Differences in the cross-sectional area along the ankle tendons with both age and sex.

Increasing age appears to influence several morphologic changes in major tendons. However, the effects of aging on the cross-sectional area (CSA) of different ankle tendons are much less understood. Furthermore, potential differences in specific tendon regions along the length of the tendons have not been investigated in detail. Sixty healthy adult participants categorized by age as young (n = 20; mean ± SD age = 22.5 ± 4.5 years), middle-age (n = 20; age = 40.6 ± 8. 0 years), or old (n = 20; age = 69.9 ± 9.1 years), from both sexes, were included. The tendon CSA of tibialis anterior (TA), tibialis posterior (TP), fibularis (FT), and Achilles (AT) was measured from T1-weighted 1.5 T MR images in incremental intervals of 10% along its length (from proximal insertion) and compared between different age groups and sexes. The mean CSA of the AT was greater in the middle-age group than both young and old participants (p < 0.01) and large effect sizes were observed for these differences (Cohen's d > 1). Furthermore, there was a significant difference in CSA in all three groups along the length of the different tendons. Region-specific differences between groups were observed in the distal portion (90% and 100% of the length), in which the FT presented greater CSA comparing middle-age to young and old (p < 0.05). In conclusion, (1) great magnitude of morpho-structural differences was discovered in the AT; (2) there are region-specific differences in the CSA of ankle tendons within the three groups and between them; and (3) there were no differences in tendon CSA between sexes.

Morphological adaptation of muscle collagen and receptor of advanced glycation end product (RAGE) in osteoarthritis patients with 12 weeks of resistance training: influence of anti-inflammatory or glucosamine treatment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of 12-week resistance training on morphological presence of collagen and RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) in skeletal muscle of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Little is known about the influence of exercise on the skeletal muscle matrix that supports joints affected by OA mainly when it is associated with medication taken by OA patients (non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and glucosamine). A biopsy was collected from the vastus lateralis muscle in all patients before and after 12-week period of training. The patients (age 55-69 years) were divided into three groups, treated with NSAID, glucosamine or placebo. In addition, the muscle samples were analysed by immunohistochemistry for collagen types, RAGE and capillaries ratio. An increment in immunoreactivity for type IV collagen after the training period was observed in 72 % of all biopsies when compared with their respective baseline samples. Reduced immunoreactivity of collagen type I was observed in all patients treated with glucosamine. A significant increase with training in the amount of RAGE was detected in the placebo group only (p < 0.05). Comparison of post-treatment states indicated significant differences between the placebo and glucosamine group data, demonstrating increased levels in the placebo group (p < 0.05). These findings suggest a basement membrane remodelling in favour of a strengthened extracellular matrix surrounding individual muscle fibres after 12 weeks of resistance training. Glucosamine with training appeared to attenuate RAGE accumulation more than was seen with NSAID or placebo in skeletal muscle of OA patients.

Gene expression in distinct regions of rat tendons in response to jump training combined with anabolic androgenic steroid administration.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of key genes responsible for tendon remodeling of the proximal and distal regions of calcaneal tendon (CT), intermediate and distal region of superficial flexor tendon (SFT) and proximal, intermediate and distal region of deep flexor tendon (DFT) submitted to 7 weeks of jumping water load exercise in combination with AAS administration. Wistar male rats were grouped as follows: sedentary (S), trained (jumping water load exercise) (T), sedentary animals treated with AAS (5 mg/kg, twice a week) and animals treated with AAS and trained (AAST). mRNA levels of COL1A1, COL3A1, TIMP-1, TIMP-2, MMP-2, IGF-IEa, GAPDH, CTGF and TGF-ß-1 were evaluated by quantitative PCR. Our main results indicated that mRNA levels alter in different regions in each tendon of sedentary animals. The training did not alter the expression of COL1A1, COL3A, IGF-IEa and MMP-2 genes, while AAS administration or its combination with training reduced their expression. This study indicated that exercise did not alter the expression of collagen and related growth factors in different regions of rat tendon. Moreover, the pattern of gene expression was distinct in the different tendon regions of sedentary animals. Although, the RNA yield levels of CT, SFT and DFT were not distinct in each region, these regions possess not only the structural and biochemical difference, but also divergence in the expression of key genes involved in tendon adaptation.