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Ankle stiffness contributes to standing balance, counteracting the destabilizing effect of gravity. The ankle stiffness together with the compliance between the foot and the support surface make up the ankle-foot stiffness, which is relevant to quiet standing. The contribution of the intrinsic ankle-foot stiffness to balance, and the ankle-foot stiffness amplitude dependency remain a topic of debate in the literature. We therefore developed an experimental protocol to directly measure the bilateral intrinsic ankle-foot stiffness during standing balance, and determine its amplitude dependency. By applying fast (40ms) ramp-and-hold support surface rotations (0.005–0.08rad) during standing, reflexive contributions could be excluded, and the amplitude dependency of the intrinsic ankle-foot stiffness was investigated. Results showed that reflexive activity could not have biased the torque used for estimating the intrinsic stiffness. Furthermore, subjects required less recovery action to restore balance after bilateral rotations in opposite directions compared to rotations in the same direction. The intrinsic ankle-foot stiffness appears insufficient to ensure balance, ranging from 0.93±0.09 to 0.44±0.06 (normalized to critical stiffness ‘mgh’). This implies that changes in muscle activation are required to maintain balance. The non-linear stiffness decrease with increasing rotation amplitude supports the previous published research. With the proposed method reflexive effects can be ruled out from the measured torque without any model assumptions, allowing direct estimation of intrinsic stiffness during standing.

The tolerability and efficacy of four courses of paclitaxel and ifosfamide plus cisplatin every 3 weeks was evaluated in patients with residual or refractory ovarian cancer. Additionally, supportive haematological effects of recombinant human interleukin 3 (rhIL-3) and recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) were studied. Paclitaxel starting dose was 135 mg m(-2) (day 1), with ifosfamide dose 1.2 g m(-2) day(-1) (days 2-4) and cisplatin dose 30 mg m(-2) day(-1) (days 2-4). All 16 patients received 5.0 microg kg(-1) day(-1) G-CSF (days 7-16) and, in addition, eight patients were randomized to receive 10 microg kg(-1) day(-1) rhIL-3 (days 5-9). Paclitaxel and ifosfamide doses were reduced when grade IV haematological toxicity occurred. In the absence of grade IV haematological toxicity and normal recovery of haematopoiesis, paclitaxel dose was escalated. Toxicity was evaluable in 56 courses, with haematological effects in 52. Despite antiemetic treatment, nausea and vomiting (> or = grade I) occurred in 50 courses. Five patients had persisting peripheral neuropathy. Renal and liver function were not affected. Grade IV neutropenia occurred in 12 out of 52 courses, with neutropenic fever in two patients, both of whom died from fatal septicaemia. Grade IV thrombocytopenia without bleeding was observed in 15 courses. Grade IV haematological toxicity was associated with hepatic metastases and concurrent increases in alkaline phosphatase (P <0.001) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (P=0.007). No relation was found between haematological toxicity and pharmacokinetic parameters of paclitaxel. Patients treated with rhIL-3 showed a tendency to a faster platelet recovery (not affecting platelet nadir), and the cisplatin dose intensity was higher (P=0.025). Six of the nine evaluable patients had a tumour response. The overall median progression-free survival was 7 months and the overall mean survival was 13 months. In conclusion, this potentially interesting combination as second-line treatment showed a low tolerability with unexpected mortality, while rhIL-3 administration tended to induce a more rapid platelet recovery.