GENETIC PROFILING AND PERSONALIZED TRAINING

STUDY PUBLISHED IN COLLABORATION BETWEEN U.S. RESEARCHERS AND THE MEDICAL STAFF OF THE SSC NAPOLI

NEWSWISE A STUDY RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY IS THE RESULT OF A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE SBARRO HEALTH RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (SHRO), A TEAM OF ITALIAN RESEARCHERS, AND THE MEDICAL STAFF OF THE SSC NAPOLI, ONE OF THE LEADING SOCCER CLUBS IN ITALY’S SERIE A LEAGUE.

THE ARTICLE, “GENOMIC ANALYSIS REVEALS ASSOCIATION OF SPECIFIC SNPS WITH ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE AND SUSCEPTIBILITY TO INJURIES IN PROFESSIONAL SOCCER PLAYERS,” REPORTS THE IMPACT OF THE PERSONALIZED TRAINING PROGRAMS AND NUTRITIONAL REGIMES ADOPTED BY PHYSICIANS AND TRAINERS OF THE SSC NAPOLI IN IMPROVING ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE AND REDUCING THE INCIDENCE OF PHYSICAL INJURIES. THE RESULTS OBTAINED WERE ALSO CONFIRMED IN REPORTS PUBLISHED BY THE SERIE A LEAGUE AND BY UEFA, WHICH CONFIRM THAT THE SSC NAPOLI SOCCER PLAYERS ARE AMONG THE “HEALTHIEST” IN EUROPE. MOREOVER, THE STUDY ALSO EVALUATED THE PRESENCE OF POLYMORPHISMS IN FIVE GENES THAT INTRINSICALLY PREDISPOSE TOWARD A SPECIFIC ACTIVITY OR TO INJURIES, AND IN GENES THAT CAN BE EXTERNALLY MODULATED, FOR INSTANCE THROUGH SPECIFIC NUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION.

THE GENOMIC VARIATION PROFILING IN THE S.S.C. NAPLES SOCCER TEAM UNCOVERED THAT THE POTENTIAL GENETIC HINDRANCES IN SOME GENES WERE MINIMIZED AT LEAST IN PART BY THE TRAINING AND NUTRITIONAL PROGRAM DESIGNED BY THE TEAM’S MEDICAL STAFF, THUS EXPLAINING THE EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE OBTAINED BY THE TEAM.

DR. ALFONSO DE NICOLA CONFIRMS: “THIS STUDY REPRESENTS AN ADDED VALUE TO THE PERSONALIZATION OF THE ATHLETIC PREPARATION THAT PROJECTS US FULLY TOWARDS THE SPORTS MEDICINE OF THE THIRD MILLENNIUM.” THE HYPOTHESIS REPORTED SUGGEST THAT THE COMBINATION OF APPROPRIATE TRAINING, ADAPTED TO THE GENETIC AND NUTRITIONAL PROFILE OF EACH ATHLETE, CAN IN PRINCIPLE BE A WAY TO ACHIEVE ELITE ATHLETIC STATUS AND PERFORMANCE.

PROF. ANTONIO GIORDANO, DIRECTOR OF THE SBARRO HEALTH RESEARCH ORGANIZATION, EMPHASIZES: “THE NEW MEDICINE OF SPORT IS BECOMING A SPECIALTY THAT INCREASINGLY TAKES INTO CONSIDERATION THE GENETIC DIFFERENCES OF ATHLETES.”

DR. RAFFAELE CANONICO CONCLUDES SAYING, “THESE PARAMETERS COULD BE FUNDAMENTAL TO ADOPT SPECIFIC STRATEGIES AIMED TO IMPROVE, NOT ONLY SPORTS PERFORMANCE, BUT ABOVE ALL TO PROTECT THE HEALTH OF THE ATHLETES AND MAKE THEIR CAREERS MORE LASTING.”

About The Sbarro Health Research Organization

THE SBARRO HEALTH RESEARCH ORGANIZATION (SHRO) IS NON-PROFIT CHARITY COMMITTED TO FUNDING EXCELLENCE IN BASIC GENETIC RESEARCH TO CURE AND DIAGNOSE CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, DIABETES AND OTHER CHRONIC ILLNESSES AND TO FOSTER THE TRAINING OF YOUNG DOCTORS IN A SPIRIT OF PROFESSIONALISM AND HUMANISM. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SHRO PLEASE VISIT WWW.SHRO.ORG

IF PLATO WERE ALIVE TODAY, HOW WOULD HE REACT TO MODERN TIMES?

