Evidence on sex differences in sports performance.

Sex differences in sports performances continue to attract considerable scientific and public attention, driven in part by high profile cases of: 1) biological male (XY) athletes who seek to compete in the female category after gender transition, and 2) XY athletes with medical syndromes collectively known as disorders or differences of sex development (DSD). In this perspective we highlight scientific evidence that informs eligibility criteria and applicable regulations for sex categories in sport. There are profound sex differences in human performance in athletic events determined by strength, speed, power, endurance, and body size such that males outperform females.

The Safety Profile of COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma.

Despite concerns about potential side effects, based both on historical experience with plasma products and more recent concerns about contemporary use of plasma, COVID-19 convalescent plasma has been shown to be a very safe product. Research early in the COVID-19 pandemic documented-among the very large population of convalescent plasma recipients in the US Convalescent Plasma Study component of the FDA-authorized Expanded Access Program-that the overall risk profile was no different than that seen for fresh frozen plasma, a product used routinely in medical practice. The safety of CCP was further demonstrated using real-world evidence, pragmatic trials, and formal randomized trials.

Sex differences in elite track and field performances and inferences about steroid doping.

Females likely experience larger performance benefits from androgenic-anabolic steroids than males. We set out to determine if there were temporal differences in select athletics (track and field) records between females and males. Exploratory aims included: (1) evaluating the improvements in female and male world records over time, and (2) investigating the influence of doping programs on male and female world records before and after 1990, when sports governing bodies began to implement random out-of-competition and systematic in-competition drug testing.

Estimates of actual and potential lives saved in the United States from the use of COVID-19 convalescent plasma.

In the Spring of 2020, the United States of America (USA) deployed COVID-19 convalescent plasma (CCP) to treat hospitalized patients. Over 500,000 patients were treated with CCP during the first year of the pandemic. In this study, we estimated the number of actual inpatient lives saved by CCP treatment in the United States of America based on CCP weekly use, weekly national mortality data, and CCP mortality reduction data from meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials and real-world data.

Increased luminal area of large conducting airways in patients with COVID-19 and post-acute sequelae of COVID-19: a retrospective case-control study.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is associated with enlarged luminal areas of large conducting airways. In 10-30% of patients with acute COVID-19 infection, symptoms persist for more than 4 wk (referred to as post-acute sequelae of COVID 19, or PASC), and it is unknown if airway changes are associated with this persistence. Thus, we aim to investigate whether luminal area of large conducting airways is different between patients with PASC and COVID-19 and healthy controls.

Sex differences in human performance.

Sex as a biological variable is an underappreciated aspect of biomedical research, with its importance emerging in more recent years. This review assesses the current understanding of sex differences in human physical performance. Males outperform females in many physical capacities because they are faster, stronger and more powerful, particularly after male puberty.

Central α-adrenergic mechanisms regulate human sympathetic neuronal discharge strategies.

The present study investigated the impact of central α-adrenergic mechanisms on sympathetic action potential (AP) discharge, recruitment and latency strategies. We used the microneurographic technique to record muscle sympathetic nerve activity and a continuous wavelet transform to investigate postganglionic sympathetic AP firing during a baseline condition and an infusion of a α-adrenergic receptor agonist, dexmedetomidine (10 min loading infusion of 0.225 µg kg; maintenance infusion of 0.

An empirical model for world record running speeds with distance, age, and sex: anaerobic and aerobic contributions to performance.

The objective of this study is to derive mathematical equations that closely describe published data on world record running speed as a function of distance, age, and sex. Running speed declines with increasing distance and age. Over long distances, where aerobic metabolism is dominant, speed declines in proportion to the logarithm of distance.

Passive immunotherapies for the next influenza pandemic.

Influenzavirus is among the most relevant candidates for a next pandemic. We review here the phylogeny of former influenza pandemics, and discuss candidate lineages. After briefly reviewing the other existing antiviral options, we discuss in detail the evidences supporting the efficacy of passive immunotherapies against influenzavirus, with a focus on convalescent plasma.

Non-invasive biomarkers for detecting progression toward hypovolemic cardiovascular instability in a lower body negative pressure model.

Occult hemorrhages after trauma can be present insidiously, and if not detected early enough can result in patient death. This study evaluated a hemorrhage model on 18 human subjects, comparing the performance of traditional vital signs to multiple off-the-shelf non-invasive biomarkers. A validated lower body negative pressure (LBNP) model was used to induce progression towards hypovolemic cardiovascular instability.

Outpatient treatment with concomitant vaccine-boosted convalescent plasma for patients with immunosuppression and COVID-19.

Although severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and hospitalization associated with COVID-19 are generally preventable among healthy vaccine recipients, patients with immunosuppression have poor immunogenic responses to COVID-19 vaccines and remain at high risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2 and hospitalization. In addition, monoclonal antibody therapy is limited by the emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants that have serially escaped neutralization. In this context, there is interest in understanding the clinical benefit associated with COVID-19 convalescent plasma collected from persons who have been both naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 and vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2 ("vax-plasma").

Sex Differences in Track and Field Elite Youth.

Purpose: To understand athletic performance before and after puberty, this study determined 1) the age at which the sex difference increases among elite youth track and field athletes for running and jumping events, and 2) whether there is a sex difference in performance before ages associated with puberty among elite youth athletes.

Methods: Track and field records of elite US male and female youth (7-18 yr) across 3 yr (2019, 2021, and 2022) were collected from an online database ( athletic.net ).

Hormonal Basis of Biological Sex Differences in Human Athletic Performance.

Biological sex is a primary determinant of athletic human performance involving strength, power, speed, and aerobic endurance and is more predictive of athletic performance than gender. This perspective article highlights 3 key medical and physiological insights related to recent evolving research into the sex differences in human physical performance: (1) sex and gender are not the same; (2) males and females exhibit profound differences in physical performance with males outperforming females in events and sports involving strength, power, speed, and aerobic endurance; (3) endogenous testosterone underpins sex differences in human physical performance with questions remaining on the roles of minipuberty in the sex differences in performance in prepubescent youth and the presence of the Y chromosome (SRY gene expression) in males, on athletic performance across all ages. Last, females are underrepresented as participants in biomedical research, which has led to a historical dearth of information on the mechanisms for sex differences in human physical performance and the capabilities of the female body.

Safety and Efficacy of Convalescent Plasma Combined with Other Pharmaceutical Agents for Treatment of COVID-19 in Hospitalized Patients: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Plasma collected from people recovered from COVID-19 (COVID-19 convalescent plasma, CCP) was the first antibody-based therapy employed to fight the pandemic. CCP was, however, often employed in combination with other drugs, such as the antiviral remdesivir and glucocorticoids. The possible effect of such interaction has never been investigated systematically.

Quadriceps fatigue during hypoxic and ischemic knee-extension exercise is similar in males and females.

Hypoxia is known to increase muscle fatigue via both central and peripheral mechanisms. Females are typically less fatigable than males during isometric fatiguing contractions due to greater peripheral blood flow. However, sex differences in fatigue are blunted during dynamic fatiguing tasks.