Maternal Swimming Exercise During Pregnancy Improves Memory Through Enhancing Neurogenesis and Suppressing Apoptosis via Wnt/β-Catenin Pathway in Autistic Mice / 대한배뇨장애요실금학회지

Purpose@#Wnt pathway is closely related to neurodevelopmental process associated with cognitive function. After administration of valproic acid to the pregnant mice, the effect of swimming exercise of pregnant mice on the memory, neuronal production, and apoptosis of pups was studied in relation with Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway. @*Methods@#On day 12 of pregnancy, mice were injected subcutaneously with 400-mg/kg valproic acid. The pregnant mice in the control with swimming exercise group and in the valproic acid injection with swimming exercise group were allowed for swimming for 30 minutes one time per a day, repeated 5 days per a week, during 3 weeks. Step-through avoidance task and Morris water maze task for memory function, immunohistochemistry for 5-bromo-2’-deoxyuridine (BrdU)-positive cells and western blot for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), Wnt, β-catenin, Bcl-2 related X protein (Bax), B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2), cleaved caspase-3 were carried out. @*Results@#Maternal swimming exercise during pregnancy improved memory function, increased BDNF expression, and neuronal proliferation in the valproic acid injected pups. Maternal swimming exercise during pregnancy suppressed Wnt expression and phosphorylation of β-catenin in the valproic acid injected pups. Maternal swimming exercise inhibited Bax and cleaved caspase-3 expression and increased Bcl-2 expression in the valproic acid injected pups. @*Conclusions@#Maternal swimming exercise during pregnancy improved memory function by increasing cell proliferation and inhibiting apoptosis through Wnt/β-catenin signaling cascade activation in the valproic acid injected pups. Maternal swimming exercise during pregnancy may have a protective effect on factors that induce autism in the fetus.

Analysis of Contractile Properties in Gastrocnemius, Tibialis Anterior Muscle of Amateur Male Soccer Players Using Tensiomyography

BACKGROUND: Tensiomyography (TMG) is a relatively new technique that assesses the contractile properties of muscles in response to a single electrical stimulus. This study aimed to evaluate the contractile properties of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles in amateur soccer players using TMG. METHODS: We recruited 41 male soccer players (high school group, n=21; college group, n=20). The gastrocnemius medialis (GM), gastrocnemius lateralis (GL), and TA muscles of both lower extremities were assessed using TMG. The maximal displacement (Dm), delay time, contraction time (Tc), sustained time, and half-relaxation time were obtained and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: First, both groups showed low Dm for the GM and TA muscles, which indicated high stiffness of the muscle tone. Second, the Tc and contraction velocity (Vc) were high for all muscles, except for the GL showing lower speed than the other muscles, which represented the sports-specific characteristics of the soccer players. Third, there were no significant differences in the measurement variables between the dominant and non-dominant sides, except for the Tc of the GM in high school athletes and Vc of the TA in college athletes. CONCLUSIONS: These results reflected the sports-specific needs and characteristics of soccer players. A risk of injury is associated with a high degree of stiffness, and various methods for preventing it should be considered.

Analysis of Contractile Properties in Gastrocnemius, Tibialis Anterior Muscle of Amateur Male Soccer Players Using Tensiomyography

BACKGROUND@#Tensiomyography (TMG) is a relatively new technique that assesses the contractile properties of muscles in response to a single electrical stimulus. This study aimed to evaluate the contractile properties of the gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior (TA) muscles in amateur soccer players using TMG.@*METHODS@#We recruited 41 male soccer players (high school group, n=21; college group, n=20). The gastrocnemius medialis (GM), gastrocnemius lateralis (GL), and TA muscles of both lower extremities were assessed using TMG. The maximal displacement (Dm), delay time, contraction time (Tc), sustained time, and half-relaxation time were obtained and compared between the two groups.@*RESULTS@#First, both groups showed low Dm for the GM and TA muscles, which indicated high stiffness of the muscle tone. Second, the Tc and contraction velocity (Vc) were high for all muscles, except for the GL showing lower speed than the other muscles, which represented the sports-specific characteristics of the soccer players. Third, there were no significant differences in the measurement variables between the dominant and non-dominant sides, except for the Tc of the GM in high school athletes and Vc of the TA in college athletes.@*CONCLUSIONS@#These results reflected the sports-specific needs and characteristics of soccer players. A risk of injury is associated with a high degree of stiffness, and various methods for preventing it should be considered.

