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Assessment of body composition in dancers as part of a pre-participation evaluation is controversial--it is strongly supported as an important monitor test by some health professionals, but condemned by others as increasing the potential for the development of eating disorders. A number of studies have documented normative values of body composition for dancers at the student, pre-professional, and professional levels. To the best of our knowledge, no study has ever assessed body composition changes that occur during a professional performance season. The present investigation evaluated male (n = 29) and female (n = 39) professional dancers before and after a performance season. While no significant changes in body composition in the males was noted, a significant decrease in both body weight and percentage of body weight as fat was found in the female dancers [Fat%, Pre: 12.8 +/- 2.7; Post: 11.5 +/- 2.1 (p < 0.05)]. These data suggest that both preseason and postseason assessments of body composition are necessary in order to screen for dancers who require further medical assessment and nutritional counseling to maintain optimal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report the surgical-pathologic findings in 15 adults who had a history of irradiation of the head and neck in childhood. These patients we selected for thyroid surgery because of a "cold" area or areas detected on 99mTc thyroid scan, with or without palpable thyroid abnormalities. Eight of the fifteen patients had thyroid cancer, and 3 had atypical adenomas. We found multiple lesions in 12 patients. Macroscopic and microscopic malignancy in a location different from the cold area or areas occurred in 5 of the 8 cancer patients. In vitro of these findings, we recommend that adults who received irradiation to the head and neck in childhood and who have been found to have an abnormal thyroid scan or thyroid examination, or both, have a total thyroidectomy... [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dance is as much a sport as an art form. Sports medicine clinicians seeing dancers in their practice will need to be familiar with the unique characteristics of dance in order to provide proper care. Dance encompasses different forms, which vary in equipment and terminology. The epidemiology of dance injuries has historically focused on ballet, but there is increasing research on other dance forms. Lower extremity and back injuries predominate. Injury prevention, both primary and secondary, is at the heart of dance medicine. Primary prevention includes preseason conditioning, identifying risk factors for injury, and recognizing the female athlete triad. Secondary prevention includes a comprehensive approach to injury rehabilitation, an appreciation for the unique demands of dance, and an understanding of the particulars of the injury being treated. Dancers may have difficulty accessing medical care or following prescribed advice; the proactive clinician will anticipate these situations.

A 26-year-old female professional dancer sustained an acute injury to her mid-foot during a performance of The Nutcracker. An intra-articular, comminuted, minimally displaced fracture of the cuboid was found. The patient was treated non-operatively with cast and boot immobilization, modified weightbearing, and progressive rehabilitation. She was able to return to professional dance at 6 months post-injury and continues to dance professionally over 1 year out from injury without issue. The unique demands of classical ballet, especially dancing en pointe, increase the risk for mid-foot fractures, and clinicians should have a high-index of suspicion in dancers suffering an acute injury to the foot and ankle with greater than expected pain or swelling. Multiple imaging modalities can be used to make the diagnosis, to include plain film radiographs, MRI, and CT scan. Fracture characteristics and patient-specific factors should be taken into account when deciding on a treatment plan.

While studies have investigated the physical demands of dance in terms of cardiorespiratory fitness, there are no recent comparisons of cardiorespiratory response to exercise among professional dancers of different genres. Our purpose was to: 1. develop a cardiorespiratory profile of professional dancers; 2. investigate differences in peak and recovery heart rate (HR) between professional modern and ballet dancers using an accelerated 3-minute step test; 3. demonstrate the relationship between cardiorespiratory variables; and 4. investigate the effects of company and work variables on the dancers' cardiorespiratory profiles. We hypothesized greater cardiorespiratory fitness in modern dancers than in ballet dancers, due to the nature of their repertory. Furthermore, we hypothesized that company profiles would reflect differences in work variables. Two hundred and eleven dancers (mean age 24.6 ± 4.7) from nine companies (two modern and seven ballet) performed a 3-minute step test. Demographics, height, mass, blood pressure (BP), smoking history, and resting peak and recovery HR were recorded. Body mass index (BMI) and fitness category were calculated. Independent t-tests were used to compare differences in demographics and cardiorespiratory variables due to genre, MANOVA were conducted to compare differences due to company, and correlations were calculated to determine the relationships between cardiorespiratory variables (p < 0.05). Modern dancers demonstrated higher mass and BMI, lower BP, lower resting HR and HR recovery, and a higher percentage were categorized as "fit" compared to ballet dancers (p < 0.03). There were differences between companies in age, experience, BMI, BP, resting, peak, and recovery HR, and fitness category (p < 0.001). The differences in cardiorespiratory fitness levels that may be related to rigor of repertory, rehearsal and performance seasons, or off-season exercise training are discussed. Results support the need for comprehensive physical fitness screening to identify dancers who could benefit from aerobic conditioning to enhance overall performance preparedness and to minimize fatigue effects.

