Relationship of the SITLESS intervention on medication use in community-dwelling older adults: an exploratory study.

Background: Sedentary behavior (SB) and physical activity (PA) interventions in older adults can improve health outcomes. Problems related with aging include prevalent comorbidity, multiple non-communicable diseases, complaints, and resulting polypharmacy. This manuscript examines the relationship between an intervention aiming at reducing SB on medication patterns. Method: This manuscript presents a local sub-analysis of the SITLESS trial data on medication use. SITLESS was an exercise referral scheme (ERS) enhanced by self-management strategies (SMS) to reduce SB in community-dwelling older adults. We analyzed data from the ERS + SMS, ERS and usual care (UC) groups. Patient medication records were available at baseline and at the end of the intervention (4-month period) and were analyzed to explore the effect of SITLESS on medication patterns of use. Result: A sample of 75 participants was analyzed, mostly older overweight women with poor body composition scores and mobility limitations. There was a significant reduction of 1.6 medicines (SD = 2.7) in the ERS group (p < 0.01), but not in the UC or ERS + SMS groups. Differences were more evident in medicines used for short periods of time. Conclusion: The findings suggest that an exercise-based program enhanced by SMS to reduce SB might influence medication use for acute conditions but there is a need to further investigate effects on long-term medicine use in older adults.

Investigating the impact of physical activity on mitochondrial function in Parkinson's disease (PARKEX): Study protocol for A randomized controlled clinical trial.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the progressive dopaminergic neuron degeneration, resulting in striatal dopamine deficiency. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are associated with PD pathogenesis. Physical activity (PA) has been shown to ameliorate neurological impairments and to impede age-related neuronal loss. In addition, skin fibroblasts have been identified as surrogate indicators of pathogenic processes correlating with clinical measures. The PARKEX study aims to compare the effects of two different PA programs, analyzing the impact on mitochondrial function in patients' skin fibroblasts as biomarkers for disease status and metabolic improvement. Early-stage PD patients (n = 24, H&Y stage I to III) will be randomized into three age- and sex-matched groups. Group 1 (n = 8) will undergo basic physical training (BPT) emphasizing strength and resistance. Group 2 (n = 8) will undergo BPT combined with functional exercises (BPTFE), targeting the sensorimotor pathways that are most affected in PD (proprioception-balance-coordination) together with cognitive and motor training (Dual task training). Group 3 (n = 8) will serve as control (sedentary group; Sed). Participants will perform three sessions per week for 12 weeks. Assessment of motor function, quality of life, sleep quality, cognitive aspects and humor will be conducted pre- and post-intervention. Patient skin fibroblasts will be collected before and after the intervention and characterized in terms of metabolic remodeling and mitochondrial bioenergetics. Ethical approval has been given to commence this study. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT05963425). Trial registration. https://classic.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/history/NCT05963425.

Exercise-Boosted Mitochondrial Remodeling in Parkinson's Disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a movement disorder characterized by the progressive degeneration of dopaminergic neurons resulting in dopamine deficiency in the striatum. Given the estimated escalation in the number of people with PD in the coming decades, interventions aimed at minimizing morbidity and improving quality of life are crucial. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are intrinsic factors related to PD pathogenesis. Accumulating evidence suggests that patients with PD might benefit from various forms of exercise in diverse ways, from general health improvements to disease-specific effects and, potentially, disease-modifying effects. However, the signaling and mechanism connecting skeletal muscle-increased activity and brain remodeling are poorly elucidated. In this review, we describe skeletal muscle-brain crosstalk in PD, with a special focus on mitochondrial effects, proposing mitochondrial dysfunction as a linker in the muscle-brain axis in this neurodegenerative disease and as a promising therapeutic target. Moreover, we outline how exercise secretome can improve mitochondrial health and impact the nervous system to slow down PD progression. Understanding the regulation of the mitochondrial function by exercise in PD may be beneficial in defining interventions to delay the onset of this neurodegenerative disease.

