Impact of bed rest on conduit artery remodeling: effect of exercise countermeasures.

Contains fulltext : 88171thijssen.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Physical inactivity is a potent stimulus for vascular remodeling, leading to a marked decrease in conduit artery diameter. However, little is known about the impact of physical inactivity on artery wall thickness or wall:lumen ratio or the potential of exercise countermeasures to modify artery wall thickness. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of 60 days of bed rest, with or without exercise countermeasures, on carotid and superficial femoral artery wall thickness. Eighteen men were assigned to bed rest (second Berlin Bed Rest Study) and randomly allocated to control, resistive exercise, or resistive vibration exercise. Both exercise countermeasures were applied 3 times per week while the subjects were in the supine position on the bed. Sonography was used to examine baseline diameter and wall thickness of the carotid and femoral arteries. Bed rest decreased diameter of the superficial femoral artery (P=0.001) but not the carotid artery (P=0.29). Bed rest induced a significant increase in carotid and superficial femoral artery wall thickness (P=0.007 and 0.03) and wall:lumen ratio (P=0.009 and 0.001). Exercise prevented the increase in wall thickness of the carotid artery. In addition, exercise partly prevented the increased wall:lumen ratio in the superficial femoral artery. In conclusion, 8 weeks of bed rest resulted in approximately 20% increase in conduit artery wall thickness. Exercise countermeasures completely (carotid artery) or partly (superficial femoral artery) abolished the increase in wall thickness. These findings suggest that conduit artery wall thickness, a vascular characteristic associated previously with atherosclerosis, can rapidly adapt to physical inactivity and exercise in humans.1 augustus 201

Impact of bed rest on conduit artery remodeling: effect of exercise countermeasures.

Contains fulltext : 88171thijssen.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)Physical inactivity is a potent stimulus for vascular remodeling, leading to a marked decrease in conduit artery diameter. However, little is known about the impact of physical inactivity on artery wall thickness or wall:lumen ratio or the potential of exercise countermeasures to modify artery wall thickness. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of 60 days of bed rest, with or without exercise countermeasures, on carotid and superficial femoral artery wall thickness. Eighteen men were assigned to bed rest (second Berlin Bed Rest Study) and randomly allocated to control, resistive exercise, or resistive vibration exercise. Both exercise countermeasures were applied 3 times per week while the subjects were in the supine position on the bed. Sonography was used to examine baseline diameter and wall thickness of the carotid and femoral arteries. Bed rest decreased diameter of the superficial femoral artery (P=0.001) but not the carotid artery (P=0.29). Bed rest induced a significant increase in carotid and superficial femoral artery wall thickness (P=0.007 and 0.03) and wall:lumen ratio (P=0.009 and 0.001). Exercise prevented the increase in wall thickness of the carotid artery. In addition, exercise partly prevented the increased wall:lumen ratio in the superficial femoral artery. In conclusion, 8 weeks of bed rest resulted in approximately 20% increase in conduit artery wall thickness. Exercise countermeasures completely (carotid artery) or partly (superficial femoral artery) abolished the increase in wall thickness. These findings suggest that conduit artery wall thickness, a vascular characteristic associated previously with atherosclerosis, can rapidly adapt to physical inactivity and exercise in humans.01 augustus 201

Enhanced physiological tremor deteriorates plantar flexor torque steadiness after bed rest

Item does not contain fulltextThis study evaluated the effectiveness of resistance training to preserve submaximal plantar flexor (PF) torque steadiness following 60 days of bed rest (BR). Twenty-two healthy male subjects underwent either BR only (CTR, n=8), or BR plus resistance training (RT, n=14). The magnitude of torque fluctuations during steady submaximal isometric PF contractions (20%, 40%, 60% and 80% of maximum) were assessed before and after BR. Across contraction intensities, torque fluctuations (coefficient of variation, CV) increased more (P<0.05) after BR for CTR (from 0.31+/-0.10 to 0.92+/-0.63; P<0.001), than for RT (from 0.30+/-0.09 to 0.54+/-0.27; P<0.01). A shift in the spectral content of torque fluctuations towards increased rhythmic activity between 6.5 and 20Hz was observed in CTR only (P<0.05). H-reflex amplitude (H(max)/M(max) ratio) declined across groups from 0.57+/-0.18 before BR to 0.44+/-0.14 following BR (P<0.01) without correlation to CV. The present study showed that increased torque fluctuation after BR resulted from enhanced physiological tremor. Resistance training prevented the spectral shift in isometric PF torque fluctuation and offset approximately 50% of the decline in performance associated with long-term BR