Exercise Immunology: Future Directions for Research Relatedto Athletes, Nutrition, and the Elderly

Abstract

This article examines three questions related to exercise immunology: 1) Can exercise attenuate changes in the immune system related to aging? The few research papers available suggest that the answer may be "yes", but exercise training may have to be long-term and of sufficient volume to induce changes in body weight and fitness before any change in immunity can be expected in old age. 2) Is the athlete an immunocompromised host? For most athletes, probably not, although the answer may be 'yes' during certain periods when the athlete exceeds normal training limits or competes in endurance events. Most studies have reported that the immune systems of athletes and nonathletes in the resting state are more similar than disparate with the exception of natural killer cell activity which tends to be elevated in athletes. Infection risk may be more related to the acute changes in immunity that occur following heavy exercise, but this hypothesis has not been sufficiently studied. 3) Are nutrition supplements effective countermeasures to exercise-induced inflammation and immunosuppression? Except for carbohydrate, the answer at this time for all other nutrients studied is 'no'. While data from the vitamin and mineral studies have been negative, and those involving glutamine conflicting, several investigations indicate that carbohydrate compared to placebo ingestion is associated with attenuated hormonal and immune responses.

Effect of Competitive Training on T-cell Mediated Immune Function in Master's Female Athletes

“…Although there is a growing population of older athletes, there is a paucity of data on the immunocompetence of this population. To complement studies [16,19,22,25,27] of more elderly athletes (60 ± 70 yr), our study provided an assessment of T-cell mediated immune function in middleaged, female athletes. Additional studies are warranted to provide a better understanding of the role of exercise and aging in immune function [16].…”

Propolis effects on pro-inflammatory cytokine production and Toll-like receptor 2 and 4 expression in stressed mice

“…The efficacy of natural products against stress-induced immunosuppression has received a remarkable attention [4,5]. Our research group has been investigating propolis action on the immune system of chronically stressed mice [6][7][8].…”

Effects of a bout of traditional and original sumo training on neutrophil immune function in amateur university sumo wrestlers

“…No reports have appeared, however, which have examined in a scientific manner the influence of this strenuous training on the physiological function of sumo wrestlers. High-intensity exercise, frequent training sessions and strenuous participation in athletes outwith the sumo field have all been reported to increase the tendency of the athletes involved to catch cold (1,2) and have induced the 'over-training syndrome' . One reason for this is that the non-specific immune system, particularly neutrophil immune functions including their reactive oxygen species (ROS) production capability, is suppressed by such intense training exercise (3).…”