Kinetics of immune cell mobilization during acute aerobic exercise in healthy adults.

While pre-post differences in immune cell mobilization after acute aerobic exercise are well investigated, less is known about when and to what extent immune cells are mobilized during acute aerobic exercise. This experimental trial aimed to investigate the detailed kinetics of circulating immune cells in twelve healthy adults (n=6 females) who completed a 40-min aerobic exercise bout at 60% of the participants' V̇O2peak on a bicycle ergometer. Cellular inflammation markers and sex-dependent differences in circulating immune cells were analyzed. Blood samples were taken immediately before, after warm-up, during exercise after 5 min, 10 min, 15 min, 30 min, 40 min (cessation), and 60 min post exercise. Significant increases in leukocytes (p<0.001), lymphocytes (p<0.001), neutrophils (p=0.003) and platelets (p=0.047) can be observed after five min of exercise. The cellular inflammation markers show significant alterations only post exercise. Significant sex differences were observed for neutrophils (p=0.049) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (p=0.007) one hour post exercise. These results indicate that i) leukocytes are already mobilized after 5 min of moderate-to-vigorous aerobic exercise, ii) the magnitude of exercise induced leukocyte mobilization is dependent on exercise duration, iii) integrative cellular inflammation markers are only altered after exercise cessation, and iv) the observed effects might be sex-dependent.

Eight-week, multimodal exercise counteracts a progress of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and improves balance and strength in metastasized colorectal cancer patients: a randomized controlled trial.

PURPOSES: Physical activity is supposed to decrease mortality of colorectal cancer (CRC) and is suggested to reduce side-effects of the disease and its treatment. However, the knowledge about the influence of exercise interventions on patients suffering from CRC and metastasized CRC (mCRC) is still sparse. One frequently observed side effect in mCRC is chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN). This randomized controlled trial investigated the influence of a supervised exercise program on CIPN in mCRC. METHODS: Thirty patients (stage IV) undergoing outpatient palliative treatment including a median of 23.5 chemotherapy cycles of various regimens were randomly assigned to an intervention or control group (IG, n = 17; CG, n = 13). The IG participated in an eight-week supervised exercise program, including endurance, resistance and balance training (2×/week for 60 min) whereas the CG received written standard recommendations to obtain physical fitness. CIPN was assessed using the FACT/GOG-NTX questionnaire. Moreover, endurance capacity (6MWT), strength (h1RM) and balance (GGT-Reha) were evaluated before (t 0) and after (t 1) the intervention as well as after 4 weeks follow-up (t2). RESULTS: Neuropathic symptoms remained stable in the IG over time, while CIPN significantly worsened in the CG from t 0 to t 1 and t 0 to t 2. In contrast to the CG, the IG significantly improved in strength and balance function. Changes in CIPN correlated with changes in balance. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first investigation showing positive effects of a multimodal exercise program on CIPN, balance and strength on mCRC patients in a palliative setting, thereby consequently increasing patients` quality of life. The results support earlier findings stating a positive influence of balance exercise on CIPN.