Publications by authors named "Monica Volino-Souza"

Endothelial dysfunction is commonly associated with a cardiovascular event, such as myocardial infarction. Myocardial infarction is marked by an ischemia/reperfusion (IR) phenomenon associated with endothelial dysfunction, contributing even more to future cardiovascular events. Although the supplementation with L-citrulline and nitrate from watermelon and beetroot have been used to improve vascular function, the effect of microencapsulated watermelon rind (WR) or its co-ingestion with beetroot (WR + B) on endothelial IR injury has not been addressed.

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In the present study, it was evaluated whether microencapsulated cocoa supplementation could attenuate endothelial dysfunction caused by eccentric exercise in healthy subjects. Thirteen volunteers were enrolled in this double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study. Flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), blood flow and muscle O saturation (StO) were evaluated by ultrasound and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), respectively, before and after microencapsulated cocoa supplementation.

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Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and muscle oxygen saturation (StO) are measurements utilized to assess macro- and microvascular function, respectively. Macro- and microvascular dysfunction may occur differently depending on the clinical condition. Since microvascular responsiveness can influence upstream conduit artery hemodynamics, the present study aimed to investigate whether a correlation between FMD and muscle StO parameters exists.

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Background/objectives: Watermelon rind (usually discarded by consumers) presents a high L-citrulline content. Given that Lcitrulline is involved in nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, a crucial molecule that regulates vascular function, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of microencapsulated watermelon rind (MWR) on endothelial function and tissue oxygen saturation (StO) assessed by flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and near-infrared spectroscopy, respectively. Plasma L-arginine and L-citrulline were also evaluated.

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Previous studies have investigated the impact of dietary nitrate on vascular function due to the association between dietary nitrate ingestion and improvement in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. Considering that NO can present different effects through vascular beds (macro- vs. microvasculature) due to the specific characteristic (function and morphology) that each vessel exhibits, it is crucial to investigate the effect of dietary nitrate ingestion on the macro- and microvascular function to understand the effect of nitrate on vascular function.

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The amino acid L-arginine is crucial for nitric oxide (NO) synthesis, an important molecule regulating vascular tone. Considering that vascular dysfunction precedes cardiovascular disease, supplementation with precursors of NO synthesis (e.g.

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Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the effects of AGE on microvascular reactivity, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) in older individuals at high risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Urinary thiosulfate was also investigated as an indirect marker of endogenous hydrogen sulfide (HS) synthesis. The study was conducted in a randomized, double-blind, crossover, and placebo-controlled way.

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The aim the current study was to developed a watermelon rind powder (WRP), watermelon pulp powder (WPP), and beetroot powder (BP), in order to compare the stability of L-citrulline and nitrate with that of watermelon rind juice (WRJ), watermelon pulp juice (WPJ), and beetroot juice (BJ), respectively. The stability was evaluated during 32 days at 25, 4 and - 20 ºC. L-arginine and L-ornithine content were also evaluated.

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Ageing is associated with endothelial dysfunction and reduced cerebral blood flow and oxygenation. The present study aimed to investigate whether turmeric supplementation could improve cerebral oxygenation and blood volume during brain activation via dynamic handgrip exercise in older males and females. Twelve older males and females were studied using a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over design.

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Background: There is a spectrum of possibilities for analyzing muscle O resaturation parameters for measurement of reactive hyperemia in microvasculature. However, there is no consensus with respect to the responsiveness of these O resaturation parameters for assessing reactive hyperemia.

Objectives: This study investigates the responsiveness of the most utilized muscle O resaturation parameters to assess reactive hyperemia in the microvasculature of a clinical group known to exhibit impairments of tissue O saturation (StO).

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Dietary nitrate consumption from foods such as beetroot has been associated with many physiological benefits including improvements in vascular health and exercise performance. More recently, attention has been given to the use of dietary nitrate as a nutritional strategy to optimize muscular performance during resistance exercise. Our purpose was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the research literature assessing the effect of dietary nitrate ingestion on muscular strength and muscular endurance.

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The current recommendation for reducing person-to-person Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) transmission is social distancing, including remote work and school, and home confinement. However, confinement may cause negative feelings, such as frustration, anger, boredom, and stress, in quarantined people. Furthermore, unhealthy diet and physical inactivity behaviors are commonly linked to home confinement, leading to weight gain, metabolic disorders, smoking, and exacerbated alcohol consumption.

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The current pool of data investigating the effects of a single resistance exercise session on endothelial function is divergent and inconclusive. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a single resistance exercise session on flow-mediated dilation (FMD) in trained individuals. Eleven healthy, young, recreationally resistance-trained individuals participated in the study.

