Temporal trends in the handgrip strength of 2,592,714 adults from 14 countries between 1960 and 2017: A systematic analysis

Background: Handgrip strength (HGS) is an excellent marker of functional capability and health in adults, although little is known about temporal trends in adult HGS. Objectives: The aim of this study was to systematically analyze national (country-level) temporal trends in adult HGS, and to examine relationships between national trends in adult HGS and national trends in health-related and socioeconomic/demographic indicators. Methods: Data were obtained from a systematic search of studies reporting temporal trends in HGS for adults (aged ≥20 years) and by examining national fitness datasets. Trends in mean HGS were estimated at the country-sex-age group level by best-fitting sample-weighted linear/polynomial regression models, with national and sub-regional (pooled data across geographically similar countries) trends estimated by a post-stratified population-weighting procedure. Pearson’s correlations quantified relationships between national trends in adult HGS and national trends in health-related and socioeconomic/demographic indicators. Results: Data from 10 studies/datasets were extracted to estimate trends in mean HGS for 2,592,714 adults from 12 high- and 2 upper-middle-income countries (from Asia, Europe and North America) between 1960 and 2017. National trends were few, mixed and generally negligible pre-2000, whereas most countries (75% or 9/12) experienced negligible-to-small declines ranging from an effect size of 0.05 to 0.27, or 0.6 to 6.3%, per decade post-2000. Sex- and age-related temporal differences were negligible. National trends in adult HGS were not significantly related to national trends in health and socioeconomic/demographic indicators. Conclusions: While trends in adult HGS are currently limited to 14 high- and upper-middle-income countries from 3 continents, adult HGS appears to have declined since 2000 (at least among most of the countries in this analysis), which is suggestive of corresponding declines in functional capability and health. PROSPERO registration number: CRD42013003678. KEY POINTS National (country-level) trends in adult handgrip strength (HGS) were few, mixed and generally negligible pre-2000, and generally negligible and indicated declines post-2000 Sex- and age-related temporal differences in adult HGS were negligible-to-small at the country level and negligible at the regional level National trends in adult HGS were not significantly related to national trends in health and socioeconomic/demographic indicator

Evaluating the effects of PeakATP® supplementation on visuomotor reaction time and cognitive function following high-intensity sprint exercise

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 14-days adenosine 5′-triphosphate (ATP) supplementation (PeakATP®) on reaction time (RT), multiple object tracking speed (MOT), mood and cognition. Twenty adults (22.3 ± 4.4 yrs., 169.9 ± 9.5 cm, 78.7 ± 14.6 kg) completed two experimental trials in a double-blind, counter-balanced, crossover design. Subjects were randomized to either PeakATP® (400 mg) or placebo (PLA) and supplemented for 14-days prior to each trial. During each trial, subjects completed a three-minute all-out test on a cycle ergometer (3MT), with measures of visuomotor RT [Dynavision D2 Proactive (Mode A) and Reactive (Mode B) tasks], MOT (Neurotracker), mood (Profile of Mood States Questionnaire; POMS) and cognition (Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics; ANAM) occurring before (PRE), immediately post (IP) and 60 min post-3MT (60P). Subjects ingested an acute dose of the assigned supplement 30 min prior to completing PRE assessments for each trial. Trials were separated by a 14-day washout period. PeakATP® significantly attenuated declines in hits (p = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.235) and average RT (AvgRT, p = 0.006, ηp2 = 0.236) in Mode A, significantly improved AvgRT (p = 0.039, ηp2 = 0.174) in Mode B, and significantly reduced the total number of misses (p = 0.005, ηp2 = 0.343) in Mode B. No differences between treatments were noted for MOT, POMS or ANAM variables. In conclusion, these results indicate that PeakATP® maintains proactive RT and improves reactive RT following high-intensity sprint exercise suggesting that supplemental ATP may mitigate exercise induced cognitive dysfunction

Cycle-based high-intensity sprint exercise elicits acute cognitive dysfunction in psychomotor and memory task performance

PurposeTo examine the impact of an acute high-intensity sprint exercise protocol (HISEP) for eliciting post-exercise cognitive dysfunction in psychomotor, attentional, executive, and memory tasks.MethodsTwenty-four recreationally active adults (22 ± 4 yrs, 169.39 ± 10.07 cm, 75.80 ± 14.73 kg, 27.03 ± 9.55 BF%) performed a HISEP on a cycle ergometer. Average psychomotor reaction time (avgRT; Dynavision D2 Mode A & Mode B), mood (Profile of Mood States Questionnaire; POMS), and cognition (Automated Neuropsychological Assessment Metrics; ANAM) were assessed pre- (PRE), post- (POST) and 60-min post (60POST) HISEP. One-way repeated measures ANOVAs were used to assess changes across time.ResultsFatigue (main effect: p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.309) was significantly higher at POST compared to PRE (p = 0.007). Tension (main effect: p = 0.021, ηp2 = 0.154) was significantly lower at 60POST compared to PRE (p = 0.029). Mode A avgRT (main effect: p = 0.022, ηp2 = 0.153) was significantly slower at POST compared to PRE (p = 0.026). Throughput (TP) scores for ANAM code substitution-delayed (CSD) task (main effect: p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.284) and matching to sample (M2S) tasks (main effect: p = 0.014, ηp2 = 0.169) were significantly lower at POST compared to PRE (p = 0.001 and p = 0.025, respectively), while mathematical processing (main effect: p = 0.002, ηp2 = 0.232) was significantly higher at 60POST compared to both PRE (p = 0.019) and POST (p = 0.005). No other significant changes in cognitive task performance were observed (p's > 0.05).ConclusionsThe HISEP is a feasible and time-effective fatiguing exercise stimulus capable of eliciting acute cognitive dysfunction in psychomotor and memory task performance. NCT05100589

Discovery and characterisation of an antibody that selectively modulates the inhibitory activity of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is a serine protease inhibitor (serpin) that regulates fibrinolysis, cell adhesion and cell motility via its interactions with plasminogen activators and vitronectin. PAI-1 has been shown to play a role in a number of diverse pathologies including cardiovascular diseases, obesity and cancer and is therefore an attractive therapeutic target. However the multiple patho-physiological roles of PAI-1, and understanding the relative contributions of these in any one disease setting, make the development of therapeutically relevant molecules challenging. Here we describe the identification and characterisation of fully human antibody MEDI-579, which binds with high affinity and specificity to the active form of human PAI-1. MEDI-579 specifically inhibits serine protease interactions with PAI-1 while conserving vitronectin binding. Crystallographic analysis reveals that this specificity is achieved through direct binding of MEDI-579 Fab to the reactive centre loop (RCL) of PAI-1 and at the same exosite used by both tissue and urokinase plasminogen activators (tPA and uPA). We propose that MEDI-579 acts by directly competing with proteases for RCL binding and as such is able to modulate the interaction of PAI-1 with tPA and uPA in a way not previously described for a human PAI-1 inhibitor

The Effects of Two Weeks of Oral PeakATP^® Supplementation on Performance during a Three-Minute All out Test

Exogenous ATP has been shown to increase total weight lifted during resistance training interventions and attenuate fatigue during repeated Wingate assessments. However, the influence of exogenous ATP on single bout maximal effort performance has yet to be examined. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of PeakATP® supplementation on performance during a 3-min all-out test (3MT). Twenty adults (22.3 ± 4.4 years, 169.9 ± 9.5 cm, 78.7 ± 14.6 kg) completed two identical 3MT protocols in a double-blind, counter-balanced, crossover design. Participants were randomized to either PeakATP® (400 mg·day−1) or placebo (PLA) treatments and consumed their assigned supplement for 14 days and ingested an acute dose 30 min before each 3MT. A 14-day wash-out period was completed between each supplementation period and subsequent 3MT. Peak power, time to peak power, work above end power, end power, and fatigue index were assessed during each 3MT. Dependent t-tests and Hedge’s g effect sizes were used to assess differences between treatments. No significant differences were observed between treatments for 3MT performance (p > 0.05). These findings indicate that 3MT performance was not significantly impacted by PeakATP® supplementation. This may be due in part to the continuous nature of the 3MT as disodium ATP has been shown to be beneficial for repeated bout activities