Research into Human Development & Ageing

Team Leader: David Goldspink

A wide range of interdisciplinary research, covering most of the active life span (8 to 80 years) of humans, is being undertaken by several academic staff and their research teams working within the Exercise and Health Research Group. The main research activities are outlined below.

Studies on men and women
Studies on children
Muscle metabolism

Studies on men and women

One of the largest studies ever undertaken into the impact of ageing on the cardiovascular system was recently completed. This study is unique as it involved integrating measures of aerobic exercise power in rigorously screened, healthy subjects with age-related adaptations in,

cardiac power output and reserve capacity (David Goldspink)
the electrical properties and morphology of the heart (Keith George)
endothelial-dependent and independent blood flow to the limbs (Tim Cable).

As men and women were studied simultaneously, and their data compared after normalising for differences in body composition (DEXA; Tom Reilly) and not simply body mass, important sex-specific differences were discovered in relation to ageing. For example, in contrast to the male heart, the female heart does not lose any of its power output or functional reserve capacity throughout most of the adult lifespan.

Cardiac power output (cpo)

FIGURE 1

Cardiac Power Output (CPO).
Blood pressure and cardiac output are measured non-invasively (CO₂ rebreathing method) in determining CPO and cardiac reserve.

Dexa

FIGURE 2

DEXA
Spurs and England footballer Danny Murphy, having his bone density, fat and lean tissue masses measured by Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptometry.

This study on healthy ageing has provided the fundamental springboard from which we are now investigating the effects of acute and long-term exercise training on,

the cardiovascular system (David Goldspink; Keith George; Tim Cable),
fat metabolism (Don MacLaren),
muscle force generation, balance and posture (Jos Vanrenterghem).

In addition,

the prognosis of heart failure patients (David Goldspink),
HIV/AIDS patients (Dominic Doran),

Isokinetic dynamometer

FIGURE 3

Isokinetic dynamometer.
Force and power being measured in the quadriceps and hamstring muscles using isokinetic dynamometry.

FIGURE 4

Movement, posture & balance.
A large movable platform, within a virtual environment, is used to evaluate balance and posture, before and after exercise training.

Mechanistic explanations for these age- and exercise-induced adaptations in cardiac and skeletal muscles are being sought at a cellular and molecular level (Jatin Burniston, Geena Ellison, Neil Chester & David Goldspink).

Studies on children: (Gareth Stratton: founder of REACH)

There are currently two major areas of research:-

1. Monitoring the dietary behaviour, body weight and motor fitness of primary school children.

Findings: One-third of the children in the UK are overweight and their endurance performance has decreased by 20% since 1998.
This research has generated the largest dataset of its kind in the UK and has influenced policies on play in school playgrounds and Back Care for children.

2. Interventions involving physical activity.

This research targets specific aspects of paediatric health such as,

bone health and back pain (with Tom Reilly),
cardiovascular function and metabolic health in obese boys (with Keith George; Danny Green)
vascular endothelial function in Type 1 diabetic children (with Tim Cable)
postural stability (with Gabor Barton; Mark Lake)

The aims are to both modify (via physical education, school recess etc.; Nicky Ridgers) and evaluate the benefits of physical activity on children’s health and performance.

Muscle metabolism

The research activity of Human Metabolism covers a spectrum of applied research in many aspects relating to metabolic studies. As such, it has a clear focus into the ‘Exercise and Health’ and ‘Chronobiology’ groups. In addition, the spectrum of separate projects covers areas as diverse as:-

Exercise and Sports Nutrition - Professor Don MacLaren
Metabolic Studies related to Football - Dr Barry Drust / Dr Warren Gregson / Prof Don MacLaren
Environmental Factors - Dr Warren Gregson / Dr Barry Drust
Free Radicals and Antioxidants - Prof Don MacLaren
Insulin Resistance and Obesity - Prof Don MacLaren
HIV and Related Drug Therapies - Mr Dominic Doran

Our laboratories are set up to enable metabolic studies to be undertaken under sport-simulated conditions as well as with exercising populations. The group uses of a range of ergometers, a heat/cold chamber, two hypoxic chambers, a runway, a quiet bed-rest room, an isolated flat, and a host of equipment for determining energy expenditure, and metabolites and hormones. Analyses of samples from blood, urine and muscle form an integral part of our research ethos. In addition, we have access to a range of subjects varying in age, gender, and fitness level.