Cardio-respiratory Responses During Hypoxic Exercise in Individuals Born Prematurely

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This project will consist of two studies, each investigating resting and exercise cardio-respiratory responses during exposure to hypoxia in individuals born prematurely and individuals born at full term of two different age groups: Kids (10-14 yrs) and Adults (18-22 yrs).Additional study will be performed on a preterm adult cohort (15 participants) that will investigate potential differences between hypobaric and normobaric hypoxia as outlined in the following section.

Detailed Description
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The study protocol in each age group will comprise two visits to the laboratory testing sessions in a randomized order. On one occasion the participants will perform a resting hypoxia test and a graded exercise test to voluntary exhaustion in normoxic condition ((NORM; fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2)=0.209, placebo). On a second visit the participants will perform a hypoxia sensitivity test and a graded exercise test to voluntary exhaustion in hypoxic condition (HYPO; FiO2=0.120 corresponding to terrestrial altitude of approx. 4000 m). Indirect calorimetry, near infrared spectroscopy and ECG measurements will be performed throughout all tests. During both testing sessions the participants will also undergo anthropometry measurements and pulmonary function testing. The outline of the research visits is presented in the bellow figure:

Official Title
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Cardio-respiratory Responses During Hypoxic Exercise in Individuals Born Prematurely

Conditions
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Hypoxia, Altitude Sickness, Tolerance

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Graded exercise testing
* Other: Resting testing


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Healthy male individuals PRETERM group; gestational age: ≤ 32 weeks; gestational weight ≤ 1500 g CONTROL group: full term born individuals ≤ 38 weeks Exclusion Criteria: Medication required that may interfere with the interpretation of the results Chronically illnesses Hormonal therapy Recent sub-standard nutritional status Family history of respiratiory, cardio-vascular, renal or hematological disease History of: thyroid dysfunction, renal stones, diabetes, allergies, hypertension, hypocalcaemia, uric acidaemia, lipidaemia or hyperhomocystinaemia History of mental illness Smoker within six months prior to the start of the study Abuse of drugs, medicine or alcohol Participation in another study up to two months before study onset No signed consent form before the onset of the experiment Blood donors in the past three months before the onset of the experiment Vegetarian and Vegans Migraines History of vestibular disorders Claustrophobia

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years
Maximum Age: 24 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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Male

