Ricardo Jacó de Oliveira

Evaluation of physical exercise habits in Brazilian patients with epilepsy

In this study we present data from a survey that aimed to assess the physical activity of a sample of adult outpatients with epilepsy. One hundred adult outpatients of both sexes with epilepsy answered a survey addressing exercise habits. Fifty-eight males and forty-two females participated in this study. The mean age of onset of seizures was 18.6 years and the mean duration of epilepsy was 16.1 years. Sixty patients had controlled or rare seizures, 8 infrequent seizures, 17 frequent seizures, and 11 very frequent seizures. Eighty-six had partial epilepsy and only 3 had abnormal neurological examinations. Of the total, 51 engaged in physical activity, 85 did not believe that sports precipitate seizures, and 15 were forbidden by their physicians to engage in physical activities. Moreover, 14 were cautioned against participation in sports by their relatives and friends. Eight-four patients had never experienced seizures during physical exercise, 36 believed that physical activity has a positive influence on treatment, and only 1 related injuries associated with seizures. Forty-five are afraid of having seizures during exercise because the seizures might attract the attention of others and they would make fools of themselves. Our data show that although most of our patients do not regularly engage in physical activity, they believe that it might improve medical treatment.

Acetylcholine-mediated neurotransmission within the nucleus raphe magnus exerts a key role in the organization of both interictal and postictal antinociception

The role of the acetylcholine-mediated system in the organization of postictal antinociception was investigated. For this purpose, nicotinic and muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonists were microinjected into the nucleus raphe magnus (NRM), a key structure of the endogenous pain inhibitory system. After the tail-flick test baseline recording, male Wistar rats (N=8 per group) were submitted to stereotaxic surgery for the introduction of a guide cannula aiming at the NRM. Five days after surgery, atropine or mecamylamine (1 µg/0.2 µL, 3 µg/0.2 µL, or 5 µg/0.2 µL) was microinjected into the NRM. The tail-flick withdrawal latency was recorded immediately after peripheral treatment with pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) (64 mg/kg), in two different interictal time windows, and for 130 minutes after the last seizure evoked by intraperitoneal injection of PTZ. The blockade of GABA-mediated Cl(-) influx caused tonic-clonic convulsions in all animals followed by sustained postictal antinociception lasting 110 minutes after seizures; the nociceptive threshold was also found to be high in interictal periods. Pretreatment of the NRM with either atropine or mecamylamine antagonized both interictal and postictal antinociception, suggesting the involvement of cholinergic mechanisms recruiting muscarinic and nicotinic cholinergic receptors of the NRM in the organization of tonic-clonic seizure-induced antinociception.

Associação do polimorfismo ApaI do gene IGF-2 com a força e a massa muscular em idosas brasileiras

Sarcopenia reduces functional capacity in elderly people. The candidate gene Insulin Growth Factor (IGF-2) has been suggested to influence on sarcopenia. This study aimed to investigate the association between the IGF-2 / ApaI polymorphism and the phenotypes muscle mass and strength. The study involved 252 subjects (66.94 ± 5.59 years), who underwent muscle strength measurements using an isokinetic dynamometer, and fat-free mass (FFM) assessment using DEXA. Volunteers also answered the IPAQ questionnaire to determine physical activity levels. Statistical procedures included ANOVA and ANCOVA to compare variables (p< 0.05). No significant difference was detected between age, weight, height, BMI and body fat percentage in the three genotype groups. The analysis of covariance evidenced no significant difference between groups regarding the evaluated muscle-related phenotypes. Therefore, there was no significant association between IGF-2 / ApaI polymorphism with isokinetic muscle strength and FFM in this population.