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Study design: Case series. Objectives: To investigate the effects of wheelchair basketball game on plasma interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a), C-reactive protein (CRP) and blood cell counts in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Setting: The 2009 Mei-shin League of Wheelchair Basketball Games held at Wakayama, Japan. Participants: Five wheelchair basketball players with SCI voluntarily participated in this study. Interventions: Blood samples were taken approximately 1 h before the player warm-up for the game and immediately after the game. Main outcome measures: IL-6, TNF-a, CRP and blood cell count were measured. Results: Plasma IL-6 level and number of monocytes were significantly increased after the game, compared with pre-game measurements (Po0.05). No changes were observed in other measurements. There was a significant relationship between increased IL-6 levels and accumulated play duration. Conclusion: The lack of change in TNF-a and CRP levels suggested that the exercise-induced rise in IL-6 was not related to exerciseinduced inflammatory response. Furthermore, the associated increase in the number of monocytes did not correlate with exerciseinduced IL-6 changes, negating monocytes as the source of IL-6.

Cerebral disorders are often associated with disturbance of consciousness. Since the latter could alter the prognosis of physical function, early improvement of consciousness level is important. The present study tested the hypothesis that sitting position improves disturbances of consciousness in patients with cerebral disorders. The subjects were 17 patients with cerebral disorders and disturbances of consciousness. The consciousness level was evaluated in supine position and following a change to sitting position. The consciousness level was evaluated by the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS). The total, eye opening, and motor GCS scores were significantly higher in the sitting position compared with the supine position. In conclusions, changing from supine to sitting position improves consciousness level in patients with cerebral disorders.

II.

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine the effect of aerobic training under noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (NPPV) on maximal oxygen uptake ().MethodsTen healthy young male volunteers participated in the study. Before the training, stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output (CO) were measured in all subjects under 0, 4, 8, and 12 cmH2O NPPV at rest. Then, the subjects exercised on a cycle ergometer at 60% of pre-training for 30 min daily for 5 consecutive days with/without NPPV. The 5-day exercise protocol was repeated after a three-week washout period without/with NPPV. The primary endpoint was changes in . The secondary endpoints were changes in SV, CO, maximum heart rate (HRmax), maximum respiratory rate (RRmax), maximum expiratory minute volume (VEmax) and the percent change in plasma volume (PV).ResultsNPPV at 12 cmH2O significantly reduced SV and CO at rest. significantly increased after 5 days training with and without NPPV, but the magnitude of increase in after training under 12 cmH2O NPPV was significantly higher than after training without NPPV. VEmax significantly increased after training under NPPV, but not after training without NPPV. HRmax and RRmax did not change during training irrespective of NPPV. The percent change in PV was similar between training with and without NPPV. The 5-day training program with NPPV resulted in greater improvement in than without NPPV.ConclusionsAerobic training under NPPV has add-on effects on and exercise-related health benefits in healthy young men.