Heart failure (HF) may contribute to the development of functional decline and frailty in older adults. Sixty HF patients with an ejection fraction ≤ 40% evaluated in 2004 and 2005 were reevaluated in 2008. Six-minute walk distance (6MW), frailty score, and biomarkers (25-hydroxyvitamin D, C-reactive protein, and interleukin-6 [IL-6]) were measured. Participants were categorized at baseline and...

OK – I know what you are thinking. How could the editors have chosen someone with my well-known views on the 6-minute walk (6MW) to write an editorial on the subject? Well, remember that data should always trump bias, and I can hopefully assess the existent data and the manuscript by Gabler et al1 (although it does, at least in part, uphold my views) in an unbiased fashion. For the purpose of t...

Short-burst oxygen therapy (SBOT) remains an unproven treatment for reduction of exertional dyspnoea in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This study aimed to assess whether SBOT before exercise reduces dyspnoea or improves performance, and whether SBOT after exercise reduces dyspnoea during recovery. Twenty-two clinically stable COPD patients (mean forced expiratory volume in one se...

For estimating genetic parameters for body weight traits in Kourdi sheep data were collected from 1996 to 2013 in Kourdi Breeding Station in Northern Khorasan province of Iran. Studied traits were birth weight (BW), weaning weight (WW), six-month weight (6MW), nine-month weight (9MW) and yearling weight (YW). The fixed effects in the model were lambing year, sex, type of birth and age of dam. (...

In this study, breeding objective traits were identified, and alternative schemes simulated evaluated for two goat populations. The as follows: body size, twinning ability kidding interval (KI) Arab goats mothering Oromo goats. selection criteria six-month weight (6mw, kg), litter size at birth (LSB), weaning (LSW) KI (days). (1) Scheme 1: 2 years of buck use 10% proportion, (2) 2: 15% (3) 3: 3...

Background. Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and total macular volume (TMV) represent markers of neuroaxonal degeneration within the anterior visual pathway that might correlate with ambulation in persons with multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective. This study examined the associations between RNFLT and TMV with ambulatory parameters in MS. Methods. Fifty-eight MS patients underwent a ne...

STUDY OBJECTIVES The purposes of this study were as follows: (1) to determine whether physical performance, quality of life, and dyspnea with activities of daily living improved following both short-term and long-term pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) across multiple hospital outpatient programs; (2) to examine the differences in these parameters between men and women; and (3) to determine what rel...

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine if distractive auditory stimuli (DAS) in the form of music would promote adherence to a walking regimen following completion of a pulmonary rehabilitation program (PRP) and, thereby, maintenance of gains achieved during the program. DESIGN Experimental, randomized, two-group design with testing at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks. SETTING Outpatient. PATIENTS Tw...

UNLABELLED The 6-min walk (6MW) test is commonly used to assess exercise capacity in patients with COPD and to track functional change resulting from disease progression or therapeutic intervention. Not surprisingly, distance covered has been the preferred outcome for this test. However, distance walked does not account for differences in body weight that are known to influence exercise capacit...

The main objective of the present study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic trends for body weight traits in Guilan province sheep. Traits included were birth weight (BW, n=14,549), 3-month weight (3MW, n=13,109) and 6-month weight (6MW, n=10,141). Data and pedigree information used in this study were collected during 1994 to 2011 by the Agricultural Organization of Guilan province in Iran. ...