Bmc Med
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It is recognised that regular physical activity and a high level of fitness are powerful predictors of positive health outcomes. There is a long and rich history of significant feats of human endurance with some, for example, the death of the first marathon runner, Pheidippides, associated with negative health outcomes. Early studies on endurance running used X-ray and interview techniques to evaluate competitors and comment on performance. ⋯ This pioneering study will assess the impact of extreme endurance on human physiology; analysing musculoskeletal and other tissue/organ injuries, and the body's potential ability to adapt to extreme physiological stress. The results will be of interest not only to endurance runners, but to anyone interested in the limits of human performance. Please see related article: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/78.
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The mammographic screening debate has been running for decades. The temperature of this debate is unusually high, and all participants, regardless of viewpoint, seem to have a conflict of interest. ⋯ What are the questions that remain to be answered in this debate? Are there methodological issues that have not been adequately addressed? Do we have the right tools to provide up-to-date answers to how women can best protect themselves against dying from breast cancer? This commentary discusses some of the current issues. See related Opinion articles http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/106 and http://www.biomedcentral.com/1741-7015/10/163.