Exercise Reduces Glucose Intolerance, Cardiac Inflammation and Adipose Tissue Dysfunction in Psammomys obesus Exposed to Short Photoperiod and High Energy Diet.

Circadian disruption causes glucose intolerance, cardiac fibrosis, and adipocyte dysfunction in sand rats (Psammomys obesus). Exercise intervention can improve glucose metabolism, insulin sensitivity, adipose tissue function and protect against inflammation. We investigated the influence of exercise on male P. obesus exposed to a short photoperiod (5 h light:19 h dark) and high-energy diet. Exercise reduced glucose intolerance. Exercise reduced cardiac expression of inflammatory marker Ccl2 and Bax:Bcl2 apoptosis ratio. Exercise increased heart:body weight ratio and hypertrophy marker Myh7:Myh6, yet reduced Gata4 expression. No phenotypic changes were observed in perivascular fibrosis and myocyte area. Exercise reduced visceral adipose expression of inflammatory transcription factor Rela, adipogenesis marker Ppard and browning marker Ppargc1a, but visceral adipocyte size was unaffected. Conversely, exercise reduced subcutaneous adipocyte size but did not affect any molecular mediators. Exercise increased ZT7 Bmal1 and Per2 in the suprachiasmatic nucleus and subcutaneous Per2. Our study provides new molecular insights and histological assessments on the effect of exercise on cardiac inflammation, adipose tissue dysfunction and circadian gene expression in P. obesus exposed to short photoperiod and high-energy diet. These findings have implications for the protective benefits of exercise for shift workers in order to reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Evaluation of Left Diastolic Function in Dilated Cardiomyopathy According to the 2016 ASE/EACVI Recommendations.

Objectives: To assess left ventricular diastolic function by using echocardiography in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, and the relationship between left ventricular diastolic function and left ventricular dilatation, New York Heart Association (NYHA) heart failure index, left ventricular ejection fraction, and left ventricular fractional shortening. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on patients with primary dilated cardiomyopathy hospitalized in Hue Central Hospital from April 2018 to August 2020. Results: The mean end-diastolic left ventricular volume was 133.57±31.58 mL and the mean end-systolic left ventricular volume was 99.9±26.03 mL. The mean left atrial volume was 61.63±27.13 mL. The mean end-diastolic and end-systolic left ventricular diameters were 66.11±7.3 mm and 57.7±8.02 mm, respectively. The mean left ventricular ejection fraction was 24.68±5.97%. The mean left ventricular fractional shortening was 12.91±4.55%. The highest rate was grade II diastolic dysfunction (44.6%), followed by grade III diastolic dysfunction (35.8%) and grade I diastolic dysfunction at 19.6%. There was a moderate positive correlation between the left ventricular diastolic dysfunction and the NYHA class of heart failure with r=0.445, p<0.001. All dilated cardiomyopathy patients in the study group had mainly grade II-III severe diastolic dysfunction. Conclusions: Routine evaluation of diastolic function in patients with heart failure can help in elucidation of pathogenesis and management of patients. This dysfunction was clearly demonstrated by the change in the parameters of the evaluation of left ventricular diastolic function on echocardiography according to the 2016 ASE/EACVI recommendations, a new recommendation introduced to approach the assessment of diastolic function in a more convenient and easier way.