single acupuncture treatment has no significant immediate effect on the perceived exertion and physiological responses during submaximal dynamic exercise or upon maximal exercise capacity among healthy individuals.

Energy expenditure with indoor exercise machines.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the rates of energy expenditure at given rating of perceived exertion (RPE) levels among 6 different indoor exercise machines. DESIGN: Repeated measures design. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy young-adult volunteers, including 8 men and 5 women. INTERVENTIONS: Subjects underwent a 4-week habituation period to become familiar with the RPE scale and exercise on an Airdyne, a cross-country skiing simulator, a cycle ergometer, a rowing ergometer, a stair stepper, and a treadmill. Following habituation, each subject completed an exercise test with each exercise machine. The exercise test comprised 3 stages of 5 minutes at self-selected work rates corresponding to RPE values of 11 (fairly light), 13 (somewhat hard), and 15 (hard). Oxygen consumption, from which the rate of energy expenditure was calculated, was measured during the last minute of each 5-minute exercise stage. Heart rate was measured during the last minute of each stage of the exercise test, and blood lactate levels were obtained immediately after each exercise stage. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Rate of energy expenditure at specified RPE values. RESULTS: Rates of energy expenditure at a given RPE varied by 1093 kJ/h (261 kcal/h) for the exercise machines. The treadmill induced higher (P < .05) rates of energy expenditure for fixed RPE values than all other exercise machines. The cross-country skiing simulator, rowing ergometer, and stair stepper induced higher (P < .05) rates of energy expenditure than the Airdyne and cycle ergometer. Heart rate varied significantly (P < .01) among exercise machines, with the highest values associated with the treadmill and the stair stepper. Lactate concentration varied significantly (P = .004), with highest values associated with use of the stair stepper and the rowing ergometer. CONCLUSIONS: Under the conditions of the study, the treadmill is the optimal indoor exercise machine for enhancing energy expenditure when perceived exertion is used to establish exercise intensity.

Relationships among heart rate, lactate concentration, and perceived effort for different types of rhythmic exercise in women.

OBJECTIVE: Exercise training intensity for aerobic conditioning is typically established by heart rate (HR), oxygen uptake, or rating of perceived exertion (RPE). Recent research, however, suggests that the optimal training intensity may be more appropriately established from measurements of blood lactate concentration ([La]). This study examined the relationships among three of these training intensity variables--HR, RPE, and [La]--for six modes of rhythmic exercise. DESIGN: Ten healthy women subjects underwent a 4-week habituation period to become familiar with the RPE scale and exercise on a treadmill, cycle ergometer, rowing ergometer, Airdyne, stairstepper, and cross-country skiing simulator. Following habituation, each subject underwent graded discontinuation exercise testing on each mode. HR was measured during the last minute of each 4-minute stage. Immediately after each stage, RPE was requested and blood was collected for analysis of [La]. Data were analyzed with repeated measures ANOVA. RESULTS: For given RPE values, the treadmill induced higher (p < .05) HR values compared with the cycle and rowing ergometers, and the cycle ergometer induced lower (p < .05) HR values compared with the treadmill, Airdyne, stairstepper, and cross-country skiing simulator. The relationships of [La] with RPE were similar among modes except for the cross-country skiing simulator, which induced a lower (p < .05) [La] for a given RPE. CONCLUSIONS: Since the relationships of HR and [La] with RPE are not the same for all forms of rhythmic exercise that use a large muscle mass, we conclude that mode specificity should be considered when prescribing aerobic exercise.

Does the amount of exercising muscle alter the aerobic demand of dynamic exercise?

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if the aerobic demand for production of specified power outputs is altered by distribution of work between the arms and legs compared with when all the work is performed by the legs. Because of the important exercise training implications, a secondary purpose of this study was to determine if the exercising muscle mass affects the cardiorespiratory demands at specified rating of perceived exertion (RPE) levels and blood lactate concentrations. Nine healthy adults completed leg cycling and combined arm and leg exercise on an Airdyne using a discontinuous protocol. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that oxygen uptake for the combined arm and leg exercise averaged 0.04 1.min-1 greater (p < 0.05) than for leg cycling at the same external power outputs. However, RPE levels at specified power outputs were lower (p < 0.05) with combined arm and leg exercise than leg cycling. At specified RPE levels and blood lactate concentrations, oxygen uptake and heart rate values were higher (p < 0.05) for combined arm and leg exercise than leg cycling. From these findings we conclude that: (1) the addition of arm exercise to leg cycling results in a reduction in RPE, but a minimal increase in oxygen consumption to perform a given power output, and (2) if training intensity is established by RPE or blood lactate concentration, use of muscle mass larger than that used in leg cycling should allow a greater cardiorespiratory training effect.