Key result
Severe whole-body hyperthermia linked to preserved motor performance in healthy older men.
Why the study?
Does severe whole-body hyperthermia suppress excitability of reflexes and alter ankle plantar flexor contractile properties differently in healthy older men compared to young men?
Observational (n=20)
Does severe whole-body hyperthermia suppress excitability of reflexes and alter ankle plantar flexor contractile properties differently in healthy older men compared to young men?
Motor performance during severe whole-body hyperthermia is preserved in healthy aging despite age-related neuromuscular decline.
Preserves motor performance under severe hyperthermia in healthy older men; leaves open translation to patients or therapeutic applications.
Healthy aging is associated with a progressive decline in motor performance and thermoregulatory efficiency. Functional consequences of severe whole-body hyperthermia on neurophysiological functions in healthy aged men have not been investigated. To determine whether severe whole-body hyperthermia (increase in rectal temperature of about 2.5 °C) induced by lower-body heating in older men (64-80 years, n = 9) would suppress excitability of reflexes, voluntarily and electrically induced ankle plantar flexor contractile properties were compared with those in young men (19-21 years, n = 11). Though no aging effect on hyperthermia-induced reflex amplitudes was observed, a decrease in maximal H-reflex and V-wave latencies was found to be greater in older than in young men. In older men, lower-body heating was accompanied by a significant increase in twitch and tetani test torque in parallel with a greater decrease in muscle contraction time. There was no temperature-depended aging effect on the voluntary activation and maximal voluntary torque production. Despite delayed and weakened thermoregulation and age-related decline in neuromuscular function, motor performance in whole-body severe hyperthermia is apparently preserved in healthy aging.
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Brazaitis et al. (2018) conducted an observational in Healthy aging (n=20). Severe whole-body hyperthermia induced by lower-body heating vs. Young men was evaluated on Voluntarily and electrically induced ankle plantar flexor contractile properties. Severe whole-body hyperthermia preserved motor performance in healthy older men, with no temperature-dependent aging effect on voluntary activation and maximal voluntary torque production.
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