Paulo Ivo Homem de Bittencourt Junior

Exercise training decreases oxidative stress in people living with HIV/aids : a pilot study

Background: Exercise training has been shown to be an effective strategy to balance oxidative stress status; however, this is underexplored in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Objective: To evaluate the effects of exercise training on oxidative stress in PLWHA receiving antiretroviral therapy. Methods: Patients performed 24 sessions (3 times per week, 8 weeks) of either aerobic (AT), resistance (RT), or concurrent training (CT). Glutathione disulphide to glutathione ratio (GSSG/GSH) in circulating erythrocytes and thiobarbituric acid–reactive substances (TBARS) in plasma samples were assessed as oxidative stress markers. Eight PLWAH completed the training protocol (AT =3, RT =3, CT =2). The GSSG/GSH and TBARS values were logarithmically transformed to approximate a normal distribution. A paired t-test was used to determine the differences between baseline and post-training values. Results: Data-pooled analysis showed a decrease in GSSG/GSH and TBARS after the training period: log GSSG/GSH= –1.26 ± 0.57 versus –1.54 ± 0.65, p = .01 and log TBARS =0.73 ± 0.35 versus 0.43 ± 0.21, p = .01. This was paralleled by a rise in peak oxygen uptake (VO2peak = 29.14 ± 5.34 versus 32.48 ± 5.75 ml kg−1 min−1, p = .04). All the subjects who performed resistance exercises showed an average gain of 37 ± 8% in muscle strength with no difference between performing single or multiple sets in terms of muscle strength gain. The results reinforce the clinical importance of exercise as a rehabilitation intervention for PLWHA and emphasizes the safety of exercise at the physiological level with the potential to mediate health outcomes.

Heat-induced extracellular HSP72 release is blunted in elderly diabetic people compared with healthy middle-aged and older adults, but it is partially restored by resistance training

Abstract Recent evidence suggests that the anti‐inflammatory heat shock response (HSR) is reduced in aging and diabetes. In this study we compared HSR between healthy middle‐aged adults, healthy elderly and type 2 diabetic (T2DM) elderly, and tested whether resistance training (RT) could improve the HSR in T2DM group. Thirty sedentary participants volunteered for this study. HSR (assessed as the capacity to export HSP72 during heat stress) was measured in the blood and compared between the groups. HSR was similar between healthy middle‐aged and healthy elderly volunteers, but diminished in elderly T2DM (p < 0.001). Hence, T2DM subjects (n = 12) were submitted to a 12‐week RT program, because exercise is a physiological HSR inducer. HSR, cytokines, metabolic parameters and visceral adipose tissue (VAT) were measured before and after the RT. Remarkably, VAT was negatively correlated with HSR (r = − 0.49, p < 0.01) while RT improved the HSR and reduced inflammation [TNF‐&agr;: from 51.5 ± 9 to 40.7 ± 4 pg/mL and TNF‐&agr;/IL‐10 ratio: from 1.55 ± 0.3 to 1.16 ± 0.2 (p < 0.001)], without affecting other parameters. All together, these findings confirm the hypothesis that the anti‐inflammatory HSR is depressed in elderly diabetic people, but can be partially restored by RT. HighlightsHeat Shock Response (HSR) is similar in healthy middle‐aged and elderly people, but is blunted in aged T2DM individuals.Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT) is increased with age, and the increased VAT is correlated with a lower HSR.Resistance training (RT) is an efficient intervention to restore the HSR and reduce inflammation in aged T2DM individuals.Restoration of HSR may delay the appearance and the establishment of inflammatory‐related diseases.