Investigating the role of intensity of exercise training on plasma apelin concentrations and insulin resistance in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of high intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate continuous training on plasma apelin concentrations and insulin resistance in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes. 39 elderly males and females were randomly divided into three groups: high intensity interval training (HIGH), moderate continuous training (CONT) and control (CTL). Methods: This research was a clinical trial; it was informative and quantitative one in collecting information. Training interventions were performed three times per week and for 10 weeks on a bicycle ergometer. The high intensity interval training included 6 intervals and each interval included 4 minutes with 85-90% HRmax and 3 minutes with 45-50% HRmax. The moderate-continuous training included 42 minutes cycling with 70% HRmax. 48 hours after the last training session, blood sampling was performed and plasma apelin levels, lipid profile, glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and insulin plasma levels were measured. Results: ANOVA test and Tukey post hoc test showed a significant decrease in insulin resistance in the two groups of training compared to the control group (P = 0.019). The plasma apelin levels in the high intensity interval training group was significantly lower than the control group (P = 0.022). Cardio respiratory fitness (VO2peak) was significantly increased in the training groups compared to the control group (P = 0.008). After a 10-week exercise, HDL-levels increased significantly in exercise groups (P = 0.022) and decreased significantly compared to the plasma levels of LDL (P = 0.046). However, there was no significant difference between the training groups. All the values were expressed as mean&plusmn; SEM and P < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Conclusion: Possibly in elderly patient with type 2 diabetes high intensity interval training have a greater effect on the improvement and regulation of the secretion of apelin and other glycemic indices compared to continuous training protocols

The Effect of 8 Weeks High-intensity Interval Training on Myostatin and Follistatin Gene Expression in Gastrocnemius Muscle of the Rats

Abstract Background: The purpose of the present study is to investigate the effect of 8 weeks High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT) on the expression of two muscle growth regulating genes (myostatin and follistatin) in gastrocnemius muscle of healthy male rats. Materials and Methods: 16 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups in the same number: control and HIIT. HIIT program was underwent 40 min each session, three sessions in a week for eight weeks. Each exercise training session consisted of 5 min warm-up and cool-down at 40-50 % VO2max, 30 min interval running including 4 min high-intensity (85-90% VO2max) and 2 min active recovery (at 50-60% VO2max). Rats in control group did not do any exercise training program. 48 h after the last training session, rats` gastrocnemius muscle was extracted and the expression of myostatin and follistatin genes was determined by Real Time-PCR. For statistical data analysis, independent t-test was used. Results: The expression of myostatin was significantly reduced 68% in HIIT group in comparison with the control group (p0.05). Gastrocnemius muscle weight was significantly increased 23% in the HIIT group compared to the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Results indicated that HIIT lead to significant reduction in the expression of myostatin gene and increase in the weight of gastrocnemius muscle in rats

A Case Study: Effect of Progressive Resistance and Balance Training on Upper Trunk Muscle Strength of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Objective Non-progressive cerebral palsy (CP) is due to abnormal development of brain and or brain&nbsp;damages before, during, or after birth. The reason of cerebral palsy is brain damage or its abnormal&nbsp;development. Most of these problems happen when the child is in mother&rsquo;s womb, but the chance is&nbsp;high that it happens in the first 2 years of life, when the brain develops. One of the commonest and most&nbsp;important debilitating signs of cerebral palsy is damage to higher functions, in such a way that the control&nbsp;of moves in grasping and leaving get damaged and in the end, the strength of hand for planning of&nbsp;movement decreases. Several studies have examined the effect of resistance training on muscle strength&nbsp;of patients with CP, while none of them has examined the effect of progressive resistance and balance&nbsp;training in children with CP. This study aimed to investigate the effects of progressive resistance and balance&nbsp;training on upper trunk muscle strength of children with CP. Materials & Methods Three boys with cerebral palsy (two patients who were 7 years old and one who&nbsp;was 6) participated in this research. In this study, single subject research method with A-B-A plan was&nbsp;used. Progressive resistance and balance training were administered for 3 days per week for 8 weeks.&nbsp;Wrist and elbow flexor muscles strength was measured by PowerTrack &Otilde; dynamometer (manufactured&nbsp;by JTECK with 4.4 N threshold). Results According to visual analysis of data diagrams and based on descriptive statistical indexes and&nbsp;visual analyses, the results showed that resistance and balance training in intervention situation compared&nbsp;to baseline increased the strength of elbow flexor (percentages of non-overlapping data for the&nbsp;first and second participants were 75% and for the third participant, 100%). The strength of upper trunk&nbsp;muscles after intervention hve improved compared to baseline; however, one month after intervention,&nbsp;the trend was pretty stabilized. Conclusion The results of this study showed that 8 weeks of progressive resistance and balance training&nbsp;(in combination) has increased muscle strength in children with cerebral palsy. The present research&nbsp;showed that resistance and balanced trainings have significant effects on muscle strength of children&nbsp;with CP. It seems that these practices have been effective, especially for the wrist flexor and elbow flexor&nbsp;muscles. It can be said that the increase in the muscles of children with CP was due to practice principle&nbsp;along with increase in neuronal compatibility. One of the important points in the effectiveness of resistance&nbsp;training is the intensity of training. The results showed that resistance and balanced trainings&nbsp;increase the muscle strength of children with CP. This power could be partly due to increase in muscle&nbsp;volume and partly due to anabolic hormones