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Cortisol, testosterone and mood state variation during an official female football competition

Publication . Casanova, Natalina; Oliveira, Ana Cristina Palmeira de; Pereira, Ana; Crisóstomo, Luís; Travassos, Bruno; Costa, Aldo M.

Aim: Endogenous hormones are essential on the control of physiological reactions and adaptations during sport performance. This study aims to compare the mood state and the salivary levels of cortisol and testosterone during an official female association football tournament. Methods: Twenty female football players (22.85 ± 4.2 yrs) from the Portuguese women’s national team were included in the study. Mood, salivary cortisol and testosterone levels were examined in five moments over the championship (M1, neutral measures; M2-M5, on every match day). Saliva samples were collected before breakfast and immediately after each match. Mood was measured by the profile of mood states questionnaire (POMS); hormone levels were measure by immunoassay methods. Results: Iceberg Profiles of POMS were observed during all the moments of evaluation (M2-M5), showing a decrease in vigor and an increase in tension and depression in both team defeats (M2 and M5). There is no relationship between the hormones levels and the outcome of the competition, once cortisol and testosterone decrease from pre-match to post-match in both wins (M2 and M5) and defeats (M3 and M4). For testosterone the observed decrease is significantly different (p<0.05) before and after all matches. Conclusion: Our results show a pattern in mood states behavior. Cortisol and testosterone decrease after match and throughout the tournament, independently of the match outcome. The absence of hormone flutuations related to competiton performance points out that top-level professional football players training systematically and regularly seem to be very well adapted to competition stress effect.

2015-07-08Journal article

Open access

Differentiating maturational influence on training-induced strength and endurance adaptations in prepubescent children

Publication . Marta, Carlos C.; Marinho, Daniel; Izquierdo, Mikel; Marques, MC

To analyze the effect of biological maturation on training-induced strength and endurance adaptations in the prepubertal growth spurt. One hundred and twenty-five healthy children (58 boys, 67 girls), aged 10-11 years old (10.8 ± 0.4 years), who were self-assessed as belonging to Tanner stages I and II, were randomly divided into two experimental groups, a strength training group (19 boys, 22 girls) and an endurance training group (21 boys, 24 girls) that would train twice a week for 8 weeks, as well as a control group (18 boys, 21 girls; no training program). After 8 weeks of training, there were improvements in all strength and endurance measures (P < 0.01) for both groups of Tanner stage I and II children. No significant differences in training response were observed relative to biological maturity or gender (P > 0.05). These data suggest that more biologically mature prepubescent children seem to have no advantage in training-induced strength and endurance adaptations compared with their less mature peers. Additionally, gender did not affect the training-induced changes in strength or aerobic fitness. These results are meaningful for the development of optimized well-rounded training programs in prepubertal children.

2014Journal article

Open access

Xanthan Gum–Konjac Glucomannan Blend Hydrogel for Wound Healing

Publication . Alves, Andreia; Miguel, Sónia P.; Araujo, Andre RTS; Jesús Valle, María José de; Sánchez Navarro, Amparo; Correia, I.J.; Ribeiro, MP.; Coutinho, Paula

Hydrogels are considered to be the most ideal materials for the production of wound dressings since they display a three-dimensional structure that mimics the native extracellular matrix of skin as well as a high-water content, which confers a moist environment at the wound site. Until now, different polymers have been used, alone or blended, for the production of hydrogels aimed for this biomedical application. From the best of our knowledge, the application of a xanthan gum-konjac glucomannan blend has not been used for the production of wound dressings. Herein, a thermo-reversible hydrogel composed of xanthan gum-konjac glucomannan (at different concentrations (1% and 2% w/v) and ratios (50/50 and 60/40)) was produced and characterized. The obtained data emphasize the excellent physicochemical and biological properties of the produced hydrogels, which are suitable for their future application as wound dressings.

2020-01-04Journal article

Open access