Precision multiparameter tracking of inflammation on timescales of hours to years using serial dried blood spots.

High-frequency longitudinal tracking of inflammation using dried blood microsamples provides a new window for personalized monitoring of infections, chronic inflammatory disease and clinical trials of anti-inflammatory drugs. Using 1662 dried blood spot samples collected by 16 subjects over periods of weeks to years, we studied the behavior of 12 acute phase response and related proteins in inflammation events correlated with infection, vaccination, surgery, intense exercise and Crohn's disease. Proteins were measured using SISCAPA mass spectrometry and normalized to constant plasma volume using low-variance proteins, generating high precision within-person biomarker trajectories with well-characterized personal baselines.

High-intensity ultraendurance promotes early release of muscle injury markers.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of high-intensity ultraendurance (HIU) cycling, using it as a possible way to understand muscle injury kinetics and blood immune cells' release during high-intensity prolonged exercise

Design: Male amateur triathletes enrolled during a cycling race of the International Bike Championship 800 km cycling relay (approximately 23 h). Each athlete alternately cycled 20-25 minutes until exhaustion and performed a total of approximately 200 km.

Results: Creatine kinase levels in blood reached a 300% rise in a sigmoidal pattern, while lactate dehydrogenase levels increased by 30-40% following a hyperbolic pattern.

The upper values of plasma creatine kinase of professional soccer players during the Brazilian National Championship.

The current schedule of the Brazilian Soccer Championship may not give players enough recovery time between games. This could increase the chances of muscle damage and impaired performance. We hypothesized that plasma creatine kinase (CK) activity could be a reliable indirect marker of muscle overload in soccer players, so we sought to identify the reference values for upper limits of CK activity during a real-life elite competition.

Glutamine protects against increases in blood ammonia in football players in an exercise intensity-dependent way.

Objective: High-intensity and prolonged exercise significantly enhances the levels of plasma ammonia, a metabolite with toxic effects on the central nervous system. The main purpose of the present study was to evaluate the metabolic response of athletes to glutamine (Gln) and alanine (Ala) supplementation, since these amino acids have a significant influence on both anaplerosis and gluconeogenesis.

Methods: Professional football players were assigned to groups receiving either Gln or Ala supplementation (100 mg kg(-1) body weight); this supplementation was either short-term or long-term and was given immediately before exercise.

Effect of caffeine supplementation on haematological and biochemical variables in elite soccer players under physical stress conditions.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of caffeine on white cell distribution and muscle injury markers in professional soccer players during exercise.

Methods: 22 male athletes completed a placebo controlled double blind test protocol to simulate a soccer match, followed by a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test.

Results: Exercise caused an increase in packed cell volume that was enhanced by caffeine.