Watercress May Boost Exercise Recovery

UK researchers believe that eating watercress may alleviate the oxidative stress that comes with heavy bouts of exercise.   Watercress contains an array of nutritional compounds such as β-carotene and α-tocopherol which may increase protection against exercise-induced oxidative stress. The leafy green vegetable was the focus of a recent study published in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Ten healthy males were assigned to eight weeks of watercress consumption followed by eight weeks of control (no watercress). Blood samples were analyzed for DNA damage and lipid peroxidation at baseline (before supplementation), at rest (before exercise), and following exercise.

Exercise resulted in an increase in DNA damage and lipid peroxidation when subjects took part in the control phase of the study, but when watercress was added to the diet, markers of DNA damage and lipid peroxidation were significantly reduced. Even acute supplementation improved DNA and lipid protection, suggesting that only small amounts of the leafy green were needed to reduce oxidative stress in the body.

Blood analysis revealed notable increases of xanthophylls, alpha-tocopherol, and gamma-tocopherol with watercress consumption. The researchers proposed that these compounds might have a role in increased protection against oxidative stress.

The main findings show an exercise-induced increase in DNA damage and lipid peroxidation over both acute and chronic control supplementation phases (< 0·05 v. supplementation), while acute and chronic watercress attenuated DNA damage and lipid peroxidation and decreased H2O2 accumulation following exhaustive exercise (P < 0·05 v. supplementation), while acute and chronic watercress attenuated DNA damage and lipid peroxidation and decreased H2O2 accumulation following exhaustive exercise (P < 0·05 v. control). A marked increase in the main lipid-soluble antioxidants (α-tocopherol, γ-tocopherol and xanthophyll) was observed following watercress supplementation (P < 0·05 v. control) in both experimental phases. These findings suggest that short- and long-term watercress ingestion has potential antioxidant effects against exercise-induced DNA damage and lipid peroxidation.

Creatine Increases Metabolic Energy in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

A Temple University researcher seeking physiological evidence of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has found a link between creatine and metabolic energy. The findings, which hold promise for future CFS treatments, were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology.

“We found that creatine affects mitochondria – the parts of the cells that produce energy for all biological functioning – in normal human subjects. Now that we have established this baseline evidence, we are looking at the link between creatine and energy production in CFS patients,” said lead author Sinclair Smith, Sc.D., assistant professor of occupational therapy in Temple’s College of Health Professions.

Creatine, thought to build muscle and improve performance, is a popular over-the-counter supplement used by athletes. Smith and his colleagues wondered if creatine could also be used to help relieve the extreme physical and mental fatigue that strikes CFS sufferers. “Many physicians still don’t believe that CFS exists, making it important to investigate possible physiologic differences and to determine if we can impact metabolic function in CFS patients,” explained Smith.

“In addition to improving muscle metabolic function, recent studies show that creatine supplementation may improve nervous system function as well. Given that cognitive fatigue is a frequent symptom of CFS, we thought that creatine may enhance both muscle and neural metabolic status in people with CFS,” said Smith.

In the study, “Use of phosphocreatine kinetics to determine the influence of creatine on muscle mitochondrial respiration: an in vivo 31P-MRS study of oral creatine ingestion,” the researchers analyzed the effect of naturally -produced and supplemental creatine on the rate of muscle metabolism using non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques during exercise and rest.

While previous studies have evaluated the link between creatine and mitochondria in animals and human muscle samples, Smith’s was the first lab to test in people.

Smith collaborated in this research with the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston University and Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.

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Article adapted by MD Sports from original press release.
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Contact: Eryn Jelesiewicz
Temple University

Rebuilding of skeletal muscle accelerated by Gene therapy

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have successfully used gene therapy to accelerate muscle regeneration in experimental animals with muscle damage, suggesting this technique may be a novel and effective approach for improving skeletal muscle healing, particularly for serious sports-related injuries. These findings are being presented at the American Society of Gene Therapy annual meeting in Baltimore, May 31 to June 4.

