OBJECTIVE The insulin tolerance test (ITT) is the gold standard for the diagnosis of GH deficiency (GHD) and hypocortisolism. As hypopituitarism is a common disorder after traumatic brain injury (TBI) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), the test is increasingly used in patients with pre-existing brain damage. DESIGN A cross-sectional, observational study. METHODS Fifty-six patients (41 TBI a...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the heart rate variability (HRV) in patients with multibacillary leprosy using dynamic linear and nonlinear analysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty-one leprosy patients (mean age: 39.14 ±10.58 years) and 21 healthy subjects (mean age: 36.24 ± 12.64 years) completed the sample. Heart rate variability recording was performed by a Polar RS800 CX heart monitor during a period ...

A67-year-old woman admitted to the hospital with syncope was found to have platypnea-orthodeoxia caused by a dilated aortic root. A transesophageal echocardiogram was taken in the supine and sitting positions (Figure). The images taken in the supine position showed the foramen ovale was closed. The images taken in the sitting position show the foramen ovale was wide open, with a massive right-t...

Purpose The mechanism of IOP change during a body position change is poorly understood. In this study, we investigated changes in episcleral venous pressure (EVP) between two body positions, sitting and inclined, and compared this with changes in IOP. Methods This study was a prospective, comparative case series of 43 eyes of 24 healthy volunteers. IOP was measured using a pneumatonometer in ...

Thirty-five patients kept in a sitting position for 5 min after a standard extradural injection in labour were compared with 54 patients maintained in the left lateral position throughout. The mean upper limit of analgesia was unchanged. A significant shift of the mean lower limit occurred in the sitting patients (P = 0.05, two-tailed), but contrary to classical teaching this was in a cephalad ...

Background & Aims: Uroflowmetry is a common procedure to examine the lower urinary tract system. Uroflowmetry results are affected by different factors. In this study, the effect of voiding position on uroflowmetric parameters and voiding residue were investigated in healthy subjects. Methods: This descriptive–analysis study was performed on 41 healthy volunteers with mean age of 33.22 ± 9.45 r...

BACKGROUND Inspiratory muscle strength in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be affected by mechanical factors which influence the length of the diaphragm, and by non-mechanical factors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate firstly the effects of body position on respiratory pressures and, secondly, to determine the relative contribution of age, body mass ind...

We examined the effects of postural change on the concentrations of plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, apolipoproteins (apo) A-I and B, and lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] in six volunteers who fasted 12 h before blood sampling. Baseline samples were drawn in the standing position; the subjects then assumed the supine or sitting position, and additional blood s...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to investigate the trunk position perception in the anteroposterior direction in young participants sitting without their feet touching the floor to avoid the influence of the hamstrings tension and the feet pressure on the perception. [Subjects and Methods] Fourteen healthy volunteers were seated on a chair fitted with an original manual goniometer. Ther...

The aim of the present study was to determine whether estrogen therapy (ET) reduces alterations of the autonomic control of heart rate (HR) due to hypoestrogenism and aging. Thirteen young (24 +/- 2.6 years), 10 postmenopausal (53 +/- 4.6 years) undergoing ET (PM-ET), and 14 postmenopausal (56 +/- 2.6 years) women not undergoing ET (PM) were studied. ET consisted of 0.625 mg/day conjugated equi...