As we age, our skeletal muscle becomes smaller and weaker. In addition, the remaining muscle is more susceptible to damage, particularly following exercise, recovery from damage is severely impaired and muscle is unable to adapt rapidly following sequential periods of exercise. The mechanisms by which skeletal muscle damage occurs are poorly understood and the role that an increased production ...

BACKGROUND It can be difficult to select an appropriate flap for various defects on the hand. Although defects of the hand usually must be covered with a skin flap, some defects require a flap with rich blood supply and adequate additive soft tissue volume. The authors present their experience with the anconeus muscle free flap in the reconstruction of various defects and the release of scar co...

In a previous study we evaluated muscle blood flow and muscle metabolism in patients diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). To better understand muscle metabolism in CFS, we re-evaluated our data to calculate free Magnesium levels in skeletal muscle. Magnesium is an essential cofactor in a number of cell processes. A total of 20 CFS patients and 11 controls were evaluated. Phosphorus ma...

The aim of this study was to examine the morphological and functional changes in rabbit mesenteric arterial tissue cultured with fetal bovine serum. In the endothelium-denuded arteries cultured under a serum-free condition for one week (serum-free arteries), morphology of the smooth muscle layer was intact. In the serum-free arteries, high K+ -induced contraction did not change but norepinephri...

Background: In spite of the increasing degree of automation in industry, manual material handling (MMH) is still performed in many occupational settings. The aim of the current study was to determine the maximum acceptable weight of lift using psychophysical and electromyography indices.Methods: This experimental study was conducted among 15 male students recruited from Tehran University of Med...

Free grafts of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle of the rat are invaded by regenerating nerve fibers during the second postoperative week. Neuromuscular junctions are established during the third week. Levels of choline acetyltransferase (CAT) activity parallel the invasion of the graft by nerve fibers, but this activity never returns to control levels. We conclude that incomplete rein...

BACKGROUND Chronic infection with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) is associated with increased morbidity. Chronic infection can cause limb and respiratory muscle compromise. Respiratory muscle function can be assessed via maximal inspiratory pressure (PImax), maximal expiratory pressure (PEmax), and the pressure-time index of the respiratory muscles (PTImus). We stu...

A system analysis of ATP free energy metabolism in skeletal muscle was made using the principles of metabolic control theory. We developed a network model of ATP free energy metabolism in muscle consisting of actomyosin ATPase, sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase, and mitochondria. These components were sufficient to capture the major aspects of the regulation of the cytosolic ATP-to-ADP ...

1. We investigated the effects of limb immobilization (for 1 or 6 weeks) in a long leg cast after a closed tibial fracture (n = 11). Biopsies of vastus lateralis were taken on admission and after either 1 week (n = 5) or 6 weeks (n = 6) and analysed for muscle fibre type characteristics, cytochrome c oxidase activity and the abundance of GLUT4 and GLUT5 hexose transporters. 2. After 1 week of i...

The concentration of 21 individual free amino acids in serum, liver, and skeletal muscle was determined in rats during the incubation, acute illness, and terminal stages of experimental infection with Diplococcus pneumoniae. By 4 hr after subcutaneous inoculation with bacteria, the concentration of total and many individual free amino acids in serum, liver, and muscle was significantly decrease...