ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives: The current study aimed to better understand the changes in respiration that occur with aging in men and women to provide accurate recommendations for breathing exercises to improve health. Materials and Methods: A total of 610 healthy subjects, aged 20 to 59, participated in the study. They performed quiet breathing while wearing two respiration belts (Vernier, Beaverton, OR, USA) at the height of the navel and at the xiphoid process to record abdominal motion (AM) and thoracic motion (TM), respectively. Vital capacity, representing maximal inhalation movement, was measured using a spirometer (Xindonghuateng, Beijing, China). After exclusion, 565 subjects (164 men, aged 41 ± 11; 401 women, aged 42 ± 9) were included for statistical analysis using the Kruskal-Wallis U test and stepwise multiple linear regression. Results: Abdominal motion and its contribution to spontaneous breathing were significantly larger for older men, while the contribution of thoracic motion was smaller for older men. There was no significant difference in thoracic motion between the younger and older men. The differences in women's respiratory movements among various ages were mild and negligible. The contribution of thoracic motion to spontaneous breathing in women was larger than in men for those of older ages (40-59 years), but not for those of younger ages (20-39 years). Additionally, men's and women's vital capacities were less in those of older ages, and the men's were larger than the women's. Conclusions: The findings indicate that men's abdominal contribution to spontaneous breathing increased from 20 to 59 years of age due to increased abdominal motion. Women's respiratory movements did not change much with aging. The maximal inhalation movement became smaller with aging for men and women. Healthcare professionals should focus on improving thoracic mobility when addressing health concerns about aging.
Subject(s)
Movement , Respiration , Male , Humans , Female , Aged , Young Adult , Adult , Middle Aged , Abdomen , Multivariate Analysis , ChinaABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the biological effects of insulin resistance (IR) on the porcine granulosa cells which is induced by wortmannin, the PI-3K inhibitor and mediated by key molecules including GLUT4 and MAPK during insulin signaling. METHODS: The model of IR porcine granulosa cell was established in in vitro culture by treatment of wortmannin, and was assessed the amount of 3H glucose uptake as well as medium glucose levels by glucose oxidase method. The protein and mRNA expression of GLUT4 and MAPK were evaluated by immunofluorescence and RT-PCR respectively. RESULTS: The glucose intake was decreased by 40% with treatment of wortmannin at 1.5 micromol/L (P<0.05). GLUT4 and MAPK were localized mainly to cytoplasm of granulose cells. When granulosa cells were insulin resistant, the expression of GLUT4 was down-regulated whereas MAPK was up-regulated as compared with the controls. CONCLUSIONS: Wortmannin treatment can lead to decreased expression of GLUT4 and increase of IR granulose cells. This metabolic phenotype could induce increased expression of MAPK and mitogenic potential, indicating the cross-talk between two pathways of insulin signaling within ovarian cells.
Subject(s)
Androstadienes/pharmacology , Granulosa Cells/drug effects , Insulin Resistance , Phosphoinositide-3 Kinase Inhibitors , Androstadienes/administration & dosage , Animals , Cells, Cultured , Disease Models, Animal , Female , Fluorescent Antibody Technique , Glucose/metabolism , Glucose/pharmacokinetics , Glucose Transporter Type 4/genetics , Glucose Transporter Type 4/metabolism , Granulosa Cells/cytology , Granulosa Cells/metabolism , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/genetics , Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism , Ovary/cytology , Protein Kinase Inhibitors/pharmacology , Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction , Signal Transduction/drug effects , Swine , WortmanninABSTRACT
Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most popular diseases that cause menstrual dysfunction and infertility in women. The present paper is a brief retrospection on the progress in treatment of PCOS caused infertility with integrative Chinese and Western medicine (ICWM). It can be seen from these materials that using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) recipes formulated by Shen-replenishing herbs or acupuncture to reinforce Gan-Shen, regulate Chong-Ren Channels in treating PCOS, stable clinical efficacy could be obtained, with less adverse reaction, though the effect initiated somewhat late. Whereas, when Shen-replenishing recipe and acupuncture are combined with hormone or ovulation promoting drugs of Western medicine, the above-mentioned shortcomings would be overcome. So, this combined therapy is frequently used in clinical practice.
