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Introduction: The study of chronic and acute responses when exposed to extreme, aggressive and stressful environments, such as in combat environments, is becoming increasingly popular as such information leads to better optimisation of soldiers' physical and psychological performance, as well as mission effectiveness and efficiency. Due to internal complexity, uncertainty and variability of real combat scenarios, a specific approach to all possible types of military combat scenarios is necessary., Methods: Modifications in the autonomic modulation and cortical arousal before and after asymmetrical, symmetrical and close quarter combat simulations were analysed in 31 male professional veteran soldiers (age: 34.5±4.2 years) with between seven and 18 years of experience in their respective units, as well as experience in international missions in current conflict areas such as Lebanon, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq., Results: The three combat situations produced a non-significant decrease in cortical arousal after combat simulations, presenting a trivial effect size in symmetrical and close quarter combat situations and a small effect size in asymmetrical situations. HR increased significantly in the three combat situations, and close quarter combat produced the highest sympathetic modulation of the three situations analysed., Conclusion: Symmetrical, asymmetrical and close quarter combat situations produced an increase in sympathetic modulation, being highest in the close quarter combat situation, where actions are performed at a close distance and in closed spaces., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: There is a growing tendency for physicians to prescribe exercise in accordance with the 'exercise is medicine' global health initiative. However, the exercise-pharmacologic interactions for controlling blood pressure are not well described. Our purpose was to study whether angiotensin II receptor type 1 blocker (ARB) antihypertensive medicine enhances the blood pressure-lowering effects of intense exercise., Participants and Methods: Fifteen hypertensive individuals with metabolic syndrome chronically medicated with ARB underwent two exercise trials in a blind randomized order. One trial was conducted after taking their habitual dose of ARB (ARB MED trial) and another after 48 h of placebo medicine (i.e. dextrose; PLAC trial)., Results: After placebo medication, brachial systolic blood pressure increased by 5.5 mmHg [P=0.009; effect size (ES)=0.476] and diastolic by 2.5 mmHg (P=0.030; ES=0.373). Exercise reduced systolic and diastolic blood pressures to the same extent in ARB MED and PLAC trials (7 and 8 mmHg, respectively, for systolic and 5 and 4 mmHg, respectively, for diastolic, all P<0.05). Pulsatile measures of arterial stiffness did not reveal an interaction effect between exercise and medication. However, postocclusion reactive hyperemia increased after exercise only in the ARB MED trial (361±169 to 449±240% from baseline; P=0.033; ES=0.429)., Conclusion: ARBs and a bout of intense exercise each have an independent effect on lowering blood pressure in hypertensive individuals, and these effects are additive.

Objective: We studied the effects of exercise training alone or combined with dietary supplementation of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (Ω-3PUFA) and oleate on metabolic syndrome (MSyn) components and other markers of cardiometabolic health., Methods: Thirty-six patients with MSyn underwent 24 weeks of high-intensity interval training. In a double-blind randomized design, half of the group ingested 500 mL/day of semi-skim milk (8 g of fat; placebo milk) whereas the other half ingested 500 mL/day of skim milk enriched with 275 mg of Ω-3PUFA and 7.5 g of oleate (Ω-3 + OLE)., Results: Ω-3 + OLE treatment elevated 30% plasma Ω-3PUFA but not significantly (P = 0.286). Improvements in VO2peak (12.8%), mean blood pressure (-7.1%), waist circumference (-1.8%), body fat mass (-2.9%), and trunk fat mass (-3.3%) were similar between groups. However, insulin sensitivity (measured by intravenous glucose tolerance test), serum concentration of C-reactive protein, and high-density lipoprotein improved only in the Ω-3 + OLE group by 31.5%, 32.1%, and 10.3%, respectively (all P < 0.05). Fasting serum triacylglycerol, glucose, and plasma fibrinogen concentrations did not improve in either group after 24 weeks of intervention., Conclusions: Diet supplementation with Ω-3PUFA and oleate enhanced cardiometabolic benefits of intense aerobic exercise training in patients with MSyn., (© 2016 The Obesity Society.)

Background and Aims: Exercise training can improve health of patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). However, which MetS factors are most responsive to exercise training remains unclear. We studied the time-course of changes in MetS factors in response to training and detraining., Methods and Results: Forty eight MetS patients (52 ± 8.8 yrs old; 33 ± 4 BMI) underwent 4 months (3 days/week) of supervised aerobic interval training (AIT) program. After 1 month of training, there were progressive increases in high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c) and reductions in waist circumference and blood pressure (12 ± 3, -3.9 ± 0.4, and -12 ± 1%, respectively after 4 months; all P < 0.05). However, fasting plasma concentration of triglycerides and glucose were not reduced by training. Insulin sensitivity (HOMA), cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2peak) and exercise maximal fat oxidation (FOMAx) also progressively improved with training (-17 ± 5; 21 ± 2 and 31 ± 8%, respectively, after 4 months; all P < 0.05). Vastus lateralis samples from seven subjects revealed that mitochondrial O2 flux was markedly increased with training (71 ± 11%) due to increased mitochondrial content. After 1 month of detraining, the training-induced improvements in waist circumference and blood pressure were maintained. HDL-c and VO2peak returned to the values found after 1-2 months of training while HOMA and FOMAx returned to pre-training values., Conclusions: The health related variables most responsive to aerobic interval training in MetS patients are waist circumference, blood pressure and the muscle and systemic adaptations to consume oxygen and fat. However, the latter reverse with detraining while blood pressure and waist circumference are persistent to one month of detraining., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)