The history and achievements of Department of Endocrinology

This report presents the history of Department of Endocrinology at Institute of Sport and its scientific and diagnostic achievements across the last 40-year period. A crucial role of the use of advanced analytical techniques, equipment, as well appropriate collaboration between coaches and scientists has been shown for development of our Department. The hormonal examinations among healthy, young and physically active people are undertaken: for elucidate mechanisms of physical adaptation to maximal efforts, reasons for lack of an adaptation despite a training, and finally for understanding of the influence of strong emotions appearing prior to a competition on a rise of fall of the hormones levels. Studies of the mentioned issues allow to determine biological costs in competitive sport, to establish an optimal training and to determine risk of development of chronic fatigue, which occurs, when the ratio of resting time to effort time is inappropriate. Based on metabo­lo­mics analysis in capillary blood we have developed useful utilities for coaches. Our scientific achievements focused on analysis of serum free cortisol and testosterone levels and comparisons of these data with concentrations of the salivary hormones. It was shown, that salivary hormones represent their biologically active fractions in the blood. Moreover, the results of our investigations showed, that exercise-induced changes in body temperature and blood acidification may lead to the increases in the biologically active hormones without their secretions into the blood. The above seems to be most crucial conclusion of our scientific investigations.