Skeletal muscle injuries are the most common injuries encountered in sports medicine. Although such injuries can heal spontaneously, scar tissue formation, or fibrosis, can significantly impede this process, resulting in incomplete functional recovery. Of particular concern are top athletes, who, when injured, need to recover fully as quickly as possible.

In this study, the Pitt researchers injected mice with a gene therapy vector containing myostatin propeptide–a protein that blocks the activity of the muscle-growth inhibitor myostatin–three weeks prior to experimentally damaging the mice’s skeletal muscles. Four weeks after skeletal muscle injury, the investigators observed an enhancement of muscle regeneration in the gene-therapy treated mice compared to the non-gene-therapy treated control mice. There also was significantly less fibrous scar tissue in the skeletal muscle of the gene-therapy treated mice compared to the control mice.

According to corresponding author Johnny Huard, Ph.D., the Henry J. Mankin Endowed Chair and Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Director of the Stem Cell Research Center of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, this approach offers a significant, long-lasting method for treating serious, sports-related muscle injuries.

“Based on our previous studies, we expect that gene-therapy treated cells will continue to overproduce myostatin propeptide for at least two years. Since the remodeling phase of skeletal muscle healing is a long-term process, we believe that prolonged expression of myostatin propeptide will continue to contribute to recovery of injured skeletal muscle by inducing an increase in muscle mass and minimizing fibrosis. This could significantly reduce the amount of time an athlete needs to recover and result in a more complete recovery,” he explained.

###

Others involved in this study include, Jinhong Zhu, M.D., Yong Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Growth and Development Laboratory, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; and Chunping Qiao, M.D., and Xiao Xiao, M.D., Ph.D., of the Molecular Therapies Laboratory, department of orthopaedic surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers have successfully used gene therapy to accelerate muscle regeneration in experimental animals with muscle damage, suggesting this technique may be a novel and effective approach for improving skeletal muscle healing, particularly for serious sports-related injuries.

Skeletal muscle injuries are the most common injuries encountered in sports medicine. Although such injuries can heal spontaneously, scar tissue formation, or fibrosis, can significantly impede this process, resulting in incomplete functional recovery. Of particular concern are top athletes, who, when injured, need to recover fully as quickly as possible.

In this study, the Pitt researchers injected mice with a gene therapy vector containing myostatin propeptide–a protein that blocks the activity of the muscle-growth inhibitor myostatin–three weeks prior to experimentally damaging the mice’s skeletal muscles. Four weeks after skeletal muscle injury, the investigators observed an enhancement of muscle regeneration in the gene-therapy treated mice compared to the non-gene-therapy treated control mice. There also was significantly less fibrous scar tissue in the skeletal muscle of the gene-therapy treated mice compared to the control mice.

According to corresponding author Johnny Huard, Ph.D., the Henry J. Mankin Endowed Chair and Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Director of the Stem Cell Research Center of Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, this approach offers a significant, long-lasting method for treating serious, sports-related muscle injuries.

“Based on our previous studies, we expect that gene-therapy treated cells will continue to overproduce myostatin propeptide for at least two years. Since the remodeling phase of skeletal muscle healing is a long-term process, we believe that prolonged expression of myostatin propeptide will continue to contribute to recovery of injured skeletal muscle by inducing an increase in muscle mass and minimizing fibrosis. This could significantly reduce the amount of time an athlete needs to recover and result in a more complete recovery,” he explained.

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Article adapted by MD Sports from original press release.
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Contact: Jim Swyers

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center 

Others involved in this study include, Jinhong Zhu, M.D., Yong Li, M.D., Ph.D., of the Growth and Development Laboratory, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh; and Chunping Qiao, M.D., and Xiao Xiao, M.D., Ph.D., of the Molecular Therapies Laboratory, department of orthopaedic surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

Treatment stimulates muscle growth and regeneration after injury

Scientists have discovered that a group of chemicals known as Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors stimulate growth and regeneration of adult skeletal muscle cells by increasing expression of the protein follistatin. The research, published in the May issue of Developmental Cell, may provide new avenues for developing effective means to promote regeneration in muscular dystrophies.

