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This review offers a comprehensive evaluation of current aspects related to nutritional strategies, brain modulation, and muscle recovery, focusing on their applications and the underlying mechanisms of physiological adaptation for promoting a healthy brain, not only in athletes but also for recreationally active and inactive individuals. We propose that applying the rule, among others, of good sleep, regular exercise, and a properly balanced diet, defined as "SPARKS", will have a beneficial effect on the function and regeneration processes of the gut–brain–muscle axis. However, adopting the formula, among others, of poor sleep, stress, overtraining, and dysbiosis, defined as "SMOULDER", will have a detrimental impact on the function of this axis and consequently on human health as well as on athletes. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for optimizing brain health and cognitive function. This review highlights the significance of these factors for overall well-being, suggesting that adopting the "SPARKS" approach may benefit not only athletes but also older adults and individuals with health conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study aimed to investigate whether a 12-week Body Mass Index (BMI)-based (the higher the BMI, the higher the dosage) vitamin D3 administration may affect both the kynurenine pathway (KP) and the inflammatory state in Parkinson's disease (PD) patients with deep brain stimulation (DBS) and may be useful for developing novel therapeutic targets against PD. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups: supplemented with vitamin D3 (VitD, n = 15) and treated with vegetable oil (PL, n = 21). Administration lasted for 12 weeks. The isotope dilution method by LC-MS/MS was applied to measure KP and vitamin D metabolites. Serum concentrations of cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF-α were measured using ELISA kits. After administration, the serum concentration of TNF-α decreased in PD patients with DBS. Moreover, in KP: 3-hydroksykynurenine (3-HK) was increased in the PL group, picolinic acid was decreased in the PL group, and kynurenic acid tended to be higher after administration. Furthermore, a negative correlation between 3-HK and 25(OH)D3 and 24,25(OH)2D3 was noticed. Our preliminary results provide further evidence regarding a key link between the KP substances, inflammation status, and metabolites of vitamin D in PD patients with DBS. These findings may reflect the neuroprotective abilities of vitamin D3 in PD patients with DBS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. To manage motor symptoms not controlled adequately with medication, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is used. PD patients often manifest vitamin D deficiency, which may be connected with a higher risk of falls. We administered a 12-week vitamin D3 supplementation based on BMI (with higher doses given to patients with higher BMI) to investigate its effects on physical performance and inflammation status in PD patients with DBS. Patients were randomly divided into two groups: treated with vitamin D3 (VitD, n = 13), and supplemented with vegetable oil as the placebo group (PL, n = 16). Patients underwent functional tests to assess their physical performance three times during this study. The serum 25(OH)D3 concentration increased to the recommended level of 30 ng/mL in the VitD group, and a significant elevation in vitamin D metabolites in this group was found. We observed significant improvement in the Up and Go and the 6 MWT in the VitD group. In inflammation status, we noticed a trend toward a decrease in the VitD group. To conclude, achieving the optimal serum 25(OH)D3 concentration is associated with better functional test performance and consequently may have a positive impact on reducing falling risk in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Strategies targeted at the intestine microbiome seem to be beneficial for professional athletes. The gut–muscle axis is associated with the inflammatory state, glucose metabolism, mitochondrial function, and central nervous system health. All these mechanisms may affect maximal oxygen uptake, muscle strength, and training adaptation. Moreover, the positive effect of certain bacterial strains may be enhanced by vitamin D. Thus, this study aimed to assess and compare the level of selected markers of sports performance of mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes supplemented with vitamin D3 or probiotics combined with vitamin D3. Methods: A 4-week randomized double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial was conducted with 23 MMA male athletes assigned to the vitamin D3 group (Vit D; n = 12) or probiotics + vitamin D3 group (PRO + VitD; n = 11). Repeated measures of the creatine kinase level, lactate utilization ratio, and anaerobic performance were conducted. Results: After 4 weeks of supplementation, we found lower lactate concentrations 60 min after the acute sprint interval in the PRO + VitD group when compared to the Vit D group (4.73 ± 1.62 and 5.88 ± 1.55 mmol/L; p < 0.05). In addition, the intervention improved the total work (232.00 ± 14.06 and 240.72 ± 13.38 J kg−1; p < 0.05), and mean power following the anaerobic exercise protocol (7.73 ± 0.47 and 8.02 ± 0.45 W kg−1; p < 0.05) only in the PRO + VitD group. Moreover, there was an improvement in the lactate utilization ratio in the PRO + VitD group compared with the Vit D group as shown by the percentage of T60/T3 ratio (73.6 ± 6.9 and 65.1 ± 9.9%, respectively; p < 0.05). We also observed elevated serum 25(OH)D3 concentrations after acute sprint interval exercise in both groups, however, there were no significant differences between the groups. Conclusion: Four weeks of combined probiotic and vitamin D3 supplementation enhanced lactate utilization and beneficially affected anaerobic performance in MMA athletes. Key Points: A single bout of high-intensity exercise induced an elevation in the serum 25(OH)D3 concentration in both groups, both before and after supplementation. Combined supplementation of vitamin D3 with a multistrain probiotic mixture improved LA utilization after exercise. MMA athletes who were supplemented with a combination of vitamin D3 and probiotics achieved better results, specifically in average power and total work during the first 