Effects of CurraNZ, a New Zealand blackcurrant extract during 1 hour of treadmill running in female and male Marathon des Sables Athletes in hot conditions: two case studies

Four weeks before competition in the 2023 Marathon des Sables, a 6 stage, ~250 km running event in the Sahara Desert, we examined effects of 7-day intake of New Zealand blackcurrant extract (210 mg anthocyanins per day) on 1 h treadmill running-induced physiological and metabolic responses in the heat (~34°C, relative humidity: ~30%) in a non-acclimatized amateur female and male athlete (age: 23, 38 yrs, BMI: 24.2, 28.4 kg·m-2, body fat%: 29.2, 18.8%, V ̇O2max: 50.1, 52.1 mL·kg-1·min-1). During the 1 h run at 50%V ̇O2max (speed female: 7.3, male: 7.5 km·h-1), indirect calorimetry was used and heart rate recorded at 15-min intervals with core temperature monitoring (0.05 Hz). The 1 h runs were 3 h after a light breakfast and 2 h after intake of the final dose of New Zealand blackcurrant extract with water allowed ad libitum during the run. With the New Zealand blackcurrant extract, there were no effects in the female athlete. The respiratory exchange ratio (RER) of the female athlete in the non-supplement control condition was 0.77±0.01, indicating existing ~77% contribution of fat oxidation to the energy requirements. In the male athlete during 1 h of running, fat oxidation was higher by 21% (p<0.01), carbohydrate oxidation was 31% lower (p=0.05), RER was 0.03 units lower (p=0.04) and core temperature was 0.4°C lower (p<0.01) with no differences for heart rate, minute ventilation, oxygen uptake and carbon dioxide production for the New Zealand blackcurrant condition compared to the non-supplement control condition. Seven-day intake of New Zealand blackcurrant extract (210 mg anthocyanins per day) provided beneficial physiological and metabolic responses during exertional heat stress by 1 h of indoor (~34°C) treadmill running in a male Marathon des Sables athlete 4 weeks before competition. Future work is required to address whether New Zealand blackcurrant provide a nutritional ergogenic effect for Marathon des Sables athletes during long-duration running in the heat combined with personalized nutrition

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication

Effects of blackcurrant during running in a male and female Marathon des Sables athlete

The Marathon des Sables (six stages, ~250 km running) in the Sahara Desert requires physiological and metabolic adaptations by physical training and nutritional strategies. PURPOSE: Four weeks before competition in the Marathon des Sables 2023, we examined effects of 7-day intake of New Zealand blackcurrant (NZBC) extract (210 mg anthocyanins per day) on 1-hr treadmill running-induced physiological and metabolic responses in the heat (~34°C, relative humidity: ~30%) in an amateur female and male athlete (23, 38 yrs, BMI: 24.2, 28.4 kg·m-2, body fat%: 29.2%, 18.8%, V ̇O2max: 50.1, 52.1 mL·kg-1·min-1). METHODS: During the 1-hr run at 50%V ̇O2max (female: 7.3, male: 7.5 km·h-1), indirect calorimetry was used and heart rate recorded at 15-min intervals with core temperature monitoring (0.05 Hz). The runs were 3-hr after breakfast (slice of bread and water) and 2-hr after intake of the final dose of NZBC extract with water ad libitum. RESULTS: With NZBC extract, there were no effects in the female athlete. The female athlete RER in the non-supplement condition was 0.77±0.01, indicating ~77% contribution of fat oxidation to energy requirements. In the male athlete during 1-hr of running (mean of 4 measurements), fat oxidation was higher by 21% (control: 0.84±0.11, NZBC: 1.02±0.08 g·min-1, P<0.01), carbohydrate was 31% lower (control: 1.07±0.29, NZBC: 0.71±0.12 g·min-1, P=0.05), RER was 0.03 units lower (control: 0.80±0.02, NZBC: 0.77±0.01, P=0.04), core temperature was 0.4°C lower (control: 37.7±0.3; NZBC: 37.3±0.3°C, P<0.01) with no differences for heart rate (control: 136±10, NZBC: 134±7 beats·min-1, P=0.50), minute ventilation (control: 51.3±1.8, NZBC: 49.8±3.1 L·min-1, P=0.43), oxygen uptake (control: 2.51±0.02, NZBC: 2.60±0.09 L·min-1, P=0.10) and carbon dioxide production (control: 2.01±0.05; NZBC: 1.99±0.04 L·min-1, P=0.72). CONCLUSION: Seven-day intake of New Zealand blackcurrant extract (210 mg anthocyanins per day) provided beneficial physiological and metabolic responses during 1-hr of indoor (~34°C) treadmill running in a male Marathon des Sables athlete 4 weeks before competition. Future work is required to address whether New Zealand blackcurrant provide a nutritional ergogenic effect for Marathon des Sables athletes during long-duration running in the heat with personalized nutrition. Supplements were provided by Health Currancy Ltd (UK). Blackcurrant New Zealand Inc (NZ) and Health Currancy Ltd (UK) provided funding for conference attendance

