Sport- and sample-specific features of trace elements in adolescent female field hockey players and fencers.

Active physical exercises and growth are associated with mineral imbalances in young athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of sport-related factors on tissue mineral status in adolescent female athletes. Saliva and hair samples were used for the analysis of immediate and more permanent tissue mineral status, respectively. Samples taken from a control non-athletic female group and two groups of female athletes (field hockey and fencing) were analyzed for seven essential minerals: calcium, chromium, iron, potassium, magnesium, selenium and zinc. Inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry was used for the quantification of elements having very low concentration range in samples (Se, Cr and Zn) whereas inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry was used for quantification of more ubiquitous elements (Mg, К, Са, Fe). The obtained results for athletic groups were compared with control. Female athletes had increased levels of selenium in both saliva and hair as well as chromium in saliva. Field hockey players had the higher level of zinc in hair whereas fencers had the lower levels of salivary calcium. Strong negative correlation between potassium levels in saliva and hair was identified. Iron and magnesium did not differ between the studied groups. In conclusion, novel sport-specific features of chromium tissue levels in female athletes were found. The studied sport disciplines have different impact on the distribution of osteoporosis-related minerals (calcium and zinc). Our finding can help in the development of osteoporosis preventive trainings and in the proper nutrient supplementation to correct mineral imbalances in female athletes.

Collagen accumulation and dysfunctional mucosal barrier of the small intestine in patients with chronic heart failure.

Chronic heart failure is a systemic disease with a devastating prognosis, which affects many organ systems other than the cardiovascular system. A total of 45 Chronic heart failure patients of ischemic etiology and 18 control subjects aged 45-65 years were recruited. All subjects underwent a physical examination by a qualified physician, echocardiography, an evaluation of the trophological status (including height and weight assessment) and net-of-fat body mass (NFBM) determination, an evaluation of intestinal functional activity based on fat and protein excretion with feces, and biopsy examination from the small intestine (see below). For all of them were performed functional tests of the small intestine and morphological examination of the small intestine and biopsy collection. Staining for collagen content of the mucosal wall showed that collagen content differed significantly between the four cohorts studied. In fact, relative collagen content was highest in advanced stages of the disease. However, patients with cardiac cachexia displayed even higher relative amounts of collagen than those of the same functional class without cardiac cachexia. Both fat loss and protein loss with the feces correlated with relative collagen area.