نشریه دانشور پزشکی
پیاپی 169 (بهمن و اسفند 1402)

It has been shown that about 80% of deaths in diabetic patients are caused by cardiovascular disorders, which is called diabetic heart disease. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of two types of exercise (continuous and periodic) and the drug atorvastatin on the expression of VEGF and MMP2 genes in the aorta tissue of diabetic rats. In this study, 40 male rats, which were randomly divided into 8 groups: 1) control, 2) diabetic, 3) diabetic+continuous, 4) diabetic+intermittent, 5) atorvastatin, 6) continuous + atorvastatin, 7) intermittent + atorvastatin and 8) saline. Rats performed two types of continuous and periodic training 5 days a week for 8 weeks. Atorvastatin was injected intraperitoneally at a daily dose of 20 mg per kilogram of body weight. To determine the significance of the difference between groups, one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's post hoc test were used. MMP2 levels in the diabetes group significantly increased at the significance level of 0.05 compared to the control group and in the supplement, intermittent, intermittent-supplement and continuous-supplement groups significantly decreased compared to the diabetes group. The levels of VEGF in the diabetes group increased significantly compared to the control and the intermittent-supplement group significantly decreased compared to the diabetes group. There is a possibility that intermittent exercise in combination with atorvastatin can have a protective effect on the aorta through the reduction of VEGF and MMP2 genes in the aortic tissue and the improvement of angiogenesis that was impaired due to the induction of diabetes.

Exercise interventions and consumption of some supplements can lead to changes in the antioxidant system and oxidative stress of skeletal muscles. Based on this, the present study investigated the effect of four weeks of Nigella sativa oil supplementation and aerobic exercise on the serum levels of malondialdehyde and the total antioxidant capacity of inactive young women. For this purpose, 40 inactive young women with an average age of 22.23 ± 4.51 years and BMI of 25.46 ± 4.21 participated in the research. Prior to the treatment, they filled out a written consent form. Then, the subjects were randomly divided into four groups: control (N=9), exercise + placebo (N=10), supplement (N=10), and exercise + supplement (N=11). The aerobic exercise groups performed four weeks of aerobic exercise with an intensity of 50% to 80% of the maximum heart rate, three sessions a week. Also, the Nigella sativa oil supplement groups received 1000 mg of its capsule per day after lunch. Blood samples were collected to measure the serum level of malondialdehyde and total antioxidant capacity in two stages before and after 24 hours of the last training session in fasting conditions from antecubital vein. Statistical analysis was performed by paired t-tests and the analysis of covariance at a significance level of P<0.05. Results showed that there is a significant decrease in total antioxidant capacity values between the aerobic group with the two supplement groups (P=0.03) and supplement + exercise (P=0.03). Also, a significant decrease was shown after the test as was compared to the pre-test in the within-group values of malondialdehyde serum concentration in the supplement group (P=0.03). According to the results, we conclude that the aerobic exercises and Nigella sativa supplementation leads to a decrease in the total antioxidant capacity and it has no effect on the oxidative index.

Obesity is considered as a global disease. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of aerobic exercise with royal jelly on the expression of BCL-2, Bax and the ratio of BCL2/Bax in the pancreatic tissue of obese rats. In this research, 40 5-week-old male Wistar rats were randomly divided into two groups of normal diet (ND) and high-fat diet (HFD). Rats in the ND group were fed a standard diet (23% protein, 65% carbohydrates, and 12% fat) and the HFD group were fed a high-fat diet (17% protein, 43% carbohydrates, and 40% fat) for eight weeks. Then, the rats were divided into 5 groups: normal diet, high-fat diet, high-fat-exercise (HFDT), high-fat-supplemented (HFDRj) and high-fat-exercise-supplemented (HFDTRj) groups. The training group performed incremental aerobic training for 8 weeks and 5 days per week. Also, the supplement groups were daily given 100 mg of royal jelly mixed in distilled water. The results showed that induction of obesity through the consumption of high-fat foods increases BCL-2 gene expression and significantly decreases BAX gene expression in the high-fat group compared to the control group. Also, endurance exercises and gel supplementation decreased BCL-2 gene expression and increased BAX gene expression in the experimental groups compared to the high-fat group and these changes were more noticeable in the combined group. It is possible that aerobic training along with the use of royal jelly can be an effective strategy in improving the condition of obesity through the process of apoptosis.

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects peripheral organs as well as the central nervous system (CNS). The present study was done to examine the effect of high intensity swimming interval training on gene expression of some hippocampal inflammatory markers in rats with PD. In this experimental study, 21 male Wistar rats (aged 8-10 weeks; weight 200 ± 10.2 grams) were divided into three groups including: healthy control, PD and training. PD was induced by injection of 1 mg/kg of reserpine during 5 days. The rats in the training group performed 6 weeks of HIIT including 20 times of 30 seconds of swimming with 30 seconds of rest between each time. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and LSD post hoc test were run using SPSS-22 at the P <0.05. Data revealed that TNF-α gene expression was reduced after 6 weeks of swimming interval training (p=0.01) compared to the PD group. We observed non-significant decrease in IL-1β after the intervention as compared to the PD group (p=0.6). According the results of this study, high intensity swimming interval training is effective in reducing the gene expression of some hippocampal inflammatory markers in rats with PD and it is suggested as the effective strategy to improve PD.

