0000000000147147
AUTHOR
E. Heikkinen
Muscular strength profiles and anthropometry in random samples of men aged 31–35, 51–55 and 71–75 years
Maximal isometric muscular strength and anthropometric characteristics were studied among three random samples each containing about 180 Finnish men belonging to three generation cohorts, and having a mean age of 32·9 ± 1·4, 53·1 ± 1·5 and 72·7± 1·4 years. Strength was measured on special dynamometers for grip, trunk and knee extension and trunk and elbow flexion. The anthropometric characteristics included body height, weight, body-mass index, skeletal weight, fat weight and a weight factor. The youngest cohort had the highest and the oldest cohort the lowest values for strength as well as body height and fat-free body weight, while the middle-aged group had the highest and the youngest gr…
Effect of Prolonged Physical Training on the Development of Connective Tissues in Growing Mice
A rapid progress has taken place in the field of connective tissue chemistry during recent years. The structure and metabolism of collagen, elastin, glycosaminoglycans and pro-. teoglycans of different connective tissues have been extensively investigated. One of the main observations has been that large differences exist between various connective tissues [12]. For example, four different forms of collagen have been identified. The collagens in bone, cartilage, skin and basement membrane have either different amino acid composition in the a-chains or contain one or two similar a-chains in the triple helix. The scope of the connective tissue research has been extended also to skeletal muscl…
Enzyme activities and glycogen concentration in skeletal muscle in alcoholism. The effect of abstinence and physical conditioning.
. Muscle metabolism of chronic alcoholics has been studied using a muscle biopsy technique immediately after a drinking period, after 6–7 days' abstinence and after one month's physical conditioning. The activities of CPK, HK, LDH, MDH and SDH were significantly decreased in musculus vastus lateralis for 1–2 days after an alcoholic debauch. The enzyme activities of the alcoholics, who either had been abstinent for 6–7 days or in addition conditioned for one month, did not differ from those of the controls. The concentration of muscle glycogen was at the same level in both groups, but in bicycle ergometer work of an equal relative intensity the alcoholics used more glycogen than the control …
Physical training and connective tissues in young mice. Biochemistry of skin.
The effect of physical training on some connective tissue components of the skin was studied in male mice of NMRI-strain. The mice to be trained and their controls were about 2-weeks-old at the beginning of the training, which took place on a 5 degree inclined treadmill 5 days a week for 3-22 weeks progressively. The final exercise bouts were 50 and 80 min for moderate programmes and 180 min for the intensive programme at a speed of 30 cm/s. At the end of each experiment skin samples from trained and control animals were taken for the analyses. We found increased concentrations of nitrogen, hexosamines and hydroxyproline in the skin of the trained mice compared to the controls. The unchange…
A paradigm shift: from disease to health orientation
The history of science has been described as 'paradigm shifts' of sequential overthrow, each new paradigm replacing the previous one. A paradigm is an overarching view-point which guides the articulation of theories and other activities in a particular field. In the exploration of health, two different types of approach can be identified. The pathogenic view, which has dominated the orientation of medicine over the last hundred years, focuses on disease states and underlying factors that modify the chances of entering into one of those states. The competing salutogenic view appears to be undergoing a renaissance in the new strategies of public health and health promotion, and producing theo…
Physical and chemical properties of skin in habitually trained and sedentary men.
A number of physical and chemical properties of skin were examined in a study of 29 habitually trained and 29 sedentary men. Compared to the control group, the trained subjects had significantly higher values in the weights of skin samples of equal surface areas as well as the contents of hydroxyproline and nitrogen per skin surface area. When measured by a diaphragm method in vivo, the 'elastic stiffness' (uncorrected for thickness) and 'elastic efficiency' (the recovery of the deformation energy) of skin were significantly higher in the trained men compared to those in the untrained men. The results suggest that skin reflects the adaptation to habitual endurance training by increasing its…