Dr. Vittorio Sartorelli from the Muscle Gene Expression Group in the Laboratory of Muscle Biology, National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, NIH, in Bethesda, Maryland, and colleagues at the Salk Institute and the Dulbecco Telethon Institute in Rome report that HDAC inhibitors, which stimulate the formation of mature muscle cells from immature precursor cells, also cause a significant elevation of follistatin levels. When follistatin levels are reduced, then HDAC inhibitors no longer stimulate adult muscle growth. The regeneration activities of the HDAC inhibitors appear to function only in skeletal muscle, since follistatin is not stimulated in other cell types tested. In animal studies, administration of an HDAC inhibitor produced clear signs of muscle regeneration in regions of injured skeletal muscle tissues.

“Our findings establish for the first time that follistatin promotes the recruitment and fusion of immature muscle cells to pre-existing adult muscle fibers. These results suggest that follistatin is a promising target for future drug development of muscle regeneration. HDAC inhibitors, by stimulating follistatin, could well be pharmacologically useful as stimulants of muscle regeneration. We are investigating whether these inhibitors are a viable treatment to regenerate healthy new muscle tissues in animal models of muscular dystrophies,” explains Dr. Sartorelli. The functional link between HDAC inhibitors, follistatin, and adult muscle regeneration is especially provocative as an HDAC inhibitor is already being used clinically in humans as an anti-cancer therapeutic.

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Article adapted by MD Sports from original press release.
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Contact: Heidi Hardman
Cell Press 

Simona Iezzi, Monica Di Padova, Carlo Serra, Giuseppina Caretti, Cristiano Simone, Eric Maklan, Giulia Minetti, Po Zhao, Eric P. Hoffman, Pier Lorenzo Puri, and Vittorio Sartorelli: “Deacetylase Inhibitors Increase Muscle Cell Size by Promoting Myoblast Recruitment and Fusion through Induction of Follistatin”

 

Cereal and Milk Good for Exercise Muscle Recovery

Cereal and non-fat milk is as good as a commercially-available sports drink in initiating post-exercise muscle recovery.

Background

This study compared the effects of ingesting cereal and nonfat milk (Cereal) and a carbohydrate-electrolyte sports drink (Drink) immediately following endurance exercise on muscle glycogen synthesis and the phosphorylation state of proteins controlling protein synthesis: Akt, mTOR, rpS6 and eIF4E.

Methods

Trained cyclists or triathletes (8 male: 28.0+/-1.6 yrs, 1.8+/-0.0 m, 75.4+/-3.2 kg, 61.0+/-1.6 ml O2 * kg-1 * min-1; 4 female: 25.3+/-1.7 yrs, 1.7+/-0.0 m, 66.9+/-4.6 kg, 46.4+/-1.2 mlO2 * kg-1 * min-1) completed two randomly-ordered trials serving as their own controls. After 2 hours of cycling at 60-65% VO2MAX, a biopsy from the vastus lateralis was obtained (Post0), then subjects consumed either Drink (78.5 g carbohydrate) or Cereal (77 g carbohydrate, 19.5 g protein and 2.7 g fat). Blood was drawn before and at the end of exercise, and at 15, 30 and 60 minutes after treatment. A second biopsy was taken 60 minutes after supplementation (Post60). Differences within and between treatments were tested using repeated measures ANOVA.

