This study compared the effect of high-intensity interval training (HIT) versus specific game-based handball training (HBT) on handball performance parameters. Thirty-two highly-trained adolescents (15.5+/-0.9 y) were assigned to either HIT (n=17) or HBT (n=15) groups, that performed either HIT or HBT twice per week for 10 weeks. The HIT consisted of 12-24 x 15 s runs at 95% of the speed reached at the end of the 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (V(IFT)) interspersed with 15 s passive recovery, while the HBT consisted of small-sided handball games performed over a similar time period. Before and after training, performance was assessed with a counter movement jump (CMJ), 10 m sprint time (10 m), best (RSAbest) and mean (RSAmean) times on a repeated sprint ability (RSA) test, the V(IFT) and the intermittent endurance index (iEI). After training, RSAbest (-3.5+/-2.7%), RSAmean (-3.9+/-2.2%) and V(IFT) (+6.3+/-5.2%) were improved (P<0.05), but there was no difference between groups. In conclusion, both HIT and HBT were found to be effective training modes for adolescent handball players. However, HBT should be considered as the preferred training method due to its higher game-based specificity.

No abstract

Motor outcome is variable following neonatal arterial ischemic stroke (NAIS). We analyzed the relationship between lesion characteristics on brain MRI and motor function in children who had suffered from NAIS. Thirty eight full term born children with unilateral NAIS were investigated at the age of seven. 3D T1- and 3D FLAIR-weighted MR images were acquired on a 3T MRI scanner. Lesion characteristics were compared between patients with and without cerebral palsy (CP) using the following approaches: lesion localization either using a category-based analysis, lesion mapping as well as voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM). Using diffusion-weighted imaging the microstructure of the cortico-spinal tract (CST) was related to the status of CP by measuring DTI parameters. Whereas children with lesions sparing the primary motor system did not develop CP, CP was always present when extensive lesions damaged at least two brain structures involving the motor system. The VLSM approach provided a statistical map that confirmed the cortical lesions in the primary motor system and revealed that CP was highly correlated with lesions in close proximity to the CST. In children with CP, diffusion parameters indicated microstructural changes in the CST at the level of internal capsule and the centrum semiovale. White matter damage of the CST in centrum semiovale was a highly reproducible marker of CP. This is the first description of the implication of this latter region in motor impairment after NAIS. In conclusion, CP in childhood was closely linked to the location of the infarct in the motor system.

ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02511249), Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique Régional (0308052), Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique Interrégional (1008026), and EudraCT (2010-A00329-30).