The present study aimed to assess the changes in muscle strength and plasma metabolites in athletes with β-glucan supplementation. A total of 29 athletes who met the inclusion criteria were recruited for this study (ChiCTR2200058091) and were randomly divided into a placebo group (n = 14) and β-glucan group (n = 15). During the trial, the experimental group received β-glucan supplementation (2 g/d β-glucan) for 4 weeks and the control group received an equal dose of placebo supplementation (0 g/d β-glucan), with both groups maintaining their regular diet and exercise habits during the trial. The athletes’ exercise performance, muscle strength, and plasma metabolome changes were analyzed after 4 weeks of β-glucan supplementation. The results showed a significant increase in mean grip strength (kg), right hand grip strength (kg), left triceps strength (kg), and upper limb muscle mass (kg) in the experimental group after the 4-week intervention compared to the preintervention period (p < 0.05). A comparison of the difference between the two groups after the intervention showed that there were significant differences between the control group and the experimental group in mean grip strength (kg) and right-hand grip strength (kg) (p < 0.05). Athletes in the experimental group showed significant improvements in 1 min double rocking jump (pcs), VO2max (ml/kg-min) (p < 0.05). The β-glucan intake increased the creatine-related pathway metabolites in plasma. Overall, these results suggest that 4 weeks of β-glucan supplementation can improve muscle strength in athletes, with the potential to increase aerobic endurance and enhance immune function, possibly by affecting creatine-related pathways.

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The global epidemic of obesity is tightly associated with numerous comorbidities, such as type II diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and the metabolic syndrome. Among the key features of obesity, some studies have suggested the abnormal expansion of adipose-tissue-induced local endogenous hypoxic, while other studies indicated endogenous hyperoxia as the opposite trend. Endogenous hypoxic aggravates dysfunction in adipose tissue and stimulates secretion of inflammatory molecules, which contribute to obesity. In contrast, hypoxic exposure combined with training effectively generate exogenous hypoxic to reduce body weight and downregulate metabolic risks. The (patho)physiological effects in adipose tissue are distinct from those of endogenous hypoxic. We critically assess the latest advances on the molecular mediators of endogenous hypoxic that regulate the dysfunction in adipose tissue. Subsequently we propose potential therapeutic targets in adipose tissues and the small molecules that may reverse the detrimental effect of local endogenous hypoxic. More importantly, we discuss alterations of metabolic pathways in adipose tissue and the metabolic benefits brought by hypoxic exercise. In terms of therapeutic intervention, numerous approaches have been developed to treat obesity, nevertheless durability and safety remain the major concern. Thus, a combination of the therapies that suppress endogenous hypoxic with exercise plans that augment exogenous hypoxic may accelerate the development of more effective and durable medications to treat obesity and comorbidities.

Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease that seriously impairs patients' quality of life, and increases the burden of patients and caregivers. Both drugs and exercise can alleviate its motor and non-motor symptoms, improving the quality of life for PD patients. Telehealth, an increasingly popular tool, makes rehabilitation accessible at home, overcoming the inconvenience of traffic and scheduling. Care-PD is a phone application designed for rehabilitation training, which provides Tai Chi and stretching exercises through tutorial videos as well as an online evaluation system. In this protocol, we will explore the efficacy of Tai Chi and stretching exercises as a PD rehabilitation therapy based on the smartphone application Care-PD.Methods and Analysis: A double-blind, parallel randomized controlled trial will be conducted in this study. The recruitment, intervention, and evaluation processes will be implemented through the Care-PD application. Persons with PD will fill out questionnaires on Activities of Daily Living (ADL), upload the latest case report, and sign the informed consent form in the application. Afterward, doctors and researchers will screen and enroll 180 participants who will be randomly (1:1:1) assigned to Tai Chi group, stretching exercises group, or control group. The subjects will participate in a 1-h exercise session three times per week for 12 weeks, ending with another 4 weeks of follow-up study. Each exercise session includes 10 min of warm-up, 45 min of exercise, and 5 min of cool-down. The primary outcomes are Motor Aspects of Experiences of Daily Living and the 39-item Parkinson's disease Questionnaire. The secondary outcomes include the 9-item Wearing-Off Questionnaire, the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire, the Caregiver Strain Index, Non-motor Experiences of Daily Living, ADL, and Morse Fall Scale. All assessments will be performed at baseline, week 12 and 16.Discussion: Care-PD integrates subject recruitment, intervention, and evaluation, providing a new perspective on clinical rehabilitation for persons with PD. This study will evaluate the efficacy of Tai Chi and stretching exercises on patients' quality of life and disease progression based on a smartphone application. We aim to provide a new rehabilitation training platform for persons with PD.Ethics and Dissemination: This study was approved by the Scientific Research Ethics Committee (102772020RT132) of Shanghai University of Sport. Data collection begins after the approval of the ethics committee. The participants must sign an informed consent form before enrollment. The results will be published in relevant journals, seminars, and be disseminated among rehabilitation practitioners and patients with PD.Clinical Trial Registration: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, identifier [ChiCTR2100042096]. Registered on January 13, 2021.

Obesity is an epidemic all around the world. Weight loss interventions that are effective differ from each other with regard to various lipidomic responses. Here, we aimed to find lipidomic biomarkers that are related to beneficial changes in weight loss. We adopted an untargeted liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method to measure 953 lipid species for Exercise (exercise intervention cohort, N = 25), 1388 lipid species for LSG (laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy cohort, N = 36), and 886 lipid species for Cushing (surgical removal of the ACTH-secreting pituitary adenomas cohort, N = 25). Overall, the total diacylglycerol (DG), triacylglycerol (TG), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), and sphingomyelin (SM) levels were associated with changes in BMI, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), triglyceride, and total cholesterol according to weight loss interventions. We found that 73 lipid species changed among the three weight loss interventions. We screened 13 lipid species with better predictive accuracy in diagnosing weight loss situations in either Exercise, LSG, or Cushing cohorts (AUROC > 0.7). More importantly, we identified three phosphatidylcholine (PC) lipid species, PC (14:0_18:3), PC (31:1), and PC (32:2) that were significantly associated with weight change in three studies. Our results highlight potential lipidomic biomarkers that, in the future, could be used in personalized approaches involving weight loss interventions.