Determination of the Effects of a Series of Ten Whole-Body Cryostimulation Sessions on Physiological Responses to Exercise and Skin Temperature Behavior following Exercise in Elite Athletes.

The present study investigated the effects of a series of 10 whole-body cryostimulation (WBC) sessions (3 min; -110 °C) on physiological and thermal responses to a submaximal exercise test in 17 elite athletes. Participants performed an exercise test twice at similar levels of intensity before and after a series of ten WBC sessions. Before and during the test, each participant's oxygen uptake (VO2), heart rate (HR), internal temperature (Ti), and skin temperature in selected areas of the skin were measured, and the mean arterial pressure (MAP), physiological strain index (PSI), and mean skin temperature (Tsk) were calculated. The results show that during exercise, increases in Ti and the PSI were significantly lower after the WBC sessions, and although there were no significant changes in HR or the MAP, the Tsk was significantly higher. Following exercise, an increase in skin temperature asymmetry over the lower-body muscles was detected. A series of WBC sessions induced a tendency toward a decrease in temperature asymmetry over the thigh muscles. In conclusion, a series of ten WBC sessions does not induce significant modifications in physiological variables but does influence the PSI and Ti during exercise. Moreover, a series of ten WBC sessions influences the distribution of skin temperature and the magnitude of temperature asymmetries in the early phase of recovery.

Prenatal Zidovudine Treatment Modifies Early Development of Rat Osteoid - Confocal Microspectroscopy Analysis.

Autofluorescence of the bone extracellular matrix (ECM) has not been widely explored although the ECM plays a very important role in bone development. In our research we focused on examining the bone matrix of very young animals due to the intense growth process during the first month of life. Structure images and fluorescence spectra of the bone surface were carried out using confocal fluorescence microscope Eclipse Ti-S inverted CLSM (NIKON, Japan) for compact tibia of healthy 7-, 14- and 28-day-old rat newborns after prenatal zidovudine administration in comparison with control. Spectral features of ECM autofluorescence were analyzed statistically by taking into consideration p < 0.05. The CLSM technique allows for simultaneous examination of the structure and autofluorescence from selected areas of the bone surface. Excessive autofluorescence of ECM after prenatal zidovudine administration influences bone growth incommensurably to the newborns' age. Therefore the possibility of an additional non-enzymatic mechanism of collagen cross-linking in the first two weeks of life of newborn rats prenatally treated with zidovudine has been considered. Our results suggest that ECM autofluorescence can be an indicator of bone development in the normal and pathological state.