Effects of CurraNZ, a New Zealand Blackcurrant Extract during 1 Hour of Treadmill Running in Female and Male Marathon des Sables Athletes in Hot Conditions: Two Case Studies

Four weeks before competition in the 2023 Marathon des Sables, a 6-stage, ~250 km running event in the Sahara Desert, we examined the effects of a 7-day intake of New Zealand blackcurrant extract (210 mg anthocyanins per day) on 1 h treadmill running-induced physiological and metabolic responses in the heat (~34 °C, relative humidity: ~30%) in non-acclimatized amateur female and male athletes (age: 23, 38 yrs, BMI: 24.2, 28.4 kg·m−2, body fat%: 29.2, 18.8%, V˙O2max: 50.1, 52.1 mL·kg−1·min−1). During the 1 h run at 50%V˙O2max (speed female: 7.3, male: 7.5 km·h−1), indirect calorimetry was used, and heart rate was recorded at 15 min intervals with core temperature monitoring (0.05 Hz). The 1 h runs took place 3 h after a light breakfast and 2 h after intake of the final dose of New Zealand blackcurrant extract with water allowed ad libitum during the run. The New Zealand blackcurrant extract had no effects on the female athlete. The respiratory exchange ratio (RER) of the female athlete in the non-supplement control condition was 0.77 ± 0.01, indicating an existing ~77% contribution of fat oxidation to the energy requirements. In the male athlete, during 1 h of running, fat oxidation was higher by 21% (p p = 0.05), RER was 0.03 units lower (p = 0.04), and core temperature was 0.4 °C lower (p < 0.01) with no differences for heart rate, minute ventilation, oxygen uptake, and carbon dioxide production for the New Zealand blackcurrant condition compared to the non-supplement control condition. Seven-day intake of New Zealand blackcurrant extract (210 mg anthocyanins per day) provided beneficial physiological and metabolic responses during exertional heat stress by 1 h of indoor (~34 °C) treadmill running in a male Marathon des Sables athlete 4 weeks before competition. Future work is required to address whether New Zealand blackcurrant provides a nutritional ergogenic effect for Marathon des Sables athletes during long-duration running in the heat combined with personalized nutrition

Optimal bone strength and mineralization requires the type 2 iodothyronine deiodinase in osteoblasts

Hypothyroidism and thyrotoxicosis are each associated with an increased risk of fracture. Although thyroxine (T4) is the predominant circulating thyroid hormone, target cell responses are determined by local intracellular availability of the active hormone 3,5,3′-L-triiodothyronine (T3), which is generated from T4 by the type 2 deiodinase enzyme (D2). To investigate the role of locally produced T3 in bone, we characterized mice deficient in D2 (D2KO) in which the serum T3 level is normal. Bones from adult D2KO mice have reduced toughness and are brittle, displaying an increased susceptibility to fracture. This phenotype is characterized by a 50% reduction in bone formation and a generalized increase in skeletal mineralization resulting from a local deficiency of T3 in osteoblasts. These data reveal an essential role for D2 in osteoblasts in the optimization of bone strength and mineralization