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The effect of an acute bout of high-intensity concentric exercise on serum muscle and collagen marker proteins was studied in nine male students. The muscle-derived serum carbonic anhydrase III, myoglobin, and creatine kinase all increased as a result of the exercise. Serum type I procollagen carboxyterminal propeptide decreased at first but started to increase 2 days after the exercise. Serum galactosylhydroxylysyl glucosyltransferase was elevated immediately after the exercise. No significant changes were seen in the concentrations of serum amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen or 4-hydroxyproline. It seems that a single bout of heavy concentric exercise causes protein leakage from muscles and probably from the collagen-synthesizing cells of the connective tissue, which may be accompanied by an initial decrease and a subsequent increase in type I collagen production. The activation of type I collagen production seems to depend on the strain and damage of the musculoskeletal system.

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Objective To investigate whether dexamethasone supression of fetoplacental oestrogen production can reduce obstetric cholestasis. Design Observational study. Setting Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Tampere, Finland. Subjects 10 women, at between 28 and 37 weeks gestation, with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. Interventions Treatment with 12 mg oral dexamethasone daily for 7 days, after which the therapy was gradually discontinued over 3 days. Main outcome measures Serum oestriol, oestradiol, total bile acids and ALAT were measured before and during therapy and on days 4 and 7 and ALAT also on day 12. Differences were tested by paired t test. Results Itching disappeared or was relieved in all patients. Serum oestriol level fell significantly by day 1 of treatment, serum oestradiol and total bile acid levels by day 4 and ALAT by day 12 from the beginning of the therapy. Conclusion Dexamethasone is a drug of choice in the treatment of intrahepatic colestasis of pregnancy.