Objective: This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to (I) evaluate the evidence on the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in hypertensive patients; (II) determine whether HIIT impacts SBP and DBP differently; and (III) assess the clinical relevance of these effects. Methods: A comprehensive search was conducted across multiple electronic databases, resulting in the inclusion of seven randomized clinical trials in the meta-analysis. The outcomes were analyzed using random-effects models to compute mean differences (MD) and standardized mean differences (SMD) for SBP and DBP. Results: A small reduction in SBP was observed with HIIT interventions (MD −3.00; 95% CI −4.61 to −1.39; p < 0.0001; SMD −0.28; 95% CI −0.42 to −0.13; p = 0.0003). However, no statistically significant reductions were detected for DBP (MD −0.70; 95% CI −1.80 to 0.39; p = 0.21; SMD −0.07; 95% CI −0.22 to 0.08; p = 0.35). Despite demonstrating statistical significance for SBP, the effects did not reach clinical relevance. Conclusions: HIIT interventions yield small reductions in SBP, with minimal impact on DBP. These findings suggest limited clinical relevance in the management of hypertension. Further randomized controlled trials are necessary to standardize HIIT protocols, with specific emphasis on intensity control and manipulation, to better understand their potential role in hypertensive populations.

Objective: This work aimed to determine the relationship between the autonomic nervous system and reactive hyperemia (RH) in type 2 diabetes patients with and without cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN). Methodology: A systematic review of randomized and nonrandomized clinical studies characterizing reactive hyperemia and autonomic activity in type 2 diabetes patients with and without CAN was performed. Results: Five articles showed differences in RH between healthy subjects and diabetic patients with and/or without neuropathy, while one study did not show such differences between healthy subjects and diabetic patients, but patients with diabetic ulcers had lower RH index values compared to healthy controls. Another study found no significant difference in blood flow after a muscle strain that induced reactive hyperemia between normal subjects and non-smoking diabetic patients. Four studies measured reactive hyperemia using peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT); only two found a significantly lower endothelial-function-derived measure of PAT in diabetic patients than in those without CAN. Four studies measured reactive hyperemia using flow-mediated dilation (FMD), but no significant differences were reported between diabetic patients with and without CAN. Two studies measured RH using laser Doppler techniques; one of them found significant differences in the blood flow of calf skin after stretching between diabetic non-smokers and smokers. The diabetic smokers had neurogenic activity at baseline that was significantly lower than that of the normal subjects. The greatest evidence revealed that the differences in RH between diabetic patients with and without CAN may depend on both the method used to measure hyperemia and that applied for the ANS examination as well as the type of autonomic deficit present in the patients. Conclusions: In diabetic patients, there is a deterioration in the vasodilator response to the reactive hyperemia maneuver compared to healthy subjects, which depends in part on endothelial and autonomic dysfunction. Blood flow alterations in diabetic patients during RH are mainly mediated by sympathetic dysfunction. The greatest evidence suggests a relationship between ANS and RH; however, there are no significant differences in RH between diabetic patients with and without CAN, as measured using FMD. When the flow of the microvascular territory is measured, the differences between diabetics with and without CAN become evident. Therefore, RH measured using PAT may reflect diabetic neuropathic changes with greater sensitivity compared to FMD.

Introduction: Post-Coronavirus disease 2019 (Post-COVID-19) syndrome has neurological symptoms related to the dysfunction of the autonomous nerve system. However, a pathogenic relationship between post-COVID-19 syndrome and dysautonomia still remains to be demonstrated. Establishing a pathogenic relationship between paresthesia and the presence of cardiac dysautonomia in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome is the objective of this study. Participants and Methods: This observational study was carried out in the neurophysiology service wing of the Juan Bruno Zayas Hospital, Santiago de Cuba, in Cuba. The patients were recruited through a post-COVID-19 clinic at the same hospital. A variability study of cardiac frequency and a test of autonomic cardiovascular reflexes was carried out, which is composed of deep breathing, orthostatism, and the Valsalva maneuver. Results: The variability parameters of the cardiac frequency, the expiration–inspiration ratio between deep breaths, and the Valsalva Index showed no statistically significant differences between healthy participants and those with post-COVID-19 syndrome. During the Valsalva maneuver, there was a greater cardiac frequency response in participants with post-COVID-19 syndrome than in healthy subjects. The difference in supine and standing blood pressure was significantly minor in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. The logarithm of high frequency (log HF) increased significantly in patients with paresthesia when compared to patients without paresthesia. Conclusions: In the autonomic function tests, no signs of dysautonomia were found in patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome. The presence of paresthesias is associated with differences in cardiac vagal activity, which may suggest that damage to peripheral sensory nerve fibers could be associated with an affectation to autonomic fibres.

INPLASY202480131 Effects of manipulation and intensity control of high-intensity interval training on blood pressure in persons with arterial hypertension: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of …

In the field of sports performance, sports medicine, and physical rehabilitation, there is a great interest in the development of protocols and reliable techniques and instruments for the evaluation of strength produced by athletes. In the last ten years, women’s football has increased its popularity and participation in numerous countries, which has contributed to players developing more professionally and requiring more specific muscle strength training to improve their performance. The aim of this study was to analyze the absolute and relative test–retest reliabilities of peak muscle strength in knee flexion (FLE) and extension (EXT) controlled using a functional electromechanical dynamometer (FEMD) in a group of seventeen professional female soccer players (age = 18.64 ± 0.62 years; weight = 54.72 ± 7.03 kg; height = 1.58 ± 0.04 m; BMI = 21.62 ± 2.70 kg/m²). Peak muscle strength was measured with knee flexion (FLE) and extension (EXT) movements at a speed of 0.4 m·s⁻¹ unilaterally in a concentric phase (CON) and an eccentric phase (ECC). No significant mean differences were found in the test–retest analysis (p > 0.05; effect size < 0.14), and high reliability was reported for peak muscle strength assessments in both the CON (ICC) = 0.90–0.95) and the ECC (ICC = 0.85–0.97). Furthermore, stable repeatability was presented for extension in the CON (CV = 7.39–9.91%) and ECC (CV = 8.65–13.64). The main findings of this study show that peak muscle strength in knee flexion and extension in CON and ECC is a measure with acceptable absolute reliability and extremely high relative reliability using the FEMD in professional female soccer players.

The usefulness of Contingent Negative Variation (CNV) potential as a biomarker of neurocognitive disorders due to possible Alzheimer’s disease, is based on its possible physiological correlates. However, its application in the diagnostic evaluation of these disorders is still incipient. The aim of this study is to characterize the patterns of cognitive processing of information in the domain of nonspecific global attention, by recording potential CNV in a group of patients with neurocognitive disorders due to possible Alzheimer’s disease. An experimental study of cases and controls was carried out. The sample included 39 patients classified according to DSM-5 with a neurocognitive disorder subtype possibly due Alzheimer’s disease, and a Control Group of 53 subjects with normal cognitive functions. CNV potential was registered using standard protocol. The analysis of variance obtained significant differences in mean values and confidence intervals of total CNV amplitude between the three study groups. The late CNV segment amplitudes makes it possible to discriminate between the level of mild and major dysfunction in the group of patients. The CNV total amplitudes of potential allows for effective discrimination between normal cognitive functioning and neurocognitive disorders due to possible Alzheimer’s disease.