The Comparative Exercise Physiology Laboratory has access to USDA-approved housing for research dogs and horses, including dedicated all-season stalls for horses (including heated automatic waterers and high-speed blowers) built specifically for the CEPL. This system has proven invaluable in maintaining the health of the research herd, allowing studies to proceed uninterrupted by infectious disease outbreaks.

CEPL Personnel

Competitively Funded Research Projects

Exercise induced asthma is a common problem in human athletes. The inspiration of cold air most likely exacerbates the inflammatory process, considering the high incidence of asthma in athletes that compete in cold environments.

Inspired air is conditioned (warmed and humidified) by the upper airways to prevent cooling and desiccation of the lung parenchyma. Although this process is usually successful, under severe conditions such as strenuous exercise in frigid environments, unconditioned air penetrates into the peripheral airways. Acute airway obstruction in asthmatic humans is common after this stimulus.

The impact of exercise on the immune system is likely related to the type, intensity, and duration of exercise. In human endurance runners, extreme exercise leads to the systemic release of several inflammatory cytokines including IL-6, IL-1, and TNF.

Strenuous exercise is associated in humans, horses, and dogs with the development of gastrointestinal disease, including diarrhea, cramping, and ulceration. Human marathon runners have up to an 80% prevalence of gastrointestinal bleeding, and racing sled dogs have recently been found to have a 50% prevalence of subclinical gastric ulcers.

Publications in Refereed Journals

Sustained strenuous exercise (40-50% VO2max continuously for consecutive days) is possible through aggressive fat supplementation, however human athletes undergo depletion of body glycogen stores and the potential for impaired provision of glucose to glucose-dependent tissues.