Janice M. Conway-Klaassen

The Effects of Adding Leucine to Pre and Postexercise Carbohydrate Beverages on Acute Muscle Recovery From Resistance Training

Stock, MS, Young, JC, Golding, LA, Kruskall, LJ, Tandy, RD, Conway-Klaassen, JM, and Beck, TW. The effects of adding leucine to pre and postexercise carbohydrate beverages on acute muscle recovery from resistance training. J Strength Cond Res 24(8): 2211-2219, 2010-The present study examined the effects of adding leucine to pre and postexercise carbohydrate beverages on selected markers of muscle damage, delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and squat performance for up to 72 hours after lower-body resistance training. Seventeen resistance trained men (mean ± SD age 22.9 ± 2.9 years) and 3 resistance trained women (mean ± SD age 21.6 ± 2.6 years) performed 6 sets of squats to fatigue using 75% of the 1 repetition maximum. Each subject consumed a carbohydrate beverage 30 minutes before and immediately after exercise with or without the addition of 22.5 mg·kg−1 (45 mg·kg−1 total) of leucine in a randomized, double-blind fashion. Serum creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and DOMS were analyzed immediately before (TIME1), 24 (TIME2), 48 (TIME3), and 72 (TIME4) hours after exercise. The subjects repeated the squat protocol at TIME4 to test recovery. No differences were observed between groups for squat performance, defined as the total number of repetitions performed during 6 sets of squats, for both TIME1 and TIME4. The addition of leucine did not significantly decrease CK and LDH activity or DOMS. These results suggested that adding leucine to carbohydrate beverages did not affect acute muscle recovery and squat performance during both initial testing and during a subsequent exercise bout 72 hours later in resistance trained subjects.

African sleeping sickness in a young American tourist

Case Presentation An 18-year-old male student arrived in the emergency room (ER) with fever of unknown origin (FUO). The patient presented with a 2-day history of high fever (39 to 41oC), elevated pulse and respiration, chills and rigors, along with a frontal headache, but no stiffness of the neck. The patient’s face was flushed and he presented with a fine reticular, macular rash covering the trunk of his body. A CBC count, urinalysis (UA), and a routine chemistry panel were ordered, and the patient was admitted to the hospital. Abdominal ultrasound (US) revealed a marginally enlarged liver (upper limits of normal) and an enlarged spleen. Two days prior to admission the patient returned home from a 3-week vacation with his family that included a tour through Kenya and Tanzania in Eastern Africa. Portions of the trip included a sight-seeing excursion through the Serengeti National Park and a hiking trip up Mount Kilimanjaro. Within 2 hours of their return home, the patient experienced a high fever with chills and rigors. The episode subsided after a few hours, but then the fever returned 6 to 7 hours later. This cycle continued for the next 36 hours, at which time his parents brought him to the ER. The parents thought he might have contracted malaria even though he had been compliant with prophylactic anti-malarial therapy during his stay in Africa. No other family members were ill. Blood and urine samples taken in the ER showed elevated liver enzymes (AST, ALT, ALP), total bilirubin, creatinine, and BUN; the presence of 2+ protein and blood in the urine; leukopenia with a left shift and decreased platelet count [T1]. A blood smear was examined to confirm the automated platelet count and differential. During this process, 2 or 3 parasitic organisms (trypomastigotes of Trypanosoma brucei) were observed per high power field on the differential smear [I1].