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Background and objective The prevention, diagnosis, and management of non-contact musculoskeletal soft tissue injuries (NCMSTIs) related to participation in sports are key components of sport and exercise medicine. Epidemiological data have demonstrated the existence of interindividual differences in the severity of NCMSTIs, indicating that these injuries occur as a consequence of both extrinsic and intrinsic factors, including genetic variations. Subjects and methods We have collected data on NCMSTIs suffered by 73 elite players of White, black African and Hispanic ethnicity of European football over the course of three consecutive seasons. We have also examined eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes related to tissue recovery and tissue repair in blood drawn from the players and correlated our findings with type and severity of injuries in each ethnic group. Results The frequency of the SNPs varied among the three ethnic sub-groups ( p p = 0.001) and between tendinous injuries and ELN ( p = 0.05) and IGF2 ( p = 0.05). Among Hispanics, there was a significant relation between muscle injuries and ELN ( p = 0.032) and IGF2 ( p = 0.016). Conclusions Interracial genotypic differences may be important in the study of NCMSTIs. A genetic profile based on SNPs may be useful tool to describe each individual's injuribility risk and provide specific treatment and preventive care for football players.

To assess the efficacy and safety of botulinum toxin for sphincter hypertonia in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI).Non-control clinical trial on men with neurogenic detrussor-sphincter dyssynergia (DSD) due to SCI. 100 IU of Botox® were injected through the transperineal way on external urethral sphincter under electromyography and transrectal ultrasound guidance. The following parameters were determined: post-void residual (PVR), maximum urethral pressure (MUP), miction volume (M) and miction percentage (MP). The incidence of erectile dysfunction was evaluated using the International Index of Erectile Function questionnaire (IIEF-5 items).19 men with an average age of 40 years (ED 22-56) were included. The average time of monitoring was 546 days (20 months). As an average, an infiltration was done every 6 months, with an average of 2.7 infiltrations per patient (1-7). PVR dropped by 59.3 ml, p=0.03; miction raised to 52 ml, p=0.018; MP was improved by 17.2%, p=0.011. Changes on MUP were not significant. Erectile dysfunction was not worse than the initial one (IIEF-5: 11.4 to 13).The infiltration of the toxin into the sphincter through the transperineal way seems to be an effective and safe therapeutic option.

Background: Severs forms of α1-antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency require augmentation therapy by intravenous administration of purified preparations of AAT concentrate. Although standard AAT treatment schedules are widely available, pharmacokinetic studies characterizing AAT serum decay are scarce, and data on the variability of individual patients are almost nonexistent. Objective: To establish individual AAT pharmacokinetics and develop a predictive model based on simple pharmacokinetic characterization that can be used to optimize Individual AAT dosing regimens. Methods: Seven patients with severe hereditary AAT deficiency (PI*ZZ phonotype) with serum AAT levels less than 0.50 g/L Initially received AAT 180 mg/kg every 3 weeks. At 7, 14, and 21 days after AAT administration, serum samples were taken for quantitative AAT analysis and further one-compartment pharmacokinetic analysis. Subsequently, patients were rescheduled (dose and dosing interval) according to their individual responses. The influence of baseline AAT level, age, sex, body weight, and commercial AAT preparation was evaluated. Results: The mean ± SD AAT pharmacokinetic profile was: volume of distribution 127.6 ± 31.9 mL/kg, clearance 10.13 ± 1.84 mL/kg/day, and half-life 8.7 ± 1.0 days. Hence, the mean optimized final AAT dose was 123.1 mg/kg every 2 weeks (range 118.5-125.6). AAT concentrations differed by a mean (geometrical) value of 3.9% (range -4.2% to 6.7%) from the minimum desired AAT serum trough of 0.50 g/L. The impact of baseline AAT levels and commercial AAT preparation used was statistically significant (p = 0.033 and p = 0.035, respectively). Differences between estimated and actual values were slightly lower when baseline AAT levels were taken into consideration, with a mean value ot 3.3% (range -4.2% to 6.1%). Conclusions: AAT augmentation therapy can be effectively individualized on a pharmacokinetic basis with a simple, easily executed method.

Objective Taekwondo injuries differ according to the characteristics of the athletes and the competition. This analytical cross-sectional retrospective cohort study aimed to describe reported taekwondo injuries and to determine the prevalence, characteristics and possible risk factors for injuries sustained by athletes of the Spanish national team. In addition, we compared each identified risk factor—age, weight category, annual quarter, injury timing and competition difficulty level—with its relation to injury location and type. Settings Injury occurrences in taekwondo athletes of the Spanish national team during two Olympic periods at the High Performance Centre in Barcelona were analysed. Participants 48 taekwondo athletes (22 male, 26 female; age range 15–31 years) were studied; 1678 injury episodes occurred. Inclusion criteria were: (1) having trained with the national taekwondo group for a minimum of one sports season; (2) being a member of the Spanish national team. Results Independently of sex or Olympic period, the anatomical sites with most injury episodes were knee (21.3%), foot (17.0%), ankle (12.2%), thigh (11.4%) and lower leg (8.8%). Contusions (29.3%) and cartilage (17.6%) and joint (15.7%) injuries were the prevalent types of injury. Chronological age, weight category and annual quarter can be considered risk factors for sustaining injuries in male and female elite taekwondists according to their location and type (p≤0.001). Conclusions This study provides epidemiological information that will help to inform future injury surveillance studies and the development of prevention strategies and recommendations to reduce the number of injuries in taekwondo competition.