The results of the present study suggest that supplementation with alpha-tocopherol, beta-carotene and ascorbic acid might partially account for the hormonal and enzymatic stress marker profile observed during habitual training activity of professional basketball players.

Professional basketball players of the First Spanish League (ACB) are highly trained athletes performing high training loads and competition sessions. As intense physical activity has been suggested to increase free radical production, we examined the effects of a vitamin antioxidant mixture on the degree of oxidative stress in these athletes. Subjects received either 600 mg alpha-tocopherol, 1,000 mg vitamin C and 32 mg beta-carotene, or a placebo over 32 days during a regular competition season. Plasma concentrations of alpha-tocopherol, vitamin C, beta-carotene, retinol, lipoperoxides (LPO), and the total antioxidant status (TAS) were analysed before and after treatment. Lipoperoxide plasma levels decreased significantly (p < 0.05) in the vitamin antioxidant supplemented group. The LPO/TAS ratio decreased about 15.3% in this group indicating a reduction in oxidative stress. Vitamin C dropped dramatically (p < 0.03, mean 15.4 micromol/L) in the placebo group leading to a marginal plasma vitamin C concentration (from 11 to less than 28 micromol/L). The results of this study suggest that the administered vitamin antioxidant mixture decreases oxidative stress and avoids the development of a marginal vitamin C status in professional basketball player during habitual training.

The aims of this study were to determine the type, frequency and amount of dietary supplement consumption among a group of professional basketball players. The type, amount and specific timing of supplement use were recorded by 55 professional basketball players from seven different teams of the First Spanish Basketball League. Most participants (58%) consumed dietary supplements. Multivitamins and vitamins were the most frequently used supplements among the athletes (50.9%), followed by sport drinks (21.8%), miscellaneous supplements (21.8%), amino acids (14.5%), proteins (12.7%) and carbohydrates (12.7%). The average daily dietary supplement was one capsule of multivitamins, one capsule of antioxidant vitamins, 0.2-1.0 g vitamin C, 10.3 g protein, 1.9 g amino acids, 16.2 g carbohydrates and 377 ml of a commercial sport drink. Although the proportion of participants who consumed dietary supplements before, during and immediately after exercise was 25.4%, 16.3% and 7.3% respectively, only a few consumed a potentially ergogenic supplement at these times. It would appear unlikely that the type or amount of dietary supplements consumed had a beneficial effect on the physical performance of these professional basketball players, with the possible exception of antioxidant vitamins and the commercial sport drinks.

Background: International electrocardiographic (ECG) recommendations regard anterior Twave-inversion (ATWI) in athletes <16 years to be normal. Design: Identify the prevalence, distribution, and determinants of TWI by ethnicity, chronological and biological age within paediatric athletes. Secondly, establish diagnostic accuracy of international ECG recommendations against refinement within athletes who present ECG variants isolated to ATWI (V1-V4) using receiver operator curve (ROC) analysis. Clinical context was calculated using Bayesian analysis. Methods: 418 Arab and 314 black male athletes (11-18 years) were evaluated by ECG, echocardiogram and biological age (via radiological x-ray) assessment. Results: 116 (15.8%) athletes presented ATWI (V1-V4), of which 96 (82.8%) were ECG variants isolated to ATWI. 91 (12.4%) athletes presented ATWI confined to V1-V3, with prevalence predicted by black ethnicity (odds ratio (OR) 2.2; 95% CI 1.3-3.5) and biological age <16 years (OR 2.0; 95% CI 1.2-3.3). Of the 96 with ATWI (V1-V4) observed in the absence of other ECG findings considered to be abnormal as per international recommendations for ECG interpretation in athletes, diagnostic accuracy was 'fail' (0.47 95% CI 0.00-1.00) for international recommendations and 'excellent' (0.97 95% CI 0.92-1.00), when governed by biological age <16 years, providing a positive (+LR) and negative (-LR) likelihood ratio of 15.8 (95% CI 1.8-28.1) and 0.0 (95% CI 0.0-0.8), respectively. Conclusion: Interpretation of ECG variants isolated to ATWI (V1-V4) using international recommendations (chronological age <16 years), warrants caution, but governance by biological age yielded an 'excellent' diagnostic accuracy. In clinical context, the 'chance' of detecting cardiac pathology within a paediatric male athlete presenting ATWI in the absence of other ECG findings considered to be abnormal as per international recommendations for ECG interpretation in athletes (+LR=15.8), was 14.4%, whereas a negative ECG (-LR=0.0) was 0%.

Our data shows that low-dose supplementation with creatine monohydrate did not produce laboratory abnormalities for the majority of the parameters tested.