Background Physical exercise interventions have benefits for older individuals and improve the health and well-being of individuals living with a dementia, specifically those living in nursing homes. Purpose Report evidence from randomized controlled trials and cluster randomized control trials that evaluated the effects of physical exercise interventions on individuals living with a dementia in nursing homes. Data sources Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, Academic Search Complete, Proquest Central, British Medical Journal Database, PubMed, Cochrane Library, PEDro, Informit, Informa, and Nursing Consult were searched for relevant clinical trials and snowballing of recommended studies. Study selection One reviewer screened articles on inclusion criteria and identified relevant studies. Data extraction Data extraction was performed by 1 reviewer and checked by second and third reviewers. Two authors assessed the methodological quality and risk of bias of the relevant studies. Data synthesis Twelve study populations consisting of individuals living with a dementia in nursing homes were included (n = 901). Different types of physical exercises were undertaken: multimodal (n = 6), walking (n = 5), music and movement (n = 2), and hand exercises (n = 1). The parameters of the interventions varied across the studies. Most of the studies reported significant positive effects of physical exercise on cognition, agitation, mood, mobility, and functional ability for individuals living with dementia in nursing homes. Limitations The main limitations were the heterogeneity of design, small samples, and short interventions. Conclusions There is emerging evidence that physical exercise significantly benefits individuals living with a dementia in nursing homes. Higher quality research is required adopting more rigorous methods, including longer interventions and larger samples to determine optimum parameters of the physical exercise interventions evaluated.

Despite of the growth of ultra-endurance sports events (of duration >6 h) over the previous few decades, the age-related declines in ultra-endurance performance have drawn little attention. The aim of the study was to analyse the changes in participation and performance trends of older (>40 years of age) triathletes between 1986 and 2010 at the Hawaii Ironman triathlon consisting of 3.8 km swimming, 180 km cycling and 42 km running. Swimming, cycling, running and total times of the best male and female triathletes between 18 and 69 years of age who competed in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon were analysed. The relative participation of master triathletes increased during the 1986-2010 period, while the participation of triathletes younger than 40 years of age decreased. Linear regression showed that males older than 44 years and females older than 40 years significantly improved their performances in the three disciplines and in the total time taken to complete the race. Gender differences in total time performance significantly decreased in the same time period for all age groups between the 40-44 and 55-59 years ones. The reasons for these relative improvements of Ironman athlete performances in older age groups remain, however, unknown. Further studies investigating training regimes, competition experience or sociodemographic factors are needed to gain better insights into the phenomenon of increasing participation and improvement of ultra-endurance performance with advancing age.

Schepens B, Stapley P, Drew T. Neurons in the pontomedullary reticular formation signal posture and movement both as an integrated behavior and independently. J Neurophysiol 100: 2235-2253, 2008. First published July 16, 2008 doi:10.1152/jn.01381.2007. We have previously suggested that the discharge characteristics of some neurons in the pontomedullary reticular formation (PMRF) are contingent on the simultaneous requirement for activity in both ipsilateral flexor muscles and contralateral extensors. To test this hypothesis we trained cats to stand on four force platforms and to perform a task in which they were required to reach forward with one forelimb or the other and depress a lever. As such the task required the cat to make a flexion movement followed by an extension in the reaching limb while maintaining postural support by increasing extensor muscle tonus in the supporting limbs. We recorded the activity of 131 neurons from the PMRF of three cats during left, ipsilateral reach. Of these, 86/131 (66%) showed a change in discharge frequency prior to the onset of activity in one of the prime flexor muscles and 43/86 (50%) showed a bimodal pattern of discharge in which activity decreased during the lever press. Among the remaining cells, 28/86 (33%) showed maintained activity throughout the reach and the lever press. Most cells showed a broadly similar pattern of discharge during reaches with the right, contralateral limb. We suggest these results support the view that a population of neurons within the PMRF contributes to the control of movement in one forelimb and the control of posture in the other forelimb as a coordinated unit. Another population of neurons contributes to the control of postural support independently of the nature of the activity in the reaching limb.

The influences of sex and age upon endurance performance have previously been documented for both running and swimming. A number of recent studies have investigated how sex and age influence triathlon performance, a sport that combines three disciplines (swimming, cycling and running), with competitions commonly lasting between two (Short distance : 1.5 km swim, 40 km cycle and 10 km run) and eight hours (Ironman distance: 3.8 km swim, 180 km cycle and 42 km run) for elite triathletes. Age and sex influences upon performance have also been investigated for ultra-triathlons with distances corresponding to several Ironman distances and lasting several days, and for off-road triathlons combining swimming, mountain biking and trail running. Triathlon represents an intriguing alternative model for analyzing the effects of age and sex upon endurance and ultra-endurance (> 6 hours) performance because sex differences and age-related declines in performance can be analyzed in the same persons across the three separate disciplines. The relative participation of both females and masters athletes (age > 40 years old) in triathlon has increased consistently over the past 25 years. Sex differences in triathlon performance are also known to differ between the modes of locomotion adopted (swimming, cycling or running) for both elite and non-elite triathletes.Generally, time differences between sexes in swimming have been shown to be smaller on average than during cycling and running. Both physiological and morphological factors contribute to explaining these findings. Performance density (i.e. the time difference between the winner and 10 th placed competitor) has progressively improved (time differences have decreased) for international races over the past two decades for both males and females, with performance density now very similar for both sexes. For age-group triathletes, sex differences in total triathlon performance time increases with age. The possible difference in age-related changes in the physiological determinants of endurance and ultra-endurance performances between males and females needs further investigation however. Non-

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