Pseudohypoparathyroidism, parkinsonism syndrome, with no basal ganglia calcification.
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A 20 year old woman with pseudohypoparathyroidism, Parkinsonism and no basal ganglia calcifications shown by computed tomography is reported. She has typical features of pseudohypoparathyroidism and biochemical evidence of end-organ resistance to parathyroid hormone. She is mentally retarded and has tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and stooped posture. The cause of Parkinsonism in pseudohypoparathyroidism is thought to be basal ganglia calcification. This patient must have another pathophysiology, perhaps directly related to a G protein defect, causing impaired neurotransmission. (+info)
Toe-touch test. A measure of its validity.
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The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the vertical fingertip-floor distance (FFD) and the hip and vertebral components of trunk flexion during the toe-touch test. Measurements were taken from lateral photographs of each subject standing in the erect and maximally flexed positions. The subjects were healthy young men (n = 16) and women (n = 17). The mean FFD was 3 cm below floor level (-3 cm) with a standard deviation of 8 cm. Reliability of this measure was indicated by a test-retest correlation coefficient of .97. The FFD was a measure of both trunk (r = -.85) and hip flexion (r = -.79), but not of vertebral flexion (r = .10). At maximum trunk flexion, therefore, FFD is mainly a measure of the extensibility of the hamstring muscles that limit hip flexion when the knees remain extended. The toe-touch test was determined to be unsuitable for monitoring the effect of a treatment regimen to improve vertebral mobility because the partial correlation coefficient between vertebral flexion and FFD was -.64 (p less than .01), with the effect of hip flexion held constant. Although this correlation is significant, it means that less than half of the variation in FFD can be explained by changes in vertebral mobility. For this group of young adults, no significant correlations existed between the FFD and limb length and abdominal girth at maximum trunk flexion. (+info)
Anthropometric and training variables related to 10km running performance.
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Sixty male distance athletes were divided into three equal groups according to their personal best time for the 10km run. The runners were measured anthropometrically and each runner completed a detailed questionnaire on his athletic status, training programme and performance. The runners in this study had similar anthropometric and training profiles to other distance runners of a similar standard. The most able runners were shorter and lighter than those in the other two groups and significantly smaller skinfold values (P less than 0.05). There were no significant differences between the groups for either bone widths or circumferences but the elite and good runners had significantly higher ponderal indices (P less than 0.05) than the average runners, indicating that they are more linear. Elite and good runners were also less endomorphic but more ectomorphic than the average runners. The elite runners trained more often, ran more miles per week and had been running longer (P less than 0.05) than good or average runners. A multiple regression and discriminant function analysis indicated that linearity, total skinfold, the type and frequency of training and the number of years running were the best predictors of running performance and success at the 10km distance. (+info)
The relative contribution of body fat and fat pattern to blood pressure level.
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Although the association between body weight and blood pressure is irrefutable, body fat mass and blood pressure level may not necessarily be directly related. To clarify the relative contribution of fat mass to blood pressure level, we analyzed data on 399 adults consecutively entering a weight control program. Although most subjects were notably overweight (mean ideal body weight 177%), the population represented a wide spectrum of body weights and blood pressure levels. Study parameters included body fat mass (by total body water, 40K, and Steinkamp formula), lean body mass, body build (chest to height ratio), fat cell number and size from bilateral buttock biopsy specimens, upper fat pattern by arm to thigh circumference ratio, and central fat pattern by subscapular to triceps skinfold ratio. Our results concurred with previously noted correlations between obesity and blood pressure (as mean arterial pressure): weight (r = 0.44), percentage of body fat (r = 0.19), and absolute fat mass (r = 0.38; all p less than 0.01); however, lean body mass, age, and body build correlated highly with both fat mass and mean arterial pressure, thereby confounding this relationship. Multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the relative contribution of fat mass to mean arterial pressure in the presence of these and other potentially confounding variables. Lean body mass, age, body build, and an upper body fat pattern were found to contribute significantly to the variation in mean arterial pressure (p less than 0.01). In their presence, percentage of body fat, absolute fat mass, central fat pattern, fat cell characteristics, and age of onset of obesity did not significantly improve the predictability of mean arterial pressure.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) (+info)
Variables predictive of performance in elite middle-distance runners.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate possible factors which may account for differences in performance times within a closely-matched group (in terms of performance) of elite distance runners. The runners were training for competition in the 1984 Olympic Games in either the 5000 m or the 3000 m steeplechase events. Each runner's best performance time (BPT) was obtained and a stepwise regression analysis was performed with the following independent variables: age, weight, % body fat, VO2 max, aerobic threshold (AerT), and anaerobic threshold (AnT). For the 5000 m-runners, a multiple correlation of age and AnT accounted for 77% of the variance (p less than 0.02); for the 3000 m steeplechase runners, body weight alone and body weight and AnT accounted for 94% (p less than .01) and 98% (p less than .05) of the variance, respectively. The results suggest that, among elite middle-distance runners, these parameters deserve attention as potential predictors of performance. (+info)
Somatotypes of Nigerian athletes of several sports.
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Somatotype ratings and percentage body fat of 131 elite Nigerian male athletes, average 24.2 years of age, and belonging to badminton (n = 18), basketball (n = 30), field hockey (n = 24), handball (n = 16), judo (n = 18), and soccer (n = 25) teams were determined. Basketball, handball and soccer players were taller and heavier, and had low percent fat values as compared with the other athletic groups. Judokas and hockey players were endomesomorphs. Other sports groups were predominantly ectomesomorphs. (+info)
The relationship of maximal alactacid anaerobic power to somatotype in trained subjects.
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The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between somatotype components and maximal alactacid anaerobic power (MAAP) in trained subjects. The somatotype components (endomorphy: means = 2.66, S.D. = +/- 0.78; mesomorphy: means = 5.45, S.D. = +/- 1.12; ectomorphy: means = 2.46, S.D. = +/- 0.88) and total MAAP were measured in 40 male fencers (aged, means 21.79, S.D. = +/- 3.97) in order to determine the correlations. The results did not show any correlations between the parameters. It can be concluded that the MAAP of an individual does not depend on the somatotype; but it may also be assumed that MAAP show changes with the percentage of fibre type, enzymatic activity in these fibres involved by large muscle groups which are relatively related to musculo-skeletal development (second component of somatotype) and neuro-muscular properties of the subjects, all having a genetic basis. (+info)
The relation between gastric acid secretion and body habitus, blood groups, smoking, and the subsequent development of dyspepsia and duodenal ulcer.
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One hundred and seventy-six students free of gastrointestinal disease were studied to establish normal acid secretion values for healthy male and female students by the augmented histamine test and to re-examine the relationship between gastric acid secretion and ABO blood groups, body weight, fat-free body mass, height, degree of ectomorphy and mesomorphy, the number of cigarettes smoked per day, and serum cholesterol. A prospective study was then carried out on gastric acid secretion and the subsequent development after 10 years of duodenal ulcers or dyspepsia.Young, healthy medical students have a fairly high mean basal and maximal acid output. There was very little difference in the mean acid outputs of the various ABO blood groups. A significant correlation was shown between acid output and body weight and fat-free body mass, but not with the other measurements of body build. Basal acid output was also related to the number of cigarettes smoked per day. Three students who subsequently developed duodenal ulcers all had a preexistent high level of acid secretion. The acid output was, however, similar in the groups who developed significant or minor dyspepsia or who remained asymptomatic. (+info)