Military personnel frequently experience declines in iron status during training and when in the field, which may compromise performance. The overall purpose of this study is to determine why the decline in iron status occurs and potential countermeasures. Participants will be given an acute dose of erythropoietin (EPO) or placebo and will complete a 90-minute load carriage exercise test. Prior to the main trial, this pilot study will determine the optimal approach to assess iron absorption following exercise (red blood cell incorporation or plasma isotope appearance), the percentage of iron incorporated into red blood cells with EPO compared to placebo, and the timing of the intervention.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
6
90-minute load carriage exercise test on a treadmill
LSU Pennington Biomedical Research Center
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States
Fractional iron absorption
Iron absorption as measured by iron incorporation into red blood cells
Time frame: 14 days post-exercise
Plasma isotope appearance
Plasma iron isotope appearance
Time frame: 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 360 minutes post-exercise
Red blood cell iron incorporation
The calculation to determine dietary iron absorption accounts for the fact that not all absorbed iron is incorporated into red blood cells. This can either be an assumed constant of 80% or experimentally determined by administering a second isotope intravenously. Pilot testing will be used to assess whether the investigators can use 80% or whether iron uptake by red blood cells is greater after EPO compared to placebo.
Time frame: 50 minutes infusion of a stable iron isotope following exercise
Timing of intervention
Blood will be collected over time to ensure blood biomarkers return to baseline following EPO.
Time frame: 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21, and 30 days following EPO
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