Results

At Post60, blood glucose was similar between treatments (Drink 6.1+/-0.3, Cereal 5.6+/-0.2 mmol/L, p<.05), but after Cereal, plasma insulin was significantly higher (Drink 123.1+/-11.8, Cereal 191.0+/-12.3 pmol/L, p<.05), and plasma lactate significantly lower (Drink 1.4+/-0.1, Cereal 1.00+/-0.1 mmol/L, p<.05). Except for higher phosphorylation of mTOR after Cereal, glycogen and muscle proteins were not statistically different between treatments. Significant Post0 to Post60 changes occurred in glycogen (Drink 52.4+/-7.0 to 58.6+/-6.9, Cereal 58.7+/-9.6 to 66.0+/-10.0 mumol/g, p<.05) and rpS6 (Drink 17.9+/-2.5 to 35.2+/-4.9, Cereal 18.6+/-2.2 to 35.4+/-4.4 %Std, p<.05) for each treatment, but only Cereal significantly affected glycogen synthase (Drink 66.6+/-6.9 to 64.9+/-6.9, Cereal 61.1+/-8.0 to 54.2+/-7.2%Std, p<.05), Akt (Drink 57.9+/-3.2 to 55.7+/-3.1, Cereal 53.2+/-4.1 to 60.5+/-3.7 %Std, p<.05) and mTOR (Drink 28.7+/-4.4 to 35.4+/-4.5, Cereal 23.0+/-3.1 to 42.2+/-2.5 %Std, p<.05). eIF4E was unchanged after both treatments.

Conclusion

These results suggest that Cereal is as good as a commercially-available sports drink in initiating post-exercise muscle recovery.

Author: Lynne Kammer, Zhenping Ding, Bei Wang, Daiske Hara, Yi-Hung Liao and John L. Ivy

Credits/Source: Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition 2009, 6:11

Health Benifits Of Weight Lifting For Elderly

ATHENS, Ohio – Men over 60 may be able to increase their strength by as much as 80 percent by performing intense weight training exercises, according to physiologists involved in studies of the health benefits of weight lifting. The researchers also have found that older men gain strength at the same rate as men in their 20s.

In a study of 18 men ages 60 to 75, Ohio University physiologists found that subjects who participated in a 16-week, high-intensity resistence training program on average were 50 percent to 80 percent stronger by the end of the study. None of the participants had engaged in weight lifting prior to the study. Researchers also observed improvements in the seniors’ muscle tone, aerobic capacity and cholesterol profile.

These are some of the latest findings from a decades-long examination of the impact of exercise on the health of men and women of all ages. When researchers compared the strength gains of the elderly participants in this study to findings from other studies they’ve done of college-age men, they found that changes in strength and muscle size were similar in both age groups. The findings were published in a recent issue of the Journal of Gerontology.

“There have been a number of research projects that have come out over the years that suggest there is no age limitation to getting stronger from resistance training,” said Robert Staron, co-author of this study and an associate professor of anatomy in the university’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. “It’s become obvious that it’s important to maintain a certain amount of muscle mass as we age.”

This new study also suggests that elderly men can handle heavy workloads over a long period of time. Participants – who all were in good health and closely monitored during testing and training – performed leg presses, half squats and leg extensions twice a week to exercise the lower body. When the men began the study, they were able to leg press about 375 pounds on average. After the 16-week period, they could take on about 600 pounds. Studies elsewhere have involved low-intensity exercises over a shorter term.

In addition to the increase in strength, researchers found that weight lifting had a beneficial impact on the participants’ cardiovascular system. Tests on an exercise treadmill showed that their bodies used oxygen more efficiently after weight training.

“The individuals run until they are completely exhausted, and it took longer for them to reach that point after resistance training,” Staron said.

Blood samples taken before and after weight training also showed favorable changes in participants’ overall cholesterol profiles, he said, including increases in HDL cholesterol levels and decreases in LDL cholesterol levels.

Losing muscle tone and strength is not uncommon for many senior citizens, Staron said, but this research suggests that a lack of physical exercise can contribute to the problem.

“Certainly, inactivity does play a role in contributing to the decrease in muscle mass,” Staron said. “If we can maintain a certain level of strength through exercise, our quality of life should be better as we age.”

Before beginning a weight lifting regimen, it’s a good idea to consult a physician, Staron advised, adding that it’s also important to learn proper weight lifting techniques. Staron and his colleagues now have turned their attention to how certain weight training routines impact young people.

