Changes in Immune Function during Initial Military Training.

Purpose: Initial military training (IMT) is a transitionary period wherein immune function may be suppressed and infection risk heightened due to physical and psychological stress, communal living, and sleep deprivation. This study characterized changes in biomarkers of innate and adaptive immune function, and potential modulators of those changes, in military recruits during IMT.

Methods: Peripheral leukocyte distribution and mitogen-stimulated cytokine profiles were measured in fasted blood samples, Epstein-Barr (EBV), varicella zoster (VZV), and herpes simplex 1 (HSV1) DNA was measured in saliva by quantitative polymerase chain reaction as an indicator of latent herpesvirus reactivation, and diet quality was determined using the healthy eating index measured by food frequency questionnaire in 61 US Army recruits (97% male) at the beginning (PRE) and end (POST) of 22-wk IMT.

Initial military training modulates serum fatty acid and amino acid metabolites.

Initial military training (IMT) results in increased fat-free mass (FFM) and decreased fat mass (FM). The underlying metabolic adaptations facilitating changes in body composition during IMT are unknown. The objective of this study was to assess changes in body composition and the serum metabolome during 22-week US Army IMT.

Complex Terrain Load Carriage Energy Expenditure Estimation Using Global Positioning System Devices.

Introduction: Military load carriage can cause extreme energy expenditure (EE) that is difficult to estimate due to complex terrain grades and surfaces. Global Positioning System (GPS) devices capture rapid changes in walking speed and terrain but the delayed respiratory response to movement is problematic. We investigated the accuracy using GPS data in three different equations to estimate EE during complex terrain load carriage.

Hidden Hearing Injury: The Emerging Science and Military Relevance of Cochlear Synaptopathy.

Introduction: The phenomenon recently described as "hidden hearing loss" was the subject of a meeting co-hosted by the Department of Defense Hearing Center of Excellence and MIT Lincoln Laboratory to consider the potential relevance of noise-related synaptopathic injury to military settings and performance, service-related injury scenarios, and military medical priorities. Participants included approximately 50 researchers and subject matter experts from academic, federal, and military laboratories. Here we present a synthesis of discussion topics and concerns, as well as specific research objectives identified to develop militarily relevant knowledge.

Determinants of altered intracellular endocrine-immune interplay in Bosnian war refugees suffering from PTSD.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) has been repeatedly linked to changes in glucocorticoid (GC) sensitivity. To increase our understanding of this phenomenon and its potential relevance for PTSD development and treatment, the current study investigates the interplay between two key moderators, glucocorticoid receptor (GRα) and GR co-chaperone FKBP5, and their relation to GC sensitivity. A GC sensitivity assay was performed in 52 Bosnian war refugees (19m; 40.

Cortisol-dependent stress effects on cell distribution in healthy individuals and individuals suffering from chronic adrenal insufficiency.

Chronic adrenal insufficiency (CAI) is characterized by a lack of glucocorticoid and mineralocorticoid production due to destroyed adrenal cortex cells. However, elevated cortisol secretion is thought to be a central part in a well-orchestrated immune response to stress. This raises the question to what extent lack of cortisol in CAI affects stress-related changes in immune processes.