30 s of exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose--To identify the information sources for patients undergoing laser vision correction. Methods--Individuals who underwent corneal refractive surgery at a private practice from December 2017 to August 2018 and agreed to complete an anonymous questionnaire were included. The manifest refraction and surgical method was recorded and correlated with the questionnaire results. Results--Data collected from 126 patients (mean age, 32.8 ± 8.6 years; 55.6% women) were analyzed. Of 121 patients, 120 (99.2%) identified the Internet as a source for information on refractive surgery, and 71 of 119 (59.7%) noted that the clinic's website influenced their choice of clinic. Patients with high myopia more commonly used contact lenses and had considered undergoing refractive surgery for a longer time compared with patients with other refractive errors (P < 0.01 and P < 0.01, resp.). Patients with hyperopia were less likely to know their own refractive error (P = 0.02). Conclusions--In this patient cohort, the Internet was the main source of information for those undergoing refractive surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Introduction: Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is characterized as an interval sport in which the training program focuses on enhancing both aerobic and anaerobic capacities. Therefore, strategies targeting the intestinal microbiome may be beneficial for MMA athletes. Moreover, vitamin D supplementation may amplify the positive effects of certain bacterial strains. We previously demonstrated that the combined of probiotics and vitamin D 3 supplementation improved the lactate utilization ratio, total work, and average power achieved during anaerobic tests in MMA. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate whether combined probiotic and vitamin D 3 ingestion can modify the composition of the gut microbiome and epithelial cell permeability, influence the inflammatory response, and ultimately enhance aerobic capacity., Methods: A 4-week clinical trial was conducted with 23 male MMA athletes randomly assigned to either the probiotic + vitamin D 3 (PRO + VIT D) group or the vitamin D 3 group (VIT D). The trial employed a double-blind, placebo-controlled design and involved measurements of serum inflammatory markers, gut microbiome composition, epithelial cell permeability, and aerobic performance., Results: After 4-week of supplementation, we found a significantly lower concentration of calprotectin in the PRO + VIT D group (34.79 ± 24.38 mmol/L) compared to the value before (69.50 ± 46.91) supplementation ( p  = 0.030), augmentation of beta diversity after the intervention in the PRO + VIT D group ( p  = 0.0005) and an extended time to exhaustion to 559.00 ± 68.99; compared to the value before (496.30 ± 89.98; p  = 0.023) after combined probiotic and vitamin D 3 supplementation in MMA athletes. No effect was observed in the VIT D group., Conclusion: Our results indicate that combined treatment of probiotics and vitamin D 3 may cause alterations in alpha and beta diversity and the composition of the gut microbiota in MMA athletes. We observed an improvement in epithelial cell permeability and an extended time to exhaustion during exercise in MMA athletes following a 4-week combined probiotic and vitamin D 3 treatment., Competing Interests: MF was received remuneration for lectures from probiotic company. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Przewłócka, Folwarski, Kaczmarczyk, Skonieczna-Żydecka, Palma, Bytowska, Kujach and Kaczor.)

Purpose: The Revo NX is a new optical biometer, based on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and able to obtain high-definition scans of both the anterior and posterior segment of the eye. A previous study found that its measurements of axial length (AL) were not interchangeable with those provided by a validated optical biometer; so, the manufacturer updated the instrument to improve agreement of AL values. This study aimed to prospectively compare the measurements by the updated Revo NX (version 9.5.0, biometry module) with those by 2 validated devices, the IOLMaster 700 and Lenstar LS-900., Setting: Optopol Technologies, Zawiercie, Poland., Design: Prospective evaluation of diagnostic test., Methods: Comparison between the devices was performed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Bonferroni posttest, correlation coefficients, and the Bland-Altman method., Results: The investigation evaluated the results of 63 patients. For AL, anterior chamber depth (ACD), and lens thickness (LT), the differences were not clinically significant because they were less than 0.01 mm. Repeated measures ANOVA, however, detected a statistically significant difference for AL (P < .0001) and central corneal thickness (P < .0001) but not for ACD (P = .0630) or LT (P = .2667). The results obtained with all 3 biometers manifested a high level of agreement in the Bland-Altman analysis and very strong correlation., Conclusions: The measurements by the updated Revo NX had high agreement with the other optical biometers; a clear improvement was detected than the previous analysis between the original Revo NX (version 8.0.3) and the Lenstar LS-900., (Copyright © 2021 Published by Wolters Kluwer on behalf of ASCRS and ESCRS.)

Excessive training may limit physiological muscle adaptation through chronic oxidative stress and inflammation. Improper diet and overtraining may also disrupt intestinal homeostasis and in consequence enhance inflammation. Altogether, these factors may lead to an imbalance in the gut ecosystem, causing dysregulation of the immune system. Therefore, it seems to be important to optimize the intestinal microbiota composition, which is able to modulate the immune system and reduce oxidative stress. Moreover, the optimal intestinal microbiota composition may have an impact on muscle protein synthesis and mitochondrial biogenesis and function, as well as muscle glycogen storage. Aproperly balanced microbiome may also reduce inflammatory markers and reactive oxygen species production, which may further attenuate macromolecules damage. Consequently, supplementation with probiotics may have some beneficial effect on aerobic and anaerobic performance. The phenomenon of gut-muscle axis should be continuously explored to function maintenance, not only in athletes.