Clinical trials

Creatine has been widely studies within the strength and conditioning background and has been seen to show positive effects on performance assess the effects of creatine on sports requiring a range of different fitness components to be successful such as football. Previous research has suggested benefits of creatine supplementation such as increasing PCr (phosphocreatine) stores to aid ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production, increasing muscle water retention resulting in enhanced protein synthesis, reduced muscle damage and anti-inflammation. Identifying supplements that are scientifically proved to aid performance can help optimise training and develop physical ability of athletes to enhance performance.

The Omega-3 Index measures how much of the Omega-3 fats EPA and DHA are built into red blood cell membranes. These fats are essential for health, but the body cannot make enough of them, so they must come from foods like oily fish or from supplements. The Index reflects long-term Omega-3 intake and is considered optimal at 8% or higher. Levels below this range have been linked with poorer cardiovascular health (Harris \& Von Schacky, 2004). . For athletes, Omega-3 research suggests they can help reduce inflammation, ease muscle soreness, and support immune function. Despite this, many elite athletes appear to have Omega-3 Index values around 4-5%, well below the recommended level of 8%. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate whether increasing the Omega-3 index has any recovery benefits post a bout of downhill running in athletes. Downhill running is commonly used as way to cause exercise-induced muscle damage and study recovery. The Omega-3 index will be increased with a daily fish oil supplement.

When the charity Homeopathy UK launched a new London based charitable clinic for Neurodegenerative Diseases (NDD), including Parkinson's Disease (PD), it was considered important to document patient's experiences of a high-quality complementary medicine clinic, to enable a greater understanding of the role of complementary medicine for PD. Routine clinical data, including a couple of questionnaires, is collected from consecutive patients with PD seen in the NDD clinic. Treatments provided are complementary to patients' usual medical treatment, and include homeopathy, herbalism, hypnosis, and healing. Patients may also be provided with self-help advice for lifestyle changes, mindfulness or meditation techniques, and dietary advice, as indicated for complementary therapy management of their condition. Consultations take place approximately every 3 months and patients complete questionnaires at the time of each consultation.

Maintaining a stable core temperature is vital for physiological function; yet, exercise in heat can be problematic, and there is risk of exertional heat-related illness (Flouris \& Schlader, 2015; Leyk et al., 2019; Périard et al., 2021; Tyler et al., 2016; Veltmeijer et al., 2015). While aerobic fitness improves heat tolerance (Alhadad et al., 2019), strategies like acclimation and pre-cooling also mitigate heat stress (Casadio et al., 2016; Lorenzo et al., 2010; Ross et al., 2013; Siegel et al., 2010). Caffeine, an ergogenic aid (Del Corso et al., 2011; John et al., 2024), is known to enhance performance via adenosine antagonism and increased catecholamines in normothermic environments (Fredholm et al., 1999; Graham \& Spriet, 1991). However, effects in heat are inconsistent (Ganio et al., 2009; Zhang et al., 2014), possibly due to caffeine reducing the ability to thermoregulate effectively. Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a moderate dose of caffeine (5 mg/kg) on thermoregulation during a 30-minute running time trial in 35°C heat.

Recently, Grgic (2018) discussed the concept of responders and non-responders to caffeine supplementation highlighting the importance of the repeatability of results. However, the number of studies that have investigated this idea by repeating the same time-trial performance test multiple times with the same caffeine dose is sparse (Astorino et al., 2012; Del Coso et al., 2019). Furthermore, studies have shown that differences in the CYP1A2 genotype may account for some of the variation in time-trial performance (Guest et al., 2018). Thus, the current study aims to identify whether the effects of moderate caffeine supplementation (5 mg/kg) on time-trial performance are repeatable to aid the identification of responders and non-responders. Additionally, the study aims to determine if the CYP1A2 genotype may explain any of the variability in time-trial performance in trained male cyclists.