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HIV-1 proteins and highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) have been associated with microvascular endothelial dysfunction. Although nitrate-rich beetroot juice (NR-BJ) consumption has been shown to improve endothelial function in clinical population, its effects in HIV-infected patients has not been addressed. We investigated the effect of a single dose of NR-BJ on muscle oxygen saturation parameters in response to a handgrip exercise in HIV-infected patients.

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Highly active antiretroviral therapy has been associated with the presence of endothelial dysfunction in HIV-infected patients, which may impair oxygen delivery to muscles during exercise and exercise recovery. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been used to assess muscle oxygen saturation (SmO) kinetics during exercise in different clinical populations in order to evaluate the balance between oxygen delivery and utilization by muscles. However, studies assessing SmO in HIV-infected patients have not been conducted.

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Although the effect of beetroot supplementation on exercise performance has been widely demonstrated to improve the performance of cyclists, runners, and swimmers, its effect on combat sports remains inconclusive. The present study assessed the effect of beetroot-based gel (BG) supplementation on maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), exercise time until fatigue (ETF), muscle O saturation (SmO), and blood volume (tHb) in response to handgrip isotonic exercise (HIE) in recreational combat sport athletes. In a randomized, crossover, double-blind study, 14 combat sports athletes performed three sets of HIE (at 40% MVC) until fatigue after BG or nitrate-depleted gel (PLA) supplementation, in which forearm SmO and tHb were continuously monitored using near-infrared spectroscopy.

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The aminoacidemia resulting from food protein digestion in response to exercise plays an underlying role in the rate of muscle protein synthesis. Whey protein hydrolysate (WPH) has been demonstrated to cause more pronounced postexercise aminoacidemia compared with casein and soy. Although fish protein has been demonstrated to be a great source of amino acids, there is no data available providing information about the postexercise aminoacidemia after fish protein hydrolysate (FPH) intake.

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Vascular occlusion test (VOT)-induced reactive hyperemia in brachial artery is crucial to flow-mediated dilation (FMD). Emerging studies have suggested that reactive hyperemia depends on the magnitude of the O desaturation (ischemia) in downstream microvessels. Although near-infrared spectroscopy-derived tissue O saturation index (TSI) has been used to assess the magnitude of ischemia, the association between FMD and the magnitude of O desaturation has not been addressed.

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This study aimed to evaluate whether NIRS-derived reperfusion rate would detect potential differences in the forearm microvascular responsiveness between young healthy adults, and older adults free from or with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors. Fifteen healthy young (age: 24.8 ± 4.

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Fish protein-derived bioactive peptides may improve endothelial dysfunction through an antihypertensive and antioxidant effect. However, few studies have evaluated the bioactive peptides effect on vascular function. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of a single dose of fish protein hydrolysate (FPH) or whey protein hydrolysates (WPH) on endothelium-dependent dilation in nine healthy adults.

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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between the NIRS-derived reperfusion slope and %FMD in the arm of healthy and at high risk for CVD individuals.

Methods: Twelve healthy (24 ± 4 years) and twelve at high risk for cardiovascular disease (65 ± 11 years) individuals participated in the study. The individuals were submitted to a conduit artery FMD followed by a NIRS-VOT microvascular function test in the arm.

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This study reports on a rare variation of the right internal jugular vein (IJV) identified during routine anatomic dissection of a male cadaver. The right IJV had a tributary located parallel and medially to the IJV itself. This branch of the IJV emerged between the transverse processes of the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae and drained into the junction between the right internal jugular and brachiocephalic veins.

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Beetroot juice (BJ) consumption has been associated with improved cardiovascular health owing to an increase in NO bioconversion. This study evaluates the effect of BJ consumption on macrovascular endothelial function (flow-mediated dilation (FMD)) and muscle oxygen saturation (StO2) parameters in pregnant women within a randomised, crossover, double-blind design in which twelve pregnant women consumed a single dose (140 ml) of BJ or placebo (PLA). Urinary nitrate was assessed before (T0) and 150 min after BJ/PLA consumption.

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The ergogenic effect of beetroot on the exercise performance of trained cyclists, runners, kayakers, and swimmers has been demonstrated. However, whether or not beetroot supplementation presents a beneficial effect on the exercise performance of jiu-jitsu athletes remains inconclusive. Therefore, the present study assessed the effect of beetroot-based gel (BG) supplementation on maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), exercise time until fatigue (ETF), muscle O saturation (SmO), blood volume (tHb), and plasma nitrate and lactate in response to handgrip isotonic exercise (HIE) in jiu-jitsu athletes.

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