PURPOSE: To examine sex-specific lower limb strength, flexibility, and running biomechanics in adolescents with and without OSD. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of 100 adolescents (n=25 each group): females with OSD (age=14.6 ± 1.9 y; body mass index [BMI]=21.3 ± 2.1 kg/m2); males with OSD (age=14.4 ± 1.6 y; BMI=21.7 ± 3.2 kg/m2); females without OSD (age=14.8 ± 2.2 y; BMI=21.7 ± 3.0 kg/m2); and males without OSD (age=14.4 ± 2.2 y; BMI=22.0 ± 4.6 kg/m2). We assessed mass-normalized sagittal and frontal hip strength and sagittal knee strength via hand-held dynamometry, and quadriceps femoris (prone knee flexion) and hip flexor (Thomas test) flexibility. Limb crossover, contralateral pelvic drop [CPD], medial knee displacement, and tibial dominant stride were assessed during treadmill running. Group differences were analyzed using a two-way multivariate analysis of variance (continuous outcomes) and logistic regression (categorical outcomes), covarying for age and BMI. Analyses were performed using SPSS (alpha set at p<0.05). RESULTS: Compared with sex-matched healthy peers, females with OSD had impaired hip abduction strength and a greater propensity for CPD and medial knee displacement, though greater hip flexion strength (p≤0.03; Table). Males with OSD had greater hip and knee sagittal plane strength yet impaired flexibility (p≤0.02; Table). Compared with males with OSD, females with OSD had lower hip and knee strength, greater quadriceps femoris flexibility, and higher odds of frontal plane biomechanical deficits (p≤0.02; Table). CONCLUSION: We observed sex-specific differences in lower limb muscular and biomechanical features in adolescents with OSD, suggesting that clinicians should consider sex-specific rehabilitation strategies for adolescents with OSD.
Background Severe asthma is characterized by persistent airway inflammation and heterogeneous responses to biologic therapies. Growing evidence implicates the gut-lung axis in asthma pathophysiology; however, few studies have concurrently characterized gut and airway microbiomes in relation to treatment response in severe asthma.Methods We profiled microbiomes of stool bacteria (STB), stool-derived extracellular vesicles (STE), and exhaled breath condensate (EBC) from 48 patients with severe asthma receiving dupilumab. Microbial composition, alpha diversity, and predicted functional profiles were compared across sample types and longitudinally according to treatment response. Associations between microbial features and asthma-related clinical markers were also evaluated.Results Distinct taxonomic and predicted functional signatures were identified across biological compartments. EBC samples were enriched in Proteobacteria, including Pseudomonas, and exhibited a higher predicted abundance of pathways related to two-component systems and bacterial secretion systems. EBC microbial diversity was positively associated with baseline sputum eosinophil levels (p = 0.018), whereas stool microbial richness demonstrated a time-dependent association with blood eosinophil counts after treatment (p for interaction = 0.023). Treatment responders exhibited lower abundances of Lachnospira (STB q = 0.046; STE q = 0.042) and Escherichia-Shigella (STE q = 0.038), and a higher relative abundance of the Oscillospiraceae NK4A214 group (STB q = 5.5 & times; 10-7, STE q = 1.4 & times; 10-8) in stool-derived profiles.Conclusion Gut and airway-derived microbiomes appear to play complementary roles in severe asthma. Stool-derived microbial features may reflect systemic inflammatory signals associated with treatment response, whereas airway-derived microbial profiles reflect local airway inflammation. Integrating multi-compartment microbiome data may improve the understanding of heterogeneity in biologic treatment response among patients with severe asthma.
