Impact of Four Week Swimming Exercise with Alpha-Tocopherol Supplementation on Fertility Potential in Healthy Rats.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of 4 week intensive swimming exercise and alpha-tocopherol supplementation on testicular oxidative stress and spermatogenesis in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 40 male rats were randomly assigned to Control (C), Sham (S), Exercise (E) and Exercise + supplement (ES) groups. Exercise training performed for 4 weeks (1session/day, 6days/week). Each session included 180 minutes of swimming. In ES group, alpha-ocopherol was injected at a dose of 50 mg/kg/day. 48 hours after last training session, all rats were killed and gonads of them were removed from their body for histological and biochemical assays. All statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 16. P values less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. RESULTS: Total testicular antioxidant capacity increased significantly in E (P = .003) and ES groups (P = .001) whereas there was no significant difference between C and E group in testicle Malondialdehyde (a lipid peroxidation marker) level (P = .999) and spermatogenesis quality (P = .381). Testicle Malondialdehyde level decreased (P = .009) and spermatogenesis quality was improved significantly in ES group (P = .001). CONCLUSION: Alpha-tocopherol supplementation is effective in order to improve spermatogenesis process in athletes who exercise with high intensity.

The effect of strength training and combination technique on preserving the strength of plantar flexor muscles after a period of detraining.

BACKGROUND: Strength training (ST) and/or electrical stimulation (ES) are two methods that have been prescribed for muscles improvement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of six weeks of strength training and combined technique on maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) in plantar flexor muscles after 4 weeks of detraining. METHODS: Twenty-four healthy and nonathletic female students (age: 20-30 yrs) were randomly assigned to ST, combined training (CT), and control groups. The ST group performed 18 sessions of isometric contraction of plantar flexor muscles in three degrees (15° Dorsiflexion, Neutral, 45° plantarflexion) at 85% of MVIC and the CT group received ES (FES: Phase time of 60 microseconds; stimulation frequency of 40 Hz; duty cycle = 2s on/4s off; isometric contraction; 10 contractions per second at the maximum tolerated intensity without pain) combined with the same protocol as the ST Group. ST and CT subjects were tested before training; after 6 weeks of training; and after 4 weeks of detraining. RESULTS: In comparison with pretest measurers, post-test measures showed that the mean average of plantar flexor strength in the ST group increased from 25.75±7.10 to 45.25±12.66 in neutral position and increased from 32.75±9.66 to 48.00±11.56 in DF position. The mean average of plantar flexor strength in the CT group also increased from 24.52±7.32 to 43.50±10.46 in neutral position and increased from 24.63±11.13 to 34.38±7.76 in DF position. Except for MVC in DF in the CT group, all variables reduced to their original values at the post detraining measures. In comparison with induced adaptations in ST and CT, this finding suggests that after 4 weeks of detraining, these adaptations in CT were maintained more than voluntary isometric training. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that strength changes following CT are longer lasting.

The effect of exercise on urinary gamma-glutamyltransferase and protein levels in elite female karate athletes.

PURPOSE: Post exercise proteinuria and increased urinary Gamma-Glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels can be indicative of exercise-induced renal damage. The aim of this investigation is to study the effect of one session of intensive training on renal damage markers and compare their values to those 6 hours after training. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study with pre- and post-test design, 10 elite volunteer female athletes were selected and participated in one training session (2 hours). Urine samples were collected before training, one hour after training, and 6 hours after training. Urinary protein (Pr), creatinine (Cr), and GGT values were measured through laboratory methods and then Pr/Cr and GGT/Cr ratios were computed. RESULTS: There were significant differences between values of protein, GGT and Creatinine in the three sampling phases (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were observed between values for GGT/Cr and Pr/Cr ratio. There were significant differences between the mean values of Creatinine, protein and GGT within pre-exercise and 1 hour post-exercise and within 1 hour post-exercise and 6 hours post-exercise (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: It seems that a session of karate training does not result in renal damage and athletes can continue training after 6 hours.

Effects of intradialytic aerobic training on sleep quality in hemodialysis patients.

INTRODUCTION: Sleep disorders are common in hemodialysis patients. They can affect their quality of life. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of aerobic training on sleep quality, inflammatory status, and serum leptin levels in hemodialysis patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight men in the age range of 28 to 74 years who were on maintenance hemodialysis and had sleep problems were enrolled in this study. They were randomly assigned into control and training groups (14 patients in each group). Patients in the training group performed a 10- to 30-minute stationary cycling, 3 times a week, during the 1st two hours of every dialysis session, for 8 weeks. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Baecke questionnaire on physical activity were filled out for all participants. To assess serum leptin and C-reactive protein levels, blood samples were drawn before the beginning and at the end of the eighth week. RESULTS: At the end of the study, serum leptin and C-reactive protein levels were significantly reduced (P < .001 and P < .001, respectively). Furthermore, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores of the training group declined significantly after 8 weeks (P < .001). There was a positive correlation between sleep quality and serum levels of leptin and C-reactive protein (P = .03 and P = .04, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Aerobic exercise with moderate intensity during the first two hours of a dialysis session could improve sleep quality and inflammatory status of hemodialysis patients, which predicts morbidity, mortality, and quality of life. However, additional research is needed to confirm these effects.

Twelve-week aerobic training decreases chemerin level and improves cardiometabolic risk factors in overweight and obese men.

PURPOSE: The inflammatory state of adipose tissue in obese subjects may be the most important factor linking increased adipose tissue mass to insulin resistance. Chemerin is a newly discovered adipokine that plays an important role in macrophage infiltration into adipose tissue and may contribute to the development of inflammation and insulin resistance. We examined the effects of 12 weeks of aerobic training on serum chemerin levels in association with cardiovascular risk factors in overweight and obese males. METHODS: Twenty-one overweight and obese subjects [44.3 (±4.1 yrs, body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m(2)) were assigned to exercise training (obese EX, n= 11) and control (obese CON, n= 10) groups. The obese EX group participated in 12 weeks of progressive aerobic training 5 days a week. Serum chemerin, insulin resistance, lipid profiles, blood pressure, and body composition were all measured before and after the training. RESULTS: After the aerobic training, waist circumference (P=0.009), fat percent (P=0.03), visceral fat (P=0.03), subcutaneous fat (P=0.01), fasting glucose (P=0.01), insulin resistance (P=0.03), triglyceride (P=0.05), total cholesterol (P=0.04), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P=0.05) and systolic blood pressure (P=0.04) of participates were significantly decreased. Concurrently, serum chemerin concentrations were significantly decreased after aerobic program (P=0.02). CONCLUSION: Aerobic training caused an improvement in cardiometabolic risk factors in obese subjects, and this improvement was accompanied by decreased chemerin levels.