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R W Hubbard

Publications and source records attributed to R W Hubbard.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Evaluation of a temperate-environment test of heat tolerance in prior heatstroke patients and controls.

It has been reported that scores from a temperate-environment step test describe the heat-tolerance status of prior heatstroke patients (HP). This investigation evaluated the ability of this temperate-environment heat-tolerance test (HTT) to indicate altered heart rate (HR) and rectal temperature (Tre) responses of HP, after 7 days of heat acclimation. On day 1, ten male HP (61 +/- 7 days post-heatstroke) and five control subjects (C) bench-stepped (0.30 m high, 27 steps.min-1) for 15 min (25.8 degrees C dry bulb, 16.2 degrees C wet bulb). On days 2-8, subjects underwent heat acclimation (40.1 degrees C dry bulb, 23.8 degrees C wet bulb; treadmill, 90 min.day-1). Heat acclimation resulted in significant decreases in final HR (152 +/- 5 vs 130 +/- 3 beats.min-1, P less than 0.025) and final Tre (38.62 +/- 0.11 vs 38.13 +/- 0.07 degrees C, p less than 0.01) in HP. One HP but no C was defined heat intolerant, exhibiting inability to adapt to daily exercise in the heat. On day 9, HP repeated HTT, exactly as performed on day 1; mean group HTT scores did not change (day 1 = 39 +/- 6; day 9 = 48 +/- 6, P greater than 0.05). All physical characteristics and physiological responses of HP (days 1, 2, 7, 9) were statistically similar (P greater than 0.05) to those of C. In contrast to heat-acclimation data, HTT scores (score less than or equal to 30) indicated that four HP were heat intolerant on day 1 and two HP were heat intolerant on day 9.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acclimatization↗

Chronic vs acute carbamate administration in exercising rats.

Physostigmine (PH), alone, and pyridostigmine (PY), in combination with atropine and 2-PAM, have been shown to protect animals against organophosphate poisoning. While acute administration of either of these carbamates increased heating rates and decreased endurance of exercising rats, chronically administered PY did not induce these decrements, and we hypothesized that chronic administration of PH could also result in similar attenuation of these effects. Thus, PH was administered acutely (iv) or chronically (osmotic mini-pump) in the following 4 groups (510-530g, male, N = 10/group): C (control, saline iv), AC-200 (acute, 200 ug/kg, 58% whole blood cholinesterase (ChE) inhibition), CH-7 (chronic, 125 ug/hr, 7 days, 60% inhib.), and CH-14 (chronic, 125 ug/hr, 14 days, 56% inhib.). Rats were run (11 m/min, 26 degrees C) to exhaustion. The run times and heating rates (% of control) were: AC-200 - 47, 213%; CH-7 - 60, 157%; CH-14 - 92, 109%. Additionally, ultrastructural changes noted in diaphragms of acutely treated animals were less evident in chronically treated animals. Thus, the decremental effects of acute PH administration on endurance, thermoregulation, and ultrastructure were attenuated with chronic administration at similar levels of ChE inhibition.

Animals↗

Patterns of human drinking: effects of exercise, water temperature, and food consumption.

The effects of exercise, water temperature, and food consumption on patterns of ad libitum drinking were studied in 33 men during 6 consecutive cycles of 30 min walking (4.8 km.h-1, 5% grade) and 30 min rest in a climatic chamber (40 degrees C, 40% relative humidity). On two nonconsecutive days, subjects consumed 15 degrees C (cool) water during one trial and 40 degrees C (warm) water during the other. We previously reported that two groups of drinkers can be identified during work in the heat by the criterion of body weight (BW) loss during the trial. Thus, avid drinkers (D) drank sufficiently such that they lost less than 2% of their initial BW when consuming cool water and libitum, while reluctant drinkers (RD) lost more than 2% of their BW. When warm water was provided, fluid consumption was reduced by 29% and 54% in D and RD, respectively and BW deficits were comparably increased. Intake of cool water elicited cyclic drinking patterns with higher rates during walking than during rest periods in both D and RD, whereas consumption of warm water produced this cyclic pattern only after food ingestion during the third rest. Food consumption stimulated fluid intake and reduced BW losses in both trials. Compared to pre-prandial (hours 1-2.5) rates, average post-lunch drinking rates during the last 3 h increased 14% in D and 19% in RD when consuming cool water, and by 46% and 74%, respectively, with warm water. While food consumption has been encouraged to replace electrolytes lost in sweat when working in hot climates, our results indicate that food ingestion also enhances fluid consumption.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Heatstroke pathophysiology: the energy depletion model.

