FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Donna Krupa
703.527.7357 (direct
dial)
703.967.2751 (cell) or
djkrupa1@aol.com
GENDER DIFFERENCES IN RESPIRATORY RESPONSE
TO EXERCISE AND HYPOXIA
PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- Neural and chemical
mechanisms interact in adjusting breathing pattern and ventilation during
exercise. Dr. Magdalena Seebauer of the Institute of Physiology, University
of Zurich, Switzerland, investigated gender differences in these
interactions by analyzing phase coordination of breathing and exercise
rhythms during bicycling in normoxia and hypoxia corresponding to 4000m
altitude.
Dr. Seebauer will discuss the findings during the
upcoming conference, Genomes and Hormones: An Integrative Approach to
Gender Differences in Physiology, being sponsored by the American
Physiological Society (APS), and held October 17-20, 2001, at the Westin
Convention Center, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Methodology
Dr. Seebauer and her colleagues examined 22 men and 22
women (19-41 years) who underwent exercise tests of six minutes at workloads
of 50, 80 and 110 percent of their anaerobic threshold (AT). Continuous
breath-by-breath recordings of several respiratory parameters, oxygen
saturation and leg movement were carried out. Ventilatory response to
hypoxia (HVR) was determined by a four minute exposure to isocapnic hypoxia.
Results
In normoxia, men coordinated distinctively more at 110
percent AT than at 50 percent AT, whereas in women, coordination remained
nearly constant. At 110 percent AT men reduced the degree of coordination
from normoxia to hypoxia, whereas in women, coordination increased. HVR
tended to be lower in women than in men.
Conclusions
The investigators concluded that in men, the degree of
coordination depends on workload level and on hypoxia, whereas in women,
coordination remains stable regardless of experimental condition. The higher
chemosensitivity in men may account for the reduction of coordination in
hypoxia.
-end-
The
American Physiological Society (APS) was founded in 1887 to foster basic and
applied science, much of it relating to human health. The Bethesda,
MD-based Society has more than 10,000 members and publishes 3,800 articles
in its 14 peer-reviewed journals every year.
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Editor’s Note: To receive a copy of the abstracts, to interview speakers or
for more information, contact Donna Krupa at 703.527.7357(direct dial),
703.967.2751 (cell) or djkrupa1@aol.com.
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