A newly developed portable multi-channel photoplethysmography (PPG) device has been used for comparative studies of 20 healthy control subjects and 45 patients with diagnosed arterial stenosis in a leg. The peripheral blood pulsations were detected simultaneously at four body sites-the same fingers and toes of both arms and legs. The PPG pulses recorded at the periphery of the stenotic leg, if compared with those of the healthy leg, were much weaker, with delayed arrival as a consequence of increased pulse wave transit time (PWTT) due to higher vascular resistance. The specific PWTT delays for the occluded legs were in the range of 20-80 ms, while in the case of healthy subjects the leg PPG signals arrived without delays or with smaller time-shifts not exceeding 14 ms. The reference bilateral PPG signals detected at the fingertips did not show any notable PWTT delays in both groups. Parallel measurements of local blood pressures by means of the oscillometry method with subsequent calculation of the ankle-brachial index were performed. Convincing correlation between the bilateral differences in the local blood pressure (a routine tool for diagnostics of leg stenosis) and in the corresponding PWTT delay (Pearson's coefficient r = 0.93), as well as between the PWTT delay and the ankle-brachial index (r = -0.96) has been established. From the point of view of PWTT delay, the average value of leg stenosis diagnostic threshold was established to be in the range of 23 +/- 9 ms, with full reliability above 32 ms. The obtained data may find further applications in alternative methodologies for detection and/or assessment of arterial occlusions in human extremities.

A new technique for parallel recording of reflection photoplethysmography (PPG) signals in a broad spectral band (violet to near-infrared) has been developed, and its potential for assessment of blood microcirculation at various depths from the skin surface is discussed. PPG signals have been simultaneously detected at cw laser wavelength sets comprising 405, 532, 645, 807, and 1064 nm. Various signal baseline responses to breath holding and different shapes of the PPG pulses originated from the same heartbeat but recorded at different wavelengths have been observed, indicating a depth variety of the skin blood pulsation dynamics.

Summary. Cancer rehabilitation programs mainly involve endurance training while little attention has been paid to strength training. Breast cancer (BC) patients lose muscle strength while undergoing adjuvant treatment, thus affecting daily activities and quality of life. Maximal strength training, with an emphasis on velocity in the concentric phase, improves maximal strength and muscle force development characteristics. However, the effect of maximal strength training on quality of life for BC patients undergoing treatment remains elusive. Consequently, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of maximal strength training in Health related quality of life in women with newly diagnosed BC. Materials and Methods: 55 BC patients with disease stage I–III were randomized into a training group and control group. The training group performed maximal strength training twice a week for 3 months, whereas the control group followed prescribed treatment without strength training. Overall quality of life was measured by The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of life Questionnaire-C30 and additional BC module BR23 before and after the intervention. Results: The results obtained from pre-tests and those obtained after 3 months of intervention revealed that patients in the training group significantly increased one repetition maximum, by 20.4 kg (20%) (p = 0.001, d = 0.9). Simultaneously, statistically significant alterations were observed in this variable for the control group, one repetition maximum decreased by 8.9 kg (9%) (p = 0.001, d = 0.5). The overall quality of life improved significantly by 13% for the training group with large effect (p = 0.002, d = 0.6), but no relevant changes were observed in the control group (p = 0.44, d = 0.2). Results revealed remarkable changes in overall quality of life after 3-month post-test period between the two groups with large effect (p = 0.002, d = 0.9). The training sessions had helped in diminishing the sense of fatigue by 24% (p = 0.03, d = 0.6), while it had got worse by 25% (p = 0.02, d = 0.4) for the control group. Again, the data on large effect were noticed to differ between the groups (p = 0.01, d = 0.6). Conclusion: Maximal strength training for BC patients was well tolerated, safe and feasible and showed strength improvements that led to improved muscle strength and improved overall quality of life. These data certainly support the therapeutic role for maximal strength training in the treatment of BC.

Introduction: Intraocular lenses have always been a controversial topic in pediatric cataract surgery. In the early 1990s in the post-Soviet states of Eastern Europe, intraocular lenses promised an easier full-time correction and amblyopia treatment. Since 1991, ophthalmologists in Latvia have been implanting intraocular lenses in infants. Amount of the postoperative myopic shift and its influencing factors, analyzed in this article, are important indicators of congenital cataract treatment. Materials and methods: A retrospective chart review off 85 children (137 eyes) who underwent foldable posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation at the Clinical University Hospital in Riga, Latvia, from 1 January 2006 until 31 December 2016, was performed. Depending on the age at surgery, patients were divided into six groups: 1–6, 7–12, 13–24, 25–48, 49–84, and 85–216 months. Results: The largest and more variable myopic shift was found in a group of diffuse/total and nuclear cataract with surgery before the age of 6 months. There was a statistically significant correlation between the acquired best-corrected visual acuity and the amount of myopic shift (rs = 0.33; p < 0.001). Comparing the amount of myopic shift in two groups of different intraocular lens implantation target refraction tactics, we did not find statistically significant differences. Comparing the amount of myopic shift and implanted intraocular lens power, a negative, statistically significant correlation was found. Conclusion: The earlier the cataract extraction surgery and intraocular lens implantation is performed, the larger the myopic shift. The morphological type of cataract, best-corrected visual acuity, secondary glaucoma, and intraocular lens power influence the amount of myopic shift.

BackgroundEssential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are the two most common movement disorders, and tremor is the most visible symptom. Comparative study on ET and PD clinical neuropsychiatric symptoms was performed to assess the impact of emotional state on tremor.ObjectivesTo investigate the most common psychiatric symptoms (depression, anxiety and social phobia) and their correlations with motor symptoms, especially tremor, in ET and PD patients.Materials and MethodsThis comparative cross‐sectional study consisted of neurological examinations, five self‐assessment questionnaires (Depression Anxiety Stress Scale [DASS], Beck Depression Inventory [BDI], Social Interaction Anxiety Scale [SIAS], Social Phobia Scale [SPS], and State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory[STAI]), clinical interviews with 45 ET patients, 40 PD patients, and 40 controls (CG), and statistical analysis was performed for 40:35:39 respectively.Results BDI revealed depressive disorders of various severities in all groups (ET=79.5%, PD=91.2%, and CG=66.7%). The study found no significant difference between ET and PD groups (p = .708) and significant difference between the patients and controls (ET/CG p = .049; PD/CG p = .007).Depression (DASS(D), BDI) did not correlate with tremor severity (p > .05) in ET and PD patients.The prevalence of social phobia was ET=50.0%, PD=42.9%, and CG=20.5%. There was significant difference between ET/CG (SIAS p = .02, SPS p = .001) and PD/CG (SPS p = .018), but no difference between ET and PD groups (p > .05). Tremor and SPS moderately correlated in ET patients (r = .35, p = .02).Conclusions ET and PD patients showed high comorbidity of psychiatric disorders, but there was no significant difference between these two groups. ET severity correlated with social phobia scale scores.