This symposium focuses on exertional heatstroke, with emphasis on predisposing factors, clinical observations, diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The serious challenge to cardiovascular stability presented by exercise hyperthermia and some aspects of regulatory failure was reviewed in the introduction. The intent of this review, to understand how heat stress is translated into heat strain at the cellular level, is not to downplay the seriousness of the systemic condition. If we are successful, this may stimulate further interest on the impact of heat on the cell as a model for other factors which alter membrane integrity and permeability, lead to new experimental paradigms, and improve the diagnosis and treatment of other disorders such as toxic, hypovolemic, or ischemic shock. This review may also stimulate interesting research regarding more subtle threats to homeostasis such as chronic exercise, hypohydration and thirst, ion imbalance, and sleep deprivation. Since the original article on heat stroke pathophysiology was published (39), we have discussed the relationship of this concept to carbohydrate metabolism (40), thirst (41), and the cellular aspects of heat illness treatment (99). This article will attempt to integrate and extend some of those ideas.

Heat Exhaustion↗

The role of exercise in the etiology of exertional heatstroke.

Exertional heatstroke usually occurs among healthy, fit individuals who are motivated to perform strenuous exercise because of peer pressure, discipline, or athletic competition. In fact, exertional heatstroke deaths among high school athletes in the United States (ranked third only to head and neck injuries and heart failures), and the reluctance of race directors to cancel or postpone mass participation road races during periods of severe heat and humidity, emphasize a continuing need for widespread dissemination of information. The purposes of this symposium are 1) to convey essential information to the members of ACSM who are involved in exercise prescription, patient care, or athletic training; and 2) to disseminate recent scientific theories and research concerning exertional heatstroke.

Body Temperature Regulation↗

Time course of recovery and heat acclimation ability of prior exertional heatstroke patients.

Our understanding of the time course of recovery from exertional heatstroke (EH) and the heat acclimation ability of prior EH patients is limited. This manuscript reviews previous findings regarding recovery from EH and presents original research involving the heat acclimation ability of 10 prior EH patients (PH) and 5 control subjects. Heat acclimation, by definition, distinguishes heat-intolerant from heat-tolerant prior heatstroke patients. Nine PH exhibited normal heat acclimation adaptations (40.1 degrees C, 7 d, 90 min.d-1), thermoregulation, sweat gland function, whole-body sodium and potassium balance, and blood values at 61 +/- 7 d after EH. One PH (subject A) did not adapt to exercise in the heat, was defined heat intolerant, but subsequently was declared heat tolerant (11.5 months post-EH). Three PH exhibited large, unexpected increases in serum CPK levels, which resolved upon subsequent testing, and were probably related to their detrained state and the exercise which they performed. It was concluded that: 1) sleep loss and generalized fatigue were the most common predisposing factors for PH; 2) recovery from EH was idiosyncratic and may require up to 1 year in severe cases; 3) PH were not hereditarily heat intolerant, prior to EH; 4) no measured variable predicted recovery from EH, or heat acclimation responses; 5) heat intolerance occurs in a small percentage of prior heatstroke patients, and may be transient or persistent.

Acclimatization↗

Atropine, diazepam, and physostigmine: thermoregulatory effects in the heat-stressed rat.

We have previously reported that administration of atropine (A) to unrestrained, sedentary, heat-stressed rats resulted in a dose-dependent increase in heating rate (rate of rise of core temperature, degree C/min). Additionally, we have demonstrated that the decrements in treadmill endurance and increments in heating rate of physostigmine (PH)-treated running rats can both be restored to control levels by pretreating the animals with A and diazepam (D). Our objective in the present work was to determine if the administration of D + PH to A-treated unrestrained, sedentary, heat-stressed rats (N = 16/group, 510-530 g) could improve their thermal tolerance. The following drugs were administered singly (at 10 min intervals) via lateral tail vein: vehicle-control (C), A (200 micrograms/kg), D (500 micrograms/kg), and PH (200 micrograms/kg). After drug administration, the rats were heat-stressed (Tamb = 41.5 degrees C) until a core temperature of 42.6 degrees C was attained when they were removed to a 26 degrees C chamber. The heating rates (degrees C/min) and tolerance times (min) of the respective groups were: C- 0.02, 235; A- 0.08, 58; A D- 0.06, 94; and A + D + PH- 0.04, 143. Administration of D with A significantly decreased heating rate, and D + PH more than doubled the thermal tolerance of A-treated rats. Thus, the combination of A + D + PH not only restores PH-induced performance and thermoregulatory decrements of rats exercised in a moderate environment, but also reduces A-induced heat intolerance.

Animals↗

Effects of water temperature and flavoring on voluntary dehydration in men.

Effects of water temperature and flavoring on fluid consumption and body weight losses were studied in fourteen unacclimatized men (21-33 years) during 6 hr of treadmill exercise (4.8 km.hr-1, 5% grade for 30 min.hr-1) in a hot environment. Subjects consumed each of four beverages (15 degrees C water, 40 degrees C water, 15 degrees C flavored water, and 40 degrees C flavored water) on four nonconsecutive days. We identified two groups of individuals by body weight (BW) loss during the cool water trial: drinkers (D) who lost less than 2% initial BW (0.80 +/- 0.15%) and reluctant drinkers (RD) who lost more than 2% (2.53 +/- 0.12%). Although sweat losses were not different between the two groups, D consumed 31% more cool water than RD and experienced 68% less BW loss. Compared to the warm water trial, 6 hr consumption of cool water was significantly increased in both D (59%) and RD (141%) and BW loss was dramatically reduced in both groups. Flavoring significantly enhanced warm water consumption and reduced BW loss in RD only. Reduced consumption of warm water increased rectal temperature, heart rate and plasma osmolality in both groups. The results of this study indicate that either flavoring or cooling warm water will enhance fluid intake and reduce body weight deficits in men reluctant to drink.

Adult↗

Plasma cortisol, renin, and aldosterone during an intense heat acclimation program.

The physiologic responses to an intense heat acclimation (HA) regimen (treadmill, 41.2 degrees C, 8 days, 56 min exercise/44 min rest) and the effects on stress and fluid balance hormone responses were examined in 13 unacclimated male volunteers. Venous blood samples were collected before (PRE) and after (POST) exercise (days 1, 4, 8) and analyzed for plasma renin activity (PRA), aldosterone (ALD), cortisol (PC), plasma volume shifts (delta PV%), sodium concentration (Na+), and potassium concentration (K+). HA responses (day 1 vs day 8) indicated reduced strain (P less than 0.05): decreased heart rate, rectal temperature, skin temperature, improved defense of PV, and attenuated PC responses. While plasma Na+ demonstrated no change during daily exercise, K+ (P less than 0.01), PC, PRA, and ALD increased (P less than 0.05) more than delta PV%(day 1: -7.1%, day 8: -5.1%) accounted for. Na+ and K+ did not change as a result of HA, and there was no change in fluid balance hormones (e.g., PRA, ALD). It was concluded that this intense heat acclimation regimen reduced physiologic strain by mechanisms other than alterations in fluid balance hormones and offered few physiologic advantages which cannot be gained through conventional heat acclimation techniques (e.g., walking).

Acclimatization↗

Comparison of the hypocholesterolemic effects of dietary soybean protein with those of formaldehyde-treated casein in rabbits.

Treatment of casein with formaldehyde changes its tertiary structure and decreases its hypercholesterolemic properties in rabbits. To investigate whether formaldehyde-treated casein exerts this hypocholesterolemic effect in the same manner as soybean protein, rabbits were fed high or low cholesterol diets containing soybean protein, casein, formaldehyde-treated casein or a mixture of casein and formaldehyde-treated casein. Formaldehyde-treated casein was hypocholesterolemic when fed in a low, but not in a high, cholesterol diet. The hypocholesterolemic effect of soybean protein was independent of the amount of cholesterol included in the diet. In contrast to rabbits fed soybean protein, steroid absorption in those fed formaldehyde-treated casein did not differ from that in rabbits fed native casein. Furthermore, the absorption of phosphorus and nitrogen was lower in rabbits fed formaldehyde-treated casein than in those fed native casein, whereas the absorption found in rabbits fed soybean protein resembled that of their casein-fed counterparts. The diets containing soybean protein and formaldehyde-treated casein produced a comparable ratio of lysine to arginine in serum. The results presented in this paper indicate that the hypocholesterolemic action of dietary formaldehyde-treated casein does not resemble that of soybean protein.

Amino Acids↗

Neuroendocrine and stress hormone changes during mirthful laughter.

Positive emotional activities have been suggested as modifiers of neuroendocrine hormones involved in the classical stress response. To detect changes in these components during a mirthful laughter experience, the authors studied 10 healthy male subjects. Five experimental subjects viewed a 60 minute humor video and five control subjects did not. Serial blood samples were measured for corticotropin (ACTH), cortisol, beta-endorphin, 3,4-dihydrophenylacetic acid (dopac)--the major serum neuronal catabolite of dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, growth hormone, and prolactin. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that cortisol and dopac in the experimental group decreased more rapidly from baseline than the control group (p = 0.011, p = 0.025, respectively). Epinephrine levels in the experimental group were significantly lower than the control at all time points (p = 0.017). Growth hormone levels in the experimental group significantly increased during baseline (p = 0.027) and then decreased with laughter intervention (p less than 0.0005), whereas, the controls did not change over time (p = 0.787). ACTH, beta-endorphin, prolactin, and norepinephrine levels did not significantly increase. The mirthful laughter experience appears to reduce serum levels of cortisol, dopac, epinephrine, and growth hormone. These biochemical changes have implications for the reversal of the neuroendocrine and classical stress hormone response.

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗

Plasma volume expansion in rats: effects on thermoregulation and exercise.

Administration of polyethylene glycol (PEG, intraperitoneal, 3 ml, 30% solution) to adult male rats (300 g) resulted in an approximately 20% increment in plasma volume (PV) 24 h after PEG injection. When these animals were exercised (9.14 m/min, level treadmill) in a warm (30 degrees C, 30-40% relative humidity) environment, their mean endurance was increased from 67.9 (saline-treated controls, CONT) to 93.6 min (P less than 0.01). Total water loss was increased from 12.2 (CONT) to 17.2 g (PEG, P less than 0.01). Atropine administration (ATR, 200 micrograms/kg, tail vein) significantly (P less than 0.05) reduced both the endurance and the salivary water loss of CONT and PEG-treated rats, whereas it increased the heating rate (P less than 0.01) of both groups. PEG treatment reduced (P less than 0.01) the hematocrit and circulating protein levels both before and subsequent to exercise in the warm environment. Clinical chemical indexes of heat/exercise injury were generally unaffected by pharmacological intervention, whereas clinical chemical responses to exercise were related to the endurance time of each group. We concluded that expansion of PV by PEG provided significant beneficial effects on performance and thermoregulation during exercise in a warm environment.

Animals↗

Atherogenic effect of oxidized products of cholesterol.

Cholesterol under certain in vitro and possibly in vivo conditions may be oxidized to oxysterols, which are suspected of being initiators of atherosclerotic plaques. Oxysterols inhibit HMG-CoA reductase activity resulting in a decreased cholesterol concentration in the cell membrane, which leads to endothelial membrane injury and probable premature cell death. Exogenous oxidation of cholesterol in human tissues under certain unusual conditions is highly probable. Dietary oxysterols are absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract and are selectively transported by the athrogenic lipoproteins LDL and VLDL. The oxysterols cholestanetriol and 25-OH cholesterol have been shown to be atherogenic. Oxysterols are commonly found in dried egg products, powdered milk, cheeses and in a variety of high temperature dried animal products.

Animals↗

Plasma renin activity and aldosterone: correlations with moderate hypohydration.

Adult male test subjects (n = 16) were assigned to one of three clothing configurations (Army fatigues, fatigues with impermeable chemical protective garments, and fatigues with protective garments plus protective masks) prior to exercise (level treadmill, 1.11 m/s, 50 min/h, 6 h) in a moderate (wet bulb globe temperature, WBGT = 23 degrees C) environment with ad lib water consumption. When protective masks were worn, two through-mask drinking systems were evaluated: the current gravity-fed system for fluid delivery and a new system utilizing a small hydraulic pump (Fist-Flex). Antecubital blood samples were taken prior to the start of and subsequent to the completion of exercise and analyzed for fluid-electrolyte regulatory hormones. During all trials with chemical protective garments, plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone levels (PA) were significantly (p less than 0.05) elevated following the exercise protocol while neither was affected during exercise in fatigues only. Individual hypohydration levels during all trials ranged from low (0.84%) to moderate (4.04%). Levels of PRA were closely correlated (r = 0.635, t = 4.35, p less than 0.001) with hypohydration as measured by percentage of body weight lost during the 6 h trial. Likewise, PA was also correlated (r = 0.47, t = 2.81, p less than 0.01) with body weight loss. We concluded from this study that PRA and PA responses were exacerbated in moderate environments by the additional heat stress, sweat rate, and dehydration caused by the impermeable garments. Further, the logistical difficulty inherent in delivering fluid through the chemical protective mask reduced voluntary consumption, increased hypohydration, and elicited the greatest elevations in PRA and PA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Variability in intake and dehydration in young men during a simulated desert walk.

Voluntary dehydration was examined in young unacclimatized men walking under simulated desert conditions. Thirty-three subjects (20-33 years) walked on a treadmill (4.82 km.h-1, 5% grade) for 30 min.h-1 for 6 h in a hot environment (40 degrees C db/26 degrees C wb, 4.02 km.h-1 windspeed). Cool (15 degrees C) water was provided ad libitum in canteens. Because thirst is stimulated and drinking should occur at about 2% body weight loss as body water, we used this criterion to identify two groups of individuals. Individuals who maintained body weight (BW) loss at less than 2% (0.44-1.88%) were defined as avid drinkers (D, n = 20) and those who exceeded the 2% BW loss (2.07-3.51%) despite the continual availability of cool (15 degrees C) water were called reluctant drinkers (RD, n = 13). RD consumed 31% less water (2.05 +/- 0.14 L) than D (2.98 +/- 0.12 L), and this resulted in a significantly greater BW loss in RD (2.65 +/- 0.11%) than D (1.16 +/- 0.11%). However, the only statistically significant differences in plasma indices of dehydration were the higher final plasma Na+ and protein levels in RD. Rectal temperature was higher in the RD, whereas final heart rates were unaffected. In the current study, about 40% of the young adult male subjects were reluctant to drink, and thus voluntarily dehydrated even when given cool water ad libitum during intermittent exercise in the heat. The reduced intake of these reluctant drinkers may be critical in predisposing them to increased risk of dehydration and heat injury.

Adult↗