Erik D Hanson

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | UNC · Department of Exercise and Sport Science

Background Reduced testosterone levels can influence immune system function, particularly T cells. Exercise during cancer reduces treatment-related side effects and provide a stimulus to mobilize and redistribute immune cells. However, it is unclear how conventional and unconventional T cells (UTC) respond to acute exercise in prostate cancer survi...

Background: Breast (BCa) and prostate (PCa) cancer are two of the most common but survivable cancers. One important component of survivorship that is impacted by treatment long term is diminished quality of life (QoL). Supervised exercise improves QoL and subsequent outcomes but is not accessible for all survivors. Additionally, many factors influ...

Endometrial cancer (EC) is the 4th most common cancer diagnosed in the United States with 75% 10-year survival rates. Despite this high rate of survivorship, the major cause of death among EC survivors is cardiovascular disease (CVD); further, these CVD-related deaths disproportionately affect Black EC survivors. The purpose of this case study was...

Background: Sedentary behavior (SB) is a biologically distinct yet understudied cardiovascular disease risk (CVD) factor. However, specific public health policy regarding the optimal strategy for SB interruption is unavailable. This paper outlines the protocol for part I of the Sitting with Interruption and Whole-Body Cardiovascular Health (SWITCH...

Introduction Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common incurable leukemia/lymphoma in the United States. Individuals with CLL are at risk for disability, frailty, and cancer-specific complications that negatively affect health-related quality of life (HRQOL). High-intensity interval training (HIIT) and resistance training (RT) are safe...

Many patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) experience physical dysfunction and low overall fitness. It remains unknown what factors drive CLL physical dysfunction. We assessed physical function and metabolic lipoprotein panels in 106 patients with CLL. In univariate analyses of clinical factors, a longer time since diagnosis was associat...

Endometrial cancer survivors experience high rates of cardiovascular disease (e.g., heart disease, obesity, diabetes). The heightened cardiovascular disease risk may be attributed to cancer treatment coupled with sub-optimal lifestyle behaviors following treatment, including high amounts of sedentary behavior (SB). Public health agencies have grade...

Background: Exercise has been shown to reduce fatigue in early breast cancer survivors (EBCS), though it is unclear if these results translate to community-based exercise settings. Mechanisms that influence changes in fatigue seen after exercise are also poorly understood. This study sought to evaluate the impact of community-based exercise and id...

Purpose: Examine baseline fatigue levels in early-breast cancer survivors (EBCS) compared to inactive controls (CON) and identify associated physical and psychosocial factors with fatigue prior to community-based exercise. Methods: A total of 33 EBCS (53.9 ± 11.4 years) and 21 CON (54.0 ± 8.0 years) were recruited. Participants completed questio...

Background: Combining the key adaptation of plasma volume (PV) expansion with synergistic physiological effects of other acclimation interventions to maximise endurance performance in the heat has potential. The current study investigated the effects of heat acclimation alone (H), combined with normobaric hypoxia exposure (H+NH), on endurance athl...

Background Home-based training increases accessibility to exercise and mitigates the side effects of hormone therapy for prostate cancer (PC). However, it is unknown if men with more advanced disease are willing to partake in such interventions. Purpose To determine the feasibility of a home-based exercise intervention in men with metastatic castr...

Background: Beneficial 24-hour activity behaviors (i.e., limiting sedentary behavior, physical activity, sleep) are critical for chronic disease prevention, but were altered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Less time in beneficial 24-hour activity behaviors may place individuals at greater risk for contracting COVID-19. Further, some populations may be mo...

Introduction: Aortic stiffness offers important insight into vascular aging and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. The referent measure of aortic stiffness is carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV). cfPWV can be estimated (ePWV) from age and mean arterial pressure. Few studies have directly compared the association of ePWV to measured cfPWV, p...

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia, affecting predominantly older adults. Treatment naïve patients (CLLtn) with low physical fitness have poor survival following commencement of treatment. CLLtn is characterized by inadequate immune functions, increased risk of secondary malignancies and infections. The aims of this stud...

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in the USA, affecting predominantly older adults. CLL is characterized by low physical fitness, reduced immunity, and increased risk of secondary malignancies and infections. One approach to improving CLL patients’ physical fitness and immune functions may be participation in a structur...

Following therapy, breast cancer survivors (BCS) have an increased risk of infections because of age and cancer dysregulation of inflammation and neutrophil functions. Neutrophil functions may be improved by exercise training, although limited data exist on exercise and neutrophil functions in BCS.Sixteen BCS [mean age: 56 (SD 11) years old] comple...