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Article adapted by MD Sports from original press release.
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Contact: Andrea Gibson
Ohio University

Collaborators on this project are Fredrick Hagerman, Robert Hikida and Thomas Murray of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, former graduate student Seamus Walsh, Roger Gilders of the College of Health and Human Services, Kumika Toma of the College of Arts and Sciences and Kerry Ragg of the Student Health Service.

Negative Energy Balance Causes Female Menstrual Disturbance

University Park, Pa. – Female athletes often lose their menstrual cycle when training strenuously, but researchers have long speculated on whether this infertility was due to low body fat, low weight or exercise itself. Now, researchers have shown that the cause of athletic amenorrhea is more likely a negative energy balance caused by increasing exercise without increasing food intake.

“A growing proportion of women are susceptible to losing their menstrual cycle when exercising strenuously,” says Dr. Nancy I. Williams, assistant professor of kineseology and physiology at Penn State. “If women go six to 12 months without having a menstrual cycle, they could show bone loss. Bone densities in some long distance runners who have gone for a prolonged time period without having normal menstrual cycles can be very low.”

In studies done with monkeys, which show menstrual cyclicity much like women, researchers showed that low energy availability associated with strenuous exercise training plays an important role in causing exercise-induced amenorrhea. These researchers, working at the University of Pittsburgh, published findings in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism showing that exercise-induced amenorrhea was reversible in the monkeys by increasing food intake while the monkeys still exercised.

Williams worked with Judy L. Cameron, associate professor of psychiatry and cell biology and physiology at the University of Pittsburgh. Dana L. Helmreich and David B. Parfitt, then graduate students, and Anne Caston-Balderrama, at that time a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Pittsburgh, were also part of the research team. The researchers decided to look at an animal model to understand the causes of exercise-induced amenorrhea because it is difficult to closely control factors, such as eating habits and exercise, when studying humans. They chose cynomolgus monkeys because, like humans, they have a menstrual cycle of 28 days, ovulate in mid-cycle and show monthly periods of menses.

“It is difficult to obtain rigorous control in human studies, short of locking people up,” says Williams.

Previous cross-sectional studies and short-term studies in humans had shown a correlation between changes in energy availability and changes in the menstrual cycle, but those studies were not definitive.

There was also some indication that metabolic states experienced by strenuously exercising women were similar to those in chronically calorie restricted people. However, whether the increased energy utilization which occurs with exercise or some other effect of exercise caused exercise-induced reproductive dysfunction was unknown.

“The idea that exercise or something about exercise is harmful to females was not definitively ruled out,” says Williams. “That exercise itself is harmful would be a dangerous message to put out there. We needed to look at what it was about exercise that caused amenorrhea, what it was that suppresses ovulation. To do that, we needed a carefully controlled study.”

After the researchers monitored normal menstrual cycles in eight monkeys for a few months, they trained the monkeys to run on treadmills, slowly increasing their daily training schedule to about six miles per day. Throughout the training period the amount of food provided remained the standard amount for a normal 4.5 to 7.5 pound monkey, although the researchers note that some monkeys did not finish all of their food all of the time.

The researchers found that during the study “there were no significant changes in body weight or caloric intake over the course of training and the development of amenorrhea.” While body weight did not change, there were indications of an adaptation in energy expenditure. That is, the monkeys’ metabolic hormones also changed, with a 20 percent drop in circulating thyroid hormone, suggesting that the suppression of ovulation is more closely related to negative energy balance than to a decrease in body weight.

To seal the conclusion that a negative energy balance was the key to exercise-induced amenorrhea, the researchers took four of the previous eight monkeys and, while keeping them on the same exercise program, provided them with more food than they were used to. All the monkeys eventually resumed normal menstrual cycles. However, those monkeys who increased their food consumption most rapidly and consumed the most additional food, resumed ovulation within as little as 12 to 16 days while those who increased their caloric intake more slowly, took almost two months to resume ovulation.

Williams is now conducting studies on women who agree to exercise and eat according to a prescribed regimen for four to six months. She is concerned because recreational exercisers have the first signs of ovulatory suppression and may easily be thrust into amenorrhea if energy availability declines. Many women that exercise also restrict their calories, consciously or unconsciously.

