Background: Chronic inflammation associated with breast cancer (BC) poses a major challenge in care management and may be ameliorated by physical activity. This randomized controlled trial assessed the effects of a 12-week high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on inflammatory markers, body composition, and physical fitness in BC survivors (BCS). Methods: Forty BCS (age = 57 ± 1 years; body mass [BM] = 74.8 ± 1.5 kg; VO_2peak = 20.8 ± 2.1 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹) were randomly assigned to three groups: HIIT (n = 15), MICT (n = 15), or control (CON; n = 15). The intervention groups (HIIT and MICT) performed their respective exercise protocols on a cycle ergometer 3 days/week for 12 weeks while the CON group maintained their current lifestyle. Baseline and post-intervention assessments included body composition (BM, fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM)), physical fitness (VO_2peak, lower body strength (LBS), upper body strength (UBS)), and serum concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-10 (IL-10), leptin, and adiponectin. Results: Both intervention groups significantly (p < 0.05) decreased BM (HIIT = −1.8 kg, MICT = −0.91 kg), FM (HIIT = −0.81 kg, MICT = −0.18 kg), TNF-α (HIIT = −1.84 pg/mL, MICT = −0.99 pg/mL), IL-6 (HIIT = −0.71 pg/mL, MICT = −0.36 pg/mL), leptin (HIIT = −0.35 pg/mL, MICT = −0.16 pg/mL) and increased VO_2peak (HIIT = 0.95 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹, MICT = 0.67 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹), LBS (HIIT = 2.84 kg, MICT = 1.53 kg), UBS (HIIT = 0.53 kg, MICT = 0.53 kg), IL-10 (HIIT = 0.63 pg/mL, MICT = 0.38 pg/mL), and adiponectin (HIIT = 0.23 ng/mL, MICT = 0.1 ng/mL) compared to baseline. The changes in BM, FM, TNF-α, leptin, and LBS were significantly greater in HIIT compared to all other groups. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that compared to the often-recommended MICT, HIIT may be a more beneficial exercise therapy for the improvement of inflammation, body composition and LBS in BCS; and consequently, merits long-term study

This study investigates the effect of aquatic exercise on changes in serum blood levels, body composition, and motor performance in elderly men with sarcopenia. In this research, 24 elderly male volunteers with sarcopenia who met the inclusion criteria were selected. The experimental group (n = 12) participated in aquatic exercise training for eight weeks, with each session lasting 45 minutes. The movement speed for both concentric and eccentric phases was set at 2 seconds; the training load was increased by 1 kilogram every six sessions, and the rest interval between sets was 1 minute. The exercises consisted of simple movements in the sagittal and frontal planes targeting the hip, knee, and ankle joints. The control group (n = 11) only remained in water without exercising for six weeks. The criteria of the European Working Group on Sarcopenia in Older People (EWGSOP) were used to assess sarcopenia, and the Geriatric Locomotive Function Scale (GLFS-25) was employed to evaluate motor performance across various dimensions of daily living in the elderly. A 5 cc blood sample was drawn from the antecubital vein of each participant in a seated position, and serum levels of IGF-1, TGF-β, myostatin, and follistatin were measured using the ELISA method. Blood samples were collected in the morning, after 15 minutes of seated rest. The ioi353 body composition analyzer was used for evaluating body composition. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and Bonferroni post-hoc tests were applied at a significance level of α ≤ 0.05. The findings indicated that aquatic exercise led to improvements in serum IGF-1 levels (ƞ = 0.22, p = 0.027) and follistatin (ƞ = 0.36, p = 0.003) in elderly men with sarcopenia. No significant changes were observed in serum TGF-β (p = 0.626) and myostatin (p = 0.508) levels after eight weeks of aquatic training. Additionally, aquatic exercise resulted in improvements in body composition (weight, fat mass, muscle mass, body mass index) in elderly men (ƞ ≥ 0.80, p < 0.001). Finally, aquatic exercise improved motor performance in elderly men with sarcopenia (ƞ = 0.46, p = 0.001). The results of this study suggest that aquatic exercise can be recommended as a safe and effective method for improving certain muscle-related serum markers, such as IGF-1 and follistatin, as well as enhancing body composition and motor function in this population.

Skeletal muscle mitochondrial dysfunction and altered myokine signaling contribute to insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. This study compared the effects of non-work-matched high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and moderate-intensity interval training (MIIT) on skeletal muscle exerkine/myokine- and mitochondrial biogenesis-related gene expression and systemic metabolic indices in streptozotocin-nicotinamide-induced diabetic rats. Twenty-four male Wistar rats were initially allocated to healthy control, diabetic control, MIIT, or HIIT groups; after predefined treadmill-familiarization exclusions, five animals per group were analyzed. Training was performed for 6 weeks, three sessions per week, with MIIT prescribed at 70% maximal aerobic speed and HIIT at 90% maximal aerobic speed. Gastrocnemius expression of FNDC5, OSTN, PGC-1α, TFAM, CCO, and UCP3 was quantified by RT-qPCR, and fasting glucose, insulin, lipid variables, HOMA-IR, HOMA-β, QUICKI, and TyG index were assessed. Diabetes reduced all targeted transcripts and impaired insulin-related metabolic indices. Both MIIT and HIIT partially restored myokine- and mitochondrial-related transcripts compared with diabetic controls, with no significant differences between training protocols for most molecular outcomes. HIIT produced lower fasting insulin and HOMA-IR than MIIT but imposed a greater estimated cumulative workload. These findings indicate that interval training partly attenuates diabetes-associated transcriptional and insulin-related metabolic disturbances, while intensity-specific conclusions require work-matched designs.