Prof. Daniel Green
Biography:
Danny is a Winthrop Professor based in the School of Human Sciences (Sport and Exercise Science). A recent NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, he is a cardiovascular physiologist specialising in the prevention of chronic disease in humans. His research encompasses the lifespan; from exercise training in the prevention of the development of atherosclerosis in obese children and adolescents, to research on the best combination of exercise and medications for the management of patients with obesity, coronary disease, stroke, hypercholesterolaemia, diabetes and heart failure patients awaiting transplantation. Danny has established a Cardiovascular Research Group at UWA, where he leads a busy and dedicated laboratory and diverse team of postdoctoral and graduate students and staff from Australia, South East Asia, Europe and North and South America. Many of the studies conducted by the his team benefit from technologies he invented and developed via transdisciplinary partnerships between scientists, engineers and medics. His research utilised novel imaging techniques to detect incipient cardiovascular disease at the earliest possible stage, and develop personalised, targeted and evidence-based interventions to optimise disease prevention.
Abstract:
The age of incretin-based therapies (e.g. Ozempic®, Mounjaro®) is well and truly upon us. These “blockbuster” drugs rapidly decrease body weight and fatness, with beneficial pleiotropic impacts on blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, insulin, renal function, liver fat, heart and artery function, and perhaps even cognition. However, these agents also cause significant loss of lean tissue (and skeletal muscle) mass, comparable to around a decade of ageing. Maintaining muscle mass and function as humans age is crucial to avoiding sarcopenia and frailty, which are strongly linked to morbidity and mortality. This talk will present the rationale for strategies that retain or increase lean mass, with the aim of enhancing fat loss and blunting body weight (and fat) re-gain during deprescribing. It will address the impact of tailored exercise prescription to optimise the prevention of chronic disease in humans. Insights derived from the UWA-based Tirzepatide and Resistance Exercise (T-REX) trial, focussed on the impact of combined exercise and incretin therapy in older overweight and obese adults, will be shared.