In mice, certain proteins show a highly confined expression in specific muscle groups. Also, resting and exercise/contraction-induced phosphorylation responses are higher in rat skeletal muscle with low mitochondrial content compared to muscles with high mitochondrial content, possibly related to differential reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging ability or resting glycogen content. To evalu...

BACKGROUND Surgery for chronic pulmonary aspergillosis is often technically risky. The choice of immediate thoracoplasty or muscle flap plombage to prevent postoperative space problems remains controversial. This study focused on the use of muscle flaps to prevent postoperative complications. METHODS During an 8-year period (2004 to 2012), all patients surgically treated for chronic pulmonary...

Extremity injuries with hemorrhage have been a significant cause of death in civilian medicine and on the battlefield. The use of a tourniquet as an intervention is necessary for treatment to an injured limb; however, the tourniquet and subsequent release results in serious acute ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury in the skeletal muscle and neuromuscular junction (NMJ). Much evidence demonstrates...

Rupture of the gastrocnemius muscle is an uncommon injury, with most cases occurring in athletes and, typically, presenting with the acute onset of focal calf pain and ecchymosis after injury. Although gastrocnemius ruptures are usually treated symptomatically with good results, we present an unusual case of a medial head of gastrocnemius muscle tear complicated by acute compartment syndrome in...

We examined young adult and late middle-aged male rats to test the hypothesis that gastrocnemius (a locomotor muscle) demonstrates reduced fiber size with aging, whereas soleus (a postural muscle) demonstrates atrophy of some fibers and compensatory hypertrophy in other fibers. Although body mass was greater in late middle-aged animals, mass was reduced in gastrocnemius but not soleus muscle. I...

The etiology of mammalian senescence is suggested to involve the progressive impairment of mitochondrial function; however, direct observations of age-induced alterations in actual respiratory chain function are lacking. Accordingly, we assessed mitochondrial function via high-resolution respirometry and mitochondrial protein expression in soleus, quadricep, and lateral gastrocnemius skeletal m...

[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of spring-loaded crutches on gastrocnemius muscle activity and upper body displacement in the sagittal plane during gait. [Subjects and Methods] The study involved 12 healthy males. All subjects performed crutch gait by using spring-loaded crutches and axillary crutches. During this gait, the gastrocnemius muscle activity was measured using a wirele...

[Purpose] Dysfunction of lower extremity muscles is one risk factor of falls for amputee patients. However, the change in muscle activity pattern and balance ability of amputees who have no experience in standing with prosthesis during the period from prosthesis fitting to regaining the ability to walk has never been studied. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were to elucidate chan...

CONTEXT Stretching exercises are commonly prescribed for patients and healthy individuals with limited extensibility of the gastrocnemius muscle. OBJECTIVE To determine effects of gastrocnemius stretching on ankle dorsiflexion, knee extension, and gastrocnemius muscle activity during gait. DESIGN Randomized-control trial. SETTING Biomechanical laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Sixteen volunteers...

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of exercise on the pattern of muscle myostatin (MSTN) protein expression in two important metabolic disorders, i.e., obesity and diabetes mellitus. MATERIALS AND METHODS MSTN, is a negative regulator of skeletal muscle mass. We evaluated the effect of exercise on MSTN protein expression in diabetes mellitus and high fat diet-induced ob...