Effect of a long-term regular physical activity on hypertension and body mass index in type 2 diabetes patients.

AIM: Hypertension and overweight are prevalent problems in type 2 diabetic patients. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of long term regular aerobic exercise training on blood pressure (BP) as well as body mass index (BMI) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). METHODS: In a randomized, controlled trial, 60 patients with T2DM aged 40-65 years were randomly divided in two groups (30 subjects in exercise group and 30 subjects in control group). Supervised exercise program was performed three times per week for 3 years. Finally, 28 patients who completed the optimal sessions, entered in statistical analysis. RESULTS: Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP) had no significant changes in control group (respectively 127.48±12.79 to 129.28±8.52 and 78.90±8.06 to 77.55±5.95). These changes were statistically significant in the exercise group (respectively 132.57±14.82 to 118.00±12.48 and 82.89±9.19 to 74.00±6.57; P<0.001). Furthermore, the BMI of exercise group reduced significantly (28±5.26 to 26.42±4.36; P<0.001) in comparison with control group that showed a significant increase in terms of this variable (30.02±4.79 to 31.05±4.84; P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that long term aerobic exercise has positive effects on systolic and diastolic blood pressure as well as heart rate of T2DM patients. We observed significant differences in levels of BMI in two groups after intervention.

Effect of probiotic yogurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium lactis on lipid profile in individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of probiotic and conventional yogurt on the lipid profile in type 2 diabetic people. In a randomized double-blind controlled trial, 60 people (23 males and 37 females) with type 2 diabetes and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) greater than 2.6 mmol/L were assigned to 2 groups. Participants consumed daily 300 g of probiotic yogurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus La5 and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12 or 300 g of conventional yogurt for 6 wk. Fasting blood samples, anthropometric measurements and 3-d, 24-h dietary recalls were collected at the baseline and at the end of the trial. Probiotic yogurt consumption caused a 4.54% decrease in total cholesterol and a 7.45% decrease in LDL-C compared with the control group. No significant changes from baseline were shown in triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the probiotic group. The total cholesterol:HDL-C ratio and LDL-C:HDL-C ratio as atherogenic indices significantly decreased in the probiotic group compared with the control group. Probiotic yogurt improved total cholesterol and LDL-C concentrations in type 2 diabetic people and may contribute to the improvement of cardiovascular disease risk factors.

Subclinical hypothyroidism effects on cardiac function.

To evaluate heart function in subclinical hypothyroid women in comparison with healthy subjects, a prospective study was performed on newly detected subclinical hypothyroid women presenting to endocrinology clinic of Tabriz Sina Hospital from October 2007 to February 2008. Thirty five women with Subclinical Hypothyroidism (SH) in case group were matched with 35 healthy euthyroid women in control group. All patients in both groups were studied by two dimensional echocardiography and Tissue Doppler Imaging (TDI) in Tabriz Shahid Madani Hospital. The FT4 and TSH levels were measured. Comparison of TDI results in Right Ventricle (RV) showed the significantly lower mean T(v) excursion in case group with no significant difference in other parameters. In Left Ventricle (LV), the mean A(m), A(v) and E(v)/E(m) were significantly higher and E/A was lower in the case group, but there was no significant difference in other parameters. No RV diastolic dysfunction was documented in both groups. There was no case with LV systolic dysfunction in both groups. There were 21 (60%) patients with LV diastolic dysfunction in the case group comparing with 11 (31.4%) cases in the control group (p = 0.016, OR = 0.306). Frequency of LV diastolic dysfunction was significantly higher in the case group in patients aged > or = 40 years (94.1% vs. 53.3%; p = 0.013). There was no case of pericardial effusion in the studied population. According to our results, SH may cause LV diastolic dysfunction. Likewise, minor RV systolic dysfunction might be seen in these patients.