Abstract des Autors

Endogenous morphinlike substances influence mood and pain sensation. The degree of stimulation for setting free the endogenous opioids, referred as stress hormones, is dependent on kind of exercise, duration and intensity. The concentration of the hormones at rest also seems to be dependent on the training status. The simultaneous liberation of ACTH causes a rise in cortisol concentration with a delay of about 30 min. Interactions with other hormonal systems were described and are partly hypothetic. Especially, the gonadotropic hormone seems to be influenced by the endogenous opioids; the inhibition of liberating the luteinizing hormone by beta-endorphin seems to be established. Therefore, connections between sport-induced disturbances of the female cycle and beta-endorphin are suggested. An exponential rise over time similar to an incremental lactate performance curve was demonstrated for beta-endorphin concentration during endurance exercise lasting several hours, reaching similar maxima like during exhaustive incremental exercise. The drop in beta-endorphin concentration after the marathon run was clearly slower when investigating the same persons. Sexual differences between male and female marathon runners were proven by measuring clearly higher basal beta-endorphin concentration in females and a multiple increase after the run in men. Further investigations are aimed towards the importance of the endogenous opioids during stress coping, pain perception and menstrual cycle control in female athletes. Verf.-Referat