A Pilot Study on the Prediction of Non-Contact Muscle Injuries Based on ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D Polymorphisms in Professional Soccer Athletes

Muscle injuries are among the main reasons for medical leavings of soccer athletes, being a major concern within professional teams and their prevention associated with sport success. Several factors are associated with a greater predisposition to injury, and genetic background is increasingly being investigated. The aim of this study was to analyze whether ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D polymorphisms are predictors of the incidence and severity of muscle injury in professional soccer athletes from Brazil, individually and in association. Eighty-three professional athletes from the first and second divisions of the Brazilian Championship were evaluated regarding the polymorphisms through blood samples. Nighty-nine muscle injuries were identified during the seasons of 2018, 2019 and 2020 and categorized according to severity. ACTN3 XX individuals had a higher frequency of severe injuries compared to the RX and RR genotypes (p = 0.001), and in the dominant model (compared to RX+RR), with p < 0.001. The trend p-value test showed an increased number of injuries/season following the order XX > RX > RR (p = 0.045). Those with the ACE II genotype had almost 2 fold the number of injuries per season compared to those with the ID+DD genotypes (p = 0.03). Logistic regression showed that the polymorphisms are predictors of the development of severe injury (ACTN3 R577X model with p = 0.004, R2: 0.259; ACE I/D model with p = 0.045, R2: 0.163), where ACTN3 XX individuals were more likely to suffer from severe injury (OR: 5.141, 95% CI: 1.472-17.961, p = 0.010). The combination of the ACTN3 577X allele and the ACE II genotype showed an increased number of injuries per season, enhanced by 100% (1.682 injuries/season versus 0.868 injuries/season, p = 0.016). Our findings suggest that both polymorphisms ACTN3 R577X and ACE I/D (and their interaction) are associated with the susceptibility and severity of non-contact muscle injury in soccer players.

Fadiga e prática de atividade física na doença de Parkinson: revisão de literatura

Introdução: A doença de Parkinson é a segunda doençaneurodegenerativa mais prevalente na população mundial, commaior incidência nos idosos. A fadiga corresponde a um dossintomas não motores mais frequentes na doença de Parkinsone prejudica a qualidade de vida desses pacientes. Esse cenárioé potencializado por um estilo de vida sedentário, aumentandoa dificuldade de realizar atividade física. Objetivo: Identificaro impacto do sintoma de fadiga na maior predisposição aosedentarismo e na realização de atividade física em pessoascom doença de Parkinson. Materiais e Métodos: Trata-se deuma revisão narrativa. Para esta revisão foram pesquisadosartigos em língua inglesa disponíveis na base de dadoseletrônica PubMED. Foram adotados os seguintes indexadorescom diferentes combinações: fatigue and Parkinson’s diseaseand exercise or physical activity. Buscas manuais foram feitasnas referências dos artigos encontrados. Resultados: Apesarda alta prevalência de fadiga, o problema nem sempre éreconhecido clinicamente, em virtude do seu caráter subjetivoe pouco explorado. A etio/fisiopatologia da fadiga na doençade Parkinson ainda é mal compreendida e a abordagem clínicaé inexistente. Conclusão: A fadiga pode ser classificada comofadiga subjetiva, que não é objetivamente mensurável, oufatigabilidade, que se caracteriza pela dificuldade em iniciarou manter uma atividade física ou mental. A fatigabilidadeé uma barreira para a realização de atividades físicas, e estádiretamente relacionada a um estilo de vida sedentário emindivíduos com DP.

Low-level laser therapy attenuates the acute inflammatory response induced by muscle traumatic injury

The purpose of this work was to investigate the effect of early and long-term low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers after acute-traumatic muscle injury in Wistar rats. Animals were randomly divided into the following four groups: control group (CG), muscle injury group (IG), CG + LLLT, and IG + LLLT: laser treatment with doses of 3 and 5 J/cm(2). Muscle traumatic injury was induced by a single-impact blunt trauma in the rat gastrocnemius. Irradiation for 3 or 5 J/cm(2) was initiated 2, 12, and 24 h after muscle trauma induction, and the treatment was continued for five consecutive days. All the oxidant markers investigated. namely thiobarbituric acid-reactive substance, carbonyl, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and catalase, were increased as soon as 2 h after muscle injury and remained increased up to 24 h. These alterations were prevented by LLLT at a 3 J/cm(2) dose given 2 h after the trauma. Similarly, LLLT prevented the trauma-induced proinflammatory state characterized by IL-6 and IL-10. In parallel, trauma-induced reduction in BDNF and VEGF, vascular remodeling and fiber-proliferating markers, was prevented by laser irradiation. In order to test whether the preventive effect of LLLT was also reflected in muscle functionality, we tested the locomotor activity, by measuring distance traveled and the number of rearings in the open field test. LLLT was effective in recovering the normal locomotion, indicating that the irradiation induced biostimulatory effects that accelerated or resolved the acute inflammatory response as well as the oxidant state elicited by the muscle trauma.