CHRC researchers involved in a project responsible for the discovery of an important gene and polymorphism associated with the sport performance of elite roller hockey players

CHRC researcher and Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics at FCS-UFP, Porto, Maria-Raquel Silva collaborates with a research project in the area of Biomedical Sciences led by Master Hugo Henrique Silva at ICBAS-UP, IPO-Porto and FCS -UFP. The first paper was published in a scientific journal with great impact factor. It was discovered an important gene and polymorphism associated with the sporting performance of the elite roller hockey players, which will certainly be of great interest in training planning and in their physical and mental preparation, of other athletes from other sports, as well as in their health and injury prevention.

What is the importance of the discovery about the gene and polymorphism associated with high sports performance and what has changed?

In sport, there are two studies that associate this gene with the control of athletes' anxiety in the various actions in sports, but the results are contradictory and do not include roller hockey players.According to the results of our study, the FAAH rs324420 polymorphism is associated with the sport performance of elite roller hockey players. To date, this study is the only one that has been able to understand that elite athletes carrying the FAAH rs324420 A allele are three times more likely to be high performers/superathletes, which is associated to a greater pain tolerance and an increased ability to deal with stress.Certainly, the results of this study will be of great interest in training planning and in the physical and mental preparation of the athletes who made up our sample, as well as other athletes and other sports, as well as in their health and prevention of sports injuries.

You told me that the published paper is the only one in the world. Can you tell me a little more about it?

Roller hockey is one of the most spectacular and complex sports, as it combines a series of technical, physical, psychological and tactical skills, which fills pavilions and deserves to be studied. It is not a sport with a high incidence of sports injuries, but the speed of movement of the players and the contact between them and the structures of the field of play can promote them. The fact that we have discovered this polymorphism in elite roller hockey players, which is associated with the performance of neuronal functions related to pain and inflammation, is a potential training support ramp for the technical and clinical teams that work with them. athletes, and eventually with others, that we are also studying.

Can you tell me about your contribution for this project?

My contribution to this project lies from its genesis, that is, from the design of the study to its monitoring of its various phases. The main reason for my contribution was the eagerness to try to understand how, in addition to excellent training, which involves mastering disciplines linked to Sports Science and Health Sciences, also the Biomedical Sciences, namely by the genetic study , could they play a crucial role in the preparation of athletes for their performance at the high level? Therefore, it is with great pleasure that, as a researcher at the CHRC-UNL, I collaborate in this research project, which analyzes the genetics (and not only) of athletes (and not just hockey players), who are world references in the sports they practice for a long time. decades. We continue to work on the study of these and other athletes from other modalities, hoping to obtain important results in support of the sports and research teams involved in the project, which will certainly help the athletes to improve their health and performance, and the evolution of the modalities themselves and the scientific knowledge in this area with application to the control of pain and inflammation.

Access to the published paper: https://doi.org/10.3390/biology11071076