PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Elloumi, M
AU  - El Elj, N
AU  - Zaouali, M
AU  - Maso, F
AU  - Filaire, E
AU  - Tabka, Z
AU  - Lac, G
TI  - IGFBP-3, a sensitive marker of physical training and overtraining
AID  - 10.1136/bjsm.2004.014183
DP  - 2005 Sep 01
TA  - British Journal of Sports Medicine
PG  - 604--610
VI  - 39
IP  - 9
4099  - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/39/9/604.short
4100  - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/39/9/604.full
SO  - Br J Sports Med2005 Sep 01; 39
AB  - Objective: To investigate the response of the somatotrope axis (insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3)) to intense exercise in relation to tiredness. Methods: The study involved 11 rugby players who completed a questionnaire intended to evaluate fitness or, conversely, overtraining and who agreed to plasma samples being taken before and after an international rugby match. Results: The main finding of our study is that we observed strong negative correlations between IGF-1 (r = 0.652) and IGFBP-3 (r = 0.824) levels and the overtraining state estimated using the French Society of Sport Medicine questionnaire. In particular, there was a fall (of up to 25%) in IGFBP-3 levels after the match in the more fatigued subjects compared to an increase (of up to 40%) in fit subjects. Conclusions: A fall in IGFBP-3 in response to an intense bout of exercise may represent an index of tiredness in highly trained sportsmen, as indicated by the scores obtained from the overtraining questionnaire.