The Comparison of the Effects of Voluntary Running Wheel and Endurance Training on Il-6 and Testosterone Levels in the Rats With PCOS

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is an endocrine disorder in women of reproductive age. In cross-sectional and longitudinal studies, exercise training is an effective solution for treating and declining the symptoms. This study aims to compare the effects of the voluntary and the endurance exercise on some of the inflammatory and hormonal markers in rats with PCOS.

In this study, Which was experimental and applied in terms of purpose, 40 female Wistar rats with Mean±SD weight of 220±20 g were divided randomly into four groups of ten: 1) control, 2) PCOS, 3) PCOS + Running wheel and 4) PCOS + endurance training. The rats in the voluntary group experienced voluntary activity of wheel running for 8 weeks (5 times a week). Alternatively, the endurance training group underwent aerobic exercises for 8 weeks (5 sessions in a week) on a treadmill. The blood samples were taken from the heart to measure the concentration of interleukin-6 and testosterone level and were analyzed by one-way analysis of variance and LSD post hoc test.

This study was approved by the Tehran University, Iran (Code: IR.UT.REC.1395016).

 The results showed no significant difference in IL-6 and testosterone indices between endurance and voluntary training groups (P=0.565), (P=0.496). Both training groups (endurance and voluntary) separately resulted in a significant reduction in il6 and testosterone compared to rats with PCOS (P=0.002), (P=0.000), (P=0.038), (P=0.007).

 Altogether, the present study’s findings suggest that voluntary and endurance training in rats have similar effects on IL-6, Testosterone, and weight.