Exercise Session Time Change

As of October 1st, 2007 the evening exercise hours at our exercise research laboratory will change from 5:00-7:00pm to 4:30-6:30pm to accommodate the needs of participants and staff. Please note that evening exercisers will need to begin their workout by 6:00pm to finish before closing time. Thank you again to all study participants!

More News on the Move...

The IMAGE research group has moved into its new home in the Leprino Office Building (LOB) on the Anschutz Medical Campus. One of the benefits of our new location is being in close proximity to our other resources, such as the GCRC, the PFP lab, and the CT scan facility, which is more convenient for our study participants. With any new facility there will be issues that arise, such as participant parking. We are working hard to take care this problem, so please be patient with us while we get this issue resolved.

IMAGE Research Group Holiday Party

The IMAGE group is also very excited to announce that our “lab-warming” party will take place on December 5, 2007 in conjunction with our annual Holiday party. We look forward to showing off our new research facility, and seeing all current and former study participants!

The MUSE Study: MUscle Signaling and Estrogen

The IMAGE group’s new study, MUSE, will examine the effects of the female sex hormone estrogen on changes in muscle due to lack of use. The goal of this research study is to find out if estrogen helps protect against muscle loss when muscle is used very little.

Women in the MUSE study will be asked to wear a knee brace on their left leg and use crutches for 9 days to restrict muscle activity. Women will also receive daily injections of a hormone-suppressing drug called Cetrotide for 13 days. This drug will cause sex hormone levels to decrease to postmenopausal levels. At the same time, participants will be randomly assigned to wear either an estrogen or a placebo (inactive substance) skin patch for 13 days. Neither the women in the study nor the study team will know if the patch is estrogen or placebo. Three muscle biopsies will be performed; one prior to immobilization, one directly following immobilization, and one 4 days after the immobilization period. This will allow us to determine the effect of estrogen on muscle tissue following a period of disuse.

Qualifications to volunteer:

• Healthy women aged 21-40 years
• Regular menstrual cycles
• No current use of normonal contraceptives
• Physically active but not a competitive athlete
• Willing to wear a knee brace and use crutches for 9 days

Benefits for study volunteers include:

• Measurement of body composition and bone density
• Fitness testing
• Compensation will be provided

The Principal Investigator for the MUSE study is Catherine Jankowski, PhD. For more information please contact Ellie Gibbons at 720-848-6408 or Ellie.Gibbons@uchsc.edu. This study is funded by the UCD Department of Medicine and has been approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board (protocol # 07-0379).

The POWER Study:

Prevention of Obesity in Women through
Estradiol Regulation

One of the IMAGE group’s new studies, POWER, will examine the role that the female sex hormone estrogen plays in preventing excess fat gain in women. At the time of menopause, there are increases in the rates of fat gain (especially in the stomach region) and muscle loss. Why this happens is not known, but it is thought to be related to the loss of the estrogen, because postmenopausal women who take estrogen gain less fat and lose less lean mass than those who do not take estrogen.

All women in the POWER study will receive a drug that causes estrogen levels to decrease to postmenopausal levels. During the 5 months of hormone suppression, some women will receive estrogen replacement by a skin patch and some will receive a placebo patch (no estrogen). This will help us determine if it is a lack of estrogen that causes the changes in metabolism that lead to muscle loss and fat gain. Also during the 5 months of hormone suppression, some women will participate in a supervised exercise program and some will not. Thus, women who participate in this study will be randomly placed into one of four groups:

• Healthy women aged 20-40 years
• Regular menstrual cycles
• No current use of hormonal contraceptives

The Principal Investigator of the POWER study is Wendy Kohrt, PhD. For more information please contact Ellie Gibbons at 720-848-6408 or Ellie.Gibbons@uchsc.edu. This study is funded by the National Institute on Aging and has been approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board (protocol # 06-0512).

• The MOXI Study is examining how the use of ibuprofen in older, exercising women and men affects muscle and bone health. Eligible participants are 60-75 years of age who are not currently in a weight lifting program, have no history of peptic ulcers or stomach bleeding, and do not typically use acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or similar drugs more than 3 days per month. (COMIRB #06-0769)
• The DRIFT study is comparing the effect of two different diet methods - a normal, low calorie diet or intermittent fasting (not eating or drinking anything with calories every other day) - on weight loss and other health measures. Eligible participants are women and men, 18-55 years, who are obese based on a body mass index (BMI) ≥30 (to determine your BMI go to www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi). (COMIRB # 06-0383)
• The Lose-It Study will investigate the amount of exercise that health care providers should prescribe in order for patients to maintain weight loss. Eligible participants are healthy men and women between 18-45 years of age. Participants must be willing to engage in lifestyle changes including diet modifications and up to 100 minutes of daily physical activity. (COMIRB # 06-0369)

• The SHAPE study is examining how short-term changes in estrogen affect cardiovascular health. Eligible participants are premenopausal women 21-35, perimenopausal women 40-55, and postmenopausal women 45-70 years, who are non-smokers, have normal blood pressure, and who are not taking birth control or hormone therapy. (COMIRB # 06-0537)
• The POWER study is examining the role of the female sex hormone estrogen in preventing excess fat gain in women. Eligible participants are healthy women aged 20-40, who have regular menstrual cycles, and are not currently using hormonal contraceptives. (COMIRB #06-0512)
• The MUSE study is investigating the effects of estrogen on changes in muscle due to lack of use. Eligible participants are women aged 21-40, who have regular menstrual cycles, are not currently using hormonal contraceptives, are physically active but not competitive athletes, and willing to wear a knee brace and use crutches for 9 days. (COMIRB #07-0379)

• The TEAM study is examining the effects of testosterone supplementation and exercise in men who have low-normal testosterone levels. Eligible participants are men, 60 years and older, non-smokers, in good general health, and not currently doing high-intensity weight lifting exercise. (COMIRB # 02-1056)
• The Mr. ACET study is examining how the use of acetaminophen and ibuprofen in older, exercising men, affects muscle and bone health. Eligible participants are men, 60 years and older, who are not currently in a weight lifting program, have no history of peptic ulcers or stomach bleeding, and do not typically use acetaminophen, ibuprofen, or similar drugs more than 3 days per month. (COMIRB # 06-0343)
• The PROXI study is determining if weight lifting helps to prevent the loss of muscle and bone mass that occurs in men with prostate cancer on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Eligible participants are men, 45-85 years, with prostate cancer, who are taking ADT or plan to start ADT. (COMIRB #02-958)
• The New-to-ADT study is examining changes in muscle that occur in men on androgen deprivation therapy (ADT). Eligible participants are men, 45-85 years who have prostate cancer that has not spread to other organs, who plan to begin ADT. (COMIRB #05-0196)
• The Kinetics study is examining the ability of leg muscles to use oxygen during exercise in healthy men and men with peripheral arterial disease. Eligible participants are non-smoking men, 50-70 years of age. (COMIRB #05-0718)