An Investigation of the Effect of Eight Weeks of Combined Exercise on C-Agrin Terminus ‎Fragment and Insulin-like Growth Factor I on CABG Patients

This study aimed to investigate the effect of eight weeks of combined exercise on CAF and some sarcopenia factors in CABG patients.

Twenty-four CABG middle-aged men participated in this study. Then, participants were randomly divided into two groups of 12-individuals of combination exercise group (mean age 54.58 ±6.47 years, height 173.04 ±3.15 cm and weight 74.75 ±6.60 kg) and control group (mean age 50.70 ±7.70 years, height 173.50 ±3.69 cm and mean weight of 76.16 ±5.23 kg). Anthropometric indices and serum CAF and IGF-1 blood parameters were prepared and analyzed before and after the training. The eight-week combined exercise program was conducted in three sessions with the supervision of cardiac rehabilitation specialists. Data were analyzed using repeated measures analysis of variance and Bonferroni post hoc test and significant level was considered less than 0.05.

In combined exercise group, serum levels of CAF and IGF-1 significantly increased in the post-test compared to the pre-test (p<0.001). Also, after exercise, serum levels of CAF (p<0.001) and IGF-1 (p=0.017) in patients in the combined exercise group were significantly higher than the control group. While serum levels of CAF (p=0.365) and IGF-1 (p=0.679) before training did not differ significantly between the two groups.

A short-term combination training in CABG patients increased CAF but no change in IGF-1 levels. Further research is needed to determine whether CAF or IGF-1 biomarkers can reflect the muscle quality of adaptation.