Jacqueline I. Perticone, B.S.Loss of muscle mass with advancing age, disease or lifestyle has a profound influence on healthcare and society. Our laboratory uses hindlimb suspension in rodents to better understand loss of muscle mass occurring with disuse in an effort to design specific interventions that may be suitable to maintain muscle health and function in a number of populations. It is well-known that loss of muscle mass with reduced activity results from a slowdown in the muscle’s ...

Josh Avila, M.S.People like to place the blame on their genes for their lack of Herculean strength or Olympic endurance. But is this really fair? Do our genes actually have an effect on our ability to exercise?Improvements in cardio-respiratory fitness made by increasing levels of physical activity have been shown to reduce the level of all-cause mortality regardless of baseline fitness levels. Research has shown that both initial exercise capacity and the response to exercise training are highl...

Divya Talwar, BDS, MPHIn late summer, 2013, Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie, accompanied by her partner Brad Pitt, revealed at a press conference that she underwent a preventive double mastectomy due to a “faulty gene”. The “faulty gene” that led to Jolie’s difficult decision was the BRCA1 gene, and the preventive procedure reduced the risk of breast cancer from 87% to just 5%. Jolie could have kept the decision private; instead, she chose to share this news with t...

Sheril Marek, M.S.Selenium is a trace element that is nutritionally essential for humans. Essential nutrients are required for normal body functioning that cannot be synthesized by the body. This shows the importance of consuming adequate selenium in one’s diet and supplements for enhanced exercise performance and decreased health risks. Selenium is a component of many selenoproteins that play a critical role in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis, and protection from o...

Brad S. Lambert, Ph.D, CSCCA-SCCCHas there ever been a time when you decided to begin an exercise program or turn your current exercise program up a notch with an increase in workout time or intensity? Also, have you ever experienced prolonged muscle soreness days after doing so? If so, you have probably experienced delayed onset muscle soreness. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) is a phenomenon that often arises at the beginning of a new exercise training regimen or if the int...