Exercise Overrides Blunted Hypoxic Ventilatory Response in Prematurely Born Men

Conclusion: These findings indicate that blunted resting HVR in prematurely born men persists into adulthood. Also, active adults born prematurely seem to tolerate hypoxic exercise well and should, hence, not be discouraged to engage in physical activities in hypoxic environments. Nevertheless, the blunted resting HVR and greater desaturation observed in the pre-term born individuals warrant caution especially during prolonged hypoxic exposures. Introduction An estimated 10% of infants are born prematurely each year (Purisch and Gyamfi-Bannerman, 2017). Pre-term birth and associated medical interventions hinder lung development and can result in life-long anatomical and functional sequelae of the respiratory (and many other) systems (Lovering et al., 2014). Numerous studies demonstrate persistence of various respiratory limitations and symptoms in the pre-term born individuals during the course of maturation (McLeod et al., 1996; Palta et al., 2001; Vrijlandt et al., 2007). It has previously been shown in both human and rodent studies that perinatal hyperoxia, often associated with treatment of premature newborns, can provoke significant alterations in cardiorespiratory control which can subsequently affect ventilatory responses in normoxic and hypoxic conditions (Bisgard et al., 2003; Bavis, 2005). In addition, hyperoxia-related carotid chemoreceptor dysfunction also seems to result in abnormal ventilatory responses of prematurely born individuals (Bates et al., 201...
Source: Frontiers in Physiology - Category: Physiology Source Type: research