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Hypoxia at rest and exercise<br>The participants will perform a resting test, hypoxia sensitivity test and a graded exercise test to voluntary exhaustion in normoxic condition ((HYPO; FiO2=0.120 corresponding to terrestrial altitude of approx. 4000 m) | Other: Graded exercise testing<br>* All graded exercise tests will be performed on electromagnetically controlled cycle-ergometer Ergo Bike Premium. The testing protocol will commence with a 10-min resting period, to obtain the resting cardio-respiratory values, followed by a 5-min warm up at a work rate of 60 W. Thereafter the workload will increase every fourth minute by 40 W. The participants will be required to maintain a cadence of 60·min-1 throughout the whole test. The test is terminated when the participant is unable to maintain the assigned cadence.<br>Other: Resting testing<br>* The resting test will be performed in supine position with participants breathing normoxic air (FiO2=0.21) for 30 min and hypoxic gas for the subsequent 30-min (FiO2=0.120). During the whole protocol duration the respiration, local blood flow, ECG and EEG will be measured non-invasively.<br>|
| Placebo Comparator: Normoxia at rest and exercise<br>The participants will perform a resting test and a graded exercise test to voluntary exhaustion in normoxic condition ((NORM; fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO2)=0.209, placebo) | Other: Graded exercise testing<br>* All graded exercise tests will be performed on electromagnetically controlled cycle-ergometer Ergo Bike Premium. The testing protocol will commence with a 10-min resting period, to obtain the resting cardio-respiratory values, followed by a 5-min warm up at a work rate of 60 W. Thereafter the workload will increase every fourth minute by 40 W. The participants will be required to maintain a cadence of 60·min-1 throughout the whole test. The test is terminated when the participant is unable to maintain the assigned cadence.<br>Other: Resting testing<br>* The resting test will be performed in supine position with participants breathing normoxic air (FiO2=0.21) for 30 min and hypoxic gas for the subsequent 30-min (FiO2=0.120). During the whole protocol duration the respiration, local blood flow, ECG and EEG will be measured non-invasively.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Tolerance to hypoxia during rest and exercise in preterm and full term individuals | All graded exercise tests will be performed on electromagnetically controlled cycle-ergometer Ergo Bike Premium.The participants will be required to maintain a cadence of 60·min-1 throughout the whole test. The test is terminated when the participant is unable to maintain the assigned cadence. The resting test will be performed in supine position with participants breathing normoxic air (FiO2=0.21) for 30 min and hypoxic gas for the subsequent 30-min (FiO2=0.120). During the whole protocol duration the respiration, local blood flow, ECG and EEG will be measured non-invasively. The resting test will be performed in supine position with participants breathing normoxic air (FiO2=0.21) for 30 min and hypoxic gas for the subsequent 30-min (FiO2=0.120). During the whole protocol duration the respiration, local blood flow, ECG and EEG will be measured non-invasively. | Two year | 
| Cardio-respiratory control at rest in normoxia and hypoxia in preterm and full term individuals | The resting test will be performed in supine position with participants breathing normoxic air (FiO2=0.21) for 30 min and hypoxic gas for the subsequent 30-min (FiO2=0.120). During the whole protocol duration the respiration, local blood flow, ECG and EEG will be measured non-invasively. The resting test will be performed in supine position with participants breathing normoxic air (FiO2=0.21) for 30 min and hypoxic gas for the subsequent 30-min (FiO2=0.120). During the whole protocol duration the respiration, local blood flow, ECG and EEG will be measured non-invasively. | One year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Oxidative stress responses to hypoxic exercise in preterm and full term | Blood sampling will be performed during each visit at four time points (before and after each test, as detailed on the bellow figure. Besides general hematological markers (CBC, ferritin, transferrin etc.) oxidative stress (advanced oxidation protein products, malondialdehyde and nitrotyrosine) and antioxidant system markers (superoxide dismutase, catalase, ferric-reducing antioxidant power, glutathione peroxidase and uric acid) will be determined as described previously (3). Select gene polymorphisms and their association with the above mentioned oxidative stress markers will also be assessed from the collected blood samples in collaboration with the laboratory for Pharmacogenetics, Medical Faculty, UL | One year | 
| Sensitivity to hypoxia during rest and exercise - Richalet test | This test will assess individuals tolerance to hypoxia and HVR. As noted in the above figure the test consist of a 4-min periods of normoxic (FiO2=0.210) and hypoxic (FiO2=0.120) rest and hypoxic and normoxic low-intensity exercise. Respiration, gas exchange and capillary oxygen saturation will be measured during the course of the test. | One year | 
| Changes in intestinal metabolites as a result of hypoxic exposure | The aim of this protocol is to assess whether there are significant differences in physiological status of intestinal metabolites (reducing sugars, short chain fatty acids, amino-acids, index of molecular weight, polyphenols, sterols) between the two populations in response to normoxic and hypoxic testing procedures. As sampling needs to be conducted during the period preceding the actual days of experiments and after the completion of testing, i.e. during the daily routines of participants, auto-sampling protocol was selected as the only option through which samples of feces and urine are going to be collected by participants three days before and after physical testing. | One year | 
| Differences between normobaric and hypobaric hypoxia in preterm individuals | This part of the study will investigate potential differences between normobaric and hypobaric exposure to hypoxia in preterm born individuals. For this purpose the participants will perform another laboratory visit in Ljubljana and will also be exposed to hypobaric hypoxia in a physiology lab at Aiguille du Midi, which is run by our collaborators. As noted in the bellow schematic each exposure will last 8-hours and measures of respiration, gas exchange and blood sampling will be performed at 2-4 hour periods during the exposure. The participants will be transferred to Chamonix using a van with our research team in groups of four. The transfer from Chamonix to Aiguille du Midi laboratory will be performed via cable car | Two years |