Possibilities of echocardiographic screening in athletes. Part 2. Structural changes of the heart

Objective: to assess the suitability of existing domestic and international recommendations and standards for the use of echocardiography as a screening technique for examining athletes with various diseases.Materials and methods: a meta‑analysis of 59 domestic and foreign literature sources based on the results of an echocardiographic examination of athletes was carried out. The indicators of 2647 male athletes aged 16 to 45 years old, playing for the national teams of the city of Moscow and having passed an in‑depth medical examination at the Sports Medicine Clinic, were studied.Results: screening echocardiography sufficiently reveals structural deviations of the heart of athletes from population norms, including congenital or acquired pathologies that cause both sudden death and general morbidity compared with a healthy population.Conclusion: in order to speed up and reduce the cost of the examination of athletes, it is appropriate to use the primary screening, and if necessary, an in‑depth examination. In this case, it is advisable to distinguish three diagnostic stages that determine the danger or admissibility of playing sports: (A) — the risk of developing complications, (B) — the presence of structural changes in the heart, and (C) — the appearance of clinical symptoms

Possibilities of echocardiographic screening in athletes. Part 1. Normal values

Objective: assess the suitability of existing domestic and international recommendations for the use of echocardiography as a screening method for examining athletes; to select standards that characterize the heart in different sports, based on their own research.Materials and methods: a meta‑analysis of 38 domestic and foreign literature sources based on the results of an echocardiographic examination of athletes was carried out. The indicators of 2647 male athletes aged 16 to 45 years old, playing for the national teams of the city of Moscow and having passed an in‑depth medical examination at the Sports Medicine Clinic, were studied.Results: heart sizes in athletes differ slightly from population indicators, however, in 14–45% of cases they go beyond the reference values. In the absence of heart disease, the largest dimensions of the left ventricle (LV) are observed in endurance exercisers. At the same time, high functionality correlates with increased LV volume indexed by BCA (for EDV/BSA and VO2 AT r = 0.52, p < 0.05).Conclusion: echocardiographic screening of athletes allows obtaining sufficient information to identify congenital or pathology that has arisen during excessive training loads. As standards, it is advisable to use population indicators expressed in centile values

Risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and heart remodeling in sambo veterans

Introduction. The benefits of exercise for the cardiovascular system are apparent. However, the influence of predominantly strength exercises throughout life has not been sufficiently studied. This work details the studies around the structure and function of the heart in sambo veteran athletes residing in the Russian Federation (RF) and the Azerbaijan Republic (AR) as well as the frequency of risk factors for their cardiovascular system.Methods. We examined 55 male athletes aged 45.4 ± 8.3 yrs: 24 sambo veterans from RF (group “RF”), 10 sambo veterans from AR (group “AR”) and 21 persons representing control group (“CG”) (chess, bowling), RF. Questionnaires, analysis of ideal health factors, recording of electrocardiogram in 12 leads, echocardiography, stress test with oxygen analysis were carried out.Results. Maximum exercise power and peak oxygen consumption were higher in the “RF” and “AR” groups compared to the “CG” group. The main abnormalities were hypertrophy of interventricular septum (n = 11, 32.3 %) and left ventricular wall (n = 3, 8.8 %). Concentric left ventricular remodeling was predominant in the “AR” group (5 vs. 1, p < 0.05) and greater left ventricular volume in the “RF” group (65.1 vs. 52.0 ml/m2, p < 0.05). Lower physical performance and the presence of dyslipidemia were significantly associated with parameters reflecting concentric left ventricular remodeling (“AR” group). Various ideal health factors were absent in 10–80 % of the examinees. A total of 7 (20.6 %) veterans were found to have a high risk of cardiovascular diseases according to the questionnaire.Conclusion. Prolonged wrestling exercises allow veterans to maintain high aerobic capacity. Concentric remodeling of myocardium of the left ventricle is combined with higher indices of dyslipidemia in the group “AR” which may be connected to low physical activity and eating habits after sport practice

Multiple populations in globular clusters. Lessons learned from the Milky Way globular clusters

Recent progress in studies of globular clusters has shown that they are not simple stellar populations, being rather made of multiple generations. Evidence stems both from photometry and spectroscopy. A new paradigm is then arising for the formation of massive star clusters, which includes several episodes of star formation. While this provides an explanation for several features of globular clusters, including the second parameter problem, it also opens new perspectives about the relation between globular clusters and the halo of our Galaxy, and by extension of all populations with a high specific frequency of globular clusters, such as, e.g., giant elliptical galaxies. We review progress in this area, focusing on the most recent studies. Several points remain to be properly understood, in particular those concerning the nature of the polluters producing the abundance pattern in the clusters and the typical timescale, the range of cluster masses where this phenomenon is active, and the relation between globular clusters and other satellites of our Galaxy.Comment: In press (The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field