Edith Cowan University

About: Edith Cowan University is a education organization based out in Perth, Western Australia, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Tourism. The organization has 4040 authors who have published 13529 publications receiving 339582 citations. The organization is also known as: Edith Cowan & ECU.

The four ages of Down syndrome.

Abstract: Background: Down syndrome (DS) affects ∼1 per 650-1000 live births and is the most common known genetic cause of intellectual disability. A highly significant change in the survival of people with DS has occurred during the last two generations, with life expectancy estimates increasing from 12 to nearly 60 years of age. Subjects and Methods: Detailed information on 1332 people in Western Australia with DS was abstracted from a specialist statewide database for the period 1953-2000 and electronically linked with three other state or national health and mortality data sources and the state Birth Defects Registry. Results: Over the last 25 years the percentage of women over 35 years giving birth increased from 4.8 to 18.6%, accompanied by an increase in the overall prevalence of DS from 1.1 to 2.9 per 1000 births. Four life stages of DS were identified: prenatal, childhood and early adulthood, adulthood, and senescence. Although pneumonia, or other types of respiratory infections, was the most common cause of death across the entire lifespan, ranging from 23% of deaths in adulthood to 40% in senescence, each life stage exhibited a particular profile of comorbidities. Congenital heart defects were common causes in childhood (13%) and adulthood (23%), whereas in senescence coronary artery disease (10%) and cardiac, renal, and respiratory failure (9%) were leading causes of mortality. Conclusions: A major re-appraisal in attitudes towards DS is required to ensure that the medical and social needs of people with the disorder are adequately met across their entire lifespan. In particular, specific recognition of the comorbidities that can arise at different ages is needed, accompanied by the provision of appropriate levels of care and management.

Characterization of inflammatory responses to eccentric exercise in humans.

Abstract: Eccentric exercise commonly results in muscle damage. The primary sequence of events leading to exercise-induced muscle damage is believed to involve initial mechanical disruption of sarcomeres, followed by impaired excitation-contraction coupling and calcium signaling, and finally, activation of calcium-sensitive degradation pathways. Muscle damage is characterized by ultrastructural changes to muscle architecture, increased muscle proteins and enzymes in the bloodstream, loss of muscular strength and range of motion and muscle soreness. The inflammatory response to exercise-induced muscle damage is characterized by leukocyte infiltration and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines within damaged muscle tissue, systemic release of leukocytes and cytokines, in addition to alterations in leukocyte receptor expression and functional activity. Current evidence suggests that inflammatory responses to muscle damage are dependent on the type of eccentric exercise, previous eccentric loading (repeated bouts), age and gender. Circulating neutrophil counts and systemic cytokine responses are greater after eccentric exercise using a large muscle mass (e.g. downhill running, eccentric cycling) than after other types of eccentric exercise involving a smaller muscle mass. After an initial bout of eccentric exercise, circulating leukocyte counts and cell surface receptor expression are attenuated. Leukocyte and cytokine responses to eccentric exercise are impaired in elderly individuals, while cellular infiltration into skeletal muscle is greater in human females than males after eccentric exercise. Whether alterations in intracellular calcium homeostasis influence inflammatory responses to muscle damage is uncertain. Furthermore, the effects of antioxidant supplements are variable, and the limited data available indicates that anti-inflammatory drugs largely have no influence on inflammatory responses to eccentric exercise. In this review, we compare local versus systemic inflammatory responses, and discuss some of the possible mechanisms regulating the inflammatory responses to exercise-induced muscle damage in humans.

The Influence of Intellectual Disability on Life Expectancy

Abstract: Background. To date, relatively few representative data have been available to health planners and advocacy groups on the life expectancy of people with intellectual disability. A study of trends in the survival profiles of people with intellectual disability was undertaken to assist in the planning of appropriate medical and support services. Methods. Since 1953, the Disability Services Commission of Western Australia has maintained a database of persons diagnosed with intellectual disability. The database was used to calculate survival probabilities on a total of 8724 individuals, 7562 of whom were still alive at the time of sampling in December 2000. Results. Kaplan-Meier survival plots showed a strong negative association between severity of intellectual disability and survival, with median life expectancies of 74.0, 67.6, and 58.6 years for people with mild, moderate, and severe levels of handicap. Significant negative associations also were observed with male gender, Indigenous Australian parentage, and individuals diagnosed with a specific genetic disorder. Conclusions. The findings indicate a major and expanding increase in the service requirements of this aging, intellectually disabled population during the past two generations.

Acute effects of muscle stretching on physical performance, range of motion, and injury incidence in healthy active individuals: a systematic review

Abstract: Recently, there has been a shift from static stretching (SS) or proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching within a warm-up to a greater emphasis on dynamic stretching (DS). The objective of this review was to compare the effects of SS, DS, and PNF on performance, range of motion (ROM), and injury prevention. The data indicated that SS- (-3.7%), DS- (+1.3%), and PNF- (-4.4%) induced performance changes were small to moderate with testing performed immediately after stretching, possibly because of reduced muscle activation after SS and PNF. A dose-response relationship illustrated greater performance deficits with ≥60 s (-4.6%) than with <60 s (-1.1%) SS per muscle group. Conversely, SS demonstrated a moderate (2.2%) performance benefit at longer muscle lengths. Testing was performed on average 3-5 min after stretching, and most studies did not include poststretching dynamic activities; when these activities were included, no clear performance effect was observed. DS produced small-to-moderate performance improvements when completed within minutes of physical activity. SS and PNF stretching had no clear effect on all-cause or overuse injuries; no data are available for DS. All forms of training induced ROM improvements, typically lasting <30 min. Changes may result from acute reductions in muscle and tendon stiffness or from neural adaptations causing an improved stretch tolerance. Considering the small-to-moderate changes immediately after stretching and the study limitations, stretching within a warm-up that includes additional poststretching dynamic activity is recommended for reducing muscle injuries and increasing joint ROM with inconsequential effects on subsequent athletic performance.