A Combined Approach for Health Assessment in Adolescent Endurance Runners

Long-Term Bovine Colostrum Supplementation in Football Players

Physical exercise, especially of high intensity, is a significant burden on an athlete's body. It should be emphasized that achieving high results in competitive sports requires the use of significant, sometimes extreme, exercise loads during training, which may result in homeostasis disorders, adversely affecting the fitness of athletes. This study aims to investigate the effects of 6 months of bovine colostrum supplementation on indicators of immune system functioning, selected parameters related to iron management, and anabolic/catabolic balance in young football players. Twenty-eight male football players completed a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover protocol (24 weeks of colostrum/placebo). A standardized exercise test was executed at the beginning of the trial and after 3 and 6 months of supplementation. Blood samples were taken before and after the exercise test and after 3 h of recovery. Markers of iron homeostasis, pro- and anti-inflammatory balance, and hormonal responses were determined. A significant increase in immunoglobulin G concentration was observed, accompanied by a decrease in inflammatory markers in supplemented athletes. Bovine colostrum supplementation had no significant effect on athletes' performance or on iron management and hormonal response. The use of bovine colostrum, which is characterized by a high content of immunologically active compounds, can be an element of a relatively mild and safe intervention for reducing inflammation induced by intense physical exercise.

Effect of Training Load on Post-Exercise Cardiac Biomarkers in Healthy Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review of the Existing Literature

BACKGROUND

Postexercise release of cardiac biomarkers (cardiac troponins, cTn, and N-terminal pro b-type natriuretic peptide, NT-proBNP) is a well-known phenomenon in adults, although it remains unclear how it manifests in children. The aim of this review is to compare the pre-exercise with the post-exercise measurement of serum cardiac biomarkers, as well as to analyze their post-exercise release based on age, sex, and exercise intensity and duration.

METHODS

The terms troponin, football, swimmers, marathon, run, and exercise were used in a literature search at National Library of Medicine. The search was further refined by adding the keywords athletes, children, adolescents, and sport.

RESULTS

Fifteen pediatric studies and four studies with a mixed population of adults and children totaled 19 studies for the final analysis. In addition to them, some adult studies have been included for comparison. The kinetics of the cTn and NT-proBNP response after exercise have been the subject of our interest. While the impact of sport type, age, and sex has not yet been fully characterized, the existing data points to considerable impacts of sport intensity and duration on post-exercise biomarkers elevation. Most of the findings came from endurance sports, but the evidence is sparse. Furthermore, there is only limited data on women and less on young adults, African Caribbeans, and professional athletes.

CONCLUSIONS

Both amateur and competitive athletes can exhibit post-exercise release of both cTn and NT-proBNP. This is transient and lacks pathological significance, in contrast with adult population, in which exercise-induced increases in in these biomarker levels may not always be benign. While NT-proBNP release is still primarily driven by activity duration, cTnT release is additionally affected by exercise intensity. To define individual ranges of normality for postexercise cTn and NT-proBNP elevation, the role of several confounders (age, sex, sport type/intensity etc.) remains to be further elucidated.

The Impacts of Ramadan Intermittent Fasting on Saliva Flow-Rate and Metabolic Data: A Systematic Review

The aim of this systematic review was to report the impacts of Ramadan intermittent fasting (RIF) on salivary flow-rate (SFR) and metabolic parameters. A thorough literature search was carried out using the databases PubMed and Scopus from their inception up to 15 July 2021. The Boolean connectors used in PubMed were (Saliva [Mesh] AND Fasting [Mesh]). The same keywords were used in Scopus. Inclusion criteria were defined using PICOS. The research included all original studies involving “healthy” adults and published in English. Methodological quality assessment was performed utilizing the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Tool, which allows attributing scores from 1 to 11 to the selected studies. Two authors carried out the literature search, study selection, and data extraction. Differences on issues were resolved by a third author if necessary. The systematic review protocol was registered within the “Open Science Framework” (Doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/DE7BH). Six articles met the inclusion criteria. All studies were heterogeneous and had a high score of bias and several methodological differences. The following parameters were collected: SFR, melatonin, cortisol, glucose, immunoglobulin A (IgA), uric-acid, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). The SFR decreased by 10% during Ramadan in fasting subjects. The circadian pattern of melatonin remained unchanged during Ramadan, but melatonin levels dropped significantly from baseline. The salivary cortisol levels were unchanged or increased during Ramadan. The salivary glucose levels were decreased. ALP increased significantly, whilst uric-acid and AST decreased significantly. Salivary IgA decreased during the last week of Ramadan. To conclude, there is a trend toward a decrease in SFR and the content of the majority of the biomarkers investigated, with the exception of ALP and uric-acid. These changes cannot be easily attributed to any single factor (hydration status, dietary habits, physical activity, or hygiene habits).

Systematic Review Registration: [https://osf.io/de7bh/], identifier [Doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/DE7B].