Does oxygenated water support aerobic performance and lactate kinetics?

It has been asserted that the consumption of oxygenated water can support physical working capacity. As this has not been accurately investigated yet we analyzed effects of a two-week period of daily O2-water ingestion on spiroergometric parameters and lactate metabolism in healthy adults. Twenty men (24 +/- 2.5 years of age) with comparable aerobic abilities performed four exhaustive bicycle spiroergometric tests. Applying a double-blind crossover study design 10 subjects drank 1.5 liters of highly oxygenated water every day during the two weeks between the initial two tests whereas the other group consumed 1.5 liters untreated water from the same spring. After a two-week wash-out period subjects underwent a second period consuming the opposite type of water. Spiroergometric parameters and lactate kinetics between both groups at submaximal and maximal levels were analyzed using a MANOVA. Results showed no significant influence on aerobic parameters or lactate metabolism, neither at submaximal nor at maximal levels (all p-values > or = 0.050). Merely increments of VEO2 at submaximal levels were demonstrable (p = 0.048). We conclude that the consumption of oxygenated water does not enhance aerobic performance or lactate kinetics in standardized laboratory testing.

Seasonal variation of lipid-lowering effects of complex spa therapy.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: It has been shown that spa therapy has a lipid-lowering effect. Also, seasonal variations in spa therapy effects have been found for some outcome measures. The aim of the present study is to investigate whether the lipid-lowering effects of spa therapy as a complex health intervention also are subject to seasonal variation. METHOD: The effect of 3-week resident spa therapy at the Austrian spa Bad Tatzmannsdorf was studied in 395 patients with moderate musculoskeletal chronic pain over a time of 2 years. Spa therapy included balneotherapy, exercise therapy, and dietary measures. Total cholesterol (CHOL), HDL, LDL, triglycerides (TG), and the CHOL/HDL ratio were assessed at the beginning and end of therapy. RESULTS: Spa therapy was associated with a decrease of CHOL, HDL, and LDL (p < 0.001). TG and CHOL/HDL did not change. The decrease of lipids was smaller for older patients, females, and normal weight individuals. CHOL decrease showed a seasonal variation independent of weight loss (p = 0.04), being largest in fall (-6.1%) and smallest in spring (-2.4%). CHOL and CHOL/HDL for obese individuals showed the greatest decrease in winter (-10% for CHOL, -9% for CHOL/HDL ratio), whereas corresponding measures increased for normal-weight subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The lipid-lowering effect of spa therapy could be confirmed; it is partly moderated by season. The results suggest that the effect of some components of spa therapy such as exercise therapy, diet, and relaxation may be subject to seasonal variation.

Expression of the MT1 melatonin receptor subtype in human coronary arteries.

Previous experimental data suggest a possible influence of melatonin on the circulatory system of animals after binding to G-protein coupled melatonin receptors. The present study sought to investigate whether the melatonin receptor, mt1, is expressed in human coronary arteries derived from healthy heart donors (n = 8). Expression of the mt1-receptor was studied in sections of isolated coronary arteries by a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western immunoblot technique. The analyses of the results from both methods indicated the presence of the mt1-receptor in all of the subjects. Referring to these data we assume that melatonin regulates physiological processes in human coronary arteries after receptor binding.