Physical inactivity leads to insulin resistance and diabetes. Insulin resistance is a hallmark feature of type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of eight weeks of Pilates or Traband training on serum glucose levels, markers of insulin resistance, neuropathic pain and some functional indices of women with type 2 diabetes. In this semi-experimental study, 34 women with type 2 diabetes were randomly divided into three groups: Pilates training (n=12), Traband training (n=11) and control (n=11). The exercise program consisted of eight weeks, three sessions per week, and each session lasted 45-60 minutes. To investigate the changes in the pain index, repeated measurement and Bonferroni's post hoc test were used. The paired sample t-test method and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to compare within and between groups, respectively. Findings showed that fasting glucose concentration, insulin, and insulin resistance index significantly decreases only in the Traband training group; However, there was no significant change in the Pilates and control groups. The pain index during the time series was significant (p = 0.01). In both Pilates and Traband groups, there was a significant increase in the variables of muscle endurance, flexibility and maximal oxygen consumption (p = 0.01). Exercise training in accordance with the Traband model causes statistically and clinically more significant changes in fasting glucose concentration, insulin, insulin resistance index than Pilates intervention. Therefore, it is possible to use Traband exercise to improve type 2 diabetic patients and prevent the harmful effects of diabetes for women with type 2 diabetes.

Repeated anesthesia in adolescence is necessary for some therapeutic interventions, such as radiotherapy or burns. Research has indicated that exposure to general anesthetics during the adolescent period can induce cell death, cognitive and behavioral problems, and later neurobehavioral problems in adulthood. The current study was aimed at providing a detailed morphological and functional evaluation of the long-term impacts of repeated exposure to sevoflurane. In this study, 28 adolescent rats were randomly divided into male and female control groups and inhaled sevoflurane (at a concentration of 2%) daily for 15 days. After last anesthesia, animals of all groups were cared for 30-35 days, and then the effects of repeated exposure to sevoflurane on cognitive functions and anxiety behavior were tested by the Morris water maze, open field, and elevated plus maze. Effects of sevoflurane on cell death and the increase of dark neurons were compared in CA1 of the hippocampus and brain cortex. Data were evaluated using one-way and two-way ANOVA. Our results indicated that repeated exposures to sevoflurane during adolescence can cause behavioral problems later in adulthood. We found a significant increase in dark neurons and cell death in the sevoflurane group compared to the control group in both male and female animals. These results may provide a new perspective for understanding the mechanism of repeated exposure to sevoflurane-induced toxic effects in adolescence.

Decreased muscle mass is an important factor in the reduction of body function in old age. Complex cellular pathways such as autophagy are strongly related to health and there is a complex relationship between autophagy and aging; therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of resistance training on the levels of autophagy proteins Beclin1 and Ambra1 in the Extensor Digitorum Longus (EDL) muscle of elderly rats.

The current research was of an experimental-fundamental type, in which 12, 20-month-old male Sprague-Dawley rats with an average weight of 400 ± 30 g were randomly divided into two groups: 1) control (6 heads) and 2) resistance training (6 heads). The resistance training program included climbing the rodent ladder for eight weeks, three sessions per week. The subjects climbed a vertical ladder with an 85-degree incline, one meter long, 26 rungs and two cm of space between each rung. After 48 hours after the last training session, EDL muscle tissue was removed. Data were analysed using an independent t-test in the GraphPad Prism version 9.5 software. The significance level was set at P < 0.05.

Eight weeks of resistance training led to decreased Beclin1 (P=0.0001) and Ambra1 (P=0.0212) protein levels in the EDL muscle of old rats.

Reducing the intracellular content of these factors through resistance training can prevent autophagy in the muscle cells of elderly subjects, resulting in less atrophy

It seems that during resistance exercises, the release of some growth factors has different effects on the activation of satellite cells (SCs) and myogenic regulatory factors as well as the development of strength and muscle mass. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of 12 weeks of resistance training on the serum levels of FGF6 and MyoD and its relationship with muscle strength in middle-aged men and women. In this semi-experimental study, 40 randomly selected middle-aged men and women from Arak city (age: 38.27±6.03 years, weight: 77.12±11.28 kg, height: 174.05±7.24 cm) were chosen. They were placed in two experimental groups (n: 30) and control (n: 10). The training program included 12 weeks of resistance training in 3 sessions per week with an intensity of 65-80% of one repetition maximum (1RM). Then, 48 hours before and after the intervention, the serum concentration of FGF-6 and MyoD was measured by the ELISA method, and after checking the normality of the data, t-test and independent t-test were used to check intra-group and inter-group changes, respectively. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to check the relationship between variables at a significance level of p<0.05. Resistance training increased mean maximal strength (P=0.008), serum FGF6 concentration (P=0.002), serum MyoD concentration (P=0.001) and also decreased fat percentage (P=0.021) of the subjects. In addition, there was a positive and significant correlation between the mean maximum strength (1RM) and the serum concentration of FGF6 (r=0.624 and P=0.001) and MYoD (r=0.434 and P=0.001) of the training group. Considering the importance of resistance training in the elderly and the relationship between the plasma levels of FGF6 and MYoD with strength development, it is suggested that sports experts pay special attention to the necessity of resistance training in the design of various sports exercises.