“Our goal is to test whether practical guidelines can be developed regarding the optimal balance between calories of food taken in and calories expended through exercise in order to maintain ovulation and regular menstrual cycles,” says Williams. “This would then ensure that estrogen levels were also maintained at healthy levels. This is important because estrogen is a key hormone in the body for many physiological systems, influencing bone strength and cardiovascular health, not just reproduction.”

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Article adapted by MD Sports from original press release.
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Contact: A’ndrea Elyse Messer
Penn State

New Sports Drug Test Detects Athlete Cheating Faster

Research news from Journal of Mass Spectrometry

A new mass spectrometry test can help sports anti-drug doping officials to detect whether an athlete has used drugs that boost naturally occurring steroid levels. The test is more sensitive compared to previous alternatives, more capable of revealing specific suspicious chemical in the body, faster to perform, and could be run on standard drug-screening laboratory equipment. The new test is announced in a special issue of the Journal of Mass Spectrometry that concentrates on detecting drugs in sports.

One of the roles of the masculinising hormone testosterone is to increase muscle size and strength. Taking extra testosterone, or taking a chemical that the body can use to create extra testosterone, could therefore enhance an athlete’s performance. For this reason taking it is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

The exact level of testosterone varies considerably between different people, so simply measuring total testosterone in an athlete’s urine can not show whether he or she has deliberately taken extra. There is, however, a second chemical in the body, epitestosterone, which is normally present in approximately equal proportions to testosterone. Comparing the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone can then indicate whether testosterone or a precursor has been taken.

The problem is that it is not always easy to measure these two substances, particularly as they are only present in urine at very low concentrations.

A team of scientists the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory at the University of Utah have developed a test that makes use of liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. This method has incredibly high sensitivity (down to 1 ng/ml) and increases the power with which officials can search for both testosterone and epitestosterone within a sample.

“Our system means that we can determine the testosterone/epitestosterone ratio in a sample with greater confidence, and therefore be in a better position to spot doping violations without falsely accusing innocent athletes,” says lead investigator Dr Jonathan Danaceau.

“Not only is the test more sensitive, it is also faster to perform,” says colleague Scott Morrison.

“Having this sort of test available makes cheating harder and lets us take one more step towards enabling free and fair competition,” says Laboratory Director Dr Matthew Slawson.

This paper is part of a special issue for the Olympic Games from the Journal of Mass Spectrometry which focuses of drug use in sport. The issue is available free of charge online for one month at http://www.interscience.wiley.com/journal/jms. The other articles publishing in this issue are:

 

• History of Mass Spectrometry at Olympic Games (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1445)

• Nutritional supplements cross-contaminated and faked with doping substances (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1452)

• Hair analysis of anabolic steroids in connection with doping control results from horse samples (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1446)

• Mass spectrometric determination of Gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) in human urine for doping control purposes by means of LC-ESI-MS/MS (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1438)

• Liquid chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of glucuronide-conjugated anabolic steroid metabolites: method validation and inter-laboratory comparison (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1434)

• Mass Spectrometry of Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1438)

• Can glycans unveil the origin of glycoprotein hormones? – human chorionic gonadotropin as an example (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1448)

• A High-Throughput Multicomponent Screening Method for Diuretics, Masking Agents, Central Nervous System Stimulants and Opiates in Human Urine by UPLC-MS/MS (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1436)

• The application of carbon isotope ratio mass spectrometry to doping control (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1437)

• Identification of zinc-alpha-2-glycoprotein binding to clone ae7a5 anti-human epo antibody by means of nano-hplc and high-resolution highmass accuracy esi-ms/ms (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1444)

• Low LC-MS/MS Detection of Glycopeptides Released from pmol Levels of Recombinant Erythropoietin using Nanoflow HPLC-Chip Electrospray Ionization (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1439)

• Introduction of HPLC/Orbitrap mass spectrometry as screening method for doping control (DOI: 10.1002/jms.1447)

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Article adapted by MD Sports from original press release.
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Contact: Jennifer Beal
Wiley-Blackwell

Boys and Girls misuse Anabolic Steroids to Achieve Muscular Body Image

University Park, Pa. — Girls and boys are now equally caught up in the social pressure for a muscular body image currently lauded in popular culture. A Penn State researcher contends those pressures are leading girls and boys down unhealthy avenues such as the misuse of anabolic steroids.

