Effects of lactotripeptide ingestion and physical activity intervention on the fatigue status of middle-aged and older adults: a randomized controlled trial.

This randomized controlled trial aimed to investigate the effects of eight weeks of lactotripeptide (LTP) ingestion, physical activity (PA) intervention, and combined intervention on the fatigue status of middle-aged and older adults. A total of 78 middle-aged and older adults (63 ± 8 years of age) were randomly assigned to four groups: placebo, LTP, placebo with PA intervention (placebo + PA), and LTP with PA intervention (LTP + PA). All participants ingested the placebo or LTP tablets daily (three tablets/day). The placebo + PA and LTP + PA groups participated in a weekly supervised exercise class and were instructed to increase their moderate- to vigorous-intensity PA at home. The visual analog scale, Brief Fatigue Inventory, Profile of Mood States second edition (POMS2), and Beck Depression Inventory second edition (BDI-II) were administered before and after the intervention. No significant interactions or main effects were observed between LTP ingestion and PA intervention on any of the fatigue scales. The main-effect analyses revealed that the PA intervention improved the total mood disturbance score of the POMS2 (F = 5.22, P = 0.03) and BDI-II score (F = 4.81, P = 0.03). After the post hoc paired comparisons, the total mood disturbance and BDI-II scores improved more with the combined intervention than with the PA intervention alone (percentage difference between the effect of combined intervention and PA intervention alone was 3.7% for total mood disturbance score and 13.7% for BDI-II score). The present study suggests that eight weeks of LTP ingestion and PA intervention did not have a significant effect on fatigue status. However, the PA intervention improved mood status and depressive symptoms, and these effects were enhanced by LTP ingestion.

Acute influences of tennis services on cardiac output and brachial hemodynamics in young male tennis players.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the influences of tennis service exercise on cardiac output (CO) and bilateral brachial hemodynamics in young tennis players. DESIGN: Experimental study. METHODS: Ten young male tennis players (21 ±â€¯2 years of age) participated. Each performed 100 tennis services without a return shot for experimental tennis exercise. Cardiovascular hemodynamic variables, including bilateral brachial blood flow (BF), shear rate (SR), blood pressure, and CO, were collected under three conditions: 1) baseline, 2) immediately after the tennis services (post), and 3) 1 h after the tennis services (1-hour). The positive incremental area under the curve (iAUC) for brachial hemodynamic variables was calculated. RESULTS: Immediately after the 100 tennis services, CO, brachial BF, SR, and brachial vascular conductance (VC) in the dominant and non-dominant arms increased (p < 0.05). At the 1-hour condition, CO returned to baseline; the brachial BF, SR, and VC in the non-dominant arm returned to baseline levels, whereas the same variables in the dominant arm remained increased. The iAUC for brachial BF and VC in the dominant arm was higher than that in the non-dominant arm. Furthermore, the brachial BF/CO ratio index in the dominant arm increased at the post and 1-hour conditions, whereas that in the non-dominant arm was unchanged. CONCLUSIONS: Tennis service exercise specifically increases brachial BF, SR, and VC in the dominant arm, independent of increased CO. Our findings contribute to unveiling the underlying mechanisms of brachial artery adaptations in tennis players.