The effect of 12 weeks regular physical activity and vitamin E in the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: A pilot study

Background: Despite the prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), there was no treatment has been proven to be effective in these common diseases. Although many studies have shown that lifestyle modifications such as increasing physical activities and exercise could be effective in the treatment of these common diseases, the optimal strategy was still not determined. According to the beneficial effects of antioxidant agents in the treatment of NASH, vitamin E has been used for this purpose by some clinicians. We designed this study for assessing beneficial effects of regular physical activity on the biochemical and imaging responses in patients with NASH and comparing this with vitamin E as an accepted treatment for NASH. Materials and Methods: This study was Randomized and single-blind clinical trials were carried out in Gonbad-e Kavus through which a total of 30 consecutive patients with the ultra sonographic diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)were enrolled and randomized to one of the three groups: Vitamin E 800 mg/day, regular physical activity, or both. Results: In all treatment groups improvement in liver transaminases level, serum lipids and ultrasonographic grading of fatty liver occurred after three months of treatment. When these decrement was compared between the treatment groups, there was no statistically significant difference in the value of improvement between the three groups (ANOVA: p>0.5). I.e. all three interventions improved the biochemical and ultrasonographic finding of fatty liver in the same way. Both groups with regular exercise had significant mean weight loss in comparison with the vitamin E group (a mean decrease of 3.0 kg in exercise group, 5.8 kg in subjects on regular exercise plus vitamin E and 0.2 kg in vitamin E group, ANOVA: p=0.04). Conclusion: There were no significant differences between exercise and vitamin E alone or in combination regarding the reduction in the level of liver enzymes and sonographic evidences of fatty liver although both resulted in significant improvements in biochemical endpoints. This implies that physical activity could be considered as effective as vitamin E in the improvement of biochemical and ultrasonographic presentations of NASH and the addition of Vitamin E does not offer any benefits. According to the findings of this pilot study a full-powered study with a control group should be designed. © 2015, Iranian Association of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. All rights reserved

The effect of 12 weeks regular physical activity and vitamin E in the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: A pilot study

Background: Despite the prevalence of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), there was no treatment has been proven to be effective in these common diseases. Although many studies have shown that lifestyle modifications such as increasing physical activities and exercise could be effective in the treatment of these common diseases, the optimal strategy was still not determined. According to the beneficial effects of antioxidant agents in the treatment of NASH, vitamin E has been used for this purpose by some clinicians. We designed this study for assessing beneficial effects of regular physical activity on the biochemical and imaging responses in patients with NASH and comparing this with vitamin E as an accepted treatment for NASH. Materials and Methods: This study was Randomized and single-blind clinical trials were carried out in Gonbad-e Kavus through which a total of 30 consecutive patients with the ultra sonographic diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)were enrolled and randomized to one of the three groups: Vitamin E 800 mg/day, regular physical activity, or both. Results: In all treatment groups improvement in liver transaminases level, serum lipids and ultrasonographic grading of fatty liver occurred after three months of treatment. When these decrement was compared between the treatment groups, there was no statistically significant difference in the value of improvement between the three groups (ANOVA: p>0.5). I.e. all three interventions improved the biochemical and ultrasonographic finding of fatty liver in the same way. Both groups with regular exercise had significant mean weight loss in comparison with the vitamin E group (a mean decrease of 3.0 kg in exercise group, 5.8 kg in subjects on regular exercise plus vitamin E and 0.2 kg in vitamin E group, ANOVA: p=0.04). Conclusion: There were no significant differences between exercise and vitamin E alone or in combination regarding the reduction in the level of liver enzymes and sonographic evidences of fatty liver although both resulted in significant improvements in biochemical endpoints. This implies that physical activity could be considered as effective as vitamin E in the improvement of biochemical and ultrasonographic presentations of NASH and the addition of Vitamin E does not offer any benefits. According to the findings of this pilot study a full-powered study with a control group should be designed. © 2015, Iranian Association of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. All rights reserved

Effect of Intermittent Training on Oxidative and Glycolytic Capacity in Rat Skeletal Muscles

Introduction: Any type of exercise protocol has specific effects on the physiology of the body. Thus, according to the purpose of the training program and conditions of the subjects, a specific exercise protocol is needed to be considered. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the effect of intermittent training on oxidative and glycolytic capacity in rat skeletal muscles. Methods: Forty male rats were divided into two old (27 mon, 389±31 g) and young groups (3 ± 4 mon, 224±14 g), each of which were randomly divided into control and experimental groups (n = 10). Training group performed intermittent exercise on a treadmill 6 times /week for 8weeks. It consisted of 10 bouts of 4 min running interspersed by 2 min of active rest. All rats were anesthetized, 24 hours after the last session exercise, and Soleus (SOL) and extensor digitorumlongus (EDL) muscles were removed rapidly. In fact, the tissues were analyzed in regard with CS and LDH enzymes activities. In order to analyze the study data, one way-ANOVA and Tukey's post-hoc tests were applied. Results: The results demonstrated that CS enzyme activity in EDL and SOL muscles increased significantly in both, old (OT) and young groups (YT) (p 0.05). Conclusion: The results suggested that the training method described in the present study can be quite beneficial to the young and old, when a simultaneous increase in oxidative and glycolytic capacity is aimed

Does aerobic exercises induce mtDNA mutation in human blood leucocytes?

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of eight weeks aerobic training on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation in human blood leucocytes. Twenty untrained healthy students (training group: n =10, age = 20.7±1.5 yrs, weight = 67.7±10 kg, BF% = 17.5±7.35 & control group: n =10, age = 21±1.3 yrs, weight = 78.5±18.5 kg, BF% = 18.2±6.4) were randomly assigned to two groups and participated in an eight weeks aerobic training program. Blood samples were collected before and after the eight weeks aerobic training. mtDNA mutation were analyzed using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method. Although, all subjects were fairly young and the possibility of mtDNA mutation at normal condition was unlikely, just to be certain, all blood samples were also analyzed for possible mutation. Those subjects who had mutant mtDNA prior to the study, were excluded. The findings show that there were no changes in mtDNA mutation in human leucocytes in both groups before and after eight weeks aerobic training (P>0.05). These results demonstrate that eight week aerobic training dose not causes mtDNA mutation in human blood leucocytes.Key words: mtDNA; Oxidative stress; Common deletion; Aerobic training