Postactivation potentiation effects after heavy resistance exercise on running speed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the postactivation potentiation effect after a heavy resistance stimulus (HRS) on running speed (RS). Fifteen amateur team game players (basketball, volleyball, handball, and soccer players), ages 18-23 years running the 30-m dash and the intermediate phase of 0-10 and 0-30 m sprints, were used to evaluate RS. Resistance training consisted of 10 single repetitions at 90% of 1 repetition maximum. The running tests were performed 3 times--(a) 3 minutes prior the HRS, (b) 3 minutes after the HRS, and (c) 5 minutes after the HRS--in separated training sessions. Results showed that RS was not affected 3 minutes after the resistance training, but it increased for both selected running phases (0-10 and 0-30 m) 5 minutes after the HRS (p < 0.05). These findings indicate that heavy resistance exercise improves 10- and 30-m sprint performance when performed 5 minutes after the exercise bout.

notch2, notch4 gene polymorphisms in psoriasis vulgaris.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that Notch gene aberrations may be involved in the clinical expression of psoriasis. There are reports of Notch2 receptor expression peculiarities in psoriatic skin and others, indicating that VEGF-induced Notch4 overexpression promotes endothelial cell morphology alterations and that increased dermis vessel permeability histogenetically precedes the development of psoriatic lesions. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of polymorphisms in Notch2 and Notch4 genes with the appearance of psoriasis vulgaris. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Up to 305 patients suffering from psoriasis vulgaris were included in the study, genotyped by either real time quantitative PCR or PCR-RFLP. RESULTS: We observed: (a) Notch2: Statistically significant predominance of T/C genotype in male patients (p=0.037); (b) Notch4: Significantly higher frequency of the SNP1 T/T genotype (p=0.039) in psoriatic females; significant predominance of the SNP2 G/G and A/G (p=0.014) genotypes in female patients with late onset psoriasis (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: This study supports the involvement of both Notch2 and Notch4 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis vulgaris. Pathogenetic participation of Notch2 seems more evident in male patients, possibly early onset, while that of Notch4 is more evident in late onset female patients.

Apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism in psoriasis.

Polymorphism in the apolipoprotein E gene has been associated with several neurological, cardiological and ophthalmological diseases. Apolipoprotein E is involved in psoriasis by modifying mitogen-activated T lymphocyte proliferation and by assuring protection against some infections. We evaluated the apolipoprotein E gene polymorphism in patients suffering from psoriasis (compared to matched controls) in Thrace, Northern Greece. One hundred and forty patients suffering from psoriasis vulgaris and 155 matched controls were included in this study and genotyped by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction RFLPs; the results were evaluated by conditional logistic regression. In psoriasis vulgaris patients, the e2 allele showed higher frequency (6.1%, P = 0.021) versus matched controls (2.3%). The above data were ascertained particularly enforced in psoriasis vulgaris male patients (P = 0.031) as well as in late onset psoriasis vulgaris (P = 0.029). Implication of apolipoprotein E in the pathogenesis of psoriasis has been indicated. Allele e2 is more frequent in psoriatic patients and its presence is more evident in late onset psoriasis vulgaris.

The effect of a combined high-intensity strength and speed training program on the running and jumping ability of soccer players.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a combined heavy-resistance and running-speed training program performed in the same training session on strength, running velocity (RV), and vertical-jump performance (VJ) of soccer players. Thirty-five individuals were divided into 3 groups. The first group (n = 12, COM group) performed a combined resistance and speed training program at the same training session, and the second one (n = 11, STR group) performed the same resistance training without speed training. The third group was the control group (n = 12, CON group). Three jump tests were used for the evaluation of vertical jump performance: squat jump, countermovement jump, and drop jump. The 30-m dash and 1 repetition maximum (1RM) tests were used for running speed and strength evaluation, respectively. After training, both experimental groups significantly improved their 1RM of all tested exercises. Furthermore, the COM group performed significantly better than the STR and the CON groups in the 30-m dash, squat jump, and countermovement jump. It is concluded that the combined resistance and running-speed program provides better results than the conventional resistance training, regarding the power performance of soccer players.