Twenty sample pairs of cancerous and noncancerous tissue from the human breast were analyzed for trace metals. Samples were dissolved by wet digestion with ultrapure grade nitric and perchloric acids. The sample solutions was analyzed by conventional atomic absorption for calcium and magnesium. Ten other elements--iron, zinc, copper, lead, calcium, manganese, chromium, silver, strontium and aluminum--were determined in the solution by the graphite furnace technique. Magnesium and zinc levels were significantly higher in the cancerous than in the noncancerous tissue.

Tumors of the head and neck have a wide variety of presentations. Simply stated however, a sore or soreness that persists, a lump that persists, particularly if non-tender, or evidence of nerve dysfunction such as hoarseness, facial weakness, or dysphagia should alert the astute observer to the probable existence of a neoplastic rather than an inflammatory process. High-risk factors brought out in a careful history enhance the probability. Careful inspection and palpation may reveal the probable diagnosis. A skillful biopsy is essential. In this regard, aspiration needle biopsy as well as large gauge needle biopsy are receiving renewed interest. Our colleagues in biochemistry, radiology, and nuclear medicine are providing increasing support in detection and delineation of extent of tumor for the physician. Biochemical studies, particularly for the detection and delineation of extent of tumor for the physician. Biochemical studies, particularly for the detection of thyroid cases, are important. Ultrasound equipment is being developed that may give much improved delineation of lesion consistency. Xerography is superior in some instances to radiography. Nuclear scanning remains integral in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Modifications upgrading computerized axial tomography apparatus show promise of giving better delineation of the extent of disease. Arteriography remains essential in the diagnosis of carotid body tumors.

Three cases of lateral neck tumors caused by thrombosis of the external jugular vein have been presented. Microscopic examination of the excised thrombosed veins revealed all of them to have a dilated architecture with somewhat degenerated vessel walls much like an aneurysm. Such a dilatation would cause some stasis and eddy currents and make the vessels more susceptible to thrombus formation. The final factor which induced these thrombi remains unknown. Indeed, when the interrelation of the factors discussed previously is considered, multiple etiologic factors appear most likely. Some form of minor trauma, although not documented, would still seem the most likely cause of thrombosis of a vein in a patient with no previous symptoms. In case III, trauma of inflammatory changes in a mass already noted to be present for some time could have induced thrombosis within the dilated vessel. Thrombosis of the external jugular vein is yet another lesion in the extensive differential diagnosis of a mass in the lateral neck.

Central to the controversy that surrounds the treatment of accidental severe hypothermia is the question of how the method of rewarming affects myocardial performance, and therefore survival. We induced severe hypothermia and cardiac arrest in 15 mongrel dogs. Each dog was rewarmed by one of three methods: partial cardiac bypass (Group I); peritoneal dialysis (Group II); or external rewarming with a fluid-circulated blanket (Group III). The cardiac arrest state was supported by partial cardiac bypass in Group I and by standard mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in Groups II and III. In all dogs, the hypothermically depressed myocardial performance returned to normal upon rewarming. Groups I and II had similar rewarming times and required similar volumes of crystalloid and bicarbonate solutions to maintain adequate cardiac filling pressures and arterial pH. However, Group III had a significantly slower rewarming time and required significantly greater volumes of crystalloid and bicarbonate solutions. The sole procedural death occurred in Group III. Our results show that partial cardiac bypass, peritoneal dialysis, and the fluid-circulated blanket are equally effective in rewarming severely hypothemic dogs with cardiac arrest, provided that the cardiac arrest is relieved by partial cardiac bypass or standard mechanical CPR and that physiologic levels of intravascular volume, oxygenation, and pH are maintained.

Cancers of the head and neck are accessible to both inspection and palpation in the majority of patients. This accessibility allows for improvements in detection, through education of the medical profession and also of the allied health personnel. Some of the new advances in detection and diagnosis have been associated with development of new instruments. A new lens system developed by Hopkins allows a brighter endoscopic image and a significantly greater breadth of field. Needle aspiration biopsy techniques have also improved both in facility of performance and in accuracy of diagnosis. Asteriography aids in the detection of carotid body tumors. Selective parathormone studies have considerably improved the preoperative accuracy of evaluating parathyroid disease. Scans, both using ultrasound and a fluorescent iodine scan have also improved the preoperative evaluation of thyroid tumors. A challenge of detection is the realization that there is an increased risk of the development of thyroid cancer in childhood and in adults in those patients who received radiation therapy to the head and neck during infancy or childhood. A national campaign to alert potential individuals at risk should be a prime objective of the American Cancer Society.