The Effect of Exercise on Urinary Gamma-Glutamyltransferase and Protein Levels in Elite Female Karate Athletes

Abstract

Purpose: Post exercise proteinuria and increased urinary Gamma-Glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels can be indicative of exercise-induced renal damage. The aim of this investigation is to study the effect of one session of intensive training on renal damage markers and compare their values to those 6 hours after training. Methods:In this cross-sectional study with pre-and post-test design, 10 elite volunteer female athletes were selected and participated in one training session (2 hours). Urine samples were collected before training, one hour after training, and 6 hours after training. Urinary protein (Pr), creatinine (Cr), and GGT values were measured through laboratory methods and then Pr/Cr and GGT/Cr ratios were computed.Results: There were significant differences between values of protein, GGT and Creatinine in the three sampling phases (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were observed between values for GGT/Cr and Pr/Cr ratio. There were significant differences between the mean values of Creatinine, protein and GGT within pre-exercise and 1 hour post-exercise and within 1 hour postexercise and 6 hours post-exercise (P<0.05). Conclusion:It seems that a session of karate training does not result in renal damage and athletes can continue training after 6 hours.

Could Biochemical Liver Profile Help to Assess Metabolic Response to Aerobic Effort in Athletes?

“…Some literature data did not show the influence of physical effort on GGT activity changes in blood serum (13) and in the urine (1). However, other data indicate significant differences in urinary GTT level between pre-, post-, and 24 hours after training (2,31). Taking into account the proposed metabolic pathophysiological hypothesis of GGT (5), it seems that the activity of this enzyme constitutes good and, importantly, early diagnostic marker of metabolic response to the physical effort in professional and non-professional athletes' blood.…”

Isotonic sports drink promotes rehydration and decreases proteinuria following karate training

“…Therefore, the fact that sports drinks provide better intestinal absorption rates than water might explain the improved hydration status. 6,19 Shavandi et al 9 investigated proteinuria in 10 female karate athletes in three periods: before training, one hour after training, and six hours after training, and found significant increases in proteinuria one hour after training when compared to the levels before training. However, since significant differences were not identified between levels before and six hours after training, the authors concluded that karate training did not produce kidney injury.…”

“…9 It should be noted that proteinuria caused by physical exercise is a transient condition. Authors looking into the occurrence of proteinuria in other sports found that it came back to baseline levels after a few hours of rest.…”

“…[8][9][10] Few intervention studies have been carried out to analyze hydration practices, and information and recommendations on hydration protocols for intermittent exercise programs are scarce. The evidence cited above further stresses the relevance of this study, a pioneering intervention on nutritional and hydration practices adopted by karate athletes in Brazil.…”

Effects of Exercise on the Urinary Proteome

“…In addition, the presence of leukocytes (men = 43.5 % and women = 50.0 %) and erythrocytes in urine was investigated (men = 50.0 % and women = 21.7 %) [1]. A two-hour karate training session (elite athletes, female) did not result in elevated protein/creatinine ratios [33]. Moreover, the impact of different swimming distances (100, 600, 2,000 m) on proteinuria was assessed, demonstrating that the endurance distance yielded only elevated albumin levels, while the shorter distances caused an increase in the tubular marker ß2-microglobulin that gradually increased with increasing swim speed.…”