Background Understanding allergic sensitization patterns, which act as indicators for allergic diseases, is crucial for prevention, early diagnosis, treatment strategies, and trial design. Molecular allergology can be more precise and helps to identify patients with food allergy with a high pre-test probability. Unfortunately, sensitization data at a molecular level are limited for North American birth cohorts. In the CHILD study, we aimed to identify allergic sensitization in Canadian mothers and follow the longitudinal trajectories of their children from ages 1-5 years for the most crucial allergens.Methods Five hundred paired samples from children at 12 and 60 months were included based on the child's characteristics. Serum from each child and their corresponding mother was included if the child had skin prick test (SPT) reactions of >= 2 mm to one or more allergens. In addition, non-sensitized (SPT-negative) children (n = 261), with or without AD or asthma, were included. Specific IgE (sIgE) levels were measured using a multiplex allergen microarray. Participants were considered sensitized when sIgE >= 0.3 kUa/L to at least one allergen was recorded.Results We observed persistent sIgE sensitization to peanut allergens (Ara h 1, Ara h 2, and Ara h 6) in children 12 to 60 months of age. However, sensitization to the tree nuts cashew (Ana o 2, Ana o 3), hazelnut (Cor a 14), walnut (Jug r 1, Jug r 2), and pistachio (Pis v 1-3) appeared to be more frequent at 60 months. Notably, resolution of sIgE sensitization to the key marker allergens from the 2S albumin group (Ara h 2, Cor a 14, Jug r 1, Ana o 3, and Ses i 1) was observed in approximately 25% of children.Conclusions These findings provide a comprehensive picture of IgE sensitization in this cohort. They also suggest a likelihood of loss of sensitization to key 2S albumins, which are excellent markers of food allergy with systemic reactions.
Objectives: This study examined whether regular exercise moderates age-related cognitive differences in midlife women, including reaction time (RT), executive planning, and working memory. We further investigated whether these effects differ across exercise modalities. Methods: This cross-sectional study included ninety-three women (35–63 years) who completed simple RT, working memory, and executive planning tasks. Participants were categorized by exercise regularity and modality. Time-based outcomes were analyzed via Linear Mixed Models; accuracy via Generalized Estimating Equations. Pairwise comparisons utilized Welch’s t-tests with FDR correction. Results: Regular exercise moderated age-related slowing in simple RT (β=-3.083, p=0.032). Resistance training participants exhibited faster RTs than those in the non- regular exerciser, aerobic, and other exercise groups. Regarding working memory, the impact of exercise on response speed was significantly moderated by both age and task difficulty (β = -15.91, p < 0.001). Specifically, exercise-related benefits became more pronounced as cognitive load increased, a trend primarily driven by older participants, whereas these effects were less evident in younger cohorts. However, no modality-specific differences were observed. In contrast, executive planning performance was associated with age, with no significant effects of exercise or exercise-related interactions. Conclusions: These findings suggest that regular exercise moderates age-related cognitive differences in midlife women, particularly in processing speed and high-demand working memory. These benefits were domain-specific: modality-specific advantages emerged in simple reaction time, whereas working memory benefits were modality-independent. The notable efficacy of resistance training further highlights the importance of exercise modality. Findings identify midlife as a sensitive window for targeted exercise interventions to preserve cognitive health.
Although trail and road are two running disciplines, they have distinct characteristics potentially leading to different physiological impacts that have never been examined. The aim of the present study was to compare neuromuscular fatigue and recovery between a marathon and two trail runs of equivalent effort (29 km; ± 1,400 m). Forty-one trained runners, specialized in either road or trail running, performed a simulated treadmill marathon (MARASIM), a simulated treadmill trail run (TRAILSIM), or a trail run in natural conditions (TRAILNAT), depending on their speciality. Neuromuscular fatigue, i.e. changes in maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), voluntary activation (VA) and peak twitch (Tw) of the knee extensors (KE) and plantar flexors (PF), blood markers of muscle damage, jump performance, and force-velocity profile (FVP) were assessed before (PRE), immediately after (POST), one (+1 day), two (+2 days), and seven days (+7 days) following the runs. Muscle pain questionnaires were administered at PRE and during the month following the run. MARASIM showed significantly greater decreases in KE VA (-23.5% vs. -9.2% vs. -13.0%) and jump height (-11.7%; +11.4%; +5.9%, for squat jump), and significantly higher increases in blood markers of muscle damage (+1,726 UI.L -1 ; +641 UI.L -1 ; +363 UI.L -1 ; at +1 day) compared to TRAILSIM and TRAILNAT, respectively. The return to baseline occurred later in MARASIM for KE VA and jump height. Muscle soreness values also returned to baseline earlier in TRAILNAT and TRAILSIM compared to MARASIM. No differences between groups existed in KE Pt and MVC, in any PF neuromuscular fatigue variables, and FVP. Overall, marathon running appears to induce greater acute neuromuscular alterations than trail running, mostly on KE, with a slower return to baseline values.
