Resistance Exercise Training-Induced Muscle Hypertrophy Was Associated with Reduction of Inflammatory Markers in Elderly Women

Aging is associated with low-grade inflammation. The benefits of regular exercise for the elderly are well established, whereas less is known about the impact of low-intensity resistance exercise on low-grade inflammation in the elderly. Twenty-one elderly women (mean age ± SD, 85.0 ± 4.5 years) participated in 12 weeks of resistance exercise training. Muscle thickness and circulating levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), heat shock protein (HSP)70, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP-1), insulin, insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were measured before and after the exercise training. Training reduced the circulating levels of CRP, SAA (P < .05), HSP70, IGF-I, and insulin (P < .01). The training-induced reductions in CRP and TNF-α were significantly (P < .01, P < .05) associated with increased muscle thickness (r = −0.61, r = −0.54), respectively. None of the results were significant after applying a Bonferroni correction. Resistance training may assist in maintaining or improving muscle volume and reducing low-grade inflammation

Comparison of cortical activation during Mahjong game play in a video game setting and a real-life setting

The purpose of this study was to compare the hemodynamic changes that occur during Mahjong game play in virtual and real-life settings. Fourteen healthy right-handed men (average age ± standard deviation; 36.7 ± 14.9 years) played: 1) a Mahjong solitaire game on a video console against virtual rivals; 2) a Mahjong game against human opponents without conversation; and 3) a Mahjong game against human opponents with conversation. We measured oxygenated hemoglobin concentration at 44 locations over both hemispheres during Mahjong game play in each setting using near-infrared spectroscopy. The increase in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration at several locations, including Broca’s area, the somatosensory cortex, the somatosensory association cortex, the supramarginal gyrus part of Wernicke’s area, the primary and auditory association cortex, the angular gyrus part of Wernicke’s area, and the associative visual cortex was greater during game play in the real-life settings than during game play in the video game setting. There were no significant differences during game play in real-life settings without and with conversation. Each cortical area correlated with broad or specific areas. The common correlation areas were found at Angular gyrus part of Wernicke’s area of left hemisphere during real-life settings without and with conversation, but not during game play in a video game setting. These results suggest that the brain responds differently to game play in real world and virtual world settings, and indicate that comparison of games played in the virtual world and the real world may be an effective model to enhance understanding of the effects of video game on the brain.ArticleBiochemistry & Analytical Biochemistry.4(2):164(2015)journal articl

Oral intake of Lactobacillus pentosus strain b240 accelerates salivary immunoglobulin A secretion in the elderly: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Immunoglobulin A (IgA) secretion in saliva decreases with age and may be the cause of increased vulnerability of the elderly to respiratory infections. The effect of oral intake of lactic acid bacteria on salivary secretory IgA (SIgA) in the elderly has not been reported. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the acceleration of salivary SIgA secretion by oral intake of <it>Lactobacillus pentosus </it>strain b240 (b240) in the elderly.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 80 healthy elderly individuals were randomly allocated to either an intervention (i.e., b240) or a control (i.e., placebo) group. The elderly individuals in the b240 group were given a sterile water beverage (125 mL) containing heat-killed b240 (4 × 10⁹cells), while those in the placebo group were given only a sterile water beverage (125 mL); both groups received their respective beverages once daily for 12 weeks. Saliva was collected before initiation of the study and every 2 weeks thereafter. Saliva flow rate and SIgA concentration were determined, and the SIgA secretion rate was calculated. The mean salivary SIgA secretion rate in the b240 group steadily increased until week 4 (exhibiting a 20% elevation relative to that at week 0), and then remained stable until week 12. Changes in SIgA secretion rate over the intervention period were significantly greater in the b240 group than in the placebo group. The treatment groups exhibited no significant differences in adverse events.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Oral intake of <it>L. pentosus </it>strain b240 for 12 weeks significantly accelerated salivary SIgA secretion, thereby indicating its potential utility in the improvement of mucosal immunity and resistance against infection in the elderly.</p

Association of plasma heat shock protein 70 for discriminating mild cognitive decline based on clinical dementia rating categories.

ISEI Abstract –Session theme number – 11 Abstract title – Association of plasma heat shock protein 70 for discriminating mild cognitive decline based on clinical dementia rating categories. OGAWA K1, MAEBA R2, FUJIWARA Y3. 1School of Food and Nutritional Sciences; The University of Shizuoka; Shizuoka, Japan. 2School of Medicine; Teikyo University; Tokyo, Japan. 3Research Team for Social Participation and Health Promotion; Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology; Tokyo, Japan. ABSTRACT Introduction Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which refers to the symptomatic predementia phase of AD. MCI due to AD is distinct from age-associated memory impairment and age-associated cognitive decline, and can be considered as a subset of the non-dementia causes of cognitive impairment, which include head trauma, substance abuse, and metabolic disturbances. The concurrent use of a biomarker has the potential to greatly complement the information available for assessing MCI due to AD and its etiology. Biomarkers would reflect the biochemical changes related to the cascade of events that mediate neuronal damage or the response to damage in AD; these events include cell death, synaptic damage, oxidative stress, and inflammation. These biochemical changes do not directly reflect the pathology of AD because they provide no evidence of key proteins deposited in the brain during the course of AD, such as Ab and tau. Even so, biochemical changes, especially from peripheral blood, could be advantageous for use in a screening system for MCI due to AD and for the development of treatments such as exercise. This study was conducted to identify a plasma biomarker for the diagnosis of MCI, a precursor of AD, and examined the association of daily physical exercise in patients. Methods A mini mental status examination (MMSE) and blood tests for the measurement of six biomarkers of inflammation- C-reactive proteins (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) bAmyloid 1-42 (bA42) and brain derived nutrition factor (BDNF)- were performed on 54 MCI patients and 72 normal control subjects. The relationship between the clinical dementia rating (CDR) scores and biomarker levels were compared in MCI and control group patients, using Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curves (AUC). Results IL-6, Hsp70 and bA42 levels were significantly elevated in relation to cognitive status in MCI patients. Of all the biomarkers, the AUC was greatest for Hsp70. Conclusion Molecular chaperons are known as neuron protectors, which play roles in channeling proteins into the repair/refolding pathway, microglial activation, stimulation of phagocytosis and clearance of Ab42. We have examined the sensitivity and specificity of the molecular chaperons (i.e., heat shock proteins) for discriminating between the higher rate and the lowest rate of CDR group. The present study revealed that Hsp70 is a candidate biomarker for discriminating mild dementia

Physiological and leukocyte subset responses to exercise and cold exposure in cold-acclimatized skaters

We investigated physiological responses and changes in circulating immune cells following exercise in cold and thermoneutral conditions. Participants were short track skaters (n=9) who were acclimatized to cold conditions, and inline skaters (n=10) who were not acclimatized. All skaters were young, and skating at a recreational level three days per week for at least one year. Using a cross-over design, study variables were measured during 60 min of submaximal cycling (65% ·VO2max) in cold (ambient temperature: 5±1°C, relative humidity: 41±9%) and thermoneutral conditions (ambient temperature: 21±1°C, relative humidity: 35±5%). Heart rate, blood lactate and tympanic temperature were measured at rest, during exercise and recovery. Plasma cortisol, calprotectin and circulating blood cell numbers were measured before and after 60 min of cold or thermoneutral conditions, and during recovery from exercise. Heart rate was lower in both groups during exercise in cold versus thermoneutral conditions (