| abstract |
The present invention relates to biochemical methods for assessing metabolic fitness and/or aerobic demands of a living system. Specifically, the rate of synthesis and turnover of the molecular components of mitochondrial mass are used to determine the aerobic capacity and/or aerobic demand of tissues or living organisms. The direct measurement of metabolic fitness and/or aerobic demand by this means can be used as an index of the efficacy of an exercise training program or other therapeutic intervention; as a medical risk factor for predicting the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, death or other health outcome; or as an aid to pharmaceutical companies for drug discovery in the area of metabolic fitness, deconditioning, and oxidative biology. |