Professor Hans Degens

My profile

Biography

Academic and professional qualifications

The main academic interest is age-related changes in skeletal muscle morphology and function. Thereto we apply single skinned muscles fibres from human muscle biopsies and rodents. The use of single skinned muscle fibres allows one to determine changes in cross-bridge kinetics and fibre function without bias that can be introduced in vivo by e.g. changes in neural drive.

Muscle is highly adaptive and resistance (including overload model in rats) and endurance training are used to assess changes in muscle (fibre) function and morphology. Recently we have also explored how hypoxia does affect the muscle, as not only mountaineers, but also patients with chronic diseases as heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and elderly people, may suffer from hypoxia. Of interest is how the muscle adapts to maintain an adequate oxygenation during hypoxia and hypertrophy. The latter is of interest as an increase in fibre size may increase the diffusion distances from the capillaries to the interior of the muscle cell. In smokers this may be aggravated by the presence of carboxyhaemoglobin that not only reduces the oxygen carrying capacity in the blood but also the release of oxygen in the muscle due to the left-shift of the haemoglobin dissociation curve. The impact of smoking and smoking cessation on muscle function is an area of continuing interest. In addition, we have an interest in the impact of space travel on the nueromuscular system.

Prizes and awards

  • 2010-11 Several papers providing some mechanistic insight in the variability of function of fibres of the same type and how this may be modified by oxidative stress and chronic (in contrast to acute) hypoxia.
  • 2007-2011: Several papers showing that even with a most comprehensive approach hitherto to determine muscle size and force generating capacity the specific tension appears to be elevated after resistance exercise in humans.
  • 2007-8: Several papers showing that smoking reduces muscle fatigue resistance, probably partly via carbon monoxid.
  • 2005: The first to use electrically evoked contraction in patients with COPD showing no decrease in muscle fatigue resistance, in contrast to many previous observations.
  • 2002-2003: A series of studies showing impaired muscle hypertrophy in response to overload in old rats. We were the first to show a potential role of changes in inhibitor of differentiation proteins (Id) and myogenic regulatory factors in the attenuated hypertrophic response at old age
  • 1992: Award for outstanding Achievements in the field of Oxygen Transport to Tissue for young investigators.

Visiting and honorary positions

2015-present Visting Professor Lithuanian Sport University
2018-present Visting Professor University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Targu Mures, Rumania
2017 Doctor Honouris Causa Lithuanian Sport University, Kaunas.

Projects

Engagement and Knowledge Exchange

Teaching

Why do I teach?

Physiology

Subject areas

Physiology

Research outputs

See academic interests