EXERCISED-INDUCED INCREASE IN LIPID-PEROXIDATION PARAMETERS IN AMENORRHEIC FEMALE ATHLETES

Objective: To determine plasma lipid peroxidation parameters in eumeno rrheic and amenorrheic athletes and to evaluate differences in their r esponse to exercise-induced oxidative stress, In female athletes, inte nse physical exercise has been shown to be associated with an increase d occurrence of menstrual dysfunction with lower levels of E-2. Recent ly, a protective role has been demonstrated for estrogens as free radi cal scavengers, Design: Comparison of eumenorrheic and amenorrheic ath letes before and after an acute bout of exercise, Setting: Academic Re search Environment, Patient(s): Seven eumenorrheic (normally menstruat ing) and seven amenorrheic (<3 menses/year) female athletes aged 18 to 35 years participating in regular training, Main Outcome Measure(s): Plasma and low-density lipoprotein oxidation parameters, plasma E-2 an d vitamin E levels, and creatine kinase activity, Result(s): Both the amenorrheic and eumenorrheic athletes demonstrated a significant decre ase in the lag time of conjugated diene formation after exercise (P < 0.01), with greater magnitude of change occurring in the amenorrheic a thletes (P < 0.05), In addition, postexercise samples from amenorrheic (but not eumenorrhic) athletes showed a significant (P < 0.01) increa se in oxysterol formation as compared to baseline values. Amenorrheic athletes also demonstrated a significantly higher baseline creatine ki nase activity and a nonsignificant (P = 0.04) trend of an increase in creatine kinase activity after exercise. Conclusion(s): The results of this study shows that amenorrheic female athletes demonstrate an incr eased potential for lipid peroxidation after exercise. This could be r elated to lower plasma E-2 levels in this group, considering the stron g free radical scavenging ability of estrogens identified recently. (C ) 1998 by American Society for Reproductive Medicine.