Free fatty acid availability and temperature regulation in cold water

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 2466-2472 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Martineau ◽  
I. Jacobs

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a reduced availability of plasma free fatty acids (FFA) would impair human temperature regulation during cold exposure. Seven seminude male subjects were immersed on two occasions in 18 degrees C water for 90 min or until their rectal temperature (Tre) decreased to 35.5 degrees C. The immersion occurred after 2 h of intermittent oral ingestion of either nicotinic acid (NIC) or a placebo (PLAC). Plasma FFA levels immediately before the immersion were significantly lower in NIC (87 +/- 15 mumol/l) than in PLAC (655 +/- 116 mumol/l, P less than 0.05). Although FFA levels increased by 73% in NIC during the immersion (P less than 0.05), they remained significantly lower than in PLAC (151 +/- 19 vs. 716 +/- 74 mumol/l, P less than 0.05) throughout the immersion. Muscle glycogen concentrations in the vastus lateralis decreased after cold water immersion in both trials (P less than 0.05), but the rate of glycogen utilization was similar, averaging 1.00 +/- 0.27 mmol glucose unit.kg dry muscle-1.min-1). Plasma glucose levels were significantly reduced after immersion in both trials (P less than 0.05), this decrease being greater in NIC (1.3 +/- 0.2 mmol/l) than in PLAC (0.7 +/- 0.1 mmol/l, P less than 0.05). O2 uptake increased to 3.8 +/- 0.3 times preimmersion values in both trials (P less than 0.05). Mean respiratory exchange ratio (RER) immediately before the immersion was greater in NIC (0.87 +/- 0.02) than in PLAC (0.77 +/- 0.01, P less than 0.05). Cold exposure increased RER in PLAC but not in NIC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (5) ◽  
pp. 2046-2050 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Martineau ◽  
I. Jacobs

The purpose of the present study was to clarify the importance of skeletal muscle glycogen as a fuel for shivering thermogenesis in humans during cold-water immersion. Fourteen seminude subjects were immersed to the shoulders in 18 degrees C water for 90 min or until rectal temperature (Tre) decreased to 35.5 degrees C. Biopsies from the vastus lateralis muscle and venous blood samples were obtained before and immediately after the immersion. Metabolic rate increased during the immersion to 3.5 +/- 0.3 (SE) times resting values, whereas Tre decreased by 0.9 degrees C to approximately 35.8 degrees C at the end of the immersion. Intramuscular glycogen concentration in the vastus lateralis decreased from 410 +/- 15 to 332 +/- 18 mmol glucose/kg dry muscle, with each subject showing a decrease (P less than 0.001). Plasma volume decreased (P less than 0.001) markedly during the immersion (-24 +/- 1%). After correcting for this decrease, blood lactate and plasma glycerol levels increased by 60 (P less than 0.05) and 38% (P less than 0.01), respectively, whereas plasma glucose levels were reduced by 20% after the immersion (P less than 0.001). The mean expiratory exchange ratio showed a biphasic pattern, increasing initially during the first 30 min of the immersion from 0.80 +/- 0.06 to 0.85 +/- 0.05 (P less than 0.01) and decreasing thereafter toward basal values. The results demonstrate clearly that intramuscular glycogen reserves are used as a metabolic substrate to fuel intensive thermogenic shivering activity of human skeletal muscle.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (4) ◽  
pp. 1331-1339 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Martineau ◽  
I. Jacobs

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether simultaneous alterations in the availability of plasma free fatty acids and muscle glycogen would impair the maintenance of thermal balance during cold water immersion in humans. Eight seminude subjects were immersed on two occasions in 18 degrees C water for 90 min or until rectal temperature (Tre) decreased to 35.5 degrees C. Each immersion followed 2.5 days of a specific dietary and exercise regimen designed to elicit low (LOW) or high glycogen levels (HIGH) in large skeletal muscle groups. Nicotinic acid (1.6 mg/kg) was administered for 2 h before and during immersion to inhibit white adipose tissue lipolysis. Biopsies from the vastus lateralis showed that the glycogen concentration before the immersion was significantly lower in LOW than in HIGH (223 +/- 19 vs. 473 +/- 24 mmol glucose units/kg dry muscle). However, the mean rates of glycogen utilization were not significantly different between trials (LOW 0.62 +/- 0.14 vs. HIGH 0.88 +/- 0.15 mmol glucose units.kg-1.min-1). Nicotinic acid dramatically reduced plasma free fatty acid levels in both trials, averaging 127 +/- 21 mumol/l immediately before the immersion. Cold water immersion did not significantly alter those levels. Plasma glucose levels were significantly reduced after cold water immersion to a similar extent in both trials (18 +/- 4%). Mean respiratory exchange ratio at rest and during immersion was greater in HIGH than LOW, whereas there were no intertrial differences in O2 uptake. The calculated average metabolic heat production during immersion tended to be lower (P = 0.054) in LOW than in HIGH (15.3 +/- 1.9 vs. 17.5 +/- 1.9 kJ/min).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1992 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1253-1258 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. G. Giesbrecht ◽  
G. K. Bristow

An attempt was made to demonstrate the importance of increased perfusion of cold tissue in core temperature afterdrop. Five male subjects were cooled twice in water (8 degrees C) for 53–80 min. They were then rewarmed by one of two methods (shivering thermogenesis or treadmill exercise) for another 40–65 min, after which they entered a warm bath (40 degrees C). Esophageal temperature (Tes) as well as thigh and calf muscle temperatures at three depths (1.5, 3.0, and 4.5 cm) were measured. Cold water immersion was terminated at Tes varying between 33.0 and 34.5 degrees C. For each subject this temperature was similar in both trials. The initial core temperature afterdrop was 58% greater during exercise (mean +/- SE, 0.65 +/- 0.10 degrees C) than shivering (0.41 +/- 0.06 degrees C) (P < 0.005). Within the first 5 min after subjects entered the warm bath the initial rate of rewarming (previously established during shivering or exercise, approximately 0.07 degrees C/min) decreased. The attenuation was 0.088 +/- 0.03 degrees C/min (P < 0.025) after shivering and 0.062 +/- 0.022 degrees C/min (P < 0.025) after exercise. In 4 of 10 trials (2 after shivering and 2 after exercise) a second afterdrop occurred during this period. We suggest that increased perfusion of cold tissue is one probable mechanism responsible for attenuation or reversal of the initial rewarming rate. These results have important implications for treatment of hypothermia victims, even when treatment commences long after removal from cold water.


1988 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 2709-2713 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. D. Mittleman ◽  
I. B. Mekjavic

Recent studies using inanimate and animal models suggest that the afterdrop observed upon rewarming from hypothermia is based entirely on physical laws of heat flow without involvement of the returning cooled blood from the limbs. During the investigation of thermoregulatory responses to cold water immersion (15 degrees C), blood flow to the limbs (minimized by the effects of hydrostatic pressure and vasoconstriction) was occluded in 17 male subjects (age, 29.0 +/- 3.3 yr). Comparisons of rectal (Tre) and esophageal temperature (Tes) responses were made during the 5 min before occlusion, during the 10-min occlusion period, and for 5 min immediately after the release of the cuffs (postocclusion). In the preocclusion phase, Tre and Tes showed similar cooling rates. The occlusion of blood flow to the extremities significantly arrested the cooling of Tes (P less than 0.05) with little effect on Tre. Upon release of the pressure cuffs, the returning extremity blood flow resulted in an increased rate of cooling, that was three times greater at the esophageal site (-0:149 +/- 0.052 vs. -0.050 +/- 0.026 degrees C.min-1). These results suggest that the cooled peripheral circulation, minimized during cold water immersion, may dramatically affect esophageal temperature and the complete neglect of the circulatory component to the afterdrop phenomenon is not warranted.


2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam R. Jajtner ◽  
Jay R. Hoffman ◽  
Adam M. Gonzalez ◽  
Phillip R. Worts ◽  
Maren S. Fragala ◽  
...  

Context:Resistance training is a common form of exercise for competitive and recreational athletes. Enhancing recovery from resistance training may improve the muscle-remodeling processes, stimulating a faster return to peak performance.Objective:To examine the effects of 2 different recovery modalities, neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and cold-water immersion (CWI), on performance and biochemical and ultrasonographic measures.Participants:Thirty resistance-trained men (23.1 ± 2.9 y, 175.2 ± 7.1 cm, 82.1 ± 8.4 kg) were randomly assigned to NMES, CWI, or control (CON).Design and Setting:All participants completed a high-volume lower-body resistance-training workout on d 1 and returned to the human performance laboratory 24 (24H) and 48 h (48H) postexercise for follow-up testing.Measures:Blood samples were obtained preexercise (PRE) and immediately (IP), 30 min (30P), 24 h (24H), and 48 h (48H) post. Subjects were examined for performance changes in the squat exercise (total repetitions and average power per repetition), biomarkers of inflammation, and changes in cross-sectional area and echo intensity (EI) of the rectus femoris (RF) and vastus lateralis muscles.Results:No differences between groups were observed in the number of repetitions (P = .250; power: P = .663). Inferential-based analysis indicated that increases in C-reactive protein concentrations were likely increased by a greater magnitude after CWI compared with CON, while NMES possibly decreased more than CON from IP to 24H. Increases in interleukin-10 concentrations between IP and 30P were likely greater in CWI than NMES but not different from CON. Inferential-based analysis of RF EI indicated a likely decrease for CWI between IP and 48H. No other differences between groups were noted in any other muscle-architecture measures.Conclusions:Results indicated that CWI induced greater increases in pro- and anti-inflammatory markers, while decreasing RF EI, suggesting that CWI may be effective in enhancing short-term muscle recovery after high-volume bouts of resistance exercise.


2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 480-481
Author(s):  
Carla L.M. Geurts

The research in this thesis investigated the effects of cold stress on neuromuscular function with the main focus on cold acclimation. In total, 6 studies, 1 field study and 5 experiments, were conducted. The field study showed that during manual work in cold weather, finger and hand temperature can drop to levels that may impair manual function. The first 2 experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of acute local cold stress on force control and to investigate the effect of cold-induced vasodilatation (CIVD) on neuromuscular function. In experiment 1, it was found that cooling of the hand in 10 °C cold water for 10 min did not improve force control, although neuromuscular function was significantly impaired after cooling. In experiment 2, cold-induced vasodilatation, occurring after 20 min of 8 °C cold-water immersion of the hand, was confined to the finger tip and had no effect on the temperature of the first dorsal interosseus (FDI) muscle or its neuromuscular function. A series of cold acclimation studies was conducted to investigate the effect of repeated cold-water hand immersions on neuromuscular function. In these experiments, neuromuscular function was tested before and after 2–3 weeks of daily hand immersion in 8 °C cold water for 30 min. In experiment 3, it was found that 3 weeks of cold-water immersion resulted in a decrease in minimum and mean index finger temperature and CIVD was attenuated. Neuromuscular function was not affected by this change in temperature response. In experiment 4, one hand was exposed daily to cold water and compared with the opposite control hand. Blood plasma catecholamine concentrations were increased after 2 weeks in the cold-exposed hand, but no changes in temperature response or neuromuscular function were found after repeated cold exposure. Thermal comfort after 30 min of cold-water immersion significantly improved after repeated cold exposure causing a discrepancy between actual and perceived temperature and it was suggested that this may impose a greater risk of cold injury owing to a change in behavioural thermoregulation. In the last experiment, core temperature was elevated by bicycling at a submaximal level during the cold hand immersion. Exercise had a direct effect on the temperature response during cold-water immersion, decreasing the minimum FDI temperature and slowing down the deteriorating effect of cold on neuromuscular function; however, exercise showed was no effect on local cold acclimation. It is concluded that local repeated cold exposures may improve finger and hand temperature and subjective thermal ratings, but that these changes are too small to improve neuromuscular function. The best remedy to maintain manual function is to limit or avoid cold stress as much as possible. If sufficient protection of the hands is impossible, core heating through exercise or passive heating may be a solution.


2021 ◽  
Vol 35 (S1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Greenshields ◽  
Curtis Goss ◽  
Tyler Baker ◽  
Alexis DeLong ◽  
Robert Chapman ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 126 (6) ◽  
pp. 1598-1606 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Gordon ◽  
Denis P. Blondin ◽  
Brian J. Friesen ◽  
Hans Christian Tingelstad ◽  
Glen P. Kenny ◽  
...  

Daily compensable cold exposure in humans reduces shivering by ~20% without changing total heat production, partly by increasing brown adipose tissue thermogenic capacity and activity. Although acclimation and acclimatization studies have long suggested that daily reductions in core temperature are essential to elicit significant metabolic changes in response to repeated cold exposure, this has never directly been demonstrated. The aim of the present study is to determine whether daily cold-water immersion, resulting in a significant fall in core temperature, can further reduce shivering intensity during mild acute cold exposure. Seven men underwent 1 h of daily cold-water immersion (14°C) for seven consecutive days. Immediately before and following the acclimation protocol, participants underwent a mild cold exposure using a novel skin temperature clamping cold exposure protocol to elicit the same thermogenic rate between trials. Metabolic heat production, shivering intensity, muscle recruitment pattern, and thermal sensation were measured throughout these experimental sessions. Uncompensable cold acclimation reduced total shivering intensity by 36% ( P = 0.003), without affecting whole body heat production, double what was previously shown from a 4-wk mild acclimation. This implies that nonshivering thermogenesis increased to supplement the reduction in the thermogenic contribution of shivering. As fuel selection did not change following the 7-day cold acclimation, we suggest that the nonshivering mechanism recruited must rely on a similar fuel mixture to produce this heat. The more significant reductions in shivering intensity compared with a longer mild cold acclimation suggest important differential metabolic responses, resulting from an uncompensable compared with compensable cold acclimation. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Several decades of research have been dedicated to reducing the presence of shivering during cold exposure. The present study aims to determine whether as little as seven consecutive days of cold-water immersion is sufficient to reduce shivering and increase nonshivering thermogenesis. We provide evidence that whole body nonshivering thermogenesis can be increased to offset a reduction in shivering activity to maintain endogenous heat production. This demonstrates that short, but intense cold stimulation can elicit rapid metabolic changes in humans, thereby improving our comfort and ability to perform various motor tasks in the cold. Further research is required to determine the nonshivering processes that are upregulated within this short time period.


1995 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 2301-2308 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Cheung ◽  
I. B. Mekjavic

The present study investigated whether nitrous oxide (N2O) attenuates shivering thermogenesis during cold water immersion in a dose-dependent manner. Seven male subjects were immersed to the neck for 60 min in 20 degrees C water on five separate occasions while breathing either air (AIR) or a normoxic mixture of 10, 15, 20, or 25% N2O balanced with N2. All N2O concentrations investigated caused a significant (P < 0.02) reduction in shivering thermogenesis compared with AIR. Despite similar heat flux from the skin, the relative changes in esophageal temperature from resting preimmersion levels were significantly greater (P < 0.05) during the N2O trials compared with AIR, with no significant difference among the N2O conditions. A dose-dependent trend in the perception of thermal comfort was observed for the N2O conditions. It is concluded that shivering thermogenesis, and thus thermal balance, is affected to the same degree for the range of inspired N2O concentrations investigated, with no discernable dose-dependent effect.


1989 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 1809-1816 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. J. Young ◽  
M. N. Sawka ◽  
P. D. Neufer ◽  
S. R. Muza ◽  
E. W. Askew ◽  
...  

This investigation studied the importance of muscle glycogen levels for body temperature regulation during cold stress. Physiological responses of eight euglycemic males were measured while they rested in cold (18 degrees C, stirred) water on two separate occasions. The trials followed a 3-day program of diet and exercise manipulation designed to produce either high (HMG) or low (LMG) preimmersion glycogen levels in the muscles of the legs, arms, and upper torso. Preimmersion vastus lateralis muscle glycogen concentrations were lower during the LMG trial (144 +/- 14 mmol glucose/kg dry tissue) than the HMG trial (543 +/- 53 mmol glucose/kg dry tissue). There were no significant differences between the two trials in shivering as reflected by aerobic metabolic rate or in the amount of body cooling as reflected by changes in rectal temperature during the immersions. Postimmersion muscle glycogen levels remained unchanged from preimmersion levels in both trials. Small but significant increases in plasma glucose and lactate concentration occurred during both immersions. Plasma glycerol increased during immersion in the LMG trial but not in the HMG trial. Plasma free fatty acid concentration increased during both immersion trials, but the change was apparent sooner in the LMG immersion. It was concluded that thermoregulatory responses of moderately lean and fatter individuals exposed to cold stress were not impaired by a substantial reduction in the muscle glycogen levels of several major skeletal muscle groups. Furthermore, the data suggest that, depending on the intensity of shivering, other metabolic substrates are available to enable muscle glycogen to be spared.


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