HAMMOND - IF PLATO WERE ALIVE TODAY, WHAT WOULD HE THINK OF OUR MODERN TIMES? SPECIFICALLY, HOW WOULD HE REACT TO A MODERN WORLD WHERE SECULARISM AND RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM ARE GROWING FURTHER APART?

SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA UNIVERSITY PSYCHOLOGY PROFESSOR MATT ROSSANO

THINKS THE PRINCIPLES ESPOUSED BY THE ANCIENT GREEK PHILOSOPHER CAN EASILY BE APPLIED TODAY IN CONFRONTING MODERN SCIENCE. AT THE SAME TIME, HE SAID, MODERN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY CAN BE CRITIQUED USING PLATONIC IDEALS.

ROSSANO’S LATEST BOOK, “SEEKING PERFECTION: A DIALOGUE ABOUT THE MIND, THE SOUL AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE HUMAN,” SEEKS TO DO JUST THAT.

“TODAY, PLATO HAS BECOME A STATUE. WE FORGET THAT HE WAS A REAL MAN AND THAT HE LIVED A FASCINATING LIFE,” ROSSANO SAID. “HE WRESTLED AND WROTE POETRY AS A YOUTH, AND HE FOUGHT IN THE PELOPONNESIAN WAR.” AFTER THE WAR, HE WAS BRIEFLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE THIRTY TYRANTS WHO RULED ATHENS. HE SOON CAME TO RECOGNIZE THE BRUTALITY AND CORRUPTION AND SEVERED HIS TIES WITH THE GROUP, MAKING A SERIES OF EXCURSIONS TO SICILY WHERE HE SOUGHT TO MOLD A TRUE PHILOSOPHER KING, DIONYSUS II OF SYRACUSE. WHEN THAT ATTEMPT FAILED HE WAS ARRESTED. POWERFUL FRIENDS HAD TO ENGINEER HIS ESCAPE BY BOAT BACK TO ATHENS.

“I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT HE MUST HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT ON THAT LONG BOAT RIDE HOME, AND THAT’S WHERE THE BOOK BEGINS,” ROSSANO SAID.

THE BOOK IS NOT SET IN ANCIENT GREECE, BUT INSTEAD IN MODERN TIMES. PLATO – WHO LIVED BETWEEN 428 AND 347 BCE – WAS ACTUALLY A NICKNAME, HIS BIRTH NAME BEING ARISTOCLES. THE NAME “PLATO” REFERRED TO HIS BROAD BUILD. ROSSANO TAKES LIBERTIES IN THE BOOK, RENAMING HIM PAULO ARISTOCLES.

“AS HE RETURNS TO ATHENS, ‘PAULO’ ENGAGES IN A SERIES OF DIALOGUES WITH THE SHIP’S CREW AND CAPTAIN, ADDRESSING ISSUES OF RELIGION, SCIENCE, SECULARISM, AND THE UNIQUENESS OF THE HUMAN MIND,” THE AUTHOR STATES. “HOW WOULD PLATO REACT TO A MODERN WORLD WHERE SECULARISM AND RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM ARE GROWING, WHILE THE GAP BETWEEN THE HUMAN MIND AND THE ANIMAL MIND IS NARROWING?”

IN A HEAVILY ANNOTATED AND DOCUMENTED WORK, ROSSANO TAKES SOME CREATIVE LICENSE MIXED WITH REAL HISTORY, SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY, ADDRESSING THAT QUESTION IN A NARRATIVE/DIALOGUE FORMAT.

“CONTRARY TO WHAT SOME MAY THINK, PLATO TRANSLATES WELL INTO MODERN TIMES,” HE SAID. “HE TRANSLATES INTO ANY ERA BECAUSE ULTIMATELY HE WAS AN IDEALIST. HE SOUGHT PERFECTION. WE MAY DISAGREE WITH HOW HE DEFINED THAT, BUT IF SO, HE FORCES US TO PROPOSE AN EQUALLY DEFENSIBLE ALTERNATIVE. IN ANY TIME OR PLACE, ENGAGING IN THAT DIALECTIC PROCESS IS ENNOBLING.”

IS ALSO THE AUTHOR OF “SUPERNATURAL SELECTION: HOW RELIGION EVOLVED” AND “MORTAL RITUALS: WHAT THE STORY OF THE ANDES SURVIVORS TELLS US ABOUT HUMAN EVOLUTION.” HIS LATEST BOOK, “SEEKING PERFECTION,” IS AVAILABLE THROUGH TRANSACTION PUBLISHERS.