(1) Background: Obesity is a major global public health concern as it is associated with many of the leading causes of preventable deaths. Exercise reduces obesity-induced inflammation; however, it is unknown how exercise training may impact mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cells in overweight/obese (OW) post-menopausal women. Therefore, the p...

Background Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) for prostate cancer (PC) has detrimental effects on physical function and quality of life (QoL), but the addition of androgen receptor signalling inhibitors (ARSI) on these outcomes is unclear. Purpose To compare body composition, physical function, and QoL across progressive stages of PC and non-cance...

Sedentary behavior, particularly sitting, is ubiquitous in many contemporary societies. This is a major societal concern considering the evidence for a strong association between sitting behavior and cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality. Unsurprisingly, leading public health agencies have begun to advocate “reduction” in sitting behavior....

Purpose: To evaluate if sedentary time (ST) is associated with heart rate (HR) and variability (HRV) in adults. Methods: We systematically searched PubMed and Google Scholar through June 2020. Inclusion criteria were observational design, humans, adults, English language, ST as the exposure, resting HR/HRV as the outcome, and (meta-analysis only...

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia in the USA, affecting predominantly older adults. CLL is characterized by low physical fitness, reduced immunity, and increased risk of secondary malignancies and infections. One approach to improving physical fitness and immune functions is participation in a structured exercise progra...

Background: Evidence for exercise as an efficacious strategy to improve aerobic capacity of breast cancer survivors (BCS) has come largely from intervention studies conducted in laboratory settings. There is an increasing need to translate to community-type settings, but the efficacy of those interventions using gold standard evaluation is not wel...

Background: Exercise training reduces inflammation in breast cancer survivors; however, the mechanism is not fully understood. Objectives: The effects of acute and chronic exercise on monocyte toll-like receptor (TLR2 and 4) expression and intracellular cytokine production were examined in sedentary breast cancer survivors. Methods: Eleven women wi...

Exercise may attenuate immunosenescence with aging that appears to be accelerated following breast cancer treatment, although limited data on specific cell types exists and acute and chronic exercise have been investigated independently in older adults. Purpose To determine the mucosal associated invariant T (MAIT) cell response to acute exercise...

Regular exposure to uninterrupted prolonged sitting and the consumption of high glycemic meals (HGI) is independently associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. Sitting for as little as 1-hour can impair the health of both peripheral and central arteries. However, it is currently unknown whether combined acute exposure to uninterrupted...

Background: Carotid to femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), the gold-standard measure of aortic stiffness, is associated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Most cfPWV measurements depend on technical proficiency, which limit broader implementation in clinical settings. Recently, an estimated pulse wave velocity (ePWV) measur...

Natural killer (NK) cells from the innate immune system are integral to overall immunity and also in managing the tumor burden during cancer. Breast (BCa) and prostate cancer (PCa) are the most common tumors in U.S. adults. Both BCa and PCa are frequently treated with hormone suppression therapies that are associated with numerous adverse effects i...

Prolonged sitting increases cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk, however the physiological mechanisms contributing to CVD from acute sitting exposure are not well-understood. Therefore, this study investigated the heart rate (HR) and variability (HRV) responses to prolonged sitting and after interrupting prolonged sitting (e.g., walking). Electronic...

Acute prolonged sitting leads to cerebrovascular disruptions. However, it is unclear how prolonged sitting interacts with other common behaviors, including high‐ (HGI) and low‐glycemic index (LGI) meals. Using a double‐blind randomized cross‐over design, this study evaluated the effects of prolonged (3 hr) sitting, with a high‐ (HGI; GI: 100) or lo...

Unconventional T Cells (UTCs) are a unique population of immune cells that links innate and adaptive immunity. Following activation, UTCs contribute to a host of immunological activities, rapidly responding to microbial and viral infections and playing key roles in tumor suppression. Aging and chronic disease both have been shown to adversely affec...

Background: Stroke is a leading cause of disability worldwide and the cardiovascular fitness levels of stroke survivors are diminished to an extent that impairs functioning and activities of daily living performance. While cardiovascular training seems an empirically appropriate intervention, the optimal dosage and intensity of cardiovascular trai...

Background Exercise training reduces inflammation in breast cancer survivors; however, the mechanism is not fully understood. Objectives The effects of acute and chronic exercise on monocyte toll-like receptor (TLR2 and 4) expression and intracellular cytokine production were examined in sedentary breast cancer survivors. Methods Women with stage...

Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) is a life-saving technology that can cure otherwise incurable diseases, but imposes significant physiologic stress upon recipients. This stress leads to short-term toxicity and mid- to long-term physical function impairment in some recipients. Exercise interventions have demonstrated prelimina...

Sedentary behavior is associated with poor physical and mental health. Targeting sedentary behavior is a simple strategy that may help counter physical and mental health concerns associated with COVID-19-related social restrictions. Of course, traditional strategies such as achieving optimal exercise and physical activity levels are also important...

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, social restrictions to contain the spread of the virus have disrupted behaviors across the 24-h day including physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep among children (5-12 years old) and adolescents (13-17 years old). Preliminary evidence reports significant decreases in physical activity, increases in...

New findings: What is the central question of this study? What are the characteristics of the NK cell response following acute moderate-intensity aerobic exercise in prostate cancer survivors and is there a relationship between stress hormones and NK cell mobilization? What is the main finding and its importance? NK cell numbers and proportions ch...

New findings: What is the central question of this study? Prolonged sitting increases risk for cardiovascular disease, but the cellular and molecular determinants remain unknown. What is the main finding and its importance? Prolonged sitting, independent of calf raise interruption strategies, decreases MP counts linked to endothelial activation an...

Androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) decreases muscle mass, force, and physical activity levels but it is unclear if disuse atrophy and testosterone suppression are additive. Additionally, conflicting reports exist on load-mediated hypertrophy during ADT and if protein supplementation offsets these deficits. This study sought to determine the role of...

Aerobic exercise impacts multiple cellular immune system components, hormones, and pro- and anti-inflammatory soluble factors. The purpose of this chapter is to (1) briefly describe the role of aerobic exercise as an intervention for improving function in cancer survivors; (2) provide a comprehensive review of the impact of aerobic exercise on cell...

We investigated the effects of testosterone suppression, hindlimb immobilization and recovery on skeletal muscle Na ⁺ ,K ⁺ -ATPase (NKA), measured via [ ³ H]ouabain binding site content (OB) and isoform abundances (α 1-3 , β 1-2 ). Male rats underwent Castration or Sham surgery plus 7 d rest, 10 d unilateral immobilization (cast) and 14 d recovery,...

The purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences in fatigability and recovery from resistance exercise. Male and female subjects with at least one year of bench press experience (N = 21 males and 21 females) performed a fatigue protocol consisting of barbell bench press with 75% 1RM loads for sets of 5 repetitions, with 90 seconds betwe...

Purpose: We determined the effects of CWI on long-term adaptations and post-exercise molecular responses in skeletal muscle before and after resistance training. Methods: Sixteen males (22.9 ± 4.6 y; 85.1 ± 17.9 kg; mean ± SD) performed resistance training (3 d·wk-1) for 7 wk, with each session followed by either CWI (15 min at 10°C, COLD group,...

Exposure to acute prolonged sitting reportedly leads to decreased cerebral blood flow. However, it is unclear whether this exposure translates to decreased cerebral perfusion and executive function or whether simple strategies to break up sitting can maintain cerebral perfusion and executive function. This study sought to answer two questions: in y...

Background: Anti-cancer therapies lead to chronic non-resolving inflammation and reduced immune function. One potential therapy is exercise training, but the effectiveness of these interventions to improve immune-related outcomes, the gaps in the literature, and recommendations to progress the field need to be determined. Objectives: (1) to cond...

Prolonged sitting has been shown to promote endothelial dysfunction in the lower legs. Further, it has been reported that simple sitting-interruption strategies, including calf raises, prevent leg endothelial function. However, it is unclear whether prolonged sitting affects central cardiovascular health, or whether simple sitting interruption stra...

Pulse wave analysis (PWA) utilizes arm blood pressure (BP) waveforms to estimate aortic waveforms. The accuracy of central BP waveform estimation may be influenced by assessment site local haemodynamics. This study investigated whether local haemodynamic changes, induced via arm tilting ±30° relative to heart level, affect estimated central systoli...

Supplementation with vitamin D helps to alleviate weakness and fatigue seen with deficiency. However, large bolus doses appear to worsen the risk of falls. Whether this occurs as a direct result of muscle weakness is currently unknown. Thus, the aims of this study were to examine the muscle function following administration of high doses of vitamin...

Vitamin D (VitD) has shown to be beneficial in reversing muscle weakness and atrophy associated with VitD deficiency. Duchenne muscular dystrophy is characterized by worsening muscle weakness and muscle atrophy, with VitD deficiency commonly observed. This study aimed to investigate the effect of VitD supplementation on dystrophic skeletal muscle....