Publications by authors named "Luca Pengue"
Objectives: Dietary strategies to improve arachidonic acid:eicosapentaenoic acid (AA:EPA) ratios are of interest due to potential reductions in inflammation and oxidative stress following exercise. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of a novel dietary intervention, that is, the ingestion of 30 g of dark chocolate, on blood lipid profiles and gut microbiota composition in elite male soccer players.
Methods: Professional male soccer players were randomly assigned to the experimental group (DC) provided with 30 g of dark chocolate or to the control group (WC), provided with 30 g of white chocolate, for 30 days.
This study aimed to provide reference values for anthropometric characteristics of elite male and female soccer players, considering a group of individuals from the general population as controls. The anthropometric profiles of 357 elite soccer players [184 males (age 24.3 ± 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Soccer is a game in constant evolution and the intensity of play is increasing. Nutrition can play a role in the physical performance of elite players, maintaining their health and facilitating recovery. It is important to cover players' energy demands, and low energy availability may therefore result in impaired performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Return to play (RTP) protocols have been proposed to early detect cardiovascular involvement due to COVID-19 and reduce the risk of sports-related sudden cardiac death. However, uncertainties remain about the true prevalence of COVID-19 myopericarditis, the arrhythmic risk and the cost of this protocol.
Methods: We collected data from 217 competitive and professional athletes of both genders who underwent RTP protocol (clinical history, resting and exercise ECG, and echocardiography).
We report the events of an Italian top league soccer club that took place in 1 year (from March 2020 to February 2021) at the time of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In early March 2020, just before sport competitions were called off due to the national lockdown in Italy, the team, which included 27 players and 26 staff at the time, faced a COVID-19 outbreak, with 16 confirmed and seven probable cases, including three staff members who had to be hospitalised. In May 2020, at the resumption of the training sessions, a high prevalence of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) immunoglobulin G positivity (35/53, 66%) was detected among the members of the group.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: Although the adaptive immune response to SARS-CoV-2 has been characterised in the acute and early convalescent phase of the disease, few studies explore whether natural infection elicits long-lasting immunological memory in recovered individuals. In this work, we aimed to assess the maintenance of immunological memory to SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: We evaluated the long-term virus-specific cellular and humoral immune response in the members of an Italian Serie A football team, who experienced a cluster of COVID-19 in March 2020, which was strictly evaluated in the following months.
Objective: During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is essential to understand if and how to screen SARS-CoV-2-positive athletes to safely resume training and competitions. The aim of this study is to understand which investigations are useful in a screening protocol aimed at protecting health but also avoiding inappropriate examinations.
Methods: We conducted a cohort study of a professional soccer team that is based on an extensive screening protocol for resuming training during the COVID-19 pandemic.