Effects of Sixty-Minute Race-Pace Running on Cardiac Stress Biomarkers in Recreational Distance Runners

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in athletes is generally rare, but a serious complication of cardiovascular events during exercise. Although regular intensive physical exercise is thought to be a key to a healthy life, unsuspected pathologies might lead to SCD during or after physical activity. Cardiac dysfunction and elevated cardiac markers have been reported after prolonged exercise. We sought to clarify the cardiac marker levels and hydration status in healthy, middle-aged male subjects for 24 hours after running sixty-minute at race-pace. The participants were 47.4±1.7 years old, had peak oxygen consumption of 47.1±1.2ml/kg/min, and regularly running 70.5±6.4km/week. Blood biomarkers were performed before, immediately after, at the fourth and twenty-fourth hours after running. Compared to initial values, creatine kinase (before:161.2±22.5U/L, 24 hours after:411.9±139.7U/L, p<0.001) and CK-MB (before:4.3±0.7ng/ml, 24 hours after:10.1±3.0ng/ml, p<0.001) were significantly elevated immediately after running and remained significantly high for 24 hours. In addition, Troponin-I (before:5.0±1.1ng/l, 4 hours after:81.5±29.9ng/l, p<0.001) and NT-proBNP (before: 31.2±5.3pg/ml, immediately after: 64.4±8.5pg/ml, p<0.01) were significantly elevated immediately after running and returned to baseline levels in 24 hours. The sixty-minute running caused significant dehydration, but athletes were rehydrated at the 4th hour in their voluntary hydration behavior. As the individual data were analyzed, it was interesting to see that some of the athletes had critical biomarker levels without any cardiac symptom. Our findings indicate that race-pace sixty-minute running may induce a possible transient silent myocardial injury in apparently healthy master runners. Detailed pre-participation screening of these athletes may be necessary to reduce the risk of SCD.

Inhibition of ribosome biogenesis in the epidermis is sufficient to trigger organism-wide growth quiescence independently of nutritional status in C. elegans

Interorgan communication is crucial for multicellular organismal growth, development, and homeostasis. Cell nonautonomous inhibitory cues, which limit tissue-specific growth alterations, are not well characterized due to cell ablation approach limitations. In this study, we employed the auxin-inducible degradation system in C. elegans to temporally and spatially modulate ribosome biogenesis, through depletion of essential factors (RPOA-2, GRWD-1, or TSR-2). Our findings reveal that embryo-wide inhibition of ribosome biogenesis induces a reversible early larval growth quiescence, distinguished by a unique gene expression signature that is different from starvation or dauer stages. When ribosome biogenesis is inhibited in volumetrically similar tissues, including body wall muscle, epidermis, pharynx, intestine, or germ line, it results in proportionally stunted growth across the organism to different degrees. We show that specifically inhibiting ribosome biogenesis in the epidermis is sufficient to trigger an organism-wide growth quiescence. Epidermis-specific ribosome depletion leads to larval growth quiescence at the L3 stage, reduces organism-wide protein synthesis, and induced cell nonautonomous gene expression alterations. Further molecular analysis reveals overexpression of secreted proteins, suggesting an organism-wide regulatory mechanism. We find that UNC-31, a dense-core vesicle (DCV) pathway component, plays a significant role in epidermal ribosome biogenesis-mediated growth quiescence. Our tissue-specific knockdown experiments reveal that the organism-wide growth quiescence induced by epidermal-specific ribosome biogenesis inhibition is suppressed by reducing unc-31 expression in the epidermis, but not in neurons or body wall muscles. Similarly, IDA-1, a membrane-associated protein of the DCV, is overexpressed, and its knockdown in epidermis suppresses the organism-wide growth quiescence in response to epidermal ribosome biogenesis inhibition. Finally, we observe an overall increase in DCV puncta labeled by IDA-1 when epidermal ribosome biogenesis is inhibited, and these puncta are present in or near epidermal cells. In conclusion, these findings suggest a novel mechanism of nutrition-independent multicellular growth coordination initiated from the epidermis tissue upon ribosome biogenesis inhibition.

Venom allergy and knowledge about anaphylaxis among beekeepers and their families

BACKGROUND

Beekeepers and their families are at an increased risk of life-threatening anaphylaxis due to recurrent bee-sting exposures.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to evaluate the demographic features, previous history of anaphylaxis among beekeepers and their family members, and their knowledge about the symptoms and management of anaphylaxis.

METHODS

A standardized questionnaire was administered to beekeepers during the 6th International Beekeeping and Pine Honey Congress held in 2018, in Mugla, Turkey. Additionally, food-service staff from restaurants were surveyed as an occupational control group about their knowledge about anaphylaxis.

RESULTS

Sixty-nine beekeepers (82.6% male, mean age 48.4±12.0 years) and 52 restaurant staff (46.2% male, mean age 40.5±10.0 years) completed the questionnaire. Awareness of the terms 'anaphylaxis' and 'epinephrine auto-injector' among the beekeepers were 55.1% and 30.4% and among the restaurant staff were 23.1% and 3.8%, respectively. Of the beekeepers, 74% were able to identify the potential symptoms of anaphylaxis among the given choices; 2.9% and 5.8% reported anaphylaxis related to bee-stings in themselves and in their family members, respectively. None of the restaurant staff had experienced or encountered anaphylaxis before but 3.8% of their family members had anaphylaxis and those reactions were induced by drugs.

CONCLUSION

It is essential that implementation of focused training programs about anaphylaxis symptoms and signs as well as practical instructions of when and how to use an epinephrine auto-injector will decrease preventable morbidities and mortalities due to bee-stings in this selected high-risk population of beekeepers and their family members, as well as other fieldworkers under risk.

Mean platelet volume and ischemia modified albumin levels in cord blood of infants of diabetic mothers

BACKGROUND

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a risk for the health of both the pregnant women and her infant. Its unfavorable effects start in utero and continue after birth. It is known that GDM increases oxidative stress and decreases antioxidant enzyme activities. In this study we aimed to investigate cord blood mean platelet volume (MPV) and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels of infants of diabetic mothers (IDM).

METHODS

Twenty-nine pregnant women with GDM between 37 and 41 gestational weeks who gave birth by spontaneous vaginal delivery were enrolled as study participants together with 20 healthy pregnant women as a control group. Weight, length, and head circumference of babies were measured by the same standard tape immediately after birth. Five milliliters of umbilical venous blood were obtained to study MPV and IMA levels.

RESULTS

There was statistically significant difference in levels of MPV (p = 0.037) and IMA (p < 0.001) between groups. They increased in IDM compared with their healthy peers.

CONCLUSION

Evaluation of MPV and IMA together is useful for representing the potential oxidative stress of IDM.

[ARIA (Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma) achievements in 10 years and future needs]

Allergic rhinitis and asthma represent global health problems for all age groups. Asthma and rhinitis frequently co-exist in the same subjects. Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) was initiated during a World Health Organization (WHO) workshop in 1999 and was published in 2001. ARIA has reclassified allergic rhinitis as mild/moderate-severe and intermittent/persistent. This classification schema closely reflects the impact of allergic rhinitis on patients. In its 2010 Revision, ARIA developed clinical practice guidelines for the management of allergic rhinitis and asthma co-morbidities based on GRADE (Grading of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation). ARIA has been disseminated and implemented in over 50 countries of the world. In Turkey, it is important to make a record of ARIA achievements and to identify the still unmet clinical, research and implementation needs in order to strengthen the 2011 EU Priority on allergy and asthma in children.