Production of knowledge on myocardial, exercise andmenopause. Analysis of methodological approaches

Considering the importance of histological studies for the analysis of myocardial cell morphology and theeffects produced by this muscle exercise in postmenopausal women, a literature review was carried out toanalyze selected articles in PubMed, Medline, SciELO and Science Direct. 2001-2011 databases and to identifythe study design relating to morphological infarction, exercise and menopause published over the last 10 years.Materials and Methods:After the selection according to the proposed inclusion criteria, the journals andarticles were analyzed regarding the title, year of publication, country of origin, type of methodology, type ofauthorship and research subjects.Results:We foundthirty-four articles related to myocardium, menopauseand exercise from 2001-2011. In two of them the myocardium morphologically was evaluated, and in one ofthem there was a morphological and stereological cardiac muscle analysis.Conclusion: The main characteristicsof the publications are: multiple authorship, publications in journals from different areas, literature review andexperimental study as methodology, and all studies showed quantitative data analysis.

Effects of resistance exercise on ascendent aorta on ovariectomized elderly rats

Studies have shown a strong relationship between menopause, diet, physical inactivity and presence of risk factors causing endothelial and tissue damages, leading to increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of resistance training on the effects of estrogen deprivation in aortic collagen and elastic tissue in aging. Fifteen Wistar female rats, 4 months-old, average weight 240 g were studied. All animals were ovariectomized at 6 months of age, after divided into 3 groups (n = 5): Sedentary adult (13 months), Sedentary old and Trained old (both with 17 months). All animals were ovariectomized at 6 months of age. The animals were observed for 8 months after its ovariectomy and then submitted to resistance training protocol during 12 weeks. At the end of the experiment the animals were euthanized. Samples of the ascending aorta were sectioned, fixed, processed and stained for examination by light microscopy. Photomicrographs were used for stereological study and analyzed the following parameters: body weight, volume density of collagen fibers and elastic lamellae. No significant difference was found between the initial and final weights in the studied groups. Resistance training attenuates the increase in volume density of elastic lamellae (21%) and collagen fibers (16%), when compared with the sedentary older group.

Effects of aerobic exercise on soleus muscle of rats with metabolic syndrome

Introduction: Studies have shown a strong relationship between physical activity and the presence of cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, insulin resistance, diabetes, dyslipidemia and obesity that characterize the metabolic syndrome. Moreover, the practice of regular physical activity has been recommended for the prevention and treatment of this syndrome. Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze by histomorphometric techniques, the effect of aerobic exercise in the soleus muscle of rats with metabolic syndrome. Methodology: A total of 15 male Wistar rats, 150 days old, divided into three groups (n = 5): sedentary, control (C); metabolic syndrome (MS) and trained, metabolic syndrome (TMS). The induction of MS was performed using fructose in the drinking water of animals. From the 9th week of induction, animals in the Training groups underwent exercise treadmill belt (Imbramed TK-01) with moderate intensity (50-70% of maximum speed achieved in the stress test). Physical training was conducted for nine weeks, with a frequency of 5 times per week, for about 60 minutes. The procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the São Judas Tadeu University (protocol Nr 060/2007). At the end of the experiment the animals were euthanized by decapitation. The right soleus muscle was sectioned, fixed and treated for conducting conventional histology, and the slides stained by HE and Picrosirius methods. Photomicrographs of 10 fields per animal were captured by light microscope, transferred to the image analysis program (Software Axio Vision, Zeiss). We measured the cross-sectional areas of muscle fibers and to analyze the volume densities of muscle fibers, capillaries, and interstitial collagen fibers, was used stereological method (252 points). The statistical analysis used was ANOVA One Way and Tukey test (p < 0.05)...