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& Objective: The elevated plasma homocysteine (HCY) has emerged as a novel cardiovascular biomarker. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of a 12 week aerobic training on body composition and levels of serum homocysteine in women aged 60-75. . Materials & Methods: The present clinical trial study was conducted at Imam Khomeyni Cultural Center of Isfahan, Iran, in 2010. After medical examination, 30 elderly women with similar age and weight were randomly divided into two groups: control and experimental. Weight, BMI, WHR and body fat percentage were measured using the body composition analyzer. Fasting blood samples were taken. Moreover, homocysteine levels were measured by ELISA. Afterwards, the experimental group executed an aerobic training on treadmill (walking) three times a week for three months. After three months, all variables in both groups were measured once more.The collected data were analyzed by the SPSS software. Paired t-test and analysis of covariance was used to analyze the data. Results: The results showed that a significant decrease in weight, fat percentage, body mass index, waist hip ratio parameters and homocysteine levels in the experimental group was observed, before and after the 12 week exercise period (p≤0.05) . Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, regular and controlled aerobic endurance exercise programs of 12 weeks, with moderate-intensity of increased skeletal muscle capacity use of lipids, may play an important role in weight control in obese individuals and decrease their cardiovascular disease risk factors.

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Abstract

Background and Aim: Visfatin is an insulin-like protein derived from adipose tissue that is associated with obesity and insulin resistance. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 12 weeks of combined exercises and vitamin D on the serum visfatin level and beta cell function in women with overweight type II diabetes.

Methods: 40 type 2 diabetic women with a mean age of 1.49 ± 3.65 years, weight 158.15 ± 5.65 cm and body weight index 29.4 ± 0.46 kg / m2 were selected purposefully The groups were randomly divided into four groups of 10, three experimental groups (combined exercise, vitamin D, combined exercise with vitamin D) and control group. Height, weight, BMI and fat percentage of subjects were measured. After 12 hours of fasting, the primary blood sample was taken to measure glucose, insulin, visfatin, insulin resistance, and beta cell function. Subjects then participated in the experimental group 1 in the combined program. The experimental group, in addition to the combined exercises, consumed vitamin D 6 pills per 50,000 units a week. Experimental group 3 consumed only vitamin D with 6 pills per dose of 50,000 units per week and did not have any training. The control group was only tracked. After 12 weeks, all variables were re-measured in 4 groups. Data were analyzed using covariance analysis (ANCOVA) at the level of p <0.05.

Results: The mean values of post glucose, insulin, insulin resistance, beta cell and visfatin function were significantly different between the four groups with control of pre-test values of these variables (0.001> p). In the case of insulin, there was no significant difference between the mean values of insulin levels in vitamin D, exercise and combination therapy and vitamin D (p <0.05). There was no significant difference in insulin resistance between the mean resistance to insulin in the control and vitamin D groups (p> 0.05). There was no significant difference in the performance of beta cells between the mean values of performance in control, exercise and exercise groups and vitamin D (p <0.05). In the case of visfatin, the mean values of visfatin in the treatment group and vitamin D were significantly less than the other three groups (p <0.05).

Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate the effect of combined exercises and vitamin D intake on visfatin levels in overweight diabetic women.

 

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Background and aims: Postmenopausal is associated with heart and metabolic disorders. Although the beneficial role of physical activity and antioxidants in human health has been reported; However, the interactive effects of Aerobic training (AT) and Propolis (Pr) on mitochondrial biogenesis in cardiac tissue is not well understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of AT with Pr on AMP-activated protein kinases (AMPK) and Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1-alpha (PGC1α) in the heart of ovariectomized diabetic rats.
Methods: 30 ovariectomized diabetic (40 mg/kg .ip, Stroptozotocin) rats, aged 16-12 weeks and weight 250-220 g were divided in 5 groups; (1) Control ovariectomized diabetic (COD), (2) Sham (Sh), (3) Pr, (4) AT and (5) AT + Pr. Also, 6 healthy rats were divided in Healthy Control (HC) group. Groups 4 and 5 trained for eight weeks, five sessions per week with 55-75% VO2max; Groups 3 and 5 received 100 mg/kg/day of Pr. One-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test in GraphPad Prism 8.3.3 software were used to analyze the data (P≥0.05).
Results: AMPK and PGC1α in AT group were significantly higher than COD and Sh groups (P≥0.05); PGC1α gene expression in Pr group was significantly higher than Sh group (P≥0.05). Also, AMPK and PGC1α gene expression in AT + Pr group were significantly higher than COD and Sh groups (P≥0.05).
Conclusion: It seems that the AT and Pr have beneficial effect on mitochondrial biogenesis in cardiac tissue following estrogen deficiency and diabetes. Therefore, the Pr and AT is recommended in ovariectomized and diabetic models.

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Background & aim: Diabetes is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. Although the favorable role of physical activity and antioxidants in people's health has been reported, the simultaneous effect of HIIT and crocetin on angiogenesis in heart tissue is not well known. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of intermittent aerobic training with the consumption of crocetin extract on some indicators of angiogenesis in the heart tissue of prediabetic and diabetic aged rats.

Methods: the present experimental study was conducted in 2022. Forty-five elderly male mice with diabetes aged 14-16 weeks and weighing 30-35 grams were divided into groups; Pre-diabetic, pre-diabetic+aerobic exercise, pre-diabetic+crocetin, pre-diabetic + aerobic + crocetin, diabetic, diabetic + aerobic exercise, diabetic + crocetin and diabetic + aerobic + crocetin. In order to investigate the effect of modeling on the variables, 5 rats were included in the healthy control group. HIIT aerobic exercise was performed for eight weeks, five sessions per training week, and a dose of 40 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ) was injected. And the mice received crocetin at the rate of 30 mg/kg per day by intraperitoneal injection. The expression level of FGF and No genes was measured by Real time RT-PCR technique. The collected data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test.

Results: The expression values of FGF-2 in the pre-diabetes group + aerobic exercise + crocetin supplement and the diabetes group + aerobic exercise + crocetin supplement were significantly higher than other groups (P≥0.05); NO gene expression values in the pre-diabetes group + aerobic exercise + crocetin supplement and diabetes group + aerobic exercise + crocetin supplement were significantly lower than other groups (P≥0.05). The insulin and glucose levels in the pre-diabetes group + aerobic exercise + crocetin supplement and the diabetes group + aerobic exercise + crocetin supplement were significantly lower than other groups (P≥0.05).

Conclusion: It seemed that interval aerobics and crocetin were effective both alone and synergistically in improving angiogenesis in heart tissue with pre-diabetes and diabetes. Therefore, the use of periodic aerobics and crocetin is recommended in pre-diabetes and senile diabetes.