Ursolic acid supplementation decreases markers of skeletal muscle damage during resistance training in resistance-trained men: a pilot study

Ursolic acid (UA) supplementation was previously shown to improve skeletal muscle function in resistance-trained men. This study aimed to determine, using the same experimental paradigm, whether UA also has beneficial effects on exercise-induced skeletal muscle damage markers including the levels of cortisol, B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), myoglobin, creatine kinase (CK), creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in resistance-trained men. Sixteen healthy participants were randomly assigned to resistance training (RT) or RT+UA groups (n=8 per group). Participants were trained according to the RT program (60~80% of 1 repetition, 6 times/week), and the UA group was additionally given UA supplementation (450 mg/day) for 8 weeks. Blood samples were obtained before and after intervention, and cortisol, BNP, myoglobin, CK, CK-MB, and LDH levels were analyzed. Subjects who underwent RT alone showed no significant change in body composition and markers of skeletal muscle damage, whereas RT+UA group showed slightly decreased body weight and body fat percentage and slightly increased lean body mass, but without statistical significance. In addition, UA supplementation significantly decreased the BNP, CK, CK-MB, and LDH levels (p<0.05). In conclusion, UA supplementation alleviates increased skeletal muscle damage markers after RT. This finding provides evidence for a potential new therapy for resistance-trained men.

Postnatal Treadmill Exercise Alleviates Prenatal Stress-Induced Anxiety in Offspring Rats by Enhancing Cell Proliferation Through 5-Hydroxytryptamine 1A Receptor Activation / 대한배뇨장애요실금학회지

PURPOSE: Stress during pregnancy is a risk factor for the development of anxiety-related disorders in offspring later in life. The effects of treadmill exercise on anxiety-like behaviors and hippocampal cell proliferation were investigated using rats exposed to prenatal stress. METHODS: Exposure of pregnant rats to a hunting dog in an enclosed room was used to induce stress. Anxiety-like behaviors of offspring were evaluated using the elevated plus maze test. Immunohistochemistry for the detection of 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine and doublecortin (DCX) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and 5-hydroxytryptamine 1A receptors (5-HT(1A)) in the dorsal raphe was conducted. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) levels in the hippocampus were evaluated by western blot analysis. RESULTS: Offspring of maternal rats exposed to stress during pregnancy showed anxiety-like behaviors. Offspring also showed reduced expression of BDNF, TrkB, and DCX in the dentate gyrus, decreased cell proliferation in the hippocampus, and reduced 5-HT(1A) expression in the dorsal raphe. Postnatal treadmill exercise by offspring, but not maternal exercise during pregnancy, enhanced cell proliferation and expression of these proteins. CONCLUSIONS: Postnatal treadmill exercise ameliorated anxiety-like behaviors in offspring of stressed pregnant rats, and the alleviating effect of exercise on these behaviors is hypothesized to result from enhancement of cell proliferation through 5-HT(1A) activation in offspring rats.

Effect of Treadmill Exercise on Leak-point pressure and Neuronal Activation in Brain of Rats with Stress Urinary Incontinence / 대한배뇨장애요실금학회지

PURPOSE: Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) commonly occurs in women, and it causes enormous impact on quality of life. Surgery, drugs, and exercise have been recommended for the treatment of this disease. Among these exercise is also known to be effective for relieving thesymptoms of SUI, however, the efficacy and underlying mechanisms of exercise on SUI are poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated the effect of treadmill exercise on abdominal leak-point pressure and neuronal activity in the medial preoptic nucleus (MPA), ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG), and pontine micturition center (PMC) following urethrolysis in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Adult female Sprague-Dawley rats, weighing 250+/-10 g (9 weeks old), were used in this study. After having undergone transabdominal urethrolysis to induce SUI, the rats were divided into three groups (n=6 in each group): a sham operation group, an SUI-induced group, and an SUI-induced and treadmill exercise group. The rats in the exercise group performed treadmill running for 30 min once a day starting 2 weeks after the induction of SUI and continuing for 4 weeks after surgery. For this study, determination of abdominal leak point pressure and immunohistochemistry for c-Fos in the brain were performed. RESULTS: Induction of transabdominal urethrolysis significantly reduced the abdominal leak point pressure, thereby contributing to the induction of SUI. In contrast, abdominal leak point pressure was significantly improved by treadmill exercise. The expression of c-Fosin the MPA, vlPAG, and PMC, the brain areas relating to micturition, was enhanced by the induction of SUI, whereas treadmill exercise significantly suppressed SUI-induced c-Fos expression, suggesting that neuronal activation in the micturition centers was suppressed by treadmill exercise. CONCLUSION: The present results suggest that treadmill exercise may be an effective therapeutic modality for ameliorating the symptoms of SUI.