[Correlation between the carotid resistance and functional autonomy of old women]. / Correlaçõ entre resistência carotídea e autonomia funcional de mulheres idosas.

This study had as objective to correlate the resistance of the carotid artery and the functional autonomy of old women. The resistance of the carotid artery was evaluated through the method called Doppler and the functional autonomy through tests related to daily activities (Protocol GDLAM). In the description of the data it was used measures of localization and dispersion. The internal right carotid resistance got mean and pattern deviation respectively (0.71 +/- 0.07) and functional autonomy mean and pattern deviation respectively (30.40 +/- 6.31). The coefficient of the correlation of Spearman showed a strong association between the variation of the study (r = 0.998; p = 0.000). The results suggest that the bigger the table of contents of the resistance of the carotid artery is the bigger will be the difficulty of execution of the daily life tasks.

Effects of muscle strength and aerobic training on basal serum levels of IGF-1 and cortisol in elderly women.

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of muscle strength and aerobic training on the basal serum levels of IGF-1 and cortisol in elderly women. The subjects were divided in three groups as follows. 1. Strength training group (SG) submitted to the weight training called 1-repetition maximum test (1-RM, 75-85%). This group contained 12 subjects of mean age=66.08+/-3.37 years; and body mass index (BMI)=26.0+/-3.72kg/m(2). (2) Aerobic training group (AG) submitted to aquatic exercise; they were 13 subjects of the mean age=68.69+/-4.70 years; and BMI=29.19+/-2.96kg/m(2). (3) A control group (CG) of 10 subjects, of mean age=68.80+/-5.41 years; BMI=29.70+/-2.82kg/m2. The training periods were 12 weeks, Fasting blood was analyzed to measure IGF-1 and basal cortisol levels (by chemiluminescence method), both at the beginning and the end of the intervention. Student's t-test revealed increased IGF-1 in the SG (p<0.05) compared to the other two groups. Repeated-measure ANOVA showed also elevated IGF-1 (p<0.05) in the SG compared to the other groups (AG and CG). There were no differences in cortisol levels. In conclusion, high-intensity training caused changes in IGF-1. This suggests that strength training may provoke anabolic effects in elderly individuals.