Disordered sleep impairs neurocognitive performance, and is now recognized to cause metabolic ill-health. This review assesses the nascent relationship between insufficient, misaligned, and disrupted sleep with andrological health. High-quality cohort studies show a reduced sperm count in men with sleep disturbances. Well-designed interventional studies show a reduction in testosterone with sleep restriction. Studies of long-term shift workers show no effect of misaligned sleep on mean testosterone concentrations. Men with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and more severe hypoxemia have lower testosterone levels, although it is unknown if this relationship is entirely explained by concomitant obesity, or is reversible. Nevertheless, erectile dysfunction, which is common in men with OSA, is clinically improved when OSA is properly treated. Few studies manipulating sleep have been performed in older men, in whom the accumulation of sleep disturbances over decades of life may contribute to age-related illnesses. JPH203 Improving sleep could ameliorate the development of these disorders.Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is highly prevalent among veterans. Although there are effective treatment approaches for PTSD, such as Prolonged Exposure (PE) and Cognitive Processing Therapy, many providers trained in these approaches do not use them, or use them without sufficient fidelity, and veterans drop out of these treatments at very high rates. The time intensive nature of these treatments is frequently cited as a barrier to receiving the treatment among veterans and delivering the treatment among providers. According, there is an urgent need to establish more efficient and effective PTSD treatment approaches in order to meet the needs of veterans seeking care. Written exposure therapy (WET) is an efficient, exposure-based treatment, and may represent a plausible alternative treatment option to address PTSD in veterans. Although WET has been found to be effective and non-inferior to more time intensive trauma-focused treatment, it has not yet been investigated with a veteran sample. In an ongoing randomized controlled trial (RCT) we are investigating whether WET is non-inferior in treating PTSD compared with the more time intensive PE. The study sample will include 150 men and women veterans diagnosed with PTSD who are randomly assigned to either WET (n = 75) or PE (n = 75). Participants are assessed prior to treatment and 10-, 20-, and 30-weeks after the first treatment session. The primary outcome is PTSD symptom severity assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5. Establishing that PTSD can be treated effectively with fewer treatment sessions would represent a significant advance in improving access to evidence-based care for veterans with PTSD.

Gains in muscle mass and strength have been documented in exercise training with blood flow restriction (BFR). However, the impact of retrograde blood flow during BFR training on vascular health remains unclear. The present study designed a protocol to evaluate the acute effects of exercise performed with different levels of BFR on vascular reactivity and biomarkers of endothelial function, oxidative stress, and muscle hypertrophy in young and older individuals.

Sixty-eight physically inactive eutrophic men [34 young (18-25-yrs old) and 34 elderly (≥65-yrs old)] will be included in the study. Subjects will undergo three experimental protocols a) control (ExCON) – handgrip exercise with intensity of 30% of the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC); b) blood flow restriction (ExBFR) – handgrip exercise with a resistance of 30% of the MVC with low level of BFR [80% of arterial occlusion pressure at rest (rAOP)]; and c) arterial occlusion pressure (ExAOP) – handgrip exercise with a resistance of 30% of the MVC with high level of BFR (120% of rAOP). Primary outcomes will be a) vascular reactivity assessed by venous occlusion plethysmography; b) endothelial function (nitric oxide and apoptotic endothelial micro particles; c) oxidative stress (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances). Growth hormone and lactate concentration will be measured as secondary outcomes reflecting the hypertrophic drive and metabolic stress, respectively.

The findings of the present study may help to elucidate the age-related impacts of BFR training on the vascular health.

The findings of the present study may help to elucidate the age-related impacts of BFR training on the vascular health.The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected presentations of conditions unrelated to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection itself. We investigated the pandemic’s effect on incidence and characteristics of pulmonary embolism (PE) cases without the infection. We retrospectively compared non-COVID PE patients during January 16-August 31, 2020 (COVID period) with PE patients during the same period in 2017-2019 (Pre-COVID period). The number of out-of-hospital onset cases was significantly higher during the pandemic than during each of the pre-COVID years. Also, the patients in the COVID period were older, more likely to be free of thrombotic predispositions, had higher mortality risks of PE, and were more likely to arrive at the hospital on emergency transport. Sedentary lifestyles during the pandemic seem to have had considerable effects on presentations of PE.COVID-19 causes very serious issues all over the world. In Japan, the number of new infections in Tokyo exceeded 2,000 for the first time on 7 January 2021, and the situation is becoming increasingly serious. Japan is in the midst of its third big outbreak. Japanese society will face several challenges regarding children’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to develop healthy minds in children, it is important to view the changes in children’s minds in a positive light and promote their healthy emotional development while correctly fearing COVID-19. This sense of social stagnation and uncertainty is likely to increase feelings of insecurity and isolation among children. It is also important to prevent the repetition of child abuse in the home due to parental unemployment, alcohol problems, and reduced contact with non-family members in stay home and the recession as a result of COVID-19. During the pandemic, adults should be sensitive to the unusual behavior of children. We propose six suggestions of care for children during the COVID-19 pandemic.