“Young girls have always had to struggle against the media stereotypes of stick-thin models or voluptuous sexuality, but with the rising popularity of women sports, girls are bombarded with buffed body images,” says Dr. Charles Yesalis, professor of health policy and administration, and exercise and sports science at Penn State, and editor of the newest edition of the book “Anabolic Steroids in Sports and Exercise.” “Now, young boys face pop culture musclemen like The Rock and Steve Austin, given the influence of professional wrestling shows.”

“The current film ‘Charlie’s Angels’ sports karate-kicking women in cool clothes,” he added. “Today’s children look with envy at the physiques of actors Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Wesley Snipes, and Linda Hamilton, whose roles call for a muscular build. Hollywood stars are openly taking Human Growth Hormone (HGH) injections to combat aging.”

In addition, children are entering competitive sports at younger ages and many working families have children signed up in two or three sports. Parents, coaches and young athletes are facing growing violence in amateur athletics. The pressure to win at all costs continues to weigh heavily on children, Yesalis notes.

The concern is that many youths will take shortcuts to achieving a muscular build by using anabolic steroids. Female athletes also are pressured to achieve low body fat to excel in their sport. The Penn State researcher has seen evidence that the pressures are reaching down to young children. For example, the book cites figures from the Monitoring The Future Study, a national-level epidemiological survey conducted annually since 1975. Approximately 50,000 8th, 10th and 12 graders are surveyed each year.

The MTF data shows that during the 1990s, anabolic steroid use among 12 graders –both boys and girls – rose to an all-time high with more than 500,000 adolescents having cycled – an episode of use of 6 to 12 weeks – during their lifetime. And the percentage of girls alone doubled in the same period.

A 1998 study of 965 youngsters at four Massachusetts middle schools found that 2.7 percent admitted to taking illegal steroids for better sports performance. That included some boys and girls as young as 10 years old. “This year’s Olympic doping scandals and the epidemic of anabolic steroids in professional baseball just glorify and justify steroids to impressionable youths,” Yesalis notes. “The use of anabolic steroids has cascaded down from the Olympic, professional and college levels to high schools and junior high schools and now middle schools for athletes and non-athletes alike. ”

“Anabolic steroids are made to order for a female wanting to attain a lean athletic body. While most drug abuse has outcomes that tend to discourage use, females who use anabolic steroids may experience a decrease in body fat, increased muscle size and strength, and enhanced sports performance,” he says.

Girls and boys misusing anabolic steroids may win approval and rewards from parents, coaches and peers, but don’t realize there are long-term negative effects on their health, particularly girls, according to Yesalis. Young girls face potential permanent side effects of male hair growth or baldness, deepening of the voice, the enlargement of the clitoris as well as the known risks of heart and liver diseases.

Published by Human Kinetics, the book incorporates the latest research, experience and insights of 15 experts on the scientific, clinical, historical, legal and other aspects of steroid abuse and drug testing. New information looks at the effects of steroids on health, particularly that of women.

This year, trials of East German doctors, coaches and officials reveal records of systematic doping of young athletes without their own or parents’ knowledge. In 1974, officials’ plan to turn the tiny Communist nation into a superpower in sports included giving performance-enhancing drugs to all competing athletes including children as young as 10 years old. The indictments included 142 former East German athletes who now complain of health problems. In media reports, several female athletes report incidents of miscarriages, liver tumor, gynecological problems and enlarged heart, all showing up decades after the steroid misuse.

“Our society’s current strategy for dealing with the abuse of anabolic steroids in sport primarily involves testing, law enforcement and education,” Yesalis says. “But our efforts to deal with this problem have not been very successful. Unless we deal with the social environment that rewards winning at all costs and an unrealistic physical appearance, we won’t even begin to address the problem.”

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Article adapted by MD Sports Weblog from original press release.
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Contact: Vicki Fong
Penn State

Genetic Research To Identify And Improve Future Champions Performance

Genetic research into athletic ability should be encouraged for its potential benefits in both sport and public health, a leading group of scientists meeting at the University of Bath said today.

Genetic research into athletic ability should be encouraged for its potential benefits in both sport and public health, a leading group of scientists meeting at the University of Bath said today.

However, ethical concerns, such as whether seeking information about differences between ethnic groups could be perceived as racist research, need to be properly addressed, they warn.

Their recommendations are published in a ‘position stand’ on genetic research and testing launched at the British Association of Sport & Exercise Sciences annual meeting today.

They call for more genetic research in the sport and exercise sciences because of the anticipated benefits for public health, but want researchers to take a more active role in debating the implications of their work with the public.

“If a powerful muscle growth gene was identified, on the one hand this could help develop training programmes that increase muscle size and strength in athletes, but even more importantly the knowledge could be used to develop exercise programmes or drugs to combat muscle wasting in old age,” said Dr Alun Williams from Manchester Metropolitan University, one of the report’s authors.

“We, as scientists investigating genetics, acknowledge a public concern about some genetic research and we believe scientists need to engage in public in debates about the potential benefits of their research.

“Research into the athletic success of East African distance runners or sprinters of West African ancestry might be perceived as unethical.

“But understanding the limits of human exercise capacity in sport could lead to the development of treatments for a range of diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease.”

The potential applications of genetic testing in sport and exercise also raise some ethical concerns, for example in identifying potential athletic ability before birth.

An Australian company already offers the first genetic performance test (for the ACTN3 gene) which has been linked to sprint and power performance.

The report authors are sceptical about whether this test is useful but anticipate that more advanced versions of these tests will be available in future.

“We are not yet at a point where we can identify a potential future Olympic champion from genetic tests but we may not be very far away,” said Dr Williams, who wrote the report with Drs Henning Wackerhage (Aberdeen University), Andy Miah (University of Paisley), Roger Harris (University of Chichester) and Hugh Montgomery (University College London).

They highlight two dangers of genetic performance tests. Firstly, genetic performance tests might later be linked to disease. For example, a muscle growth gene may later be linked to cancer growth.

“Not all people may want to know, while young that they are at increased risk of cancer by early middle age, but they might inadvertently become aware of that just because they had a ‘sport gene’ test,” said Dr Williams.

Secondly, genetic performance tests can be performed even before birth and this may lead to the selection of foetuses or to abortions based on athletic potential.

The report recommends genetic counselling and that the testing should be confined to mature individuals who fully understand the relevant issues.

Genetic tests might also be used to screen for health risks during sport such as genes that are linked to sudden cardiac death.

Genetic tests for sudden cardiac death are already available but the report recommends that such testing should not be enforced on athletes.

Problems with mandatory testing are highlighted by the case of the basketball player Eddy Curry, who had an irregular heart beat.

Curry was asked by his club, the Chicago Bulls, to perform a predictive genetic test for a heart condition. The athlete refused and was traded to the New York Knicks who did not make such a demand.

In future, genetic tests might be used to identify those that respond with the biggest drop in cholesterol, blood pressure or glucose to exercise.

In a personalised medicine approach, such tests could be used to select subjects for therapeutic exercise programmes but scientists are concerned that this might undermine the ‘exercise for all’ message that already seems difficult to get across to the public.

The authors say that genetic testing might also be used to detect gene doping, which may be a real threat by the time of the London Olympics in 2012, or to show that positive doping tests are the result of a genetic mutation in an athlete.

The report recommends that genetic testing should be used for anti-doping testing as long as the genetic samples are destroyed after testing.

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Article adapted by MD Sports from original press release.
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Contact: Andrew McLaughlin
University of Bath