Abstract des Autors

Regular exercise is widely regarded as being beneficial to an individual by reducing cardiovascular risk factors and increasing longevity. Recently, however, there has been speculation that excessive exercise may be deleterious to various biologic systems. Studies have shown that acute high-intensity exercise causes short-term damage to mitochondria, and the transient short-term muscle fiber damage as a consequence of unaccustomed exercise are well-documented. Whether this damage decreases longevity and causes premature aging has been speculated, but no firm evidence for this hypothesis exists. We present a case report of an athlete in whom long-term, high-intensity exercise appears to have caused permanent damage to his lower limb skeletal musculature perhaps due to oxidative or mechanical damage to his mitochondria. Verf.-Referat