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Background: Research on intermittent fasting has shown that it can improve a variety of health outcomes, including blood sugar control, blood lipid levels and blood pressure. Only few studies document longer periods of fasting, especially in rehabilitation participants. Cardiac inpatient rehabilitation follows a multidisciplinary approach including change of health behaviour to reduce patients' risk of future cardiovascular events. To date, evidence suggests that intermittent fasting can be an effective way to improve health and well-being, but more research is needed to fully understand its long-term effects and factors that promote the implementation. Therefore, the aim of the ongoing InterVFast trial is to investigate the effectiveness of intermittent fasting amongst cardiac rehabilitation patients after 4-week inpatient rehabilitation as well as 3 and 12 months subsequently including patients' perspective., Methods: This single-centre randomized controlled trial evaluates the effectiveness of the InterVFast intervention in weight loss (primary outcome). We also examine patients' acceptance and the effect on relevant outcomes as blood glucose and triglyceride levels, cholesterol and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Weight, blood samples and clinical data are collected as part of the initial and final examination during inpatient rehabilitation. During inpatient rehabilitation, participants daily note fasting intervals and meals eaten as well as practicability in a fasting diary. In addition, interviews about perceived advantages and disadvantages and acceptance are carried out with the participants in the IG. A standardized follow-up examination (weight, blood samples) will be carried out by the family doctor after 3 and 12 months (t2 and t3)., Discussion: Compared to other weight-loss intervention studies, our study addresses patients with coronary heart disease and includes patients' acceptance as well as long-term maintenance. It is hypothesized that participation in the InterVfast intervention will improve relevant health outcomes in a sample of cardiac rehabilitation patients and thus constitute a behavioural prevention strategy to reduce the risk of future cardiac events and improve overall health and quality of life., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov DRKS00023983. Registered on February 17, 2022., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Promoting health-enhancing physical activity following rehabilitation is a well-known challenge. This study analysed the barriers to leisure time activity among low back pain patients., Methods: A subset of 192 low back pain patients who participated in a randomized controlled trial promoting physical activity was analysed. Physical activity, barriers, and sociodemographic and indication-related variables were assessed by a questionnaire. Differences in barriers between active and inactive participants were tested by Pearson's chi squared test. A logistic regression model was fitted to identify influencing factors on physical activity at six months following rehabilitation., Results: Inactive and active participants differed significantly in nine of the 19 barriers assessed. The adjusted regression model showed associations of level of education (OR = 5.366 [1.563; 18.425]; p value = 0.008) and fear of pain (OR = 0.612 [0.421; 0.889]; p value = 0.010) with physical activity. The barriers included in the model failed to show any statistically significant association after adjustment for sociodemographic factors., Conclusions: Low back pain patients especially with a low level of education and fear of pain seem to need tailored support in overcoming barriers to physical activity. This study is registered at German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS00004878).

Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue samples represent an invaluable biobank for retrospective cancer research with molecular methods such as real-time PCR and next-generation sequencing (NGS). However, the usage of FFPE material in NGS approaches involves several challenges associated with the limited quantity and quality of DNA. This protocol describes how to purify DNA from FFPE material and how to prepare it for downstream NGS workflows including fragmentation, size selection, and library preparation for Illumina MiSeq/HiSeq sequencing. © 2016 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., (Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.)