The research findings call for a specially designed pro-health programme to be implemented during the time of the studies in order to raise the female students' awareness of leading a health-conscious lifestyle.

The study investigated changes in myokines, heat shock proteins, and growth factors in highly ranked, young, male tennis players in response to physical workload during the competitive season and their potential correlations with match scores. Blood collections were carried out at the beginning, the midpoint, and the end of the tournament season. Data analysis revealed a significant increase in interleukin 6 and its inverse correlation with the number of lost games (r = −0.45; 90% CI −0.06 to 0.77). Neither the irisin nor BDNF level changed notably, yet delta changes of irisin across the season significantly correlated with the number of games won. The concentration of HSP27 recorded a small increase (31.2%; 90% CI 10.7 to 55.5, most likely). A negative correlation was noted between IGF-1 and HSP27 concentration at baseline (−0.70 very high; 90% CI −0.89 to −0.31, very likely). At the end of the season IGF-1 correlated positively with the number of games won (r = 0.37 moderate, 90% CI −0.16 to 0.73, likely) but negatively with the number of games lost (r = −0.39, 90% CI −0.14 to −0.74, likely). In conclusion our data indicated that Il-6, irisin, and growth factor IGF-1 may modify overall performance during a long lasting season, expressed in the amount of games won or lost.

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Zembron-Lacny, A, Ziemann, E, Zurek, P, and Hübner-Wozniak, E. Heat shock protein 27 response to wrestling training in relation to the muscle damage and inflammation. J Strength Cond Res 31(5): 1221-1228, 2017-One of the unique features of an exercise is that it leads to a simultaneous increase of antagonistic mediators. On the one hand, exercise elevates catabolic proinflammatory cytokines. On the other hand, exercise stimulates anabolic components such as heat shock proteins (HSPs), which protect against stressors. Therefore, the study was designed to evaluate the blood level of HSP27 and its relationship with muscle damage and inflammatory mediators in elite Greco-Roman wrestlers during training periods differed in type and intensity exercise. Ten male wrestlers (21.2 ± 2.1 years) were observed during the conditioning camps at preseason (January), at the beginning of tournament season (April), and during tournament season (June). Twelve healthy and untrained men (19.2 ± 0.4 years) were considered a reference group. The serum levels of inflammatory mediators and HSP27 in wrestlers were significantly different from nonathletes. In wrestlers, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species H2O2, NO, and 3-nitro, cytokines interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis factor α, and also HSP27 reached the highest levels at preseason (January) or tournament season (June) when the special training predominated (>30% training load) over directed training (approximately 10% training load). Creatine kinase activity also demonstrated the highest level during the same training periods (January 2,315 ± 806 IU·L; June 3,139 ± 975 IU·L). The regression analysis revealed the relationship of HSP27 level with muscle damage (rs = -0.613, p < 0.001), and also with inflammatory mediators. The results of this study show that wrestling training modulates HSP27 level, which is significantly related with skeletal muscle damage and inflammatory response, and suggest that measure of HSP27 level can be useful diagnostic tool in biochemical assessment of athletes to increase their performance.

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of repeated hot thermal stress and cold water immersion on the endocrine system of young adult men with moderate and high levels of physical activity (PA). The research was conducted on 30 men aged 19–26 years (mean: 22.67 ± 2.02) who attended four sauna sessions of 12 min each (temperature: 90−91°C; relative humidity: 14–16 %). Each sauna session was followed by a 6-min cool-down break during which the participants were immersed in cold water (10−11°C) for 1 min. Testosterone (TES), cortisol (COR), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S), and prolactin (PRL) levels were measured before and after the sauna bath. The participants’ PA levels were evaluated using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Serum COR levels decreased significantly ( p < .001) from 13.61 to 9.67 µg/ml during 72 min of sauna treatment. No significant changes ( p >.05) were noted in the concentrations of the remaining hormones: TES increased from 4.04 to 4.24 ng/ml, DHEA-S decreased from 357.5 to 356.82 µg/ml, and PRL decreased from 14.50 to 13.71 ng/ml. After sauna, a greater decrease in COR concentrations was observed in males with higher baseline COR levels, whereas only a minor decrease was noted in participants with very low baseline COR values ( r =−0.673, p <.001). Repeated use of Finnish sauna induces a significant decrease in COR concentrations, but does not cause significant changes in TES, DHEA-S, or PRL levels. Testosterone concentrations were higher in men characterized by higher levels of PA, both before and after the sauna bath.