Effects of energy supplementation on productivity of dual-purpose cows grazing in a silvopastoral system in the tropics.

The aim of the present work was to evaluate milk yield, postpartum (pp) ovarian activity and pregnancy rate in dual-purpose cows grazing Cynodon nlemfuensis and browsing L. leucocephala, with or without energy supplementation. Twenty-four Bos taurus × B. indicus cows were divided in two groups from calving to 70 days post-calving: supplemented group (SG) with ground sorghum grain offered at 0.4% of live weight at calving and control group (CG) without supplement. There was a trend for milk yield (kg day(-1)) to be greater (p = 0.08) for SG (10.55 ± 0.51) compared to CG (9.53 ± 0.61), although without differences in fat (0.42 ± 0.02 vs. 0.38 ± 0.03 kg day(-1)), protein (0.29 ± 0.02 vs. 0.29 ± 0.02 kg day(-1)) or lactose (0.49 ± 0.02 vs. 0.49 ± 0.03 kg day(-1)) concentration. Populations of large, medium and small follicles were similar between treatments. Percentage of cows which showed corpus luteum tended to be greater in SG (50%), compared to CG (33%). Supplemented cows tended to have a shorter calving-first corpus luteum interval (40 ± 10 vs. 51 ± 10 days) and had a significantly higher (χ (2) = 0.03) pregnancy rate (42% vs. 0%). It is concluded that energy supplementation helped to improve ovarian activity and pregnancy rate. Since supplementation did not avoid loss of body condition, the higher pregnancy rate in SG suggests beneficial effects of supplementation probably mediated by metabolic hormones.

Reinicio de la actividad ovárica y nivel de metabolitos de lípidos en vacas lecheras suplementadas con aceite vegetal durante el posparto temprano / Resumption of ovarian activity and lipid metabolites in lactating cows supplemented with vegetal oil during early postpartum

Se evaluaó el reinicio de la actividad ovárica posparto (RAO) y los metabolitos de lípidos en vacas lecheras suplementadas con aceite vegetal durante el posparto temprano. Se emplearon 18 vacas Holstein Friesian de tercer parto, de 597,3 ± 50,2 kg y condición corporal = 3,5 ± 0,6. Los animales fueron distribuidos aleatoriamente en dos grupos, uno experimental suplementado con 500 g de aceite vegetal durante 8 semanas a partir de la segunda semana posparto (CAV; n=9), y uno control sin suplemento (SAV; n=9), RAO se determinó cuando las concentraciones semanales de P4 fueron mayor igual Ing/ml y se mantuvieron por dos semanas consecutivas. P4 fue medida por radioinmunoensayo y los metabolitos de lípidos (colesterol, lipoproteínas de alta y baja densidad, triglicéridos y lípidos totales) por enzimunocolorimetría, en muestras de sangre colectadas semanalmente durante el período de suplementación grasa. RAO se presentó siete días antes en el grupo CAV respecto a SAV (23,3 ± 12,8 vs 29,6 ± 12,4 días, P<0,05). La concentración media de P4 no se vio afectada (1,48 ± 0,31 vs 1,15 ± 0,31ng/ml para CAV y SAV, respectivamente); sin embargo, se observó un efecto significativo entre los días 28 y 56 a favor del grupo CAV. Entre los metabolitos de lípidos, solo colesterol, triglicéridos y lípidos totales, mostraron diferencias (P<0,05): 109,3 ± 9,9 vs 135,7 ± 9,9; 29,3 ± 7,9 vs 41,3 ± 7,9; y 366,2 ± 50,3 vs 434,2 ± 50,3 mg/dl para SAV y CAV, respectivamente. La suplementación grasa acorta el reinicio de la actividad ovárica posparto e incrementa la concentración plasmática de colesterol, triglicéridos y lípidos totales en vacas lecheras