Muscle metabolism in older subjects using 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy

1991 ◽  
Vol 69 (5) ◽  
pp. 576-580 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin K. McCully ◽  
Mary Ann Forciea ◽  
Laurita M. Hack ◽  
Eileen Donlon ◽  
Roger W. Wheatley ◽  
...  

We used phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study the calf muscles of elderly normal (mean ± SD) (80.0 ± 5.12 years), elderly impaired (80.7 ± 0.58 years), old normal (66.8 ± 1.92 years), and young normal people (24.6 ± 4.72 years). Relative levels of inorganic phosphate (Pi), phosphocreatine (PCr), and adenosine triphosphate were measured with a 1.9-tesla, 30-cm bore magnet at rest and following plantra flexon exercise. No differences were found at rest or during recovery from exercise in the elderly normal subjects with respect to gender or the presence of stable medical problems treated with medication. At rest there was an age-related decrease in the ratio of PCr/Pi. After exercise, the time constant of PCr recovery increased with age. A mild 7-week exercise regimen consisting of plantar flexion had no effect on time constant of PCr recovery in the elderly subjects. Four elderly impaired subjects had lower PCr/Pi ratios at rest and slower time constant of PCr recovery after exercise than normal elderly subjects. We conclude that gender and the presence of stable medical problems had no effect on muscle metabolism in the elderly and that the elderly recovered slower than young controls. This slower recovery was not corrected with a mild exercise program.Key words: human muscle, aging, exercise, nuclear magnetic resonance, gastrocnemius.

1993 ◽  
Vol 75 (5) ◽  
pp. 2125-2133 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. R. Coggan ◽  
A. M. Abduljalil ◽  
S. C. Swanson ◽  
M. S. Earle ◽  
J. W. Farris ◽  
...  

To examine effects of aging and endurance training on human muscle metabolism during exercise, 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy was used to study the metabolic response to exercise in young (21–33 yr) and older (58–68 yr) untrained and endurance-trained men (n = 6/group). Subjects performed graded plantar flexion exercise with the right leg, with metabolic responses measured using a 31P surface coil placed over the lateral head of the gastrocnemius muscle. Muscle biopsy samples were also obtained for determination of citrate synthase activity. Rate of increase in P(i)-to-phosphocreatine ratio with increasing power output was greater (P < 0.01) in older untrained [0.058 +/- 0.022 (SD) W-1] and trained men (0.042 +/- 0.010 W-1) than in young untrained (0.038 +/- 0.017 W-1) and trained men (0.024 +/- 0.010 W-1). Plantar flexor muscle cross-sectional area and volume (determined using 1H magnetic resonance imaging) were 11–12% (P < 0.05) and 16–18% (P < 0.01) smaller, respectively, in older men. When corrected for this difference in muscle mass, age-related differences in metabolic response to exercise were reduced by approximately 50% but remained significant (P < 0.05). Citrate synthase activity was approximately 20% lower (P < 0.001) in older untrained and trained men than in corresponding young groups and was inversely related to P(i)-phosphocreatine slope (r = -0.63, P < 0.001). Age-related reductions in exercise capacity were associated with an altered muscle metabolic response to exercise, which appeared to be due to smaller muscle mass and lower muscle respiratory capacity of older subjects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)


1994 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. K. McCully ◽  
S. Iotti ◽  
K. Kendrick ◽  
Z. Wang ◽  
J. D. Posner ◽  
...  

Simultaneous measurements of phosphocreatine (PCr) and oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) saturation were made during recovery from exercise in calf muscles of five male subjects. PCr was measured using magnetic resonance spectroscopy in a 2.0-T 78-cm-bore magnet with a 9-cm-diam surface coil. Relative HbO2 saturation was measured as the difference in absorption of 750- and 850-nm light with use of near-infrared spectroscopy. The light source and detectors were 3 cm apart. Exercise consisted of isokinetic plantar flexion in a supine position. Two 5-min submaximal protocols were performed with PCr depletion to 60% of resting values and with pH values of > 7.0. Then two 1-min protocols of rapid plantar flexion were performed to deplete PCr values to 5–20% of resting values with pH values of < 6.8. Areas of PCr peaks (every 8 s) and HbO2 saturation (every 1 s) were fit to a monoexponential function, and a time constant was calculated. The PCr time constant was larger after maximal exercise (68.3 +/- 10.5 s) than after submaximal exercise (36.0 +/- 6.5 s), which is consistent with the effects of low pH on PCr recovery. HbO2 resaturation approximated submaximal PCr recovery and was not different between maximal (29.4 +/- 5.5 s) and submaximal (27.6 +/- 6.0 s) exercise. We conclude that magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements of PCr recovery and near-infrared spectroscopy measurements of recovery of HbO2 saturation provide similar information as long as muscle pH remains near 7.0.


1998 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicki J. Harber ◽  
Stewart R. Petersen ◽  
Philip D. Chilibeck

The relationship between resting thyroid hormone concentrations and exercise muscle metabolism was examined among eumenorrheic endurance-trained (n = 11), amenorrheic endurance-trained (n = 8), and eumenorrheic nonathletic (n = 13) subjects. Muscle metabolism was assessed with 31Phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy by measuring changes in phosphocreatine (PCr), inorganic phosphate (Pi), and pH during plantar flexion exercise and recovery. All groups had similar Pi/PCr ratios and pH changes during exercise. Eumenorrheic endurance-trained subjects had faster recovery rates for PCr and Pi/PCr following exercise compared to the nonathletes (p < .05) and faster recovery rates for PCr compared to amenorrheic subjects (p < .05). Thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3) levels were significantly lower in amenorrheic subjects compared to both eumenorrheic groups (p < .05). It was concluded that routine training enhances muscle metabolism, as measured by phosphate recovery kinetics. This enhancement was not evident in amenorrheic athletes with reduced T3 and T4 concentrations. Key words:31Phosphorous magnetic resonance spectroscopy, phosphocreatine, inorganic phosphate, T3, T4, females


1992 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 1353-1359 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin K. McCully ◽  
Krista Vandenborne ◽  
Kenny DeMeirleir ◽  
Joel D. Posner ◽  
John S. Leigh Jr.

We tested whether preferred running event in track athletes would correlate with the initial rate of phosphocreatine (PCr) resynthesis following submaximal exercise. PCr recovery was measured in the calf muscles of 16 male track athletes and 7 male control subjects following 5 min of repeated plantar flexion against resistance. Pi, PCr, and pH were measured using phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy (31P MRS) with an 8-cm surface coil in a 1.8-T magnet. During exercise, work levels were gradually increased to deplete PCr to 50–60% of the initial value. No drop in pH was seen in any of the subjects during this exercise. The areas of the PCr peaks following exercise were fit to monoexponential curves. Two or three tests were performed on each subject and the results averaged. Athletes were divided into three groups based on their primary event: sprinters running 400 m or less, middle-distance athletes running 400–1500 m, and long-distance athletes running farther than 1500 m. The maximal rates of PCr resynthesis (mmol∙min−1∙kg−1 muscle weight) were 64.8 ± 8.6, for long-distance runners; 41.4 ± 11, for middle-distance runners; 32.0 ± 7.0, for sprinters; and 38.6 ± 10, for controls (mean ± SE). The faster PCr recovery rates seen in long-distance runners compared with sprinters indicate greater oxidative capacity, which is consistent with the known differences between athletes in these events.Key words: exercise recovery, human, phosphocreatine.


2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fawzi Boumezbeur ◽  
Graeme F Mason ◽  
Robin A de Graaf ◽  
Kevin L Behar ◽  
Gary W Cline ◽  
...  

A decline in brain function is a characteristic feature of healthy aging; however, little is known about the biologic basis of this phenomenon. To determine whether there are alterations in brain mitochondrial metabolism associated with healthy aging, we combined 13C/1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy with infusions of [1-13C]glucose and [2-13C]acetate to quantitatively characterize rates of neuronal and astroglial tricarboxylic acid cycles, as well as neuroglial glutamate–glutamine cycling, in healthy elderly and young volunteers. Compared with young subjects, neuronal mitochondrial metabolism and glutamate–glutamine cycle flux was ∼30% lower in elderly subjects. The reduction in individual subjects correlated strongly with reductions in N-acetylaspartate and glutamate concentrations consistent with chronic reductions in brain mitochondrial function. In elderly subjects infused with [2-13C]acetate labeling of glutamine, C4 and C3 differed from that of the young subjects, indicating age-related changes in glial mitochondrial metabolism. Taken together, these studies show that healthy aging is associated with reduced neuronal mitochondrial metabolism and altered glial mitochondrial metabolism, which may in part be responsible for declines in brain function.


1996 ◽  
Vol 81 (5) ◽  
pp. 2221-2228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-François Toussaint ◽  
Kenneth K. Kwong ◽  
Fidelis M’Kparu ◽  
Robert M. Weisskoff ◽  
Paul J. Laraia ◽  
...  

Toussaint, Jean-François, Kenneth K. Kwong, Fidelis M’Kparu, Robert M. Weisskoff, Paul J. LaRaia, and Howard L. Kantor.Interrelationship of oxidative metabolism and local perfusion demonstrated by NMR in human skeletal muscle. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(5): 2221–2228, 1996.—Using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), we have examined the relationship of high-energy phosphate metabolism and perfusion in human soleus and gastrocnemius muscles. With31P-NMR spectroscopy, we monitored phosphocreatine (PCr) decay and recovery in eight normal volunteers and four heart failure patients performing ischemic plantar flexion. By using echo-planar imaging, perfusion was independently measured by a local [inversion-recovery (T1-flow)] and a regional technique (NMR-plethysmography). After correction for its pH dependence, PCr recovery time constant is 27.5 ± 8.0 s in normal volunteers, with mean flow 118 ± 75 (soleus and gastrocnemius T1-flow) and 30.2 ± 9.7 ml ⋅ 100 ml−1 ⋅ min−1(NMR-plethysmography-flow). We demonstrate a positive correlation between PCr time constant and local perfusion given by y = 50 − 0.15 x( r 2 = 0.68, P = 0.01) for the 8 normal subjects, and y = 64 − 0.24 x( r 2 = 0.83, P = 0.0001) for the 12 subjects recruited in the study. Regional perfusion techniques also show a significant but weaker correlation. Using this totally noninvasive method, we conclude that aerobic ATP resynthesis is related to the magnitude of perfusion, i.e., O2availability, and demonstrate that magnetic resonance imaging and magnetic resonance spectroscopy together can accurately assess muscle functional status.


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