Vascular Health in American Football Players: Cardiovascular Risk Increased in Division III Players

Studies report that football players have high blood pressure (BP) and increased cardiovascular risk. There are over 70,000 NCAA football players and 450 Division III schools sponsor football programs, yet limited research exists on vascular health of athletes. This study aimed to compare vascular and cardiovascular health measures between football players and nonathlete controls. Twenty-three athletes and 19 nonathletes participated. Vascular health measures included flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT). Cardiovascular measures included clinic and 24 hr BP levels, body composition, VO2 max, and fasting glucose/cholesterol levels. Compared to controls, football players had a worse vascular and cardiovascular profile. Football players had thicker carotid artery IMT (0.49 ± 0.06 mm versus 0.46 ± 0.07 mm) and larger brachial artery diameter during FMD (4.3 ± 0.5 mm versus 3.7 ± 0.6 mm), but no difference in percent FMD. Systolic BP was significantly higher in football players at all measurements: resting (128.2 ± 6.4 mmHg versus 122.4 ± 6.8 mmHg), submaximal exercise (150.4 ± 18.8 mmHg versus 137.3 ± 9.5 mmHg), maximal exercise (211.3 ± 25.9 mmHg versus 191.4 ± 19.2 mmHg), and 24-hour BP (124.9 ± 6.3 mmHg versus 109.8 ± 3.7 mmHg). Football players also had higher fasting glucose (91.6 ± 6.5 mg/dL versus 86.6 ± 5.8 mg/dL), lower HDL (36.5±11.2 mg/dL versus 47.1±14.8 mg/dL), and higher body fat percentage (29.2±7.9% versus 23.2±7.0%). Division III collegiate football players remain an understudied population and may be at increased cardiovascular risk

Synthesis of Oleoylethanolamide Using Lipase

An effective process for the enzymatic synthesis of oleoylethanolamide is described in this study. The process included purification of a commercial oleic acid product and then optimization of the reaction between the purified oleic acid and ethanolamine in the presence of hexane and a lipase. Under the optimal amidation reaction conditions identified, oleoylethanolamide was obtained with 96.6% purity. The synthesis was also conducted on a large scale (50 mmol of each of the reactants), and oleoylethanolamide purity and yield after crystallization purification were 96.1 and 73.5%, respectively. Compared to the previous studies, the current method of preparing high-purity oleoylethanolamide is more effective and economically feasible. The scalability and ease for such synthesis make it possible to study the biological and nutritional functions of the cannabinoid-like oleoylethanolamide in animal or human subjects

Visit-to-visit and 24-h blood pressure variability: association with endothelial and smooth muscle function in African Americans

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of visit-to-visit and 24-h blood pressure (BP) variability with markers of endothelial injury and vascular function. We recruited 72 African Americans who were non-diabetic, non-smoking and free of cardiovascular (CV) and renal disease. Office BP was measured at three visits and 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring was conducted to measure visit-to-visit and 24-h BP variability, respectively. The 5-min time-course of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation and nitroglycerin-mediated dilation were assessed as measures of endothelial and smooth muscle function. Fasted blood samples were analyzed for circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs). Significantly lower CD31+CD42− EMPs were found in participants with high visit-to-visit systolic blood pressure (SBP) variability or high 24-h diastolic blood pressure (DBP) variability. Participants with high visit-to-visit DBP variability had significantly lower flow-mediated dilation and higher nitroglycerin-mediated dilation at multiple time-points. When analyzed as continuous variables, 24-h mean arterial pressure variability was inversely associated with CD62+ EMPs; visit-to-visit DBP variability was inversely associated with flow-mediated dilation normalized by smooth muscle function and was positively associated with nitroglycerin-mediated dilation; and 24-h DBP variability was positively associated with nitroglycerin-mediated dilation. All associations were independent of age, gender, body mass index and mean BP. In conclusion, in this cohort of African Americans visit-to-visit and 24-h BP variability were associated with measures of endothelial injury, endothelial function and smooth muscle function. These results suggest that BP variability may influence the pathogenesis of CV disease, in part, through influences on vascular health

Carotid Artery IMT, Blood Pressure, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Males and Females

International Journal of Exercise Science 9(4): 482-490, 2016. Previous studies have investigated carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) and blood pressure and found a direct correlation between the two. It is known that adult females have better cardiovascular health than males until a certain stage of life, yet limited research has examined gender differences in vascular function. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate vascular structure and function, blood pressure, and blood glucose/cholesterol levels in relation to gender differences in young healthy adults. On three separate days, 44 adults (26.30 ±11.9yrs; 24M, 20F) completed a carotid IMT ultrasound, a flow-mediated dilation (FMD), a fasted glucose and cholesterol test, a 24hr ambulatory blood pressure monitoring, a VO2max test, and a body composition measurement. Females had lower systolic blood pressure, lower diastolic blood pressure, lower LDL/HDL ratios, lower body mass index, a higher HDL count, and lower plasma glucose levels than males (p \u3c 0.05 for all), all of which suggest better cardiovascular health. However, we found no gender differences in vascular health measures, IMT and FMD. Our results suggest that while young adult females have better cardiovascular health than males, endothelial function may not yet be affected in the young adult years

Vascular Health in American Football Players: Cardiovascular Risk Increased in Division III Players

Studies report that football players have high blood pressure (BP) and increased cardiovascular risk. There are over 70,000 NCAA football players and 450 Division III schools sponsor football programs, yet limited research exists on vascular health of athletes. This study aimed to compare vascular and cardiovascular health measures between football players and nonathlete controls. Twenty-three athletes and 19 nonathletes participated. Vascular health measures included flow-mediated dilation (FMD) and carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT). Cardiovascular measures included clinic and 24 hr BP levels, body composition, VO2 max, and fasting glucose/cholesterol levels. Compared to controls, football players had a worse vascular and cardiovascular profile. Football players had thicker carotid artery IMT (0.49 ± 0.06 mm versus 0.46 ± 0.07 mm) and larger brachial artery diameter during FMD (4.3±0.5 mm versus 3.7±0.6 mm), but no difference in percent FMD. Systolic BP was significantly higher in football players at all measurements: resting (128.2±6.4 mmHg versus 122.4±6.8 mmHg), submaximal exercise (150.4±18.8 mmHg versus 137.3±9.5 mmHg), maximal exercise (211.3±25.9 mmHg versus 191.4±19.2 mmHg), and 24-hour BP (124.9±6.3 mmHg versus 109.8±3.7 mmHg). Football players also had higher fasting glucose (91.6±6.5 mg/dL versus 86.6±5.8 mg/dL), lower HDL (36.5±11.2 mg/dL versus 47.1±14.8 mg/dL), and higher body fat percentage (29.2±7.9% versus 23.2±7.0%). Division III collegiate football players remain an understudied population and may be at increased cardiovascular risk

Terpenoids VII. Absolute stereostructure of copaene: Tetrahedron Lett.

NRC publication: Ye

Copaene: Proc.Chem.Soc.

NRC publication: Ye

Effects Of A Meal On Body Composition And Blood Pressure In Division Iii Wrestlers

Previous studies have shown that percent body fat (BF), measured by bioelectrical impedance (BIA), increases after a meal, but this has yet to be examined in collegiate wrestlers. Also, a very recent study reported that excess omega-3 fatty acids could lead